REVIEW: into The Abyss

September 27, 2025

REVIEW: Into The Abyss

For almost a decade now we have been attending the East Whittier Middle School annual Harvest Festival which features their student-made House of Horror. This maze changes themes every season and raises money for the school’s music program while also providing a platform for the students to bring their imaginations to life by creating costumes, props, and themed builds. This haunt continues to get better every year, and this year's presentation - entitled “Into The Abyss” - takes inspiration from aquatic horror folklore ranging from the Kraken to the Deep Ones.

Inside the maze, which takes place within a building on school grounds, there is an incredible amount of detail throughout the psychedelic journey into this underwater wonderland. The set builds, made of neon, blacklight illuminated coral and cobwebs, emphasize a dreamlike experience as you encounter dozens upon dozens of fantastical characters. Monsters such as hybrid Anglerfish/humans and giant squid lurk around every corner as suspense builds until you suddenly face a shark DJ right before a giant moray eel lunges out of its cave to eat you. There is even a truly unbelievable build of a giant clam eating a screaming, real life scuba diver as you try to escape the horrors that exist within this underwater abyss.

While we admire the fact that fundraising is happening for children to explore their love of the arts, it is worth noting that Ryan Banfield (The Haunted Rose) and Christopher Moreno (the teacher who leads the House of Horror) have now put together a “Scare Class” which teaches children the art of doing a haunt. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that legends such as Banfield and Moreno were offering decades of experience to children who might be doing their first haunt ever. It was an impressive thing to hear and we hope the kids appreciate how lucky they are to learn these skills from two legends of the community. This also can explain why year after year the Harvest Festival House of Horror becomes more and more spectacular.

This maze is always one of our favorite visits of the season, which is why we are surprised that it has stayed completely off the radar. Tonight is the last night that it is open and we encourage everyone to go out and support the next generation of artists and haunters while helping raise funds for the school’s music program. 

VC

September 27, 2025

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