Thomas St. Angelo and his crew has worked endlessly day in, day out to be able to bring a new haunt to Panama City. Panama City used to be on my haunt tour every year with the Jaycee’s haunted house, but they haven’t had one there since Hurricane Michael hit in 2019. Hurricane Michael destroyed so much, including the one Haunt that everyone in the area looked forward to going to every year. It was so exciting to see someone bring one back to Panama City. Thomas had a vision and worked so hard to bring Sinister Shadows Haunted House to life!
This is the first year that Sinister Shadows was out. As most of the veteran haunts know, there’s always some bumps in the road and always some kinks that have to be worked out. For a first- year haunt, I feel like they did a really amazing job. This haunt absolutely had the heart to match the hard work. Right off of the main road 231 in Panama City, you turn to a dirt road that led you right to it. Sinister Shadows had great parking that showed easily the entrance and the exit- it was spaced out perfectly so no one trapped you in, plus had PLENTY of parking room.
You pull up and get a creepy/woodsy vibe. You notice there’s porta-potty’s available for customers to use. Be aware at the potty-station, it’s right beside the woods and a dirt road and they have masked men with chainsaws after you. I hope they get the chance to scare you AFTER you go to the potty.
They had a midway to wait or to hang out to talk to other patrons once you went through the haunt. Concessions stand of the CRAZIEST popcorn I’ve ever seen. Regular, Caramel, Oreo, BANANA PUDDING, and others. “Out of this world” popcorn! Just a really cool/friendly vibe out there.
We got our tickets, stood in line, my group had (5) people and another group had (4). We were put together, which was fine. They wanted to make sure that the insanely long line of people ALL got to experience the house.
We were the first group to be able to go in. You’re lead through by “Sinister” himself. It was a follow the leader type situation and my group had a blast! They were able to bring the neon lights, smoke effects, and all the other scenes they had to life!! We went through a little fast, but I know it’s because they just wanted to make sure every one was seen… the spacing and timing comes with time and practice. All the scenes were spaced out perfectly and there was so
much that your eyes were drawn too. I wish I had a little more time to focus on everything, but that gives me a reason to come back next year to see how much they’ve grown and gotten the hang of everything. I must stress though- for a first-year haunt, I was extremely pleased.
You start off in a creepy house looking doorway. There are monsters creepy around every corner. They had scenes of “Soldiers” and “clowns” one even reminded me of Jeffery Dahmer. Some guy was cooking up human BBQ!
My favorite of the entire house, they had what seemed to be a children’s playroom. There was a giant “ABC 123” block that somehow was setup to catch your eye-Before you know it…. A REAL LIFE CHUCKY comes running at you asking if you want to play! Chucky was the BEST for me! We screamed and laughed and ran and laughed some more!!!
After you leave the “house” you’re taking twists and turns all through the woods. You finally see light, to which you know the fun is almost over, when BAM. Chainsaws pop out of the woods and all the patrons go screaming and running back to the beginning.
It truly was a fun time!
Sinister Shadows was about an hour to an hour and a half from where I live and it was worth every moment. If you’re out and about near Panama City, FL and looking for a good haunt, with great people, please go check out Sinister Shadows. You won’t regret it.
I look forward to coming back for years to come and keep seeing them become bigger and better than the year before!
