Annette Berntsen
Lantern Staff
If you are in the Halloween spirit and looking for something fun to do with friends, then look no further than the Haunted Cannery Spook House and Lunatic Asylum.
Located on 77 Highway just a few miles north of El Dorado, the Haunted Cannery sits next to Walter’s Pumpkin Patch, another popular fall attraction. General admission is $20 per person, with extra costs for express passes and upgrades for those who are easily spooked.
After arriving at The Cannery via hayride, you are greeted by an entourage of zombie guides, who escort you to a small room where you are given an audio of the history of The Cannery. You then make your way into the cannery itself, through a maze of gruesome scenes and loud machine noises until arriving at the end of the building. It only gets better from there.
Once you make it through The Cannery portion of the spook house, you are escorted to the entrance of the asylum, which is my favorite part. After you first enter via slide, you travel through a maze of twisting corridors, dark enclosed spaces, a room full of doors and so much more, all the while being chased and surprised by the patients locked in the asylum. You then exit the building through a large slide that takes you all the way from an old barn attic to the ground below.
I have only been to a couple of spook houses in my lifetime, but the Haunted Cannery is one that is definitely worth the money. While some people say it is not as fun as Field of Screams, it is half the drive from El Dorado and the effort put into the design makes the experience that much better. I mean, anyone who can stuff an old barn that full of twists and turns deserves some credit. Plus, there is a shorter wait time in lines, which is a biggie for me.
As someone who is not easily spooked, I found The Cannery lacked that surprise factor I love. However, they did make up for it by including some real fears of mine, like dark enclosed spaces and killer clowns. For the faint of heart, this would be a nightmare come to life, but for those like me it is a reminder that our fears still exist.
Considering all the factors of spookiness, price and overall experience, I give the Haunted Cannery and Lunatic Asylum a seven out of 10.