Halloween Review: Restless Souls Manor

38143 52nd St. E., Palmdale, CA 93552
Halloween Night, 6:30-10pm
restlesssoulsmanor.com

Restless Souls Manor is a bit of a drive from the freeway, past a long stretch of desert, but well worth the trip. While not as interactive as ticketed events like Delusion: A Haunted Play or the Wicked Lit Halloween Theatre Festival, this local home haunt sets itself head and shoulders above many other walk-through attractions with some improvisation and reaction to you as you walk through. The attention to detail in the set pieces and decor is every bit as stunning and immersive as expensive theme park haunts, but this neighborhood attraction is free of charge, put on simply for the love of Halloween.

From the street you’ll see a well-appointed graveyard at the house on the corner, beckoning you to come closer. Skeletons reach from their graves, towards the jack-o-lanterns that hang from the tree above. There are plenty of decorations to keep you distracted while you wait in the short line. If the line moves slower than you may like, console yourself that the experience ahead is all the better because they don’t rush you though in enormous groups; they send you and your friends through as a small group, allowing you to enjoy an immersive experience untarnished by bumping into the group ahead.

Your host, the Witch Hunter cautions you that for 2016 Restless Souls Manor has been taken over by a coven of witches, and if you venture inside, you do so at your own risk. Take your time going through, and get a good look at the decor, especial on the dinner table, but always watch your back, lest the witches make you their next meal. The haunt is 6 rooms long, and once you make it to the spooky forest you’re almost safe. The haunt does contain jump scares, but if such startling surprises are too much for your children or more timid grownup friends, they offer a second “no scares” version of the haunt, giving you a flashing baton you can hold up to ward off the spirits as you approach.