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Monday, October 24, 2011

REVIEW: Trapped In Purgatory




Trapped In Purgatory
Hotel 666
5050 Hylan Boulevard
Staten Island, NY 

 Wizard of Gore
2449 Veterans Road West
Staten Island, NY

Green Side Up Garden Center on Staten island is the unlikely home of Trapped in Purgatory, a two-part haunted attraction for the Halloween season. The first attraction is Hotel 666, a traditional walk-through haunted house filled with clever hydraulic effects and traditional startles scares. The second attraction is a twisted Wizard of Oz themed corn maze called Wizard of Gore.

Is it Scary?

 According to their website: "...Where once you check in you might not be checking out! You might be in for a scare with our tight collapsing hallways and an elevator to the 6th floor; where you will be greeted by the undead that haunt this Hotel. This is not for the faint at heart!"


The Raven & Black Cat says: Fear is subjective. There are several very effective startle scares. If chainsaws, creepy hotels, and undead creatures jumping out at you is what it takes to make you scream then, yes, you will find this scary.

What I Loved

There is a short corn maze before you enter the Hotel 666 attraction. The three ghouls wandering about the maze do a fantastic job terrorizing the guests as they prepare to 'check-in.' The first moments inside the hotel are some of the strongest and most inventive. The initial disorienting tactic and the elevator are very effective and set the scene beautifully. 


What Could Be Better

The set of Hotel 666 is chilling and reminiscent of The Shining's Overlook hotel, but the actors within its walls are very young and provide only a very basic startle scare. A few even broke character and talked to us. I wish that they had taken the time to develop a story for each room and given the performers an action to play. Once the startle scare is over the monsters should have something to do other than just stand there. If they put as much effort into the performance aspect of the house as they do into the sets and special effects they will have an incredible little attraction on their hands.

We attended the Wizard of Gore corn maze on a rainy Sunday evening. We were talking amongst ourselves and one of the actors dropped character to confirm that they were understaffed that night. I did get the full experience of the corn maze, but it seemed to fall victim to the same issues that plagued its haunted house counterpart.       

 Final Thoughts



 Trapped in Purgatory is a small up and coming Staten Island haunt that has the potential to draw large crowds from Manhattan if they can employ more solid story lines and convincing actors. 

Trapped In Purgatory Runs


September 30th - October 31st

Discount Tickets

Full Price Ticket Prices
Hotel 666: $18
Wizard of Gore: $18
Combo Ticket: $30

Age requirements

Trapped in Purgatory is for all ages. 


Additional Info








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