On Friday, September 9, 2022, the Wentz Brothers’ Festival of Fears will officially open at the Santa Rosa Mall for the 2022 haunted house season. They will be open for 22 nights in September and October.
The Festival of Fears features 3 full-length haunted houses, carnival games, food and drinks, photo ops and more.
Each haunted house has its own unique story that has been in development for years, according to The Wentz Brothers. They feature dozens of live actors, practical and visual special effects, and unique themes.
Here’s a breakdown of the 3 haunted houses:
- Protocol Z: Florida’s longest indoor haunted house featuring an all-out war between a horde of zombies and one of humanities last group of survivors.
- Lazarus Toys: Presented in partnership with the Lazarus Creative Co, follow in the steps of previous urban explorers as you step into this once beloved toy shop that has been abandoned for over 50 years.
- Shriek Show: A groundbreaking attraction where you choose your own path throughout the entire haunted house as you navigate this circus run by a trio of clownish siblings.
The story of the Wentz Brothers began at their parent’s house in the Kenwood neighborhood of Fort Walton Beach. If you ever trick-or-treated in Kenwood, then you know how popular this was.
Brothers Alex, Andrew, Daniel, and Jake started entertaining friends and family at Halloween parties with a simple, inflatable haunted house. Since then, their once small, haunted attraction blew up into what would be considered a community tradition and hometown favorite over the next decade.
As the years passed, the Wentz Brothers outgrew their inflatable haunted house and, with their parent’s permission, started transforming their childhood home into the neighborhood’s own Wentz Brothers Asylum every season.
- Admission was free and all actors and volunteers consisted of family and friends of the Wentz Brothers.
The Wentz Brothers Asylum continued to grow over the next 10 years, eventually taking up the entire first floor (and then some) of their parent’s 2-story home. As they tell it, the haunted house became so successful that when it came time for the brothers to put literal skeletons in the closet and head off to college, they saw an opportunity to continue growing their haunted house instead.
This time, in a commercial space. And so, the Wentz Brothers’ Festival of Fears was born at the start of the 2021 season.
How it works
The Festival of Fears is open on Friday and Saturday nights through October 1, 2022. Beginning Thursday, October 6, 2022, the haunted attraction will be open Thurs-Saturday.
- The festival is open from 6pm-11pm.
- Special open days on Sunday, October 30 & Monday, October 31, 2022.
Each house requires a separate ticket for entry. Tickets can be purchased here for either all 3 houses ($45), two of the houses ($35), or one of the houses ($20).
According to their website, all ticket purchases grant the holder access to the midway and photo ops for the night the tickets are good for. Carnival games and snacks at the concession stand are available for an additional cost.
Season Passes are also available ($100) which give festival goers a single entry into all 3 of the haunted houses once per operating night. The pass also gets you:
- Express Entry – skip the regular line at each haunted house.
- Entrance into family day events on select Saturday afternoons.
Festival of Fears is located at the Southwest entrance of the Santa Rosa Mall in Mary Esther, FL. To learn more or purchase your tickets, click here.
