Martino Manor Haunted House — Attraction in Toronto

I was so excited for this haunted house because nothing these days is ever scary enough but seeing so many good reviews about Martino Manor online, we drove from Scarborough to give it a go. We went last night (so the 23rd) and it was a discounted night so upon arrival, the lineup was hugeee. We were one of the ones that got in right before the lineup was closed and the man walking around in the Creator hoodie said the line has never stretched to the point we were at so he couldn’t say for certain how long the wait would be. We were fine with waiting - we already made the drive and I’m guessing a similar lineup could be expected for any day due to the hype and I had been looking forward to this so much.

The lineup itself was fine, we signed up for the wait time, it moves at a steady pace. and the live actors were pretty great and would come out here and there to interact with us and were really good at not breaking character.

We entered the line at around 8:37PM. We bought our tickets at 11:03PM (we entered in at 11:06PM). We exited the building at 11:20PM. Our time inside is what disappointed me.

The lady letting people in wasn’t waiting for a full minute to let the next group in. I was checking the time whilst I watched the groups ahead of me go in. Due to the lack of an appropriate interval, when we were inside the group behind us caught up to us during the middle of the experience. We turned around to them and asked them if they could allow us a few seconds to gain a headstart again so we don’t ruin the experience for them and they agreed….until the next group caught up with them and they caught up with us again.

You can see from the time we entered to the time we exited (approx. 14 mins), we weren’t even going at a slow pace or anything as the experience is supposed to last about 20 mins. There was a point in time where we became a group of 8 people….we were just 2 people lumped with 6 strangers. Due to the big group clump, the live actors were only able to scare half the people and the other ones were often left hanging or peaking trying to figure out what happened. We really weren’t going slow at all…I wish we had the opportunity to take our time because the props, setup and animatronics were honestly soo good and we actually wanted to take in the setting and the experience but we felt so rushed (quite literally rushed…one of the live actors told us to move along and head upstairs) and overwhelmed (try being in such close proximity with a bunch of strangers 😭).

I was so so excited for this haunted house. None in the city are scary enough and after seeing so many Tiktoks, constantly monitoring the reviews to see everybody’s experience…I’m so sad and disappointed that this was my experience. Braved a 2.5hour wait time for apparently one of the best haunted house in the city only to be let down because the staff was trying to rush the groups at the end to wrap up the day and we couldn’t fully enjoy our experience. I understand you’re in a residential neighborhood and you have to wrap up at a certain time (and it went way past that) but had we have been offered to come in another day and be able to skip the line or literally just given just a full minute interval between the groups, this could’ve been a truly haunting and enjoyable experience. At the end, it just felt like a waste of our time.

Reading the owner’s reply to a review saying that they ensure 3-4 minute intervals between groups while we weren’t even given a full minute feels so unfair and again, a waste of our time and money. I wish it was communicated that the line and amount of people had gotten hard to manage and we and the experience may be hindered due to shorter intervals.

I wish we had the chance to enjoy the experience properly.

I wouldn’t recommend. It’s a great setup but if you want to be scared and enjoy it, due to the (expected) crowd, it is not worth your time. I really, really wish my experience was better. Unfortunately, the hunt for an insane haunted experience in the...

I had THE BEST experience, but I also went during a rain/thunder storm which only added to the creepiness & we were the last ppl through.. More creepy, watching the zombies waving in the rain! The sign at the pay booth states NO Refunds for Chickens, don't go if you can't handle a scare, secondly this is not suitable for children, what parents would traumatize their kids with this? Take your kids to Wonderland! That is not scary... We went so late we missed checking out the corn maze, but will go again & post about it. Been to lots of haunted houses & for the money it is worth it, $20 dollars is about right, for 25 minutes of scares (on par with Screamers & Niagara Falls haunted house, better then Casa Loma & Wonderland) I luv'd the real house effect(2 old houses put together), going through the cellar & ending the experience by leaving out of the attic. Your exit is by walking down the fire escape, better not be afraid of heights, 3rd floor!😖 They sprinkled live actors in nicely as the animatronics can get expected, but they had atmosphere & ambience to perfection! You kept feeling like something was around the corner, as it was narrow & small inside. I really appreciated the crowd spacing so you didn't have a stranger talking behind you, your given a few minutes between groups so you feel isolated. Been to screamers & it can be a bit crowded & that effects the experience. Go with someone who is petrified & it will be the best time, the only thing I would wish is the talking skeleton in the hurst outside was at the beginning of the house to creep you out more and it was longer!! Damn fine experience with the limited haunted houses in T.O. Highly recommend for a group outing, it will add to the experience. Go during a storm & you will really luv it!! Parking is difficult because it's street parking in a residential area, be prepared to hunt & a small walk. You line up for 15 minutes before you get to the 🎟 ticket booth, enough time to consider running out before paying your non refundable...

Having heard so much about Martino Manor, we decided to trek over from Pickering to see what the fuss was all about. After a belly full of pasta at Mamma Martino's, we headed next door to see what else she had cooking. Family of 4 with 2 teenage boys, we don't scare easy. We like haunted attractions, horror movies, creepy escape rooms. And they got us. Man, they got us over and over again. Lots of jump scares, but good jump scares, they weren't cheap or mean ones for the most part. Amazing scenes, they obviously put a LOT of time into this and it shows.

At the end, we really wished it had been longer. If we'd spent twice the time in there, we would have been twice as happy. I know, there is only so much space, and that is fair. But with more time and room, they could have spaced out the jump scares more, build the tension each time and really make them count. It felt like it was a bit too much, each scareactor was bit too close to the last one, you didn't really have time to calm down before the next one. Don't get me wrong, the actors were top-notch, some of them really going the extra distance to follow us and spook us good.

My last critique - I am not complaining, just suggesting - is to develop the lore a bit more. Maybe in the line to get in (on that note, we were in line just before 7pm and it was maybe 7:30 before we got it, time for it to get dark and for 5-6 groups ahead of us to go in), there could be signage to give us a bit of a story. Seemed to be something about a missing girl, at least that is what the beginning seemed to suggest. But with some other posters inside, some pictures and words, combine that with the actors telling us a few bits. Add in some pre-recorded audio and you could weave a good story to go along with the sets and scares. Not trying to tell people who've run one of the most successful haunted houses in Toronto for many many years how to do their job, don't get me wrong, just suggestin'...

All in all, that was a blast. Highly...