Catharsis is an all-new immersive haunted experience
unlike anything Central Florida has ever encountered. This experience is not about simply startling you. It is not an “extreme” haunted house. Catharsis is about reaching you on a deeper level. It is about the chill that runs down your spine, about the involuntary feeling of dread that consumes you as you step out into the unknown.
Executive producer Ricky Brigante walked me through the dark sinister warehouse maze. We stopped in the Lust room, and we both knew that this is where I should sketch. To help me blend in, Ricky walked me to the actors dressing room and picked out a long flowing night gown with sequins and large triangular shoulder pads. The actress it was tailored for only had a two inch wide waste, I couldn’t wrap it around my bulky chest. All that guests would see, would be sequins on my legs and a white pearl necklace around my neck. I sat right beside them in a dark corner.
The actor in the Lust room, Sam Matusrek, had long lashes, eyeliner and a beautiful red silk night gown. We were briefly introduced in the dressing room before the doors opened. You enter the lust room through a jagged hole that has been knocked through a wall. Sam searched for a flashlight in the dark when he first entered. The room was illuminated by a single exposed red bulb. It had the sinister feel of an old school photographer’s dark room. An analog camera and darkroom chemicals were on the floor along with rose pedals. Masks were on a dresser and on the single lamp.
When guests arrived, Sam would inspect each silently by lightly touching their hair. Then he signaled for them to sit on two stools. He would then focus on his favorite by shining his light in their face and delicately painting their face with lipstick. He quietly sighed and moaned with delight at his creation. Some times they had their backs to me. Had I reached out, I would certainly have startled them. However I’m a good boy, a reserved pornographer. I kept my hands to my self.
Then he would take his muses hand and guide him or her to the sex stained bed. He would have them lie down and then he posed them in the position which best suited his lustful fetish. He would place the right hand above their head, and then cross the other across their chest or belly. He then opened a small cabinet at the foot of the bed. He removed a featureless yet sad mask for himself and then a second mask of sewn together bits of flesh. The flimsy and light flesh mask went over the face of his muse. He would then lie next to them and spoon close to their back or side. He wrapped his arm around them and would lightly stroke their arm. That delicate touch would illicit some chill up anyone’s spine, good or bad. Reactions varied. A few laughed nervously and others would lie stiff and still with only their twitching fingers as a hint that they were still alive.
As Sam left the room with his new cuddle buddies, he would check my sketch on the iPad and sigh with delight. I felt very much like a filthy pornographer. Sam’s camera was broken. He usually took photos of his models before he molested them. I became his only means of documenting his filthy creative routine.
make a Catharsis reservation
The Catharsis experience is available on select nights throughout October 2016.
hours: 8:00pm – 11:30pm
Tickets to catharsis are sold in 30-minute arrival windows. You must arrive and check in during that window. Upon arrival, you will first enter the deadly sins bar, where you may check in, relax, enjoy a drink and a few sinfully fun activities while you await your entry to the experience.
Select a remaining date to purchase a ticket:
you will experience Catharsis in groups of 1 – 4.
Standard entry ($24 per person) – you / your group may enter with other guests.
Private entry upgrade
($10 extra per person) – you / your group will enter without other
guests. this upgrade enables you to enter ALONE, if you wish…
Catharsis is inevitable.
