Hold on to Annabelle and become a paranormal sleuth in SCarowinds new attraction
As an October baby, my favorite holiday (besides my birthday) is obviously Halloween.
And I have a few traditions when it comes to the best month of the year: Watch a scary movie every day and go to at least one haunted house.
So when I heard Carowinds was mixing my favorite things into a new, immersive attraction for its 25th anniversary of SCarowinds, I readied my heart for true terror.
SCarowinds is bringing “The Conjuring” horror film universe to the Carolinas with “The Conjuring: Beyond Fear.”
It’s a haunted escape room and maze where participants will put on their paranormal sleuth hats and face off against The Nun, The Crooked Man, The Ferryman and Annabelle, the possessed doll that just won’t stay in its case.
The attraction is a first on many fronts for Carowinds, particularly the collaboration with a major movie studio — in this case Warner Bros. — to use licensed material. It’s one of the perks of being part of Six Flags Entertainment, park spokesman Chris Foshee told CharlotteFive.
“This is our first SCarowinds maze to be based off a blockbuster horror franchise, and it is the first ultra-immersive attraction that puts our guests into the storyline — making them live the horror, not just watch it,” Foshee said. “It is the biggest and boldest attraction we’ve ever debuted at SCarowinds.”
Of course, I had to test this theory. I popped on my vans, put my hair up, donned a “Friday the 13th” shirt and headed to SCarowinds to experience the attraction first.
Moving through ‘The Conjuring: Beyond Fear’
Brief explainer: “The Conjuring” universe is about Ed and Lorraine Warren, real life paranormal investigators. The movies follow their demonic adventures and include spin-offs of some of the scarier characters.
No, you don’t need to watch the movies in order to feel the fear of the attraction. I’ve only seen “The Conjuring.”
“The Conjuring: Beyond Fear” is in the Aeronautica section of the park. And to get there, visitors will have to make their way through scare zones brimming with crawling monsters and roaring chainsaws.
At the attraction, groups of about six to eight people will be thrust into a room where an old film camera starts to roll.
The footage explains that we’ve found ourselves in the Warren’s occult museum, and something strange is going on.
Strange indeed, because when the guide bursts into the room and explains they need our help figuring out what on earth is going on, I questioned why I was in the front of the line.
From there, the group members become paranormal investigators. The guides demanded we pick up possessed artifacts that somehow escaped the Warren’s locked room.
One of the artifacts was Annabelle, and for a doll, she’s hefty and shifty. She will run away if you aren’t paying attention. No, this isn’t the real doll, which may be causing chaos on its U.S. tour.
Each room elicited an expletive, at least from my potty-mouth. The Nun pops out of a wall, a demon appears on a bed, crosses start to spin, a possessed figure scampers across the ceiling and a man with an axe cornered me in a random closet.
At one point, I was huddled with a cast member in a dark room and made to crawl to escape said man with the axe.
And at the end, hold on because a demonic earthquake rumbles the archive room as we fight to put Annabelle back into her case.
As I said, she was shifty.
How to get the best scary experience
I’m giving “The Conjuring: Beyond Fear” two thumbs up. I went through the experience twice and was equally scared both times. Each experience was different, as cast members choose who holds what artifacts and what you have to do with each piece of memorabilia.
I was stuck in a room alone my first go-around, but crawled through another room the second time.
My advice: Really engage with the guides and your group. Feed off each other energies.
The guides will help visitors get through each room and remind you to keep track of the artifacts. I left Annabelle behind at one point on my crawl, but she was promptly, and maybe unwillingly, returned to me.
The scare actors will lightly touch you and chase after you. But they’ll also guide you out of the space if you need help.
It’s an interactive and immersive experience, so the more you interact, the scarier your experience will be.
The fine print and other scares
SCarowinds runs from Sept. 12 through Nov. 2.
There will be five haunted mazes and several scare zones and live shows. The major difference this year is guests will have to purchase a “Haunted Attraction Pass” to visit the haunted mazes. The $10 purchase is on top of the daily admission purchase.
Visitors will also have to purchase a separate ticket for “The Conjuring: Beyond Fear.” Prices vary from $15 to $25. It’s a one-time use ticket.
Visitors can purchase a “Haunted Attraction Express Pass” for $49, which includes priority access to the mazes and one-time access to “The Conjuring” attraction.
So some totals:
- All day pass and maze access: $49 to $55
- All day pass and express maze access: $90
Some of the other mazes include Silver Scream Studios, which features throwbacks to past SCarowinds attractions and a maze with even more dolls.
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This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
