Haunt Review: TIMES SCARE - Nightmarish Conjurings

When I first moved to New Jersey 4 years ago, I was traveling into Manhattan for work everyday. Each day as I walked to work I would pass Time Scares. Every time I would pass by it I was always curious as to what lurked in the shadows inside. However, as all things that are located in Times Square, I was concerned that this was a tourist trap for people who aren’t veterans of haunted attractions. So, for 4 years, I walked by and never went in.

Fast forward to 2015. I’m ready for Time Scares.

First and foremost, the management at Time Scares was awesome. When I reached out to them back in April and asked about reviewing their haunt for my site, they were incredibly nice and welcoming. There was no pretense about them to indicate that they were too good to be reviewed or that they were intimidated about getting a bad review. They were willing to have me come and experience their haunt with no ifs, ands, or buts.

On the day of, I would be lying if I were to say that I wasn’t slightly apprehensive about experiencing Time Scares. I wanted to make sure I was going in without any preconceived notions but it was hard to put aside the fact that they were located so close to Time Square and I was concerned that this was going to be a cheesy and dull experience. I am happy to report that this was not the case.

When I first got there, I was greeted warmly by the host and the ticket taker (who I ended up having a long conversation with about Chiller Theater and Godzilla). I immediately tuned into the design of the foyer area and I must say, I really liked the gothic theme they were going with. It wasn’t too over done and it wasn’t too scarce.

When we got to the line, we were ushered into a dark hotel themed waiting area where we met a very lovely and eccentric bellhop who proceeded to tell us the rules and regulations once inside the haunted attractions. To say his speech was R-rated would be an understatement. I found it to be quite humorous and it was a nice distraction from the impending darkness and loud noises we heard coming from upstairs. At times his speech got raunchy and I’m not sure if it was because he knew we were all adults or if that’s the norm, but I could see how that might turn some people off. For me, I thought it was great.

My partner in crime and I were led to a stairway that would bring us to the haunted house. As we bid farewell to our strange bellhop I did become somewhat nervous about moving forward. It was dark and it had become extremely quiet. That was the last moment of real silence we had for the rest of our experience.

I don’t want to give too much away about the house but it was incredibly enjoyable. There were a few times were there were some lulls, but overall my boyfriend and I were thoroughly scared. Anyone that comes at me while crab walking from out of the dark is going to give me a slight heart attack. The scare actors were fun and creepy and had no problem getting up in your face and telling you creepy stories while leading you through the maze of the house.

Where there things that could have been done differently to make the experience better? Sure, however, at the end of the day, this wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. To me it wasn’t some gimmicky tourist trap and I really got some great scares out of it. I think the price is a bit steep but at the same time I understand that being in Time Square means paying the price of being in Times Square.

My final review/thoughts are as follows:

Story/Design: ½
Atmosphere/Scares: 2/2
Length of House: 2/2
Makeup/Costumes: ½
Revisit: ½

*Side Note: I would be willing to bump up the revisit at some point because rumor has it that they will be doing different themed haunted attractions

TOTAL: 7/10

All in all, I had a great time, I loved seeing my boyfriend get scared and I loved getting scared myself. If you are hanging out in the Time Square area and you want to get away from all the crowds – head over to Time Scare!

For more information on Time Scares, visit their websitewww.timescaresnyc.com

Author
Recent Posts

Follow Me

Shannon McGrew

Founder/Co-Owner at Nightmarish Conjurings

Shannon is the Founder of Nightmarish Conjurings and a lover of all things horror and haunt related. When she's not obsessively collecting all things "Trick 'R Treat" related, or trying to convince everyone that "Hereditary" is one of the greatest horror films ever made, you can find her designing interiors for commercial restaurants. An avid haunt fan, Shannon spends the entire year visiting haunts and immersive experiences throughout the Southern California area and hopes to one day design her own haunted attraction.

Follow Me

Latest posts by Shannon McGrew (see all)