Tucked away under the interstate in downtown Baton Rouge lies a place where evil clowns, witches, demons and murderers all come together to do one thing — scare you.
Located at 832 St Philip St., The 13th Gate is a 40,000-square-foot haunted house featuring 13 spine-chilling realms guests must travel through. The house is widely known for its meticulous attention to detail, all the way down to a pit of live snakes.
Each year, the crew tries to change at least 25 percent of the gate to keep up with new horror elements in pop culture and to keep returning patrons on their toes. This year, that includes a realm with a sinister take on “The Wizard of Oz.”
The 13th Gate is also reintroducing CarnEVIL, the Haunted Midway. Across the street where Necropolis once resided, CarnEVIL will be a nightmarish hub full of creepy games, delicious food, nightly entertainment and even free concerts. But be warned — ghouls and monsters have been known to wander from the haunted house.
The 13th Gate is also a place where students can gain practical experience in many fields such as acting, costume design and makeup.
“As a performer, there are so few opportunities that you get to have a job like this where you have such creative liberty and you really get to improvise, and you really get to become your character,” vocal performance master’s student Bella Mallow said. “You don’t have lines that you have to say. You get to be someone for a night, not just act as someone.”
Some students say it can get a bit exhausting going to school all day and then frightening patrons of The 13th Gate all night, but all of them agree that all the sleepless nights are worth it.
Working at The 13th Gate provides many students with performance majors a way to broaden their horizons and get acting and improv experience unlike anything else.
“I get more experience with acting and what kind of performance to put on for different types of people, so that’s always a good thing,” said theater performance senior Lindsay Hutson.
Students who aren’t pursuing a career in theatre can also find their place at the 13th Gate. Students from all majors have come together to form a close-knit community.
“I just love Halloween, so when I moved here from Mandeville to go to LSU, I knew that the 13th Gate was here, and I just wanted to work here,” business freshman Robert Perez said. “I wanted to involve myself with as many things that interest me as I possibly could, especially being on my own now and venturing into things I like.”
Actors have their makeup done before opening at the 13th Gate Haunted House on Friday, September 28, 2018.
