It’s October! Can you believe how quickly this year has gone by? I can’t believe it’s time to celebrate all things Halloween already. I always look to October with lots of anticipation, as it’s the perfect time to dive into fun family activities. Our October traditions always include as many haunted houses as we can fit in. Last year, with COVID restrictions, it really put a damper on those plans. This year, however, it looks as if things are really returning to how they had been. I’m thankful to turn my attention away from the actual real-life terrifying world to a reprieve of not-nearly-as-scary haunts for Halloween.

To kick off the season, last night we were invited* to check out Castle of Chaos in Midvale, Utah. This haunted attraction has some very nice accolades, they were named one of America’s scariest haunted attractions by the Travel Channel, one of the top ten haunted houses in America by USA Today, and Utah’s best haunted house by Hauntworld.com. That’s high praise! With this in mind, I really wondered how it would stand up to my personal experience. I’ve been to some of the great ones and, to be honest, I rarely get spooked.

Castle of Chaos operates year round with a variety of themed escape rooms. Come September and October, they open a special haunted house. This long-running attraction has something for everyone. Whether you are new to haunted houses and are nervous of going through, or whether you are an experienced thrill-seeker, Castle of Chaos will not disappoint. It’s best to purchase your tickets online to select the perfect time-slot for your group. If you show up the night of, which is totally fine, you could be waiting a while. If you purchase a VIP pass, you can skip the wait, which is always a good thing.

We arrived for our time slot and saw a healthy line of victims awaiting to be terrorized, enjoying some great entertainment from a local radio station. It was a great way to entertain those waiting in line for their turn to enter the Castle. We discovered that we could select one of four terror levels to enhance our experience. Since we visited on a Thursday, just the first four levels are available. If you come on a weekend, one more level is available–level five, the Ultimate Hands On Horror. This has me very intrigued. So, our family, the daredevils that we are, selected level four X-Scream Hands On Horror. We signed our waivers, grabbed our wristbands and put on our glow necklaces to indicate we were all ready to be touched, restrained, moved, or threatened. At any point, if we were no longer comfortable, we could just rip off the glow necklace and be left alone. I wasn’t worried–I am all about the scares!

We received some instructions and were introduced to the Castle of Chaos, we were on our way. I walked in confident that I would most likely not be scared. I’m the giggly girl, normally, as I go throughout a haunted house. I love it, but really, I can’t explain to you enough, it takes a lot to scare me.

I don’t know how, though, because no one knew a thing about me beforehand, this haunted house got me. Somehow, this awesome haunted house found a way to capitalize on the few things that really get me. It was as if someone had discovered the inner workings of my brain and found out exactly what creeps me out and customized an experience to maximize my fears. It was incredible!! While it takes a lot to scare me, I do have a few things that mess with me a bit–closed in spaces, hands covering my nose and mouth, and Michael Meyers from Halloween. Yeah, they got me on all counts! Each member of our group experienced completely different things and it was so much fun.

I loved the actors, the costumes, the set, the special effects, all of it. It was so well done. I especially loved the fear level I picked because it really made the experience so fun for me. But, if being touched or taken away from your group isn’t for you, just select a lower level of fear, you are completely in control of your comfort zone. As all of my group picked the same level as I did, they all agreed it was perfect for the experience we were hoping to have. I screamed several times, which hasn’t happened to me in ages.

I won’t elaborate much more on the experience, as it really is just something you have to find out on your own. All I can tell you is that I can’t wait to make this a yearly visit (I might even go back again this year, I loved it so much!). I’d love to find out what level five is all about, and I definitely want to come back to experience one of their legendary escape rooms. I absolutely loved our experience at Castle of Chaos. I highly recommend you get your tickets and make sure it is on your list of places to visit this October. You won’t regret it!

To learn more about Castle of Chaos and purchase your own tickets, visit them online.

_{*we were invited to experience the attraction to facilitate a feature, all opinions are my own*}