Last season we were absolutely blown away with our experiences at the two haunted houses in Canon City, CO. Both haunts were fantastic with incredible features we hadn’t seen in haunts in a loong time. And both haunts ended up on our Unlucky Seven Top Haunts List. This year, we could not have asked for a better final weekend of haunting! Our trip down to Canon City was the perfect ending to another incredible haunt season! Our first stop was Aftermath Haunted House, an entirely volunteer run operation, where proceeds support youth sports and the local parks and rec district. But, don’t let the fact that this is a charity haunt fool you. These guys bring some major creativity to the table! The haunt is separated into three parts, there is the initial trail through a densely wooded area, the main house, and then the final trail to the exit. The first trail is choose your own path which we love!! Left? Right? Straight? Doesn’t matter there will be a surprise down every path you choose. Such a fun feature! Something else that Aftermath does very well is obstacles! We haven’t had good obstacles in a haunt for years and this haunt does not disappoint! There are slides and places to duck down and crawl over and through. So much fun!! And on top of the awesome layout and obstacles the actors are fabulous! Let us tell you, kid haunt actors are no joke! Kids LOVE being creepy and scaring the bejeebies out of adults! The majority of the actors in this haunt are all kiddos involved in the rec sports leagues and they take their haunt acting very seriously! They deliver their lines with precision timing for the perfect scare. We’ve seen haunts with professionally trained actors who would have a hard time keeping up with these kids. Just great!
The actual house portion of the haunt was definitely one of our favorite parts. It’s very tight and claustrophobic, and there are actors on stilts chasing you around enhancing that small, tight, enclosed feeling. At one point you are below the house in a crawl space type area and it is so creepy and terrifying down there. A lot of good jump scares in the house area! There is even a choose your destiny room where there are four paths and only one is correct! After finally making it out of the house, you are on your way to freedom, that is if you can escape the clutches of the demon! An incredibly detailed and well done scene at the exit of the house, complete with 10 foot tall demon on stilts, skeletons in cages, fires of hell, and stink pods to really give it that demonic stench! Absolutely one of our favorite spots in the whole haunt! After managing to escape with your soul intact, you are thrust back into the dense woods to continue your journey. With one of the best ending scenes to a haunt we’ve seen in a looong time, Aftermath definitely knows how to reimagine a chain saw spot to really get the most of those final scare moments before you are released back into the real world.
As we have seen at every haunt we’ve visited this year, there has been an unprecedented surge in ticket sales making lines very long. Aftermath was no different. We were told they had sold over 400 tickets in their first few hours of opening. Incredible! Knowing those numbers we feel the haunt could really benefit from offering a VIP ticket option. (Update: looks like a VIP option is in the works for 2022!) Any time you can decrease the wait in line, it’s a good move. In the meantime, they do have some great concessions available for purchase while you wait. Hot chocolate, apple cider and some snacks, and proceeds from the concessions go to help fund the before and after school care program put on by the parks and rec district! We just love how community centered this haunt is! We enjoyed the heck out of ourselves at Aftermath and highly recommend checking it out for yourself. No matter where you live, Canon City haunts are worth the trip.
For more info including open dates and hours, click on the link below.
575 Ash St.
Canon City, CO 81212
Hauntaholics 