A nondescript, two-story house sits on an average street just outside of downtown Indianapolis. After parking on the street and signing a waiver at the front desk, I store all of my belongings inside of a free locker.
I quickly learn that I have entered Indy Horror Story’s “hell house” as a new recruit for the Paranormal Indianapolis Research Society (P.I.R.S.) to provide assistance in their current investigation. I’m given a manila folder containing a police report and a newspaper clipping from 1971, as well as a welcome sheet from P.I.R.S.
The society’s founder, James Wyatt, soon arrives. He thanks us for donating our time and begins to nervously review the documents with us, all while answering our questions and providing extra detail and context to the story we are about to explore. The house we’re currently inside of has been vacant for four decades, but the P.I.R.S. group believes it’s still inhabited by the possessed spirit of a young girl who once lived here with her mother. The official documents claimed both the mother’s death here (and father’s death in a previous house) were accidents, but P.I.R.S. believes otherwise. They think the young girl was possessed and was at the center of it all.
Some of us take all of this quite seriously, asking questions about the fire that killed the father and for specifics that clarify the timeline of events. Others in my group are more concerned with getting a rise out of their teammates and less interested in the story — but James nonetheless addresses every remark that comes out of every person’s mouth. He does not falter and he is not thrown off by our banter. He is desperate for our help and makes that very clear.
As we gathered our things and began to move into the next room, James regretfully admits to misplacing the key and asks for our help finding it. We’ve seamlessly entered into the first puzzle component of the experience and begin turning the room upside down looking for the key.
Once we find the key and unlock the door to the next room, the psychic medium greets us and asks us to take seats around the table covered with tarot cards. We exchange general pleasantries and make small talk as we develop rapport with her. Her banter is light and playful, but it’s also clear she takes no shit, from humans or otherwise.
Once we finally join hands around the table, she begins to summon the house’s unfriendly spirits. Suddenly, her head drops and the room is silent until she begins speaking to us in a little girl’s voice. Then her head drops again and she jumps to her feet, hands planted on the table, hunched over, and voice lowered. As she begins to contort her body and yell, the demon heeds warning to us via the medium for meddling where we shouldn’t.
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Let me be frank: this show is not a haunted house. Instead of the adrenaline rush of encountering jump scares around every corner, you’re forced to spend five or eight minutes in the same room with the same character you’re currently encountering — whether you want to stay and hang out or not.
For example, when we later meet the young girl’s mother in the bedroom where she hung herself, the blood-soaked noose still dangles in the corner. She’s angry and sad for what’s happened to her and her daughter, and also confused about what we’re doing in her home. She confronts us with these feelings — one by one, face to face — as we discover crucial props in the room that progress the story and eventually move us into the next space.
This show is also not an escape room, but it does have escape room elements. Those elements are neatly compartmentalized and separate from the theatrical components, and they’re only about a third of the experience as a whole. They’re not crucial to the story development, but they blend into the environment in an appropriate way. The puzzles are easy enough that escape room novices can solve them, but clever enough that enthusiasts will still have fun. Instead of a game master, we had a P.I.R.S. volunteer with us every step of the way to keep us on track and assist when needed.
My group of haunted house enthusiasts did not ever find this to be a truly “scary” experience, but we were constantly laughing and completely engaged the entire time. In addition to meeting the medium and dead mom, we also summoned a demon and sacrificed one of our own for an exorcism. We didn’t watch those things happen; we made them happen and we were at the center of the activity every time.
The performances were believable, professional and entertaining. We met six key characters on our trip through Indy Horror Story and every single one of them gave a top-shelf performance that was truly interactive and responsive to the participants. They were not reciting lines for us; they were creating a nightmare with us. That great acting paired with the novel setting of the house, a well-developed story-line, and very mature content themes made this a home run in my book.
The Hell House of Prospect Street runs through Nov. 3rd at 2002 Prospect Street, Indianapolis, IN. Tickets start at $29.95. 18+
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