Most people who live within the Philadelphia area have heard of Pennhurst because of its terrifying past as an overcrowded, abuse-ridden institution that led to reforms of the legal system. Yet, equally as many people have heard of it from its present day role as a haunted attraction and its many ghost tales. This location has been featured on both Buzzfeed’s YouTube channel as well as Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures, and the horrors live up to what is expected.
Pennhurst Asylum offers four different attractions: Pennhurst Asylum, Mayflower Afterdark, The Morgue, and Containment (Tunnels). To visit each of these individual attractions, it is $18, placing Pennhurst on the pricier side of Halloween haunted events. On a Thursday night in October, the price is $35 for 3 of the 4 attractions. If you go any other night, the price is $44 for 3 and $49 for 4 attractions.
The Mayflower Afterdark is a walk-through of one of the dormitory buildings just as it was left more than 25 years ago. Here, visitors are able to take pictures to try to capture ghosts and to get an idea of the history by seeing what it was like all those years ago. This is definitely worth it to experience one time, but after you have seen it once, there is no need to see it again. This is the attraction that tacks on $5 to the bill, while the other three are the actual haunted house aspect of the experience.
In these other three locations, staff sends visitors through in groups of six, rather than allowing a long line to accumulate within the attractions. Pennhurst Asylum is the first attraction that you walk through, which sets the mood for the other two and gives a little bit of history about the Asylum itself. One of the most distinct characteristics of the actors is that they create humor in what they say. I was called “Johnny Gargoyle” in a New York accent, which I found to be humorous and it took me off guard.
I was also surprised by the fact that the actors take it upon themselves to get physical with the visitors who walk through. My cousin, who I went with, told one of the actors my name and she started harassing me and whacked me on the calf with a yardstick. Although this did hurt, and I was not expecting it, it added to the overall experience by making it more immersive.
The Morgue was equally as scary but not as long as Pennhurst Asylum. In my opinion, this one did have the best props but the least actors, which made it not as enticing. To me, the whole point is to have actors hidden around every corner and in the least suspecting of places to scare visitors at all given opportunities. The best one was the Containment (Tunnels). It was both the longest and most frightening, because they have visitors in tight spaces with nowhere to run or avoid the possible scares ahead. I was walking down a dark and foggy hallway, expecting to have a bunch of people jumping out but there was no one. Knowing that there is a possibility of someone jumping out to scare you creates just as much anxiety, if not more, than if there actually was. With the price and the quality of horror, Pennhurst Haunted Asylum is worth every penny.
To see for yourself, visit https://pennhurstasylum.com/tickets/.
