Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor will Give You Scares, Scares, and More Scares

All photos by Joan Alperin for The LA Beat

All photos by Joan Alperin for The LA Beat

I love to be scared. I go to horror movies all the time, not the gory ones, but the ones that keep you jumping out of your seat. Of course, when I grab the arm of a stranger sitting next to me, it gets a little embarassing.

So you can imagine how excited I was to be going to the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor. I remember when I went several years ago. It was much smaller, but still I loved it, because it scared the daylights out of me. A new company took it over a few years ago and now it’s bigger, better, and a hundred times scarier.

The production values are amazing. It is so unbelievably creative and full of surprises, with awesome costumes and makeup. The actors have their parts down perfectly, and just when you think you know when they’re going to jump out of the dark and scare you, something totally unexpected happens. Yes, they get you every time.

There are also all kinds of super-crazy looking characters roaming around Monster
Alley, coming right up to you, sometimes from behind, and yes, scaring you big time. There was this dude on stilts that really freaked me out. He kept following me around and he had a face you wouldn’t take home to your mother. I’m sure you’ll meet him.

All six of the mazes are extraordinary. The first one is INTREPID, your basic trip to hell. You walk through an old Scottish shipyard  filled with eerie spirits, foundry phantoms and legendary creatures.

LULLABY, which I found really scary, sends you into a terror-filled playground where the dead lurk at every corner.

B340 is the scariest maze, and my favorite. You take a journey through the terrifying mind of “Samuel the Savage” and find yourself in smoke-filled passages where you are absolutely blinded by the smoke. But don’t worry, you are perfectly safe. The actors make sure of that.

SOULMATE is a masquerade ball aboard the Queen Mary where you will meet “Graceful Gale” who is searching for her eternal soulmate. Poor girl, I don’t think she’s ever going to find him.

DEAD RISE takes you into a long lost warship filled with vengeful souls. And last but definitely not least is…

CIRCUS, a maze where you face your nightmares as you fight your way through the horrors lurking under the Ringmaster’s big top.

Along with the mazes are sideshows, freak shows, the RIP lounge where VIP’S get to chill while munching on munchies and having a drink to calm their nerves.

There are many more fun things to explore as you walk around the beautifully lighted grounds, including a very strange band, skeletons, and food booths in case you’re hungry. Being terrified does work up an appetite.

Dark Harbor opened on September 29th and plays September 30th to October 31st. Hours are 8:00pm to 12;00 am. Prices vary, starting at $39, so to find out about tickets, parking, and other pertinent information check out the website or call 877-342-0738.

The sinister spirits are ready to deliver another season of blood curdling terror, and what better place to live your nightmares then aboard the haunted Queen Mary. This is one attraction you do not want to miss.

 

 

 

 

Joan Alperin

About Joan Alperin

Joan was born in Brooklyn and spent many years working as an actress in New York City. Even though she traveled extensively, Joan couldn't imagine living anywhere else.. Well one day, she met someone at a party who regaled her with stories about living in L. A. specifically Topanga Canyon. A few weeks later she found herself on an airplane bound for Los Angeles. Joan immediately fell in love with the town and has been living here for the last twenty years and yes, she even made it to Topanga Canyon, where she now resides, surrounded by nature, deer, owls and all kinds of extraordinary alien creatures.. Joan continued acting, but for the last several years (besides reviewing plays and film) she has been writing screenplays. Joan was married to a filmmaker who created the cult classic films, (way before she knew him) Faces of Death. As a result of his huge following, they created a funny movie review show entitled Two Jews on Film, where Joan and her husband, John would review movies and rate them with bagels You can see their reviews by going to youtube.com/twojewsonfilm. Although it's now only one Jew - Joan is occasionally joined by her beautiful Pekingnese and Japanese Chin.
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