When I last attended a Delusion event in October 2021, I had a marvelous, immersive experience. So this year as my boyfriend and I pulled up to the Stimson House for Delusion’s all-new Red Castle, I had high expectations. At first sight it was clear that Delusion picked the perfect location for a haunted house in the heart of Los Angeles. The Stimson House is a massive brick-red mansion that was built in 1891 for lumber tycoon Thomas Stimson. It survived a dynamite attack by a blackmailer in 1896, has been used as a filming location for countless projects, and was briefly a USC fraternity house in the 1940s. Safe to say it is a house with some real, well-earned character.
Back in 2021, the Delusion check-in was inside the venue, but this year's check-in was outside on the driveway. We arrived around 7pm for our 7:40pm reservation and meandered into the garage/backhouse, where a bar had been set up. There were a couple of unappealing cocktail options and well drinks for $16. Food was available at a tent set up next to the garage, but it appeared to be overpriced prepackaged and reheated food. I ordered some chicken tenders, which came out nice and warm on the outside but frozen solid on the inside. Not a good purchase for $13.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of 2021s Delusion had been wandering around the house before the tour, uncovering little clues to the narrative. This year we puttered about outside instead, and glimpsed into the free-for-all “VIP Lounge” which provided some comfortable seating, but that’s about all it provided. Our reservation time of 7:40pm came and went, and by 8pm we realized the 7:30pm group hadn’t even started their experience yet. At 8:18pm we received a text that our experience would start soon, and around 8:20pm we headed in with our group of about 10 people, hopeful that the experience would make up for the lousy wait.
I considered how to best write this review without any spoilers, and I’ve concluded that the narrative of this experience is so crowded and erratic, there isn’t much to spoil. Over the course of our walk through the house, we were led by more than half a dozen characters. Each leader introduced a new thread of the plot, which was left dangling the moment we were handed off to our next leader. There were some fun interactive moments, including a game of hide-and-seek, but those moments didn’t make up for the puzzling storyline. We were so confused, we forgot to be scared.
At several points during our tour we were stopped due to “technical difficulties.” Each time a woman in a “Delusion” T-shirt walked in and completely shattered the illusion of the experience. The irony of this was not lost on us. She made smalltalk with us about how our night was going etc. and as soon as the “technical difficulties” subsided, she slipped away and we were thrown back into the experience.
The path we took through the house was well engineered, and the technical stunts were flawless. The actors gave it their all, but it seems they had too much to juggle. The house itself was gorgeous. But a Halloween killer needs to take a knife to this script, cutting the narrative to the point where guests can understand it and the operations can flow better. A rethink of the entire pre-show experience, including better food and beverage, also would help justify the $110-plus ticket prices.
Delusion: The Red Castle runs select nights through November 3 at the Stimson Castle, 2421 S. Figueroa St. in Los Angeles. For more information, see enterdelusion.com.
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Russell, Delusion is not a one-off experience. It's been around since 2011, and it has a cult following. That said, this is a new location for them, so it sounds like they are working out the kinks. The previous years in Pomona's Phillips Mansion were a lot of fun. I'm excited to go in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, all those kinks will be worked out before then.
Dark Harbor (also from Thirteenth Floor) has been getting roasted online, too, so it seems to be a rare off year for Thirteenth Floor events this season. That's too bad, because Delusion in Pomona was amazing, and this new location looks like it offered even better potential. And Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary was some local fans' favorite Halloween event before it closed due to the pandemic... and then the ship almost falling apart.
I suppose "one-off" isn't the best term to describe these seasonal, temporary, and/or traveling entertainment experiences, but there really isn't an established way to describe them. In general, I would consider these "one-offs" because they're either temporary (usually in empty spaces in malls, industrial parks, or office buildings), seasonal (Halloween and Christmas mostly), or are operated by independent companies not typically associated with themed entertainment (like escape rooms and ghost tours). As far as I'm concerned, these all fall under the same umbrella as minor independent attractions/experiences that I have noticed are charging more and more post-Pandemic. I'm hard pressed to see how anyone would pay $110/person for an experience like this, even if it had established a solid reputation.
That's the other thing I find particularly confounding about Halloween/horror/paranormal-based attractions like this, because these types of experiences can be so highly variable based on specific actors/performances, timing, and just plain luck. There's always a 50/50 chance that you're going to get a subpar experience that charging over $100 sets an unattainably high bar in terms of quality and satisfaction. The added insult of mediocre, overpriced food, and VIP upcharges that offer little/no perks of substance just adds to a guest's frustration. Ultimately, the cream will rise to the top, but it seems much like some of the major theme park operators are learning, you shouldn't take your guests' loyalty for granted.
Again, this is absolutely not like the traveling Van Gogh circuses you see advertised on Instagram. This is a company with more than a dozen events, some of which have been going on for more than a decade. And that is increasingly common even outside Thirteenth Floor, especially in Southern California where there are multiple haunts that have been around (often in the same location, with the same creatives) for many years.
I'm going to Dark Harbor on Saturday and bracing for the worst, hoping for the best. It was a wonderful event in the late 2010s and hopefully this year doesn't turn into a death knell.
I agree with you
Off year for 13th Floor? They have successfully ruined every single SoCal event they’ve taken over. It’s a garbage company and I do not understand their success or popularity.
Delusion used to be a masterpiece one of a kind experience. Last year it was a laughable joke shell of itself.
I have tickets again this year, but this review does not give me hope.
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There are so many of these 1-off experiences that come and go that it's impossible to tell whether there's any value. It's getting really confusing with so many entertainment/event companies out there (some with licenses to the same IPs - see Van Gogh and Harry Potter), and they're often here and gone before there are enough reviews and customer feedback to establish a consensus for those on the fence.
I have also found that so many of these places are trying to enhance their revenue through mediocre food and drink offerings as well as "VIP" upcharges that offer little benefit over a standard admission (usually just a "lounge" with some couches, skip the line benefits that saves maybe 5 minutes on a typical day, and perhaps a goodie bag that contains some tchotchkes of merch that didn't sell at the gift shop on the installation's previous stop).
The thing is that some of these experiences are REALLY good and unique, but more often than not, they're preying on the fanaticism surrounding the IP and guests who just want a chance to interact with their favorite stories and characters close to home. However, prices continue to go up for these, so I would recommend trying to find discounts and try to visit on days with lower demand (most of these have demand-based pricing with lower prices on weekdays and earlier in the day versus weekends and evenings), because even the really good experiences typically last no longer than an hour aren't worth more than a full-day's admission to a major theme park.