REVIEWS
The Boston Phoenix
by Greg Cook
DayGlo paint, black lights and 3D glasses ("Don't take them off at any time during your journey or you'll go completely mad") add up to a fantastic, hallucinatory haunted house. There are skeletons, a graveyard, spiders, a creepy little ghoul girl, a skull-faced pirate, a rainbow vortex in the floor, and a creaky footbridge over spectral waters. You can't tell what's paint, what's sculpture, and what's a costumed performer about to jump you from behind.
Haunted Happenings
3-D FRIGHTS AT SALEM'S 13 GHOSTS!
It's a haunted house time of year! For a truly unique experience, include Salem's 13 Ghosts at 131 Essex Street on your itinerary this October. 13 Ghosts is not your ordinary haunted house - this is a 3-D experience, and it's a bit freaky.
When I wasn't being scared to scream by ghosts and ghouls hopping out of nooks and crannies, I was admiring how incredible the painting and artwork is. There is a definite technique and art to creating an effective 3-dimensional experience, and Salem's 13 Ghosts has it.
Just like at the movie theater, you have to wear the 3-D glasses, and you meet a few ghouls who help you find your way in the maze. There are a few self-guided moments, including one through a darkened hallway (I was very happy just not entering this hall, but apparently there was a schedule to keep, and I had to go forward), and then there was the room with the river... even the floors are 3-D in a few of the rooms, and I wasn't sure where to step. That was about the point when I wanted to ditch the 3-D glasses so I could see what was where, but I was a good sport and kept them on.
In addition to the Haunted House, Salem's 13 Ghosts also has a Ghost Tour that is led by costumed guides who tell stories from the town's witch trials history and the Puritan spirits that are said to still haunted Salem today.
Yankee Magazine
by Jeff F.
HAUNTED HAPPENINGS IN SALEM REPORT
I had an early show and I was escorted by Rob the ghoultainer... Rob showed me through each of the rooms so I could see what you'll go through in there. The animatronics are good but what makes it great is the 3D artwork on the walls and floor. I felt like I could put my hands through the different colors. This place doesn't have the gore factor that most haunted houses are rated by, so most kids should only be mildly scared by the darkness and moving monsters.
Have a scaringly good time if you get the chance to go!
Salem Gazette
by Rick Watson
SALEM'S 13 GHOSTS IS AMAZING
This past weekend, enjoying the New England weather in Salem, I visited the newest attraction in Salem, Ma, Salem's 13 Ghosts by Boneyard Productions. Being a Salem resident and not paying much attention to the attractions here, I was amazed! Who would have thought that a walk along Essex Street could be so thrilling.
I was greeted by a courteous and gracious Ellen, who explained the ghouls in the 3-D attraction can be kind when asked. You walk into an array of 3-D effects that really makes you feel there are ghosts among you. The ghoul, by the name of Rob, was exciting and fun. You walk into a vortex, which makes you think there is hole in the floor.
This is a wonderfully thoughtout attraction. The group I was with enjoyed it as well. So if walking along Essex Street, stop by Salem's 13 Ghosts and say hello to Ellen, Penny and, of course, the Ghoul, Rob. Your whole family will enjoy the visit.
Justin Arrigo
Haunted House & Halloween Enthusiast
With Halloween fast approaching, I thought it might be good to review an all-American phenomenon: a haunted house. After all, Halloween is an American holiday, celebrated here as nowhere else. And what a better place to do so but in the Halloween Capital of the World, the Witch City, Salem Massachusetts!
With so many choices in this creepy town, I choose to go with an event that seemed to stand out in creativity, and just by looking in the front window I could tell pays attention to detail. Salems13 Ghosts in 3-D on Essex St , right across the street from the Salem Visitors Center . If you have never seen a 3-D haunted house, take my advice, visit this one. The days of the red and blue 3-d glasses from the past are over. Scares and frights aren't the only appeal of this haunted attraction. They use a new technology called Chromadepth 3D. Chromadepth is a system that produces a stereoscopic effect based upon differences in the diffraction of color through a special prism-like holographic film fitted into special glasses. In other words striking 3-D images are created from standard 2-D images by pulling the brighter colors to the foreground and sorting the remaining colors according to their position on the rainbow. It is like nothing you have ever seen before.
This haunted house stands out because it offers an experience that you can't really get anywhere else. The big rides at theme parks sort of make it seem like you're in a movie, and this haunted house gives you the illusion that you are in a different world, a world of ghosts, pirates, witches, and other creepy creatures of the night. As your journey through twists and turns you will encounter a stunning vortex that sinks into a black hole, walk the plank of a sunken ghost ship, pass through a decrepit and forgotten cemetery, and come face to face with some of Salem ’s most infamous ghosts who still refuse to pass to the afterworld, even after all these years! You will have fun, be scared, and amazed all at the same time!
Visiting this haunted attraction is also a great bonding experience, an opportunity to cling closely to someone you like, or to watch your macho friends walk though and scream like little girls. It’s great fun for all ages, and it’s all original. You won’t see any of the overused movie monsters like Freddy or Jason here, the characters are all fresh and new! Your eyes won’t know whether to look to the left or right, above or below, and while you’re trying to decide, that’s when they will get you. Every inch of this attraction is detailed, from the walls to the floors, no expense has be spared to bring you the finest in artwork, scenery, special effects, and actors. Whether you're a big horror fan, a scaredy-cat or something in between, you can find something appealingly spine-tingling about the #1 haunted house in town, Salem ’s 13 Ghosts in 3-D. Do not pass this one up on your next New England visit!
Elizabeth G.
Visitor
I came to Salem's 13 Ghosts with my husband and a girl I mentor through a big-sisters type program...The 3d effects on the walls were really neat. and I appreciated them much more than the strobe lights sometimes used in haunted houses. We hada lot of fun at your place, and I wanted to commend you all for having a fun and responsible haunted house. Keep up the good work, and I will absolutely recommend your haunted house to all my friends.
Dennis G.
North American Destinations Examiner
When tourists descend on the downtown streets of Salem, MA for the Halloween season, they may be looking for something more than the usual round of museums and tours the city offers. Chances are, they want to be spooked a bit to get into the spirit of the season of spirits. If so, they don't have to wait for a visit from the IRS; there are "haunted attractions" in town that will give them plenty of goosebumps for their buck. And none has a higher chill quotient than Salem's 13 Ghosts.
Located at 131 Essex St. in the throbbing heart of town, Salem's 13 Ghosts marks, in 2009, its fourth your of scaring the cobwebs off Halloween revelers. Combining 3D visuals, sound effects, animatronics and live actors, it's the only attraction of its kind in Salem. Or just about anywhere this side of the other side.
Donning 3D glasses that pull the red colors close to you and push the blue colors away, and twist the whole thing into a contorted, writhing mass of creepiness, you enter the morbid maze if you have the courage. The vibrantly painted images on the walls and floors depict scenes that tap into our fears and haunt our nightmares - and make references to the community's colorful and sometimes gory history of witch trials, pirates and tragedies. The artwork is stunning even when viewed under normal conditions, but under the paranormal conditions of black light and the magic of 3D, it assumes an afterlife of its own. Oh, and just when you thought it was safe to round the next corner, a costumed actor pops out to draw you into the scene. And maybe give you a coronary in the process.
Salem's 13 Ghosts continues to unveil new improvements every season; one of its newest additions is called the "wall of souls". It depends, of course, on the element of surprise, so I won't tell you what it's all about. But let's just say that it might better be known as a wall of shock.
Salem's 13 Ghosts. Don't be caught dead in Salem during October without paying it a visit.