Phobia Haunted Houses - BW-8 & Kemah Boardwalk — Attraction in Houston

Haunted houses are my thing every year. I love them and have been addicted since my very first one as a kid. Every October I try out new houses. I’ve been to haunted houses in Missouri, Kentucky, multiple places here in Louisiana (Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Calhoun, Shreveport) and now Tx. I want to say I’m not a professional reviewer just a haunt enthusiast. So now on to my review. Their set up is good. They had parking under control and it was free, which was a bonus lol. The ticket booth was a bit unorganized as far as lines, but it did go fast and the workers were friendly (even told us about a coupon to save us 10 bucks). We bought Exile for $30, and 1 additional house for $15. We went with Exile first. The lines for everything was not marked off and made things a bit confusing but really that wasn’t that big of a deal. Lines did move fast, however we got there at 8:36. We were done with everything and out of the last house at 9:08. For us to have just dropped $80 (would have been $90 without our coupon) I would have expected a lot more, for a lot longer. We didn’t run (I never do, because I love taking in the details and props) and we didn’t speed walk, we walked at a slow steady pace. There were also parts that didn’t even have anything, no worker, nothing. Several times the workers weren’t even in place and you saw them before they even tried scaring you. At 1 point we walked into 3 workers just carrying on conversation and we made them jump! Their response was “ohhhh hey, BOO”! That’s just not ok for the money we paid. I also expected the actors to be much more detailed and in better character. Some of the sets were great, and had decent detail BUT there could just be so much more. Add smells to sets to make you feel like you’re actually in that scene, etc. The lighting was pretty well done though and you could enjoy those details that were there. My favorite was the “city wreckage” in Exile. The attention to detail was awesome there. If y’all add some more detail, combine ALL attractions, put a little more into the actors make up, get the lines more organized and throw some actors out scaring people in the lines then maybe the money would be worth it. As it is now, I feel that it’s only worth $30 for everything, MAYBE $35 but that’s on the high end. $30 just for Exile and an additional $15-$25 more for the others is completely INSANE. Phobia has potential, y’all just need to figure some stuff out before those prices...

not sure if all these reviews set my expectations, or if my previous haunted house experiences and dallas and waco had set me up for failure here, but this was by far the worse and only bad experience i have ever had at a haunted house. there was nothing scary about this facility at all, it was a constant non stop harassment of shouting people slamming their hands on the wall. felt more like walking down a prison hallway with a woman in a bikini. i was told before i went in "do not touch the actors, they will not touch you" ... i was touched about 7 times!!! they follow you, stepping on your heels, i was tapped on the shoulder, i had people run staight at me and bump my shoulder when running by, i even had a perverted immature teen mocking perverted sayings about my gf. i understand the theme is faces being cut off and chainsaws and things like that, but the things this kid said and in the beavis and butt head voice he said it in, was completely unacceptable. horrible experience!! non stop being touched, having my neck breathed on, people jumping in front of me and putting their faces about 3 inches from mine, the back of my shoes were stepped on several times by people...

My sister convinced me to come here for my first haunted house experience. Let me tell you, this place does not disappoint. As I got older, I always had the impression that they were shoddy hallways with cheap scares, but this one broke every assumption I made.

The set design is wonderfully crafted. The owner told me the artist scrounges junk to find his resources such as run-down cars and 2000s computers. The mannequins used for the corpses were executed very well, especially for the animatronics. They have sick attention to detail when it comes to gore and body placement, keeping them diverse enough to prevent them from feeling stale.

It's easy to tell the actors were absolutely loving their job. They know just where to place themselves, where to jump out, and even where to blend in. The best part is their unpredictability. From what I could tell, most of their actions weren't scripted and more of a general course of action. They could swarm you if they wanted.

I'm grateful that Phobia is the first haunted house attraction I had the pleasure of visiting. The owner is a nice man, and I'm thankful for him and his team, who helped make this Halloween feel...