"The Dig" leaves no nightmares
by Richard Boettner
The Metropolitan
Denver's newest high-tech haunted house is located in Broomfield, off of Highway 36 and Highway 287. The Dig, housed in a 10,000 square-foot warehouse, is produced by FrightProps, a Broomfield company.
Leah Bluntschli / The Metropolitan
A not-so-scary critter looking to frighten at "The Dig" a theme-based haunted house located in Broomfield.
This haunt is based on a fictional storyline. A local man Phineas P. Hatchet studied archeological sites in the Nile Valley. He is said to have found some interesting artifacts while building a warehouse in Broomfield in 1982. Since the completion of the warehouse, a number of people have been reported missing.
This is where The Dig's tour begins. You enter the warehouse, passing a number of artifacts displayed in glass cases. At the entrance to the elevator shafts, two Rangers inform you of safety concerns and let you know that staff are there to assist you in case an emergency occurs. Passing through The Dig's initial portal, you find yourself in front of a row of what look like elevator doors, ready to take you down 5,000 feet to the dig site.
Once the elevator, or, "Hellevator" is full, a Ranger closes the door and the usual shaking, lights flashing and smoke occur. When the Ranger announces you have arrived at the bottom, they proceed to the back of the elevator to push the back panel open, ushering you into the first part of the maze. Within seconds, the Ranger is grabbed from behind by a beast of some sort. Screaming for the rest of us to go ahead and save ourselves, the Ranger is pulled out of sight, leaving everyone in the group to walk through the maze unaided.
Along the way, you will find mechanical werewolves, mummies, boiling cauldrons, zombies, ghouls, bats, and spiders with their webbing. Strobes, flickers and other theatrical lights flash on and off adding to the effect. Background noises, sometimes out of sync, add to the haunting of The Dig. Floor-mat triggers and photoelectric sensors activate a number of props, sound and lighting devices.
Just before exiting The Dig, you pass through a tunnel that spins around, making you think the walkway you are on is moving and you are about to fall off. Once you step off the walkway you emerge into what looks like a store, where you can buy ghoulish refreshments and trinkets.
In all fairness, the night I visited The Dig, some of the animatronics and special effects were not working. It seems that some of the computer software that ran the effects still had some bugs to be worked out.
Should someone look up for any reason, the warehouse ceiling is visible in places, taking away from the overall effect of being underground. I may not have found The Dig all that frightening, but you may. It is not for the timid or the shy. It has potential and when fully operational, it just may scare you speechless. |
