Delusion is an immersive and interactive horror theater experience, and this year’s Delusion: Harrowing of Hell is a new chapter that promises an unforgettable experience with twists and terror, leaving guests questioning reality itself. With the new location at the Variety Arts Theater, expect a spooky good time. (I still remember experiencing the immersive and interactive Purge show, and that theater was used to great effect.)

The upcoming show will run from September 18th through November 9th on select nights. Tickets are now on sale starting at $112.99 on select nights at enterdelusion.com.

I can’t say it or hear it enough. There really is nothing in the world like Delusion. And after this season, Delusion will be the longest-running immersive theater experience in the world (go ahead and fact check me but it’s a waste of your time!),” said Creator of Delusion Jon Braver. “In the end, we are all about ADVENTURE! So come join us for another otherworldly experience (and see this new creature you will never, ever forget).

Synopsis: This season, “Delusion: Harrowing of Hell” explores a supernatural cult that has taken the metaphors of Dante’s Inferno too far. Convinced that the circles of hell are a necessary preparation for the afterlife, the Devotees of the Path claim to be conduits between worlds and guardians over the gates of hell. Will you follow the inscription on the arched entryway leading to the belly of the Pagan’s Path and abandon all hope? To take the Path is to endure a reflection of mortal weakness and sin. If one can survive, then paradise awaits.

The newly added upgrade experience, The Delusional: Devil in the Details, will have guests seeing the behind-the-scenes experience, including seeing up close the transformation of characters, creatures and set design. The add-on includes a backstage tour, VIP venue entrance, reserved lounge area and a collectible credential.

Delusion is located at the Variety Arts Theater, 940 S Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90015

The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor

The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor: Summoned by the Seas will terrorize guests in Long Beach from September 19th to November 2nd on select nights, with tickets starting at $45.99. Guests can expect to see Dark Harbor’s monsters, mazes, live entertainment, speakeasies, and haunted lounges.

Check out the list and official descriptions of Dark Harbor mazes below:

Voodoo: The Queen’s Curse – New! A ruthless Priestess rises from a decayed bayou to seize the Queen Mary’s power, commanding Loa, raising the dead, and marking anyone who strays too close. Stumble through potion shops, coffin factories, and poppet-stuffed shacks before a barnstorming finale where lightning crackles overhead and zombie sailors surge below.

Breakout: Maximum Security – reimagined for 2025! The mystery of stateroom B340 takes a brutal turn in 1948: Samuel the Savage survives and is hauled to a seaside village prison, until he shatters his cell with unnatural force. You’re processed as the new inmate while alarms scream, guards fall, and Samuel hunts. Can the walls hold him… or you?

Feast: The Final Cut – reimagined for 2025! Step behind the ship’s kitchens for the twisted origin of The Chef, once a handsome, ambitious butcher who grew resentful of first-class passengers and added a “special ingredient” no one could quite place. Winding deeper, you’ll hit blood-slick restrooms, a pantry stacked with plates… and body parts, before the stoves roar to life and victims simmer. This is the final year of Feast, reimagined with a more cannibalistic climax that leads to a grotesque classroom banquet.

Big Top Terror – Step right up to a cursed carnival where the Ringmaster, no longer man nor woman, bartered their soul for immortality and now feeds a fog-soaked circus that traps the unwary.

Infirmary – A maniacal surgeon, Dr. Edwin Masters, and his accomplice Graceful Gale prey on the ship’s most vulnerable, masquerading as high-society darlings topside while their victims pile up below.

Lullaby – In the glow of the first-class swimming pool, Scary Mary returns, playful giggles masking a vortex to the underworld that’s grown too powerful to contain. Born from a 1952 tragedy, Mary once tugged sleeves to keep the living away; now the rift’s demons twist her into the singer of your final lullaby.

Other fun activities include Pirate’s Plunder Shootout, Anchor Axe, a mini escape room, S’mores Package, and carnival rides.

The Foresight Four Pack premium experience includes The Summoning of Samuel séance with Lady Mabel and access to the speakeasies throughout Dark Harbor.

The RIP Guided Tour includes early entry, front-of-the-line privileges, and a personal guide to escort you through all six mazes and into the exclusive sanctums: Observation Deck and Captain’s Club.

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This year’s show is titled Delusion: Nocturnes & Nightmares, and it’s a meta take on the Delusion universe where a mysterious author is somehow bringing the Delusion stories to life. Nerd Reactor had the chance to chat with creator Jon Braver about what guests can expect from this year’s show including the story, utilizing the Phillips Mansion in a different way, the enhanced VIP experience, and more.

“It’s our last year [at the Phillip’s Mansion] because the house behind me is going to be renovated,” Braver said. “They got a grant to fix that up. So our time there ends. It stemmed from the difficulty of writing the shows. The idea really came from what if this is sort of a metaphor to the madness of writing these shows where this creator of the Delusion series, this author has penned all the previous Delusions, and then the author has sort of gone mad from all the stories that have come to light. But this is not the gift that the author really wanted. She’s doing it all for a very strong purpose.”

Delusion: Nocturnes & Nightmares will feature different stories from the show’s past, and it will feel like an epic conclusion to the universe. (Don’t worry, there will be more Delusion in the future.) Braver teases some of the elements that will be in this year’s show including characters from His Crimson Queen.

“They’re going to get a taste of different stories in the past,” Braver explained. “For example, the brides from His Crimson Queen, these vampire brides, they might have a moment. They see that character, and though they don’t know the full breadth of that story, it doesn’t matter because they’re very interesting characters and there’s a very interesting scene with them. So it’s sort of like a little teaser into, ‘Oh, God. I’m curious about all these other stories from Delusion, like maybe remount some of those.’ It’s in the cards as well, to bring back some of the older shows as they were in this tease of the whole thing. At the end of the day, it’s all about fun. Just go there and have fun and get swallowed into the story and you’ll have no choice but to be dragged along for the ride.”

This is the third time Delusion will be held at the Phillips Mansion, and Braver talks about how it’s going to feel different just like how the second felt different from the first.

“As I remember, the first year we hid the back mansion,” Braver said. “Some people came there, they thought the whole show was in this mansion right here. And then they were just surprised to see the back one. Now the following year, if you know about the back one, then you’re led in some different path to get there through hiding in a caretaker’s pickup truck. And then this year, we’re going into places that people last year never got to see. And people prior to that, like two years ago, they might have seen it, but it’s very different. So I’m taking into account the flow of this show. It is going to be in such a way that you’re going to leave saying, ‘God, I’ve been here three years, and I still don’t know where the hell I am.’ That’s going to be the feel for a lot of people. Where the prologue starts too, some people have been there, but not in this way. So that was all taken into account. This will kind of be a good wrap-up where everybody gets to experience all the areas of the Philips Estate.”

With the VIP experience, it’s being elevated to where guests can become part of scaring other guests.

“Not only are we trusting them, but we’re trusting them even further to actually take part in a scene to scare other guests,” he elaborated. “The story’s been carefully constructed to allow for this VIP ballroom private bar, where the guests are going to be able to put on these quick, easy, tattered clothing like you’re a zombie kind of thing. And then you partake in a scene where you’re rising from the dead on a certain cue. So make it very simple and easy for people but incredibly fun. And if you’ve gone through the show, then you’ll recognize the scene that you were in prior.”

Check out the full video interview below:

Delusion: Nocturnes & Nightmares is currently running until November. For tickets, visit EnterDelusion.com.

The post Creator Jon Braver Talks Delusion: Nocturnes and Nightmares 2023, Guests Scaring Other Guests, and Final Year at Phillips Mansion appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

The hour-long show will run from September 21 to November 19 on select nights and will return for the last time to the historic Phillips Mansion in Pomona. The building is the perfect backdrop for the horror theater experience with a late 1800s aesthetic that lends itself to an eerie atmosphere.

Delusion has been immersing fans since 2011, and with the new show, Braver is mixing all of the previous stories together for an anthology experience.

“With 8 seasons of this incredible journey we call Delusion, all things have led to this year’s story. Rather, let’s call it a compendium!” said Jon Braver, Creator of Delusion. “I gave it much thought and felt an anthology of Delusion stories, woven together like a terrifying tapestry, into an epic live experience would be something both Delusion fans (aka Delusionals) and newcomers alike will revel in. There is so much to love, and so much to fantastically fear this Fall!”

Here’s the synopsis for the upcoming show: This year’s chilling narrative, “Nocturnes & Nightmares,” brings more to the Delusion saga than meets the eye. A mysterious figure, only identified as The Author, seemingly birthed every Delusion story from its inception—bringing words to life and ink to reality. But when is a gift not a gift? Now, with the elusive author missing and Delusion characters hell-bent on protecting their creator, audiences (Delusionals) will need to track down The Author and help finish their most important work yet.

There will be activities outside of the show including meeting doll Manny Manners and host Esther Phillips, shopping at the merchandise room, dining, drinking at the garden bar with themed drinks, and even venturing into the attic. And you may even summon the dead by learning a spell.

The VIP Experience has been upgraded, and this year guests will be able to interact with actors and the crew as they watch the performances happen during the showtimes. They’ll also get to wear ragged costumes and be part of the action themselves as they become the undead and scare other guests into the next scene.

Tickets for the show start at $89.99 on select nights. To get up to date on early ticket access, sign up at www.enterdelusion.com.

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