13th Street Morgue

13th Street Morgue started out 5 years ago as a “Yard Haunt” in the yards of a Saxe, Texas house. Over the past few years they outgrew the yard and decided to go professional with 2004 being the first year. They have teamed up this year with Nightmare in the House of Wax to create Phantasm’s Scream Park located right off of I-35W and 917 (exit 30) in Alvarado, Texas.

Getting to the haunt can be a pretty daunting task in its own. The signs are very difficult to see and if you aren’t paying attention you could be headed out on a 30-45 minute detour before hitting civilization again. Take heed of these directions if you do not want to get lost! The park entrance faces I-35W on the east side of the highway. If you are traveling South on I-35W, exit at FM 917 (exit 30) and take a left over the highway. At the stop sign after the bridge, immediately take a RIGHT onto the 2 way service road. Follow the service road for about 3 miles and you will see the entrance on the left hand side of the street. Phantasm’s Scream Park can be seen from I-35W traveling north from Antioch, so don’t venture too far off the highway before you turn around.

The grounds outside the morgue are pretty well decorated including real horse skeleton and carriage that are carrying a poor cadaver to the morgue and the ghost that haunts the bell tower. One thing about 13th Street Morgue is that almost everything in the house is authentic. Most of the items have a real story behind them and many have been used in a real morgue like the coffins, body bags, embalming equipment, fluids and index bottles. The house is made up of mostly scrap lumber from old houses that have been demolished and salvaged from their previous yard haunt. The antique pictures come from an old house that once stood on the property where the haunt stands today. Inside the house you will find narrow passageways that wind their way through the different areas of the morgue. Areas include the foyer, kitchen, embalming room and many more with a slight twist on the ending.

The morgue is a fairly small haunt and takes roughly 15 minutes to complete, but during time your senses are tingled and tortured in many ways. While the 13th Street Morgue is not a major production, this does not knock it off our list. It’s not very scary, it will make the novice patrons jump quite a bit, but seasoned haunt goers may be a little disappointed. I personally think that the detail and the work that has gone into this haunt really shows and is enough alone to warrant a visit. Priced with the purchase of a combo ticket to Phantasm’s Scream Park make this a very reasonable place to visit.

This haunt has definitely come along way from the small yard production that it started out as, but it has the potential to become a great haunt in the future. I really can’t wait to see what they will have in store for the upcoming years!

DFWHauntedHouse.com readers can get a 50% discount off on Sundays with the purchase of a combo pass. A $9.00 savings! Printable coupon may be printed from our Discount Tickets or just mention to the ticket counter that they are DFWHauntedHouses.com members.

Actors/Costumes: 6
Scene Detail: 10
Sound Effects: 6
Special Effects: 7
Fright: 6
Gore: 6
Entertainment Value: 6

Overall Score: