A couple weeks ago, I received an invitation to the launch party for the second year of Creep LA, a haunt that like so many others claims to be a different experience than what I was already used to from its competitors. This year’s theme celebrates the art of Erebus Burwyck, an artist who disappeared in 1979, and the darkness inside.

I invited my friend Brian to be my guest and we headed over after work, arriving at 8:00PM for our 9:30PM calletime because the invitation read that the party was from 7:00-11:00PM. It turned out that we misinterpreted our invitation, but the staff was very accommodating and slotted us into an 8-person group at around 8:15 despite the event being packed. We were given cards that read “CHALK,” and we were lead inside by a man who looked like the bandit with the baby mask in The Purge 2.

After being screamed at by two business-women with dirt all over their face and clothes to sign an NDA (an effort which I appreciated because really, how do you make signing an NDA scary?) we were lead through a winding hallway to an art gallery of sorts, with a bar in the middle of the back wall, and a few spooky art pieces littered around the red-lit room. Something that I loved was the free photobooth. You could take a spooky black and white picture and it would send it straight to your phone over text message. There were men and women in 1940’s-era attire, all of it black and white, and they were sure to let us know that this was not just for the preview night, but part of the event.

Of course, since it was a preview night, all of the drinks were free. However, I confirmed that they will not be when Creep LA opens to the public. 

After we got our drinks, we sat down at a table and started chatting. I felt a finger run up the back of my neck and turned around to see one of the actors in a tight black dress and black gloves that went all the way up her forearms. She sat down and introduced herself as Sabine, and asked us to tell her a secret. I told her I was nervous for what was in store and she disclosed that “If the darkness tries to take you, you should accept it.” An ominous and foreboding phrase we would hear multiple times from multiple actors while waiting in the gallery.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, she was telling us in so many words, that we would be separated from our group at some point, and that we shouldn’t resist. After signing the NDA when we walked in and reading reviews online from last year’s event, I assumed that this would happen already, so maybe in the future they can be less pointed about telling hauntees what they should expect.

My friend Brian got much more attention from the actors than I did. They played with his hair, made him slow dance with them and a guy and girl got unsettlingly close to kissing each other about two inches from his face.

About fifteen minutes after we entered the gallery, our group (CHALK) was called and we exited the building and entered a different warehouse with a creepy-looking guide in Harry Potter glasses. I appreciated this since between the maze and the actual bar, a lot of the first warehouse’s space was taken up and I was worried that the length of the actual haunt would be short.

I won’t spoil what happened once I was inside, but I will say that they went for disturbing over downright scary, relying on my anticipation of a scary moment more than jump scares. One of my favorite rooms was a hallway with a flashing blue strobe light at the end, with mirrors on the left and glass mannequins on the right. It was truly disorienting and I was put on edge waiting for someone to pop out and grab me.

The weakest room, in my opinion, has a girl in lingerie and a guy in a suit with no shirt performing a Sia music video-esque dance where they simulate sex, but in an artsy way. I didn’t really find it disturbing and it came off a bit cheesy. I think they were trying to make the guys feel guilty about watching that in front of their girlfriends, but it just didn’t land for me.

If you’re the type of person that can open your mind and take in bizarre experiences while suspending your disbelief just far enough to forget that you paid for it, I think Creep LA will satisfy you. It’s definitely a more high-concept fright than a dude dressed up as Leatherface waving a chainsaw in your face, and I think for the most part they achieved what they set out to accomplish. Regardless of it’s shortcomings, I think Creep LA is worth experiencing, and I’ll definitely be back next year to see what’s different.

Check out the official website for more info and to book your ticket to the show.