I fit the giant brass key into the door lock, turned it, and was terrified to hear it click open.This wasnt my hotel room, and I didnt know what was waiting inside for me. I just knew it was nothing good.
My life had taken a strange turn in the pastday, and I was living inside a horror movie at the Timberline Hotel, the iconic hotel that served as the outdoor setting for The Shiningand the host of the horror-centric Overlook Film Festival. Like any old hotel, it has its share of ghost stories and we had been essentially snowed in the day before. There was so much snow that it came to the window of my second-floor room. Last night screams echoed through the hallways. They could have been drunken revelers or something far worse.
And now, here I was, participating in Blackout, an experience that has been dubbed the scariest haunted house of all time. This was the absolute last place I should be walking around, entering strange bedrooms. I hesitated for a second, hearing what sounded like static coming from a radio, and strained my ears hoping to get a hint of what else might be in the room. No, nothing good would come of this.
I took a deep breath and pushed on in.
I was incredibly excited when the opportunity came to check out the Overlook Film Festival for /Film, but I really didnt really want to do their exclusive Blackout experience. The immersive horror experience has been running for years in New York City (where I live),but I had managed to avoid it, believing that I didnt know if I could trust myself in situations like this. You infamously walk through Blackout all by your lonesome, but only after signing a waiver that essentially absolves the performers of your untimely death. Its the only haunted house I know of that has a safe word.
This is an extreme experience to say the least, and I felt I was too chicken to try it out, as funny as that may seem. See, Im known among my friends as a horror guy. I used to run a horror website and host screenings of classic movies to unsuspecting bar patrons. Ive seen hundreds of them from all over the world, so many that its rare that a film will scare me anymore. A video game or virtual reality experience almost always does a better job at getting me in the right mindset, so I knew that Blackout, which is the closest to living in a horror movie that Ill (hopefully) ever get, would be a lot to take. Being a lifelong horror fan is great until you realize that it also means you know that many more ways that you can be tortured and murdered.
When the experience almost instantly sold out to badge holders, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had an excuse not to do it! And thenI was informed that there were special ticketsfor press. I gulped, signed up, and got this cryptic email afterwards:
I wont lie I was on edge all morning. At random moments, Id remember what was to come and a chill would seize me. What type of horror was coming? Was this a ghost story? Torture porn? Something worse?
I kept telling myself to get it together. Christ man, youve had articles published in Fango! But then Id imagine some other new horror and worry once more. I had to supply an emergency contact number and I gave them my wifes informationand thenI promptly warned about what was coming just in case she became involved in some way. Would they call her and say something insane? Who knows! She thought I was nuts and her anxiety about the whole thing didnt help my own.
I went to the bar at the exact time they told me to be there. Not earlier. Not later. A man sat in a booth nearby in a rumpled white suit, carrying a black notebook.
He gave me a waiver to sign and a safety word that would stop the experience at any moment I didnt like it (simply Safety) and we were off. He placed a pair of cheap white headphones on my head and I tried to listen to the voice that was speaking to me from thembut it was hard. We were in the middle of a public bar, after all. And then this man,thisstranger, started holding my hands and pressing our heads together. He reached a dirty hand into a pocket and pulled out something oil, it turns out and started rubbing it on each of my hands. Then he started rubbing it into my neck, all the while we sat with our heads pressed together. Its funny: while I didnt really care that a stranger was touching me, my social anxiety was making it so I also couldnt help but notice regular patrons of the bar coming to sit nearby, clearly confused by what their neighbors were up to. This was a brilliant way to start things off, I thought, a great way to make me unsettled even in a bright, public space.
Then he started choking me. Just a little, but enough to give me pause. The man got more and more intense and then he abruptly shoved a lumpy envelope into my hands and ripped the headphones from my ears, telling me to move out of the bar, fast, and follow the instructions within.
I ran off, not pausingcheck out the reactions from the people around me, and ripped the envelope open.
Holy shit, this was getting intense, I thought, knowing less than Jon Snow. My heart, already pounding like crazy, started jackhammering. Why a hotel room?
As I stood infront of the unlocked door, I wondered if I would be pounced on immediately.
Would it be killers? A monster, even? Would I somehow be the villain? Would I be expected to do anything that made me uncomfortable? Little did I know
Inside, it was dark and foggy, like someone had left a humidifier on high. Two lamps on either side of the bed were the only source of light from within, and static blared from a radio on a nightstand. All the windows were blacked out and while I couldnt see anyone around, I noticed a closed closet to my left and assumed something was going on in the bathroom. There always is.
I creeped inside, half-expecting someone or something to burst out at me, and followed the instructions as written. I took off my shoes and socks and left them at the foot of the bed, placed the key on the nightstand, and turned off one light. I started to peel back the covers of the bed before I turned off the last source of illumination so I could jump right in like a frightened child, hoping to be protected by his blanket.
I did, and appreciated just how dark the room became as the radio suddenly quieted. Blackout, indeed. I tried to calm myself, but its hard when youre laying down in a bed, knowing that something is coming, but not exactly what.
The creaky old Timberline lodge didnt help the experience here, as I heard what was coming next. One person from the closet, another from the bathroom. They were dressed in black. The walked over and stood by either side of my bed.
Theyre just actors, I told myself. Theres no danger here.
They climbed into bed with me and started snuggling. Im not a small guy but one of them was big, and breathing heavily into my ear. Their breathing got heavier, and heavier, and then they threw the sheets off me and shoved a pillow over my head. I briefly wondered if theyd hear me yell Safety! through it before they took it off, and pulled me out the bed.
They shuffled me over to the bathroom, which had a dim red light emanating from it, covered my eyes, and shoved me into a corner of the bathroom.
Do not say a word until she asks you. one of the guys growled at me. And they left.
Fuck.
Originally posted here:
How the 'Blackout' Haunted House Turned My Life Into a Real Horror Movie - /FILM
- Netflix Controversial R-Rated Adaptation Is A Horror Comedy Masterpiece - Giant Freakin Robot - July 25th, 2024
- Longlegs' Twist Ending Disappointed Me, And That Final Shot Left Me With A Major Question - CinemaBlend - July 25th, 2024
- Red-Band Trailer For The Heavy Metal Horror Film WOLVES AGAINST THE WORLD - GeekTyrant - July 25th, 2024
- The Summers Best Indie and Art-House Horror Movies Are All Out This Month - Vogue - July 25th, 2024
- The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) WTF Really Happened to This Horror Movie? - JoBlo.com - July 25th, 2024
- Second Time's a Charm: 4 of the Best Horror Remakes of the 1980s - The Lineup - July 25th, 2024
- How Chris Stuckmann Went From YouTube Film Critic to Making His Own Horror Movie Courting Neon and Mike Flanagan in the Process - Variety - July 25th, 2024
- Friday, July 19: These 5 New Horror Movies Just Released Today - Bloody Disgusting - July 25th, 2024
- Terrifier 3 teaser trailer promises the scariest & goriest horror movie of 2024 - Dexerto - July 25th, 2024
- The 10 Best Horror Movies of the 2020s So Far, According to Letterboxd - Collider - July 25th, 2024
- New 'terrifying' horror movie thats left audiences 'screaming' in theatres draws near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score - UNILAD - July 25th, 2024
- A New Horror Movie Is Over 95% Fresh On Rotten Tomatoes, But You Might Not Have Heard Of It Yet - CinemaBlend - July 25th, 2024
- The Terrifying Monsters in This Nicolas Cage Horror Movie Were Inspired by Goofy - Collider - July 25th, 2024
- Netflix Horror Movie Goes Beyond Disturbing Within The First Few Minutes - Giant Freakin Robot - July 25th, 2024
- What is Longlegs about? Everything to know about the hit horror movie starring Nicolas Cage - Entertainment Weekly News - July 25th, 2024
- Oddity is THE scariest film of the year: Critics rave about new horror movie - The Independent - July 25th, 2024
- Eric Banas Only Appearance in a Horror Film Was Based on a True Story - MovieWeb - July 25th, 2024
- 1970s Horror TV Movie Thrilled A Generation But No One Remembers It - Giant Freakin Robot - July 25th, 2024
- The Beast Within Exclusive Clip Kit Harington Transforms in Werewolf Horror Movie - Bloody Disgusting - July 25th, 2024
- This Is the Hands Down The Weirdest Horror Film on Prime Video Right Now - Collider - July 25th, 2024
- Maika Monroe Sells the Terror of Oregon-set Horror Film Longlegs With Her Eyes - Willamette Week - July 17th, 2024
- Nicolas Cage's New 86% RT Horror Movie Is The Silence Of The Lambs Replacement I've Wanted For Years - Screen Rant - July 17th, 2024
- Review: Longlegs is the Silliest Horror Film of the Year - The Cosmic Circus - July 17th, 2024
- How Longlegs Shocked the Box Office to Become the Summers Breakout Horror Hit - Variety - July 17th, 2024
- Longlegs: The scariest horror movie of the year knows exactly how to weaponise Nicolas Cage - The Indian Express - July 17th, 2024
- Budget horror movie earns $22 million at the box office all by hiding its A-list star - UNILAD - July 17th, 2024
- The New Horror Film That Knows How to Rattle the Nerves - The Daily Beast - July 17th, 2024
- 'The Deliverance' Trailer - Netflix Spent Big Money on This Horror Movie from Director Lee Daniels - Bloody Disgusting - July 17th, 2024
- Apple's brilliant new iPhone ad is a mini horror movie meant to scare Android users - PhoneArena - July 17th, 2024
- Bride of Re-Animator (1990) WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? - JoBlo.com - July 17th, 2024
- Review: Starve Acre Is an Homage to Classic Folk Horror - The Mary Sue - July 17th, 2024
- The Most Acclaimed Horror Movie of the Year Is Here. Is It As Scary As Everyone Is Saying? - Slate - July 17th, 2024
- This Maika Monroe Movie Gave Us One of the Most Chilling Moments in Recent Horror - Collider - July 17th, 2024
- Celebrating Film Nostalgia With Ooze and Ahhs at Blobfest - The New York Times - July 17th, 2024
- Horror movie Longlegs has gone viral with its creepy marketing campaign. But is it more than just a stunt? - Northeastern University - July 17th, 2024
- Five Sci-Fi/Horror Movies That Take Place Inside an Apartment Building - Reactor - July 17th, 2024
- 8 New Horror Movies Releasing This Week Including Longlegs - Bloody Disgusting - July 17th, 2024
- Neons Longlegs scaring up strong box office as big-budget Fly Me to the Moon struggles - Los Angeles Times - July 17th, 2024
- The Deliverance: release date, trailer, cast and everything we know about the Lee Daniels horror movie - What To Watch - July 17th, 2024
- POLL: What Are The Best Horror Movies of 2024 (So Far)? - JoBlo.com - July 17th, 2024
- The Exorcism's Adam Goldberg, Ryan Simpkins and Filmmakers on Making the Meta Horror Film (Interview) - Nerd Reactor - June 20th, 2024
- Hanky Panky Review: The Right Kind of Silly - Fangirlish - June 20th, 2024
- 40th Anniversary screening of Children of the Corn coming up in July in Whiting - KTIV Siouxland's News Channel - June 20th, 2024
- Who Watches The Watchers? Unfortunately, Me - Reactor - June 20th, 2024
- 10 Best Horror Sequels Of The 1990s - Screen Rant - June 20th, 2024
- The Inheritance trailer: Alejandro Brugus horror film reaches theatres and VOD in July - JoBlo.com - June 20th, 2024
- Metal & Movies Mash-Up: Motorhead and Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth - JoBlo.com - June 20th, 2024
- Live-Action Horror Film Sayuri to Open on August 23 - Anime News Network - June 20th, 2024
- The Netflix Sci-Fi Horror Action Blockbuster That Kicked Off A Mega Franchise - Giant Freakin Robot - June 20th, 2024
- Peyton List Wishes She Was Left Out of the Will in New 'The Inheritance' Trailer - Collider - June 20th, 2024
- Can't wait to never sleep again!: The Horror Film That Could Make or Break Mike Flanagan's Stellar Career Gets ... - FandomWire - June 20th, 2024
- MaXXXine team discuss blending fact and fiction by including a real-life serial killer in the horror movie sequel - Gamesradar - June 20th, 2024
- Where suspense and silliness collide - theSun - June 20th, 2024
- NWA wrestler Max the Impaler to star in horror movie - Figure Four Online - June 20th, 2024
- NWAs Max The Impaler To Star In Dolly Horror Movie - Wrestlezone - June 20th, 2024
- Fans all notice one particular thing as trailer drops to sequel 'so gory and disgusting' that star vomited - UNILAD - June 20th, 2024
- Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th: The Forgotten Horror Parody Movie - Flickering Myth - June 20th, 2024
- The Exorcism review: "The Russell Crowe horror veers more ridiculous than terrifying" - Gamesradar - June 20th, 2024
- Bloody Smile 2 trailer finally explains movie's mysterious marketing and promises a bigger scale for sequel to the hit ... - Gamesradar - June 19th, 2024
- Award-Winning Horror Movie Fang is Now Streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV - EIN News - June 19th, 2024
- My most anticipated horror movie of the year just got a whole lot creepier thanks to Nicolas Cage - Yahoo News UK - June 19th, 2024
- The Best Horror Anthology Ever Is Being Kept Away From The New Generation - Giant Freakin Robot - June 19th, 2024
- Kit Harington Shows Off the Real 'Beast Within' in New Horror Film - Collider - June 19th, 2024
- A sequel to the Netflix cult horror film Circle is in the works - imdb - June 19th, 2024
- Nicolas Cage's upcoming horror movie debuts to perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics calling it "the scariest film ... - Gamesradar - June 19th, 2024
- 5 best horror movies on Prime Video with 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes - Tom's Guide - June 19th, 2024
- Max The Impaler To Star In New Horror Film 'Dolly' - Fightful - June 19th, 2024
- Jordan Peele, Lee Cronin Have New Horror Films On The Way - Bleeding Cool News - June 19th, 2024
- This Horror Film Was Livestreamed: One More Round With Generation Loss - Alternate Reality Gaming Network - June 19th, 2024
- I'm Delighted This Horror Movie Is Now A Streaming Success After Its $53M Box Office Letdown 2 Months Ago - Screen Rant - June 19th, 2024
- Nicolas Cage's new apocalyptic horror movie often leaves viewers in the dark, but that's actually a good thing - Gamesradar - June 19th, 2024
- Fans and celebrities to gather for Tampa Bay Screams Horror Convention - Tampa Bay Newspapers - June 19th, 2024
- This Classic Horror Movie Influenced the Harkonnens of Denis Villeneuve's Dune - Collider - June 19th, 2024
- The Nasty Torture Horror Movie That the UK Branded Too Depraved for Release - Collider - June 19th, 2024
- Critics are shocked by Nicolas Cage's new horror movie and it's 100% on Rotten Tomatoes - Tom's Guide - June 19th, 2024
- Joko Anwars Nightmares and Daydreams: Cast and Plot - Netflix Tudum - June 19th, 2024
- NWAs Max The Impaler To Star In Dolly Horror Film - eWrestlingNews - June 19th, 2024
- Bizarre dance with the unexpected - theSun - June 19th, 2024
- The Best Horror Movies on Max to Watch Right Now - CNET - June 1st, 2024
- This New Winnie-The-Pooh Horror Movie Might Actually Be Better Than Blood & Honey - Screen Rant - June 1st, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero