Morrow’s Nightmare, a New Local Haunt, is Open for Scaring!

Morrow’s Nightmare, located in Riverview (near Tampa), offers 5 haunted experiences with plenty of pandemic-friendly procedures for the maximum safety of both visitors and cast members. Over the weekend, Orlando Decoded had the awesome opportunity to attend Morrow’s Media Night and explore this creative haunt!  Join us on a tour of this brand new attraction!

Focal Point

You’ll enter the haunt through Morrow’s annual Pumpkin Patch. There are plenty of pumpkins of various sizes to purchase and lots of cute, fall decorations too. After exiting the Pumpkin Patch, you’ll be inside the haunt’s Focal Point – a common area with carnival-style games, walk around scaractors, photo opportunities, and refreshments.  Due to heavy rains in the weeks preceding the haunt’s opening, I wasn’t able to experience the complete area. However, there were two awesome scaractors and a stilt walker hanging out with guests and taking photos. There was also an original backdrop for taking amazing selfies and group shots!

Of course, we can’t forget some pictures of the Pumpkin Patch!

Snap-N-Scream

After entering through Focal Point, you’ll encounter your first haunted experience, Snap-N-Scream. This attraction is filled with animatronics depicting beloved horror characters and stories. I won’t spoil any of the specific scenes, but it was a unique offering that you don’t often see in an attraction like this.

Vampire Junkyard 

Inside this forgotten junkyard, a brood of vampires is “evolving” to include – not just razor-sharp fangs- but intimidating metal teeth in their fearsome jaws. This is a more “traditional” haunted house with a detailed facade, multiple scaractors, several different scenes with individual set pieces, and a winding, narrow pathway.

I really enjoyed the “gritty” feel to this house. Taking place in a junkyard, you can obviously expect a lot of metal and chain-link fencing. There’s also loud music playing throughout that definitely adds to the target atmosphere.

Morrow’s Nightmare Brings Socially-Distanced Scares to Central Florida

In order to reduce the number of people in one area, each of Morrow’s traditional houses only uses four or five scaractors. These actors work multiple scenes and “booholes,” so they are responsible for more than one scare. The Vampire Junkyard crew was perhaps the most energetic cast of the night. They were constantly climbing, jumping, yelling, and interacting with us; and their enthusiasm didn’t decrease as the night continued. It was super impressive.

Clowning Around

Clowns are universally disturbing. There’s such a disconnect between the bright colors, cheery makeup, and violence that it’s immediately disorienting and unnerving.

Enter Morrow’s next traditional-style haunted house, Clowning Around. I enjoyed this house more than I normally appreciate clown-themed haunts. Generally speaking, clown themes all feel the same to me. There are similar scenes, similar characters and a similar feel. HOWEVER, Morrow’s Nightmare has managed to add distinct variety into this otherwise overplayed topic. Instead of a carnival or “Big Top,”  Clowning Around takes place inside a Funhouse. There are props and scenes used inside this house that I’ve never seen inside a clown haunt. It’s creative, different, and definitely worth a visit!

The Dark

Designed for one or two people at a time, this is not a traditional haunted house. This experience takes place in a single room, and it is 100% dark. When I first heard about this attraction, I doubted that they would be able to achieve total darkness – but I was wrong. It was absolutely pitch black.

​After entering the room, you have to navigate the empty, black space until you find the exit. Of course, the pandemic prevents the addition of obstacles, fences, or other things you may need to fumble around. But that doesn’t stop Morrow’s from adding some surprises!

I really loved this experience. It’s such a simple concept, yet it can so throughly unnerve even the most seasoned haunt fan. I definitely recommend tackling this attraction by yourself, if you’re brave enough!

Stitched Nightmares: The Witch’s Swamp

My favorite house of the evening, Stitched offers a voodoo/bayou atmosphere with incredible costumes and some pretty cool effects. I personally LOVE any voodoo themed house, and this was no exception. There were creepy atmospheres for fear fans like myself and plenty of jump scares for those who prefer that kind of tactic.

Pro tip: If you look closely at the sets inside this haunted house, you’ll see that the walls are literally “stitched” together. It’s a neat detail that you might miss if you’re not looking for it.

Freaky Thoughts

This was an awesome event. The experiences were creative and unique. There was a good mix of sets, atmosphere, and jump scares to satisfy all kinds of haunt fans.

​And one more great detail about this haunt: your ticket will allow you to go through each house multiple times, so you can appreciate each detail of the attractions! It’s definitely worth a visit this Halloween season!

Morrow’s Nightmare Pandemic Procedures

The safety of its visitors and cast is important to Morrow’s Nightmare. The attraction has taken several steps to comply with CDC guidelines and recommendations in order to protect everyone’s health. These procedures include:

• Hand sanitizer must be used at the entrance to each experience.
• Attractions are consistently cleaned and sanitized.
• All scaractors are wearing masks covering their nose and mouth. Visitors are expected to do the same.
• Parties are pulsed through the houses to promote distancing.
• Scaractors are expected to maintain a certain distance from guests or remain behind barriers while interacting.

Important to Know About Morrow’s Nightmare

• Morrow’s Nightmare runs select nights in October from 7:30-11:30pm.
• I recommend getting there a little early as the parking is limited.
• The ground can be uneven, so it’s best to wear closed toed shoes.
• Bugs can be a problem this time of year, so wear bug spray!
• All of the houses are ADA accessible.

Are you planning a trip to Morrow’s Nightmare? Let us know in the comments!