Two years after the previous, Edsel Ford’s Haunted Theater returned last week. This year, the show was medical-themed—the stage and hallway were turned into a haunted hospital, with seven distinct rooms and 50+ active actors and crewmen.
Upon entering the theater, visitors were greeted by guides who led them onto the stage, where each group moved between the seven makeshift rooms constructed by the Theatre Department. Each room contained a different horror scenario; mad surgeons, plague doctors, exorcists, and walking corpses resided among the theater’s curtains.
Upon entering the attraction, visitors were led through the auditorium, past “dying” patients strewn about the floor, and up onto the stage. Entering the left side door to backstage, each group traveled across the stage twice; on the first go, they would pass the surgery room, where surgeons of arguable qualification used tools of arguable efficiency, such as chainsaws, on patients of unknown ailment. Past this room lay the Plague Doctors room, the most familiar location featured due to its resemblance to a home.
Rounding the corner, the groups passed the chaotic Children’s Ward and witnessed an exorcism. Crossing the stage a second time, they encountered Frankenstein’s Monster in a hostile run-in and saw the deceased rise in the Morgue.
From here, the groups were led into the hallway behind the stage, transformed into an Insane Asylum where they were encouraged to dash to the exit, evading leaping maniacs on the way. This dash marked the end of the experience.
With over 40 actors active throughout the tour, this haunted house was high in intensity and high in volume. Nearly every room featured loud screams of aggression from the performers, pressuring each visitor to move at a brisk pace. With such little time to appreciate the costume and set design, one wonders if some of the effort put into this production was in vain. Does the panic and fear created in the onlooker rob the attraction of its full glory, or is each piece more effectively viewed by a paranoid eye?
The answer to this question lies with the individual, but I’m sure that none of the 300+ visitors to Haunted Theater 2025 found themselves dissatisfied with their experience. It is extremely impressive that this was accomplished in a mere week, and all who enjoyed it should surely look forward to future Haunted Theaters, as well as this Winter’s stage production of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Information about the Theatre Department’s past and present productions can be found at https://efhstheatre.carrd.co/.