Nightmare: Superstitions

…or so we were told by a frail and disturbed inmate, bleeding from her rear through a filthy hospital gown, intently whispering to our group as we waited to enter Nightmare: Superstition. This year’s theme is focused on superstitions and the fears that feed them, setting the haunted house in Bloomingdale's Lunatic Asylum. Visitors are instructed to follow the requests of the residents they encounter or suffer the consequences.

Nightmare: Superstition employs a wide variety of tricks and techniques to put its guests on edge, toying with four of the five senses, leaving only your nose free from drawing in the terror. Avoiding some of the problems from last year's manifestation, this creep show relies less on confrontational, in-your-face ghouls and more on ingenuity and craft. Creator/Artistic director Timothy Haskell and his creative team celebrate the limitations of this chosen theme, mining it for all its potential horrors.

The dark journey begins with a twisted funhouse, created by co-director John Harlacher, where a small posse of deranged clowns sets the tone for the demented individuals that wait ahead. Soon-to-be victims will hear the screams coming from this first room as they wait for their turn to enter. What comes after is a series of chambers that is the Bloomingdale's Lunatic Asylum. The rooms begin with more literal padded walls, but soon progress into the metaphysical as the surroundings take on the physical characteristics of the superstitions their prisoners fear most. How can you make the fear of an unlucky penny or giving away a rabbit’s foot something fit for a fright house? You'll find the answer inside along with a multitude of inventive scares, clever effects, raving patients, deformed orderlies, and an all-around playful jaunt on the dark side.

One of the house's strongest points is its cast of dedicated actors. Summoning up a face of shaking terror or delirious fear isn't the easiest of tasks, and it's impressive how these actors manage such continuously intense performances even as they push towards the witching hour (our tour was around 1 AM, and there was still a line around the block when we left). The success of some of these rooms relies largely on the skills of these performers who give generously as they tap their inner demons.

What it is that makes us as humans so inclined to torment and terrorize ourselves may be better explained by physiologists, but when it comes to providing the screams we seek, particularly around this time of year, Nightmare: Superstition delivers. Happy Halloween, everybody… - C. Jefferson Thom

Nightmare: Superstition - NOHO Event Center, 623 Broadway (at Houston Street, enter on Mercer). Until Nov. 6th. For more information call (212) 352-3101.

(Photo: Aaron Epstein)

Mr. Thom lives in New York City and walks dogs, writes plays, and loves dissecting pop culture.