REVIEW: straite to hale productions presents demon creek

OCTOBER 24, 2022

review: straite to hale productions presents demon creek

Every so often we experience a home haunt that completely changes our view of what can be achieved through outstanding storytelling and proficiency in design and construction. We have been fortunate to experience this in recent years with places like Corona Haunt, Murder House Productions, and Rancho Cucamonga's Straite to Hale Productions (Mark Straite and Ron Hale) - who have brought to life their highly detailed maze, Demon Creek. This maze is a fully realized mini Western ghost town located within a suburban front yard. Demon Creek is extremely impressive and proves that Straite to Hale is in the upper echelon with other legendary home haunts that include Rotten Apple, Backwoods (RIP) and Sherwood Scare (RIP) - making it a mandatory visit during the Halloween season.

There is a lot of visual information to take in when you approach the exterior of the maze. This old Western town, painted with its spectral reds and purples, contains many rich details. Animatronic heads pop out of barrels, ghosts dance to the sounds of the night, and there is even a multi storey water tower. The trip through the maze is equally as impressive. Following a curving passage you enter into an imaginative world containing a church, a mine, fiery broken walls, a ghostly saloon, and much more. Characters are hidden throughout the route - including some that execute spring jumps. At multiple points you exit outside and assume that you’re done, only to find yourself in a new area of the maze. We haven’t seen this done often in haunts and we enjoyed being able to see the outside of the builds and observe some hidden animatronics up close.

We highly recommend taking the drive out to Rancho Cucamonga to visit this legendary haunt. The drive can be paired up with some great yard displays like Samhain's Lot and the (unlisted) Hellsir. It is worth noting that Straite to Hale has been commissioned to build this year's Winchester Mystery House haunt - another destination worth visiting if you can make it that far up North. Mark Straite and Ron Hale possess an endless flow of creativity and meticulous craftsmanship that should be enjoyed by all haunters in the Southern California area.

VC

October 24, 2022

Hauntsofla.com

#straitetohale #demoncreek #hauntedmaze #hauntedhouse #ranchocucamonga #hauntsofla