The Haunted Jail Columbia City

Recent Reviews

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  A waste of potential

  Overall: A fun experience in a gorgeous location, although I'm left sorely disappointed by the expectations of “5th in the nation”. Pre haunt: We went on Saturday so it was reasonably busy. Street parking is available but was completely full on our arrival around 830pm so we paid 5 dollars for the parking lot. The line just for tickets at the door (online tickets aren't available) was about a 20-25 minute wait. They offer two tickets, listed online as VIP for 25 or Platinum for 35 which skips the line. The staff was able to quote us a 2.5 hour wait in the VIP line and a 25 min. wait on the platinum line. He also explained that platinum prices rise based on how busy they are to keep the platinum line short and worth it, so we ended up paying 50 dollars per ticket. Looking back I'm glad we did as the experience was worth our hour of total wait time but would not have been worth the over 3 hours of the general line. The line itself is just outside the building's front door on gravel with very minimum entertainment. I saw a total of 3 roaming actors who worked the lines. All of which were incredibly low energy just sulking around, sometimes lurking up behind people, none of them spoke any lines, and I was left unimpressed before entering. Positively you are allowed to enter in just the group you came with and are not fit with other groups so we traveled as just a pair, although that quickly didn't matter as we ran into the group both ahead of and behind us. +fast pass available -prices changed -uninspired roamers Environment: Firstly the experience itself is not a short one and the length alone is worth the wait, as we were walking for 30-45 minutes through the haunt. It is physically demanding with many steep stairs both up and down and very uneven floors with sudden dips or steps you cannot see. If you have trouble walking or need any mobility device this location is not accessible for you. One thing I can't deny is that this place is stunning. It's a real 1800s jail and really is naturally claustrophobic and lends itself to a great atmosphere. The place was lovingly decorated with many detailed and impressive set pieces, from the walls to the ceilings there were decorations along the old stone bricks, writings on the walls, and jail cells filled with interesting and varied set pieces. We encountered several animatronics all in working order and some were very large and impressive, although all lacked a live acting counterpart. My only complaint for the environment was the complete lack of a coherent story or theme despite what the website tries to sell you. We were in a jail but I never got any sense of story or purpose through the sets or the actors. We were greeted at the door by a clown and led through a nonsense array of clowns, mental patients, plague masks, alien / area 51, voodoo dolls, fake snakes, chainsaws, a skeleton in a boat, a helicopter crash, and I'm sure there's more I missed. There was no order, no sense to any of it, and I found myself laughing several times at the absurdity of the mosaic of conventionally scary things into a nonsense presentation. Finally the outdoor section was clearly added to add chainsaws as those can't be run indoors, but was completely devoid of actors, set pieces, or scares. It was a boring walk that was completely divorced from the atmosphere and interest of the jail itself, held just two chainsaw actors and no one else, and felt like it left the most disappointing part of the haunt for the end. +length +location -inaccessibility -incoherent story Actors: This is where I was severely disappointed. Firstly I could tell they were very understaffed, which is a hard thing to blame them for as haunting is a physically demanding and exhausting job that has very few benefits besides the enjoyment of the job itself. That being said, there were many locations where you could see a clear hiding place or set built for an actor that was completely empty and times where for several minutes we walked without encountering a single actor. I could look past that, except every actor we did encounter was lackluster, tired, uninspired, and repetitive. Not a single actor in that building had a main character role with any significant voice lines, direction, story, inspiration, or anything interesting to say. None of them felt like what you could call named characters, they had no roles, no lines, no scenes they led, and despite some interesting outfits none sold their character. Fifty percent of the actors were stalker types, which meant completely silent actors who did not speak at all, just stared at you, followed you, or otherwise generally tried to creep you out. The other fifty percent were pop scare actors, who hid in dark spaces or around corners and jumped out to startle you. These scares were wildly ineffective unfortunately because nearly every actor either just screamed or genuinely said “rawr”. There was no prop hitting, swinging around corners, jumping out of anything, nothing more than rushing up to the bars of the cells and screaming and then they would stop and stare at you like they weren't sure what to do next. And none of them spoke voice lines. For being in a jail no one was begging to get out, to save them, or run before the guards catch you (I did not encounter a single guard actor either), there were so many options to tell a story simply through acting and none of it was done. No scene led to the next one coherently or warned you not to go or told you what was going on or why you should be afraid. I could think of a thousand voice lines to scream while in a jail cell, and unfortunately none of them are “rawr”. 3 actors do deserve a shout out for some level of attempted acting. The girl at the medication counter who jumped up onto the counter, attempted actual voice lines. She was the first to actually speak to us and she was very fun to watch. At the very end of the indoor section the girl in white was the only actor who came close to what I would call a main actor. She commanded the room she was in despite being behind a fence, called out to people and actually used voice lines to try to tell a story. Her only failing was having no improv training as once customers responded to her pleas she seemed unsure how to continue and turned her attention to other customers to continue her routine. Finally a shout out to the clown in the room full of carnival items who effectively stood like a prop and was able to jump out just inches from us. You were our only scare all night so props to you. -understaffed -no actor training -no story Post haunt: Once outside there was a food van where you could get food like hot dogs or nachos, snacks like candy or popcorn, and drinks like sodas or hot chocolate. Every ticket comes with a 2 dollar food voucher which can get you some of the smaller items. There's also two small areas clearly built for group photos if you want cute pictures with your friends when its over. There was also a souvenir van which had cute items for sale including a very funny diaper with “I peed my pants at the haunted Jail” written on it. There are standing tables available if you want to linger with friends to eat or drink after, and watch people run out of the end from the final chainsaw. +affordable food Summary: 5/10 rating The location really is beautiful and the sets and props were great to look at, the atmosphere was solid and it was a long walk to get through with plenty to see. That being said there was no coherent story, no tension, no pay off, and the actors were bored, tired, or uninterested in their scares. I would not say the experience was scary, but at the end of the day I had a good time.

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  Length of Event:	31-45 minutes
  Time Visited:	After 9PM
  Would Recommend:	Yes
  Suitable For Kids:	Yes

  Posted October 2024

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  1 out of 2 found this review helpful

• 

  Best in the nation

  In my opinion, this haunted house isn’t just the 5th best, it’s THE best in the nation! The scares, the fun, everything about it was amazing. 11/10 stars!!! I would TOTALLY recommend going here, everything was so realistic, definitely worth the money!

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  Length of Event:	21-30 minutes
  Time Visited:	After 9PM
  Would Recommend:	Yes
  Suitable For Kids:	Unsure

  Posted October 2023

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  4 out of 5 found this review helpful

• 

  Love this place so much

  I love this place it was my first time going, I’m 13 it was amazing 🤩 I would love to come back! There was this time that I entered and I was at the end and scary chainsaw man chased me through the last half of the house he would like get in my face it was awsome!!! I 100% recommend going here! I’m trying to find out the age limit to work here (be a scare actor) i can’t find it anywhere!!! I saw bubbles the clown and he looked amazing makeup and everything!

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  Posted October 2023

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  4 out of 5 found this review helpful

• 

  Email Verified Better than average. The building is great

  1st of all I wanna start out by saying you would not find a better place to have a haunted attraction anywhere. This building is not only historically interesting but it also felt like it really is haunted. You can feel a presence there. No doubt about it. I enjoyed the building and the fact that it was really haunted very much. I found the actors and room settings to be thrown together and not creative enough for the jail. They could do SO much better with this haunt. It's a shame the management of this wonderful jail doesn't have the funding or creativity to make this haunt what it should be.

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  Length of Event:	11-20 minutes
  Time Visited:	5PM - 9PM
  Would Recommend:	Yes
  Suitable For Kids:	Yes

  Posted October 2022

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  1 out of 4 found this review helpful

• 

  Fun for all.. A place to be!!!!

  They are Ranked Number #5 for a reason... Most think it's rated number #5 because it's the scariest, and if you go for that reason and expecting to be scared out of your mind you would be very wrong.. Columbia City Haunted Jail is ranked #5 because its a haunted attraction! An attraction for everyone of all age's, it's a haunt for the little kiddo's to the very wisest of us all.. I had my fare share of scares, laughs, thrills, wounder, and amazement!! The actors were all very interactive, and some very willing to toss a joke out to you...They took pride in what they were doing, so much that some were hanging upside down to deliver that heart pounding scare.. Others took ques from me to scare my wife, and some were so very scary but yet sexy such as the nurse that looked like she was right out of Silent Hill. Price point was right on the money for the show you get.. This is 4 stories of entertainment about a 15 to 20 min adventure through this 1800 hundreds jail.. This haunt was an actual jail that served the community from the late 1800 hundred's to the mid later 1900 Hundred's.. Their are claims of real spirits of the once living prisoners that never made it out of the jail.. So your getting a chance to to meet up with a real ghost who haunts the building... So you're getting a lot of bang or scare for your buck... Well worth the trip and visit.. So don't go to be scared out of your mind go to have a great time.. If you go with that in your mind you will for sure have a great time...

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  Posted October 2020

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  4 out of 5 found this review helpful

• 

  Overall nice

  Pretty decent

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  Posted September 2020

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  2 out of 5 found this review helpful

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  Email Verified Best around and actual haunted place

  Had to check this out because it's listed as a haunted place in Indiana AND is a haunt; it couldn't be better! Fun actors following us the whole time and we will be back again before they board it up for the season.

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  Posted October 2019

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  1 out of 3 found this review helpful

• 

  Not sure about this one

  Not sure if this was the best night to attend? Maybe they had some electrical difficulties.. lots of dark areas..that were non interactive..I know it's a haunted house and darkness is a factor,but just seemed to not be running right. Maybe low on staff as there were hardly any scares.. not too sure of I would give it another try or worth the drive. The basement was neat.

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  Length of Event:	11-20 minutes
  Time Visited:	5PM - 9PM
  Would Recommend:	Unsure

  Posted September 2019

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  1 out of 9 found this review helpful

• 

  BEST IN NORTHERN INDIANA

  Vampire was spectacular in a very detailed haunt! All the actors seemed real! Much better than Hysterium or the Haunted Castle!

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  Posted February 2019

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  4 out of 5 found this review helpful

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  Email Verified Sexy-Scary Vampire lady

  This place has it all! When you wait in line, actors will walk around and its very entertaining. This HOT Vampire women kept sneaking up on me and my group of friends. IT WAS GREAT! My brother was "turned -on" and scared at the same time! The basement area is horrifying! We are going every weekend this year! CANT WAIT! Hope the "Vampire lady will remember us

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  Posted October 2018

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  6 out of 9 found this review helpful

• 

  verry verry scary

  its pretty creepy but once you get outside it is TERRIFYING

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  Posted October 2017

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  6 out of 7 found this review helpful

• 

  Great time

  The haunted jail was a lot of fun me and my friends. It scared us when we least expected it and the actual cell keep was my favorite part

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  Posted October 2017

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  5 out of 7 found this review helpful