Carlisle Woods vs Trail

There is a bit of confusion between two haunted walks happening in Carlisle this year.

One is the Haunted Woods, which I believe is the same haunted woods that happened out there last year. It is a $20 event that runs multiple nights throughout the season, and has a website:

https://www.hauntedwoodsdsm.com

The second is the Haunted Trail which is a one-night event on October 21 as part of the Carlisle Hometown Pride event (I think):

https://www.facebook.com/carlislehometownpride

Hope this helps!

What is Future Nightmares?

DISCLAIMER: These posts should not be taken as reviews. They should be taken as my interpretation of what the attraction is like. See “what is scary” for more details.

Today (Saturday, October 14, 2023), I finally got to experience Future Nightmares in Merle Hay Mall.

Future Nightmares is the creation of musician Sparky Sinn. Some of you may remember him from when he performed in 2013 at Sleepy Hollow Sports Park (long before Sleepy Hollow was sold to Polk County). His lights/sound/bass musical performance was called “Future Nightmares.”

SINN-X – October 5, 2013 – Sleepy Hollow Sports Park

Apparently that name stuck with him, because here we are a decade later and SINN-X is back with an all new Future Nightmares that has nothing to do with the DJ-centric show he gave us back then. Well, almost nothing. During that 2013 Sleepy Hollow event, I was part of a show that featured a talking skeleton. That skeleton originally appeared in the park as “DJ Bones” before getting his own show. And at that show, Sparky was there.

Sparky Sinn with DJ Bones – October 5, 2013 – Sleepy Hollow Sports Park

Perhaps this inspired Sparky to want his own animatronic talking skeleton. Or two of them, as the case may be. But more on this in a moment.

After learning that SINN-X was back in Des Moines and working on a new “year ’round” attraction, I headed to the mall to see what was going on. That’s when I found this:

Pressing that button causes an animatronic skeleton head to pop up from behind the circuit board, inviting the viewer to go to “future nightmares dot com” for more information.

Pressing the button again did something different. Then another something different. Then another. At that point, I knew this wasn’t going to be a DJ music show. But what would it be?

About the Show

Future Nightmares is located on the lower level of Merle Hay Mall just past the escalators to FLIX Brewhouse. A monitor in the window describes it as a “20 minute sci-fi horror show” and invites folks to visit futurenightmares.com to buy tickets. The cost is currently $15 for adults (a 25% sale), and $5 for kids (a 75% off sale). Beyond this, the website only describes it as:

Mad Scientist Sparky SINN and his glitchy robot servant 53rv0 use music to guide an audience of scientists through an experience of innovative lab experiments at SINN X LABS…

Experience Experiments… that always seem to go SCARY wrong…..

futurenightmares.com

Now that I have seen it, I will attempt to describe just what kind of show this is.

Experiment-al theater

At the top of each hour, a group will be led through an entrance room and in to a second completely dark room. The scientist/usher leads the way with green flashlights (they remind me of short light sabers, or those lights folks wave on airport runways to guide the planes).

Once in the main room, there is very little you can see beyond three rows of four metal folding seats.

When the show starts and some lights come on, you will notice a stage up front. There are walls of black fabric/cloth on both sides, and a tall robot skeleton off to the left. There is also some weird contraption to the right of the stage. All of this becomes very important as the show goes on. This is where our scientist (Sparky) gets things started.

Without giving too many spoilers, the show is a series of “experiments” that audience members get to participate in. Don’t worry – most of this participation is pushing a button or flipping a switch. One or two “lucky” audience members may get to see what the contraption to the right of the stage is for.

As the show progresses, we learn that all of the lab equipment is very power hungry, and runs on a special type of fuel.

Nightmare fuel. (Okay, now I get it.)

The experiments start fun and pleasant, then get more nightmarish. Various effect happen — electric firecrackers, fog, air, animated props, lighting, video and more — during the course of the experiments. The robot skeleton serves as the main narrator and Sparky explains the experiments and wrangles the volunteers.

Music during the show is electronic and thematic, and appears to be performed live by Sparky. He runs various control from the stage, along with a synthesizer keyboard and a clear light up guitar. He is basically a walking light show.

As the show progresses, new things are revealed (it’s difficult to describe without spoiling things), and various jump scares happen. A good description I heard was:

“Pure sensory overload. It’s like he took the entire budget of a wanted house and put it in one room. The family in front of us were jumping at every little thing. Tons of interaction with volunteers. He has a moment where he [SPOILER REMOVED]. I won’t spoil it but it may be the most I’ve laughed in a haunted attraction.”

My Trusted Source, who saw it before I did.

So what is it?

It’s a show where you sit down in a theater and watch a guy and a robot talk to you … while all hell breaks loose around you. There are some massive props in this room, including some I hadn’t seen “in the wild” before. There’s even a neat hologram effect. Things can get loud so be prepared for that, especially if bringing kids. (They offered us nice ear plugs.)

It is still hard to explain what this show is — but I like it, and I want to see it again. Hopefully the second time around I can catch even more things going on. Early on, something happens off to the side, which pulled my attention away from something happening on the other. Maybe next time I can catch both.

Is it worth it?

I thought it was a value at $15. I’ve certainly paid $25 to go through a haunted house that had less effects and took less time and gave me less jumps. But it is really hard to compare the two experiences. Some folks prefer being chased by clowns with chainsaws.

About the only thing I will critique is that some of the dialog sections seemed too long. There may be a technical reason for this, but some times you have to listen to that robot drone on while you think “okay, we get it, make stuff blow up!” 😉 Since this show is only performed on Friday and Saturdays, and only started this month, I expect the presentation to evolve as he gets more audience reactions.

For now, though, it’s an inexpensive and unique Des Moines offering that I would recommend. Much like buying a ticket to a movie, you never know if you are going to see a bomb or the next Oscar winner. Tastes are different. And with something like this, it’s hard to know what anyone will think.

But my trusted source was correct. It was “pure sensory overload.”

And he plans to stick around with evolving shows. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Oh, and say hello to the cyborg if she is there. She seems nice. And much like The Terminator, you’ll probably want to come with her if you want to live.

Mysfit Farm’s Haunted Barn added

Just an hour from Des Moines, in Marshalltown, is Mysfit Farm’s Haunted Barn. I spent about five or so years working in Marshalltown and did this drive every weekday. That is how I first learned about Trail of Terror near Baxter.

If you are thinking of hitting Trail of Terror, plan some extra time and swing up to Marshalltown for this haunted barn. It’s not too far past Baxter. And, it’s only $10!

No details on it yet, other than it is both indoors and out. Their Facebook page looks fun:

https://www.facebook.com/p/Mysfit-Farms-Haunted-Barn-100079718805672

If you make it out, let us know what you think!

Ghostly Figures escape room added

We visited No Escape Iowa today in Ames. They have an escape room called “Ghostly Figures”. The website description is as follows:

Level: Moderate
Numbers: Up to 12 kids or adults.
Warning: Contains jump scares and references to the occult.

You and your friends stumble upon an ancient and abandoned church and out of curiosity, decide to take a look inside. ​Well, you should have remembered that curiosity killed the cat!

After making some shocking discoveries, you find yourselves captive and in a fight for your lives! Only when you have righted the wrongs that were committed all those years ago will you be free to go!

https://www.noescapeiowa.com/our-rooms

The manager, Jon, says:

“We have had a few groups run out of the room, some really good jump scares, and obviously some that don’t get scared.”

Jon, No Escape Iowa manager

This sounds perfect for inclusion on this site — especially for folks looking for something that is more interactive than walking through a haunted house.

A new category for “Escape Rooms” has been added to the index. There are currently two listed, and if we find any others, we will add them to the list.

See the new entry here:

VR horror escape room thoughts.

DISCLAIMER: These posts should not be taken as reviews. They should be taken as my interpretation of what the attraction is like. See “what is scary” for more details.

Tonight we went to Merle Hay Mall to check out Future Nightmares and White Rabbit VR Arcade. Future Nightmares had just started a show, so we roamed down to check out the VR offerings:

We chose to do House of Fear: Call of Blood (I think — it was the one set in an asylum). Here are our thoughts on the experience.

Virtual Reality

You wear a virtual reality helmet to do this experience. You see three-dimensional video and headphones give you stereo sound. You can hear things from beside you, and even hear other members of your group (up to four at a time) as they talk, and they can hear you. This allows you to communicate during the experience.

In each hand you hold a controller. In the helmet, you will see digital “hands” floating in front of you. You will be able to pick up and drop objects, and even swing an axe or use a saw 😉 Instead of walking around, you point the controller where you want to go and press a button. You then teleport to that location. Other buttons let you rotate your view left or right, allowing you to be seated (if in a wheelchair, or just unable to stand for an hour) and still turn around.

If you do step too far, a “wall” appears in the game letting you know you are at the boundary. This prevents you from walking out of the area you are in.

Time Limit

The game begins with a tutorial to explain how to use the controller. The game is timed, so your 60 minutes begins counting down. In the game we played, we could see our virtual hands floating in front of us. The left hand had a watch and you could look at it and see how much time was left. There were no on-screen counters or displays to take you “out” of the game. (There would occasionally be the words “STEP BACK” if you got too close to something.)

Escape Room meets Haunt

If you have ever been to an escape room, you know they are usually just one (or a few) rooms you are stuck in as you solve puzzles (mostly trying to find numeric codes to unlock combination locks.)

The White Rabbit experience is virtual, so it can be much larger. Ours took place over two floors of an asylum and contained many rooms. We could freely explore from room to room, trying to figure out how to get through a locked door, or up some stairs we couldn’t get to.

Objects could be picked up and carried (such as a flashlight or an axe). Some objects were crucial to getting to new areas (such as a key, or a door key card). Sometimes there were puzzles. What do you need to put out a fire? And where do you find it?

Everything was creepy. Dead bodies, giant spiders, scary nurses, attacking monsters and more. Some things would “jump” out at you, and others would appear down a hallway and come straight at you. It was quite the adrenaline rush!

Experience not required

We have played escape rooms before, which really helped us out. If we saw a number, we figured it would probably be used to open a lock or at a keypad (it was). If we saw weird symbols on a wall, we knew to remember where they were since we expected to need to use them later. Every lock meant there was probably a key somewhere. Some of the puzzles were very easy to figure out (like using a key to open a door), and others took a few steps (what did the baby crib need, and where did you get it?).

This game helped out by having painted white arrows appear on the floor guiding us to the next step (or, in one case, actually pointing to a clue — though we did not realize that at first). Objects that were goals would be glowing, letting you know you needed to do something with them. That should help first timers out considerably. (We were told that was a game option. The game we played would have been MUCH harder without these clues.)

Much like getting to the end of a haunted house, this experience had an end as well…if you could figure it out in the allotted time. In our case, two of us were able to make it through all the rooms and figure out all the puzzles in 38 minutes. Knowing what we now know, I expect we could go back and do it in under 20 (assuming the game is always the same).

Is it a haunted house?

No. It is not a haunted house. It is a haunted house themed escape room. BUT, when “walking” through the asylum, things could appear and scream at you or chase you down the halls. Things would pop out at you, or crawl out from under a bed. This was VERY much like a haunted house. Unlike a haunted house that forces you from scene to scene, you could freely explore the environment (within limits; once you get to the second floor, the gate closes and you cannot go back downstairs). This means you could run and hide from the monsters, but it was more fun to go find an axe and fight back — something you never get to do in a haunted house 😉

Is it worth $35?

We have played escape rooms that were $27 on up to $60 (Universal Great Movie Escape). There are some that are less, and I am sure some that are more. $35 is certainly within reason of standard escape room pricing – and would be dirt cheap if this were a physical place built to the scale of what you encounter inside the game.

If you are expecting a ten minute “people jumping out at you” experience, this is not it. If you like creepy environments, and want to actively participate in them, this is far more unique than your typical $25 haunted house.

As always, your milage may vary. Nothing can match the claustrophobic feeling of crawling through that opening hallway at Linn’s Haunted House, but no haunted house gives you a two story asylum to freely explore. It’s a very different experience.

Drop by the mall and take a look. It might be one of the funnest things you’ve ever tried.

And if you play the same one, let me know if the bats make you jump. They sure got me.

Future Nightmares & White Rabbit VR added to the calendar

Future Nightmares asked to be added to the calendar. I originally didn’t plan to have them, or White Rabbit VR, anywhere but the index since they are not traditional haunted houses and that’s what this site is about. What do you consider them? Please leave a comment.

For now, they have both been added. Future Nightmares pointed out:

…the amount of pro haunted house props from Distortions Unlimited and Fright Props inside Future Nightmares are well above most average haunts in Des Moines…. that is why we are definitely a HAUNT… the only difference …. you don’t go through a dark maze… so we are 100% Handicap accessible… unlike most places in des moines everyone gets the same exact intense show !

We have a story and the audience participates in scenerios with tons of high end Haunted house FX and animatronics around them THE WHOLE TIME… 

But I guess if walking a maze is what qualifies as a “Haunt” for this… 

then yea I guess not ….

Future Nightmares

Works for me 🙂 What say you?

VR haunted house!

The White Rabbit Virtual Reality Arcade in Merle Hay Mall is offering four different virtual reality haunted house experiences this year. Each one can take up to an hour to get through, and can be done solo (just you) or with up to four people. The experience is described as a haunted house escape room.

I have added them to the index and plan to check it out very soon.

I did my first VR experience in the early 1990s (Dactyl Nightmare from Virtuality) and have been a fan ever since. The VR explosion in the 90s did not last, but it seems back better than ever these days.

More to come…