Review: Halls of Horror conjures witches

Annual high school production delivers haunted house thrills wrapped up in immersive dramas

Halls of Horror 5, the annual immersive Halloween production from the theatre department at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, arrives this weekend for three nights only, featuring a pair of horror stories about conjuring and witches. “The Clark Case” follows a team of paranormal investigators attempt to expel a supernatural spirit. “Trials of Terror” deals with allegations of witchcraft in an early colonial community. Both shows are entirely created by students, but the impressive results may surprise you.

The main difference between Halls of Horror 5 and its recent predecessors is that both immersive theatre pieces offer linear narratives in layouts that could have served as haunted house walkthroughs. Halloween 2022 and 2023 featured one linear haunt and one with forking paths that separated the audience into sub-groups experiencing individual scenes on their own. The additional complexity of the latter was deemed too much this year, because students are fully in charge for the first time (in the past there were adult mentors helping out, including Devon Armstrong, whose Masq! – currently at Mountainview Mausoleum – uses a similar complex structure.)

Fortunately, the linear format yields fine results for both “The Clark Case” and “Trials of Terror.” The former is a present-day Conjuring-type story about a psychic investigation that is not yielding good results for a tormented family. The kids are creeping out; Mom seems possessed; and things are only getting worse. The latter is a period piece about witch trials, in which a man, driven by his conscientious daughter, tries to lead accused witches (you, the audience) to safety; unfortunately, you may not circumvent the many obstacles.

Both shows run at a hell-bent-for-leather pace, starting at points of high tension and rushing the audience through to unexpected climaxes. Set design, costumes, and tech (lighting and sound) are pro-level, and the performances hit the right level of mounting hysteria. Of course, even the adult characters are played by high school students, but they work hard to earn our willing suspension of disbelief.

For a non-professional haunted attraction, Halls of Horror delivers more than anyone has a right to expect. It has the scares of a walkthrough haunt wrapped up in short immersive dramas. Think of it as a great home haunt taken to the next level.

Halls of Horror 2024 Photo Gallery