Delusion Interactive Theatre

Halloween 2025: Delusion moves to Variety Arts Center for Delusion: Harrowing of Hell, which promises a terrifying descent into the netherworld, inspired by Dante’s Inferno. Harrowing of Hell takes you into the realm of Pagan’s Path, which aims to misleads its followers into the circles of hell while promising them paradise. Delusion also promises an improved lounge experience on two floors, where you can “enjoy themed drinks and seductive music to revel in your sinful ways.”

Dates: Select weekends and select weeknight starting in September and running through November 9.

Hours: Sessions start at 5-minute intervals from 7pm to 11:50pm on weeknights, with earlier hours on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets: Prices start at $124.99 for General Admission and $158.99 for VIP Admission, with higher prices at peak hours. VIP includes Reserved lounge area, Collectible credential, and Devil in the Details (a behind the scenes look into Delusion).

Location: The Variety Arts Theatre, 940 S Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015.

Website: enterdelusion.com

Updates: Read reviews and interviews about Delusion Interactive Theatre below…

About Delusion Interactive Theatre

Created by Jon Braver, Delusion is an immersive theatrical horror experience, distinguished by its impressive combination of storytelling, stunts, and special effects. The annual production sets the bar by which all other interactive Halloween haunts in Los Angeles are measured. By infusing the traditional walk-through haunted house experience with interactive drama, Delusion turned its audience into vicarious participants, experiencing the horror first-hand – a unique combo that others have imitated but never equaled.

While still presenting annual live productions, Delusion has expanded into Virtual Reality films, starting with a condensed version (essentially the first half, billed as “seasons one”) of Delusion Lies Within.

History of Delusion Interactive Theatre

Los Angeles Halloween Immersive Theatre — Delusion’s 2011 debut at Beckett Mansion

With its 2011 debut, simply billed as Delusion, the “haunted play” immediately established itself as one of the best Halloween events in Los Angeles. Writer-director Jon Braver (a Hollywood stunt coordinator) took audiences on a forty-minute tour through the turn-of-the-century Beckett Mansion, with the story unfolding around them in the rooms of the 106-year-old house. Co-produced by actor Neil Patrick Harris, the 2012 sequel, titled Delusion: The Blood Rite (originally announced as “Delusion: The Crimson Queen”) took place years later but in the same location, still haunted by the ghosts of the past.

In 2013, Braver offered an all-new variation of his interactive Halloween attraction, entitled Delusion: Masque of Mortality. The play took its audience back to the year 1931, as they sought refuge from a plague. Unfortunately, Delusion: Masque of Mortality was plagued by permit problems at its new location, which resulted in cancelled performances. (Reviewed here.)

In 2014, Delusion Lies Within returned to the West Adams area, near where the first two incarnations of Delusion were performed (in 2011 and 2012). This fine return to form included some of the most amazing effects ever achieved in a live Halloween event – and by “effect” we mean not just virtuoso technique but dramatic impact. (Reviewed here.)

Promo art for the director’s cut of **Delusion: The Blue Blade**, which ran in Spring 2019.

Delusion went on hiatus for 2015, returning in 2016 with Delusion: His Crimson Queen (reviewed here). 2017 was another hiatus, followed by a return in 2018 with Delusion: The Blue Blade, which ran during the Halloween season. This was an even bigger production that usual. Emphasizing time travel adventure mixed with moments of horror, the show required extensive production design to create the multiple environments in different times and places (previous shows relied more on the architecture of their venues). The goal was to broaden the Delusion brand’s appeal beyond the Halloween horror crowd in hope of staging the show off-season, which happened when The Blue Blade Director‘s Cut (a revised version with enhanced ending) had a brief run the following spring. Halloween 2019 saw a scaled-down production from Delusion, titled Alt Delete, which was billed as a chapter in The Blue Blade saga.

Delusion Interactive Theatre — Halloween 2021 at Phillips Mansion

After going on hiatus during the 2020 pandemic lockdown, Delusion creator Jon Braver partnered with 13th Floor Entertainment in 2021. The result was Delusion: Reaper’s Remorse at a new location, the Phillips Mansion in Pomona, followed by Delusion: Valley of Hollows in 2022. The former introduced an open-world element, allowing visitors to explore the mansion’s interior, where haunted objects would speak, revealing aspects of the story presented in the play. 2023’s Nocturnes and Nightmares was presented as the final chapter in the original Delusion Interactive Theatre Universe. The story was based on the concept of a mysterious Author who had apparently penned every Delusion story and was tying them together into a frightful climax. This was Delusion’s last year at the Phillips Mansion.

Delusion Interactive Horror Theatre — Delusion: The Red Castle (Halloween 2024)

2024 saw Delusion launching a era, beginning with Delusion: The Red Castle set within the Stimson House in Los Angeles. Set in The Stimson House on Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, the story centered on psychologist Dr. Frederick Lowell and his unusual patients, played by the audience. Plagued by the memory of his late wife, Lowell believed his patients special abilities could help bring her back to life. Particpants could choose paths that alter the story they experienced as they collaborated with Dr. Lowell to unlock their hidden abilities and achieve his goal.