Since 2010, The Queen Mary has been producing the brilliant Dark Harbor Halloween haunt, filled with nautically themed nightmares and strange goings on. The team behind the event has worked very hard over the years to build Dark Harbor into a truly world class haunt. Each year the cast of characters gets larger, the storyline more detailed, and the event overall gets more refined. This year, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor returns with their most ambitious production yet. Filled to the brim with hundreds of monsters, a total of 6 mazes, 2 up charge experiences, one carnival ride, and a stage show, there is a full evening of entertainment to take in.
Entering Dark Harbor, guests are surrounded by the old Village shopping center and notice a particular New Orleans slant to the decor. Strands of sparkling beads and masks hang from balconies. Skeleton faced zombies shuffle about through the magenta hued fog. Voodoo is a big thing for haunts this year and Queen Mary shrewdly hits the nail on the head with the first taste of fear that they offer folks coming through the front gate. Chapels and tombstones pepper the lawns to the right and the lighting picks out every nightmarish surface to create a spooky landscape.
We enter into the main stage area where the action is centralized. A round stage is centered in front of the old Spruce Goose Dome, surrounded by light ridding and benches. To the left we turn and see the vista; a crazed, tattered, umber-toned circus. Center stage is a spinning carnival ride, to the left, The Freak Show, to the right, Slider Alley and, in the background, is the majestic Queen Mary herself. The grand, ghostly vessel has returned, bringing with her a list of spectral passengers that grows year after year.
The Captain of the ship, along with the other ghosts onboard including Graceful Gail, Half-hatch Henry, Scary Mary, and Samuel the Savage are all characters based on actual hauntings that have occurred onboard the ship. This year, two new mazes based on these ghosts have been created onboard, telling their stories. Samuel the Savage is now featured in B340 while Graceful Gail takes the spotlight in Soulmate. They join Scary Mary, whose Submerged maze has been a staple since Dark Harbor began.
We explore the mazes on land and see that the storyline for all of these characters is expanded. To keep things lively and interesting the creative team has developed a sweeping backstory for the illustrious ship during her many travels around the globe. During her journeys the Queen Mary collected a varied ensemble of ghastly specters and villainous demons. This year we meet the wonderful Voodoo Priestess, played with flare by Burdetta Jackson. According to “lore”, while near the Gulf of Mexico, the Queen Mary picked up the Priestess and her cadre of ne’er do wells. They have made a home for themselves at Dark Harbor in the form of Voodoo Village.
Of course the inimitable Ringmaster returns, played with jaunty aplomb by actor Peggy McGee. A hold over from last year, the circus theme expands, into the heart of Dark Harbor. The Circus, situated inside the dome, is back too this year, refreshed and scary. Outside the dome a massive chair swing carnival ride acts as a popcorn light-studded and kinetic beacon. The spinner is flanked by the excellent new Freak Show up charge attraction and Slider Alley. The collection of mazes is rounded out by the returning Deadrise, which tells the tale of an ill-fated vessel that accompanied the Queen Mary through enemy waters during World War II.
With all of the thematic dials at 11, with the rich tapestry of original characters developed, and with a real haunted location, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor really lives up to its reputation.
Slider Alley
Sliders are those monsters that run and fall in front of guests, sliding across the ground, in an attempt to scare the bejesus out of them. Well, those monsters have their own special scare zone this year called Slider Alley. Walk through if your dare. In fact, twice a night the sliders clear the walkway and put on their own show of sorts. It is pretty amazing work that you should check out.
Monster Midway
This is the first year that Dark Harbor has really begun to develop separate scare zones. There was the obvious Voodoo Village area at the entrance of the event, but here, in front of the Freak Show is Monster Midway. It’s a spooky little area where the circus freaks roam free and terrorize guests passing through.
The Freakshow
One Sentence Review: Silly, freaky fun that is definitely worth the 5 bucks.
In 2013, The Captain conjured up a haunted circus to celebrate the spirits of The Queen Mary. The freak show was a brand-new attraction that the circus brought to the Harbor. This year it is back with some new horrible freaks and experiences. Sneak a peak at the new freaks of Dark Harbor and experience all new scares.
You will never guess what’s waiting for you inside the containers of freaks and the museum of oddities: Sparky, The White Ghost, Shadow Spirit, Sheldon the Shrunken Head, The Living Voodoo Doll, Deformed Demon, The Twins and The Crabman joining the returning White Ghost and the Shadow Spirit.
But be on the look out – The Beast is loose!
The Freak Show returns this year as a far more cohesive, single up charge experience in which guests encounter the strange, disgusting, and bizarre. After paying the $5 for the extra ticket you queue up surrounded by oddities and absurdities inside a big top. The experience plays out vignette style, as a series of interactions and voyeurisms reminiscent of the turn of century side shows. Sometimes it’s a set up for a joke, sometimes it’s a scare. But each experience is intimate and well paced.
It may seem strange that an attraction like Freak Show is a minor up charge. The simple reasoning behind that is to keep the experience limited and intimate. The pacing is such that you will pause several times throughout the journey, witnessing gags and punchlines that would be otherwise lost in the traditional conga line style mazes. Should it be free? Perhaps. But then guests would wonder why it wasn’t so scary or they would bemoan the long queue. Currently the $5 up charge is more than worth the price to see what’s inside.
MAZES
The collection of mazes at Dark Harbor is certainly the most substantial they have ever had. What’s more, none of them are weak. With one big exception . . .
Encounters
One Sentence Review: Encounters is not worth the money.
Also breaking ground at Dark Harbor in 2014 will be the Exclusive Encounter. This new, exclusive experiment in horror puts guests in an intimate and frightening setting that will leave a lasting impression jarring extreme terror. A very limited number of thrill seekers will find themselves on a terrifying top secret paranormal journey.
This year the Queen Mary team really wanted to pull out all the stops and offer a little more than they had in the past. Many of the other haunts have had success in delivering more intimate, tactile experiences, often requiring the signing of a waiver. Naturally, the creative team looked no further than the beloved ghost hunting tours that were already offered by the ship year round for inspiration.
For an extra $15, Encounters allows guests to join a small group of 12 people to explore the lower parts of the ship. Of course, on this tour, things go terribly wrong and paranormal activities occur. It’s a great idea to be sure. Unfortunately, this is not up to par with the rest of the amazing Dark Harbor experience.
Utilizing the inner machinery and lore of the ship to tell a scarier, more intimate story is genius. But we are offered nothing of any substance that we cannot see by visiting the ship during the day. The tour’s more interesting bits occur as we wander through the vast mechanisms of the engine room. The guides, who are actually quite good we would like to add, try to set up the story lines as we stumble down dark catwalks. We only see vaguely lit stairways, knobs and dials. Why not light the machinery, throw in some fog? There are no puzzles, no uncomfortable confrontations, nothing that validates the higher price that guests are asked to pay. Furthermore, the waiver signing seems more perfunctory than anything, building up to a pay off that never arrives. If Queen Mary wants Encounters to be a hit, they should retool it before the season ends. As it is now, it’s a real stinker.
Soulmate
One Sentence Review: Spooky and romantic, Soulmate is a lovely homage to a graceful ghost.
The new Soulmate maze will bring to life the haunted spirit of the frightful Graceful Gale. The story of Gale will unravel as her true spirit is revealed and those who dare will realize that Gale may not be as graceful as she appeared, but in fact is more monstrous than ever imagined.
Designing a new maze onboard the illustrious Queen Mary is no small feat. The cramped hallways and low ceilings are a difficult place to create another world in. It is with happiness that we report the maze Soulmate achieves what it strives for; Gore with a graceful finish. Telling the story of Graceful Gail, the maze takes us through the cabins of the ship. Here Gail has captured and butchered male passengers in order to construct the perfect dance partner for all eternity. This is an at times cinematic walk-through with a few WOW moments not achieved in the maze that previously had this spot on the ship.
Along the path we see how Gail has stolen and murdered male passengers in an attempt to build the perfect man. We see where they have been chopped up by her minions. We tour the skinning room. We visit the tailor. And we even get to go through a nightmarish boudoir. The finale is a lovely, spooky scene that ads just the right touch at the end of this epic walk through. Nice work here, don’t miss it.
B340
One Sentence Review: A gorey, cerebral tour through the mind of a madman that packs a fair amount of scares.
On a 1948 Atlantic voyage, third-class Queen Mary passenger Samuel was locked away in room B340 after a violent outburst. After hours of isolation, the crew found Samuel in his room, violently ripped apart. Murdered or self-induced suicide, no one knows. B340 is a new maze through Samuel the Savage’s schizophrenic journey of isolated decent into insanity. Travel through his warped mind literally and figuratively, ultimately reaching the final resting place, but only after visitors navigate a mirage of virtual B340s. Samuel is on the loose, he’s dangerous and completely out of his mind.
It is wise that the Dark Harbor team tap into the story of the most violent ghost on the ship. Samuel the Savage is the main character of the oddly titled maze B340. A reference to the cabin in which Samuel ultimately ripped himself to shreds, B340 delves into the mind of a psychotic character with disturbing results.
We meet little Samuel and are immediately thrown into his brain, literally. The maze plays out as a series of dramatic episodes that created this nasty, troubled man. Ridiculed in school, tortured by authority, the experience is haunting and brooding. Kudos again go to the creative manner in which the strict confines of the ship are utilized to surround guests with the paranoid ideals of the ship’s most infamous savage.
While we have mostly praise for this maze, we really hoped that they would have utilized the boiler room to better effect. In its first year, Dark Harbor turned the terrifying walk high above the boiler room on a narrow bridge into a harrowing experience by drenching the room below in projected digital effects of a raging inferno. The following year we got orange lighting. The next year some sparks. Now we get simple work lights turned on. The scene has become less and less effective with each year. It truly takes away from the overall mood of this otherwise moody walk through to suddenly be high above a silent space that is lit rather plainly. This was always the big finale and here, it fizzles.
The actors are all on point in this maze and really seem to understand the story they are telling. This is a high energy production for some of the key roles, in particular the climactic scene with Samuel, and the actors never seemed to let up.
Still, this is a maze that must not be missed.
Submerged
One Sentence Review: An aquatic nightmare that mustn’t be missed.
A favorite is returning! Scary Mary, our youngest Queen Mary spirit is looking for mortal souls to be her eternal playmate on the other side! So, she’s bringing down the ship and all the living souls that walk its deck! The ship is sinking and you must survive through the water-filled terror where monsters lurk around every corner.
The legend of Scary Mary comes to life in this final maze onboard the Queen Mary ship. The titular character of this walkthrough is the famous ghost of a little girl that can often be heard playing at the ship’s first class pool late at night. The maze begins at the pool and then meanders through the dank halls of the surrounding areas.
Again, however, the key pool space is underutilized. The opening, in the first class pool where we first meet Scary Mary, is woefully unlit and without any special theatrical effects. In contrast to years past, this space sits to be enjoyed on its own merits, in its normal lighting, nothing more. How about some low-lying fog or at least some haze and some lighting in this key scene?
This year the writers have really turned their focus on Scary Mary and her storyline. After departing from the pool area we meet her mother who continues to search for her child. We see the path of mischief and destruction wrought by this nasty little girl. One particular actor delivers a lovely scare by simply scuttling along the floor in the dark like a crab. Everyone here really seems to enjoy their part and it is evident. This is certainly another maze that you might regret missing.
The Circus
One Sentence Review: The circus is back, freshened up, rearranged, and just as fun.
Last year’s new terrifying maze is returning for another scare! Since the true spirits of the Queen Mary have risen, The Captain has conjured up a haunted circus to celebrate their victory. And with this circus comes The Queen Mary’s very own big top tent inside the deadly dome! Here you will face your greatest fears as you find your way through disorienting illusions, fatally horrific magic and circus wonders never before imagined!
Clowns and the circus are inherently creepy. Last year Dark Harbor introduced the wonderful Ring Master character who brought along her horrifying circus of performers with her. Enter the mouth of a clown and drop into a mirror maze of terror. While the scares are similar to last year, the maze has been refreshed and rethought. The flow of the experience seems to be more cohesive and there are fewer dead zones (so to speak).
There really aren’t any complaints to be had with this wicked little tour through the tent. The actors are all perfectly cast, the scares nicely paced, and the energy in this attraction is up there with the very best. It is, in some respects, the most well rounded maze at the event this year, simply due to the overall production and how well each part fits into each other.
Voodoo Village
One Sentence Review: A creepy trip through the bayou that is a little long, but worth it.
Dark Harbor will feature the new Voodoo Village with its dark magic gypsies that will taunt guests in a setting wrought with shrunken heads and voodoo dolls. Emerging from the swamps of Voodoo Village is the horrific and powerful Voodoo Priestess. This creature – and her band of gypsies and witch doctors – lurk in the swamps. Dark Voodoo Magic is her deadliest weapon, beware of her powers as she controls all mortal and spirit souls.
The amazingly robust and versatile setting of the defunct shopping village takes on another remaining with Voodoo Village. Less a remaining and more a brand new maze, the familiar village has been transformed and overcome by the Voodoo Priestess and her zombie minions. We get the experience of wandering the swamps of the bayou, the back allies of bourbon street, and even land on the alter of the priestess herself.
The walkthrough is amazingly long. This is a good thing when the path is filled with monsters. But, if your luck is spotty, you will find long stretches where there is little talent. Don’t worry about that too much. Just soak it in and enjoy the journey.
Deadrise
One Sentence Review: Deadrise is a murky walkthrough that can deliver some nice scares.
Deadrise is a WWII escort ship that helped guide The Grey Ghost through enemy-infested waters. After a fatal crash during one of their dangerous voyages, Deadrise sank to the bottom and has been resting in her watery grave in the depths of the sea ever since. The wreckage of Deadrise has once again been called into service by the star of Dark Harbor, The Captain, to escort him and his armada of ghosts and monsters into a battle against the living to reclaim Dark Harbor.
Deadrise, the maze that tells the tale of an ill-fated vessel that accompanied the Queen Mary through enemy waters during World War II, returns for its third year. Guests enter the hull of a dilapidated ship and are confronted with the ghosts of the ship.
The maze is a rearrangement of the same elements that it has had in the past. It is essentially the wreckage of a ship, fog, wonderful lighting, and the incessant burst of flames from the flame throwers above. The effect is an etherial wasteland in which the dead invite guests to join the crew.
We were very impressed with what Dark Harbor had to offer this year. JJ Wickham, David Wally, Bree Combs, Ryan Lewis and the rest of the powerfully creative team that created this experience are to be commended for the wonderfully macabre, seaside haunt. It should also be noted too that this haunt stands above others in it’s collection of talented actors that bring the monsters to life. They are given plenty of freedom here and a full understanding of the characters they are portraying. It is a testament to the actors and their guidance that visitors feel so engaged.
Another small thing of note is that finally, after years of Dark Harbor, the event has a very cohesive look. For instance, for years the food locations looked like they were ripped from the county fair. Now, the food booths are themed. This is a very minor thing, but a very important one in creating a believable atmosphere.
Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor runs from now through November 2nd on select nights. You can purchase tickets in advance here.