Valentine's Day Sucks - Necropolis Underground (2023 Review)
Valentine's Day Sucks @ Necropolis Underground Haunted Attraction 7130 Western Select Dr. Indianapolis, IN 46219 http://www.necropolisunderground.com
Date of Visit: 2/11/23 Reviewer: Lindsay
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"One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach: all the damn vampires!" - The Lost Boys
The arrival of February only means one thing to many people: Valentine's Day is coming! Whether it's platonic or romantic, this special holiday was intended to celebrate the love we share with each other. But for those of us with spookier tastes, it's also a time when we can expect haunted attractions to reopen for seasonal events. Among those celebrating the occasion is Necropolis Underground, a multi-attraction haunt complex that's literally underneath the city of Indianapolis. Valentine's Day Sucks is the first of a handful of holiday shows Necropolis puts on every year, which also include Easter and Christmas. But visitors seeking love- or just a good time- would be wise to tread lightly if they choose to venture down there. For this is also the time of year that the Dead City becomes overrun with a serious problem... that of the fanged and blood sucking variety.
Ticket prices for these shows remain the same as they are during haunt season, starting at $35 for General Admission and going up to $75 for Front of the Line access. While you can easily buy tickets upon arrival, I recommend giving their social media channels a follow - they released a commercial prior to the event that repeatedly flashed a phone number on the screen. If you called it, you received a code to enter online for a major discount on Fast Pass tickets! Nice! And if you're wondering where to park once you get there, there's plenty of free parking on site.
Necropolis does their best to spruce the place up for every event, and you'll notice that as soon as you descend into their lobby. My attention was quickly grabbed by a massive fang-mouthed photo op - very cool, and so appropriate for the theme! Just beyond that was the queue, a room where I normally get a dark, gritty, industrial feeling when I walk in; it's supposed to be a city built on death, after all. But for this event, I was hit with a different vibe: one that was softer, almost beautiful, with glowing lights and shiny garlands lightening the dim atmosphere...
...then opening time came, and sh*t promptly hit the fan. Patrons who happen to be in line when the haunt opens every night are treated to one hell of a preshow - in a matter of seconds, a whole gang of vampires, monsters, and maniacs swiftly had the line under siege... accompanied by booming music, lighting effects, and numerous screams from the crowd! (Shout out to the actor who was dressed like Van Helsing. Loved it!) Once the chaos finally settled and most of the cast dispersed into the complex, the vibe changed, taking on more of a party atmosphere. A few remaining monsters prowled while enthusiastic groups danced and sang to rocking tunes. When it was my turn, I found myself facing a plague doctor character in a red cloak, who fixed me with a hard stare and gestured for me to follow him to the couple I'd be joining for this adventure. He continued to lurk nearby as I waited. Something in his unsettling eyes reminded me of one of the Dead City's more infamous residents, the highly feared Dr. Cutter. I had a feeling I would be seeing this mysterious doctor again before the night was over.
The Underground has four different attractions, and every single one was open for Valentine's: Nightmare House, Cemetery of the Damned, Dead & Breakfast, and The Bunker. All four are pretty self-explanatory, but if you want to learn more, you can read up on them through Necropolis' website (or check out their 2022 review on ours: www.thehauntedhoneymooners.com). Considering the haunt industry's biggest trade show was just a week before the event and their team may have had less time to set things up, I was impressed by how well decorated the houses were. In addition to what I saw in the lobby and queue, each attraction was adorned with its share of red and pink goodness, gored up stuffed animals, and of course, hearts of all shapes and sizes! Many of the characters we saw had costumes or makeup with more hearts, red lips, and other Valentine-appropriate features too (and, given the theme... lots of fangs!).
Something else that impressed me was the number of actors they had working the event. Cast size can be hit or miss for these things, but that certainly wasn't the case here. Every house had quite a few people, including some guest acting from other haunts. And their energy was off the charts! They were after us around every turn, and gave us plenty of laughs as well. Shortly after we walked into Nightmare House, we were met with a lovely greeting of "About TIME you showed up, ya little SH*T." from the girl sitting in the bedroom. The actors in the Cemetery wrecked total havoc on us; one of them- a slider with a mouth full of razor teeth- harassed our group from start to finish, constantly getting in our faces and sliding out when we least expected him! He was joined by another character who wore a crown of thorns and carried a lantern, and they teamed up on us frequently. Fleeing from the Cemetery to the Dead & Breakfast, we encountered a number of disturbed souls while trying to reach our room, including a super creepy slider (he kind of looked like a puppet) and a gorgeous lady vamp, the latter of whom trailed me all the way to the exit!
Some extra love is in order for The Bunker: they completely ran us over in there. Constant attacks by crazed hospital patients and staff the whole way through. I was soon forced away from my group by an incredibly persistent actor with longer hair, who stayed on me for most of the house. One of my favorite interactions came from an actor I recognized from Hysterium, who sat me down in a chair and wheeled me around his room! I also got a great scare from Stitches, a character from the recently closed Haunted Angelus House. Ah, but there's someone else I certainly can't forget - remember our plague doctor friend from the line? He reappeared towards the end of the house, scared the crap out of me upon doing so, then chased me out of The Bunker. (But before he did that, he handed me a folded up Valentine with a sweet message inside of it. Aww. The doctor can be nice... sometimes.)
Were you able to avoid the vampires and escape Necropolis? Fortunately for you, something a bit less scary is waiting at the end: the Dead City Festival! This is the haunt's midway, where you can buy tickets for fun activities like axe throwing, escape rooms, and more. They've also got a merch counter selling drinks and Necropolis souvenirs. (I was delighted to see they had "Valentine's Day Sucks" t-shirts available for purchase! Totally had to grab one.)
This was only my second time attending a Valentine show at Necropolis Underground, but I was blown away by 2023's edition of Valentine's Day Sucks. They did a great job of blending the holiday with the vampire theme, the whole place was well decorated, there were plenty of actors, and everyone was giving it their absolute best from beginning to end. If you love haunted houses and want to celebrate V-Day with a spooky twist- or you just love vampires- I can't recommend this event enough. By the way, if you happened to miss this show, don't worry: the gates to the Dead City will reopen in April for Rottentail's Revenge.