FEAR FACTOR: 4.5/5

FUN FACTOR: 5/5

FAVORITE CHARACTER: Fluffy

FAVORITE ROOM: Clown Room

PRICES: General Admission: $30

VIP: $45 online, $50 in-person

Ticket discounts are available through group (15+ people) ticket purchases and on Statesville Haunted Prison social media regularly. 

WARNINGS: Strobe lights, small spaces, loud sudden and persistent sounds,  gunshot sounds, fog

Connected to a cheerful pumpkin patch, Statesville Haunted Prison is a scream and a half from the second I stepped onto the grounds.

I visited the opening night of their final year, and they were already ramped up beyond all expectations. 

Despite the rather long wait (despite my VIP ticket purchase), I was left far from bored due to the in-line entertainment; engaging conversation with clowns, miming with crazed convicts, and even having an intense eye contact session with Fluffy himself.

There is plenty to wait with while hardly noticing the screams from inside. Those are drowned out by the loud music and occasional sounds of fake gunfire.

The true haunt begins with being stuffed like sardines into a holding container and sent inside the prison for processing. After that, you are practically at your own pace.

Some rooms are used to line people up and avoid congestion, but people can run or drag their feet as much as they like to lengthen or shorten their sentence.

There are many memorable rooms people will scream their way through – the sewers and what lurks beneath the water, hall of mirrors, and classic clown room that no haunted house could feel complete without.

A wonderful cast of characters hop in the path and jumpscares with the creepy atmosphere causing heart-stopping frights only add to the screams from every group.

Depending on where a person stands in their group, and how loud they are willing to get, that person may even be able to hold a conversation with a haunt actor or two. 

With it being the last year of Statesville as it is known, I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone looking for a thrill.