Brighton Asylum

Great haunt, awesome props/​sets, energetic actors! Loved it!
A lot has been added to the haunt since I’ve first gone to it three years ago which is nice because you never know what to expect!
There’s a large variety of scares, from both the ceiling and floor, so it’s not the typical haunt walk through where you know when the pop outs are going to be.
Definitely recommended!

Searching for some really scary haunted house & this is what I found the haunted asylum. Bought a ticket online & I got the 10pm schedule. Get there around 10pm and ohhh my! So many people in line. Its like a thousand people waiting outside in q cold weather so we ask if we can reschedule because no may we can get in until 1am. So they told us we can go whenever we want except thursday.
Came back for the second time on a sunday afternoon. They open at 8 but we dicided to get there early like 5pm! Haha! No ones on the line & we wait till 6:30 to be on the line. If you guys wanna get in fast be sure to be there half an hour before they open. The line is long all the time. We get in around 8:30 and the haunted asylum is pretty big & lots of stuff going on inside. If you wanna get scared then better check out this place!

Came here on Halloween night as a last minute thing boy was I glad I came I had a blast here. The people were very entertaining the attraction was well put together will recommend this to friends.

** UPDATE: Orignally, I gave Brighton a 2* review on Facebook and explained my reasoning below.
* Because Brighton doesn’t understand that people are entitled to opinions, Richard G. has chosen to respond defensively and rudely to my comments (one of which was about how the staff I encountered was «rude»… hmm… Ponder) stating that they were FACTUAL errors.
* Once I posted my review here on Unilocal,Richard G. left a note saying «I think you are looking to review Pennhurst Asylum, ma’am», attempting to misguide patrons and assume that my review couldn’t possibly be attached to this attraction.
* He then deleted that comment, and proceeded to state that I am actually an employee of Pennhurst, which is obviously the ONLY POSSIBLE WAY I could be upset with my experience last Friday and the follow-​up customer service.
TO CLARIFY things for you, Richard G., I am actually a nanny from Montclair, NJ and have not visited Pennhurst in 3 years. How can that be?!
That is correct; my disinterest in Brighton was SO GREAT that I chose to dig into my blurry Halloween memories of years past simply for the good of haunt-​going folks everywhere. I felt it was my duty to share my experience in your terrible communication, false advertising, lack of originality, and UNPROFESSIONAL and RUDE staff with the public.
Thank you so much for proving just how ridiculous your establishment is and for embarrassing yourself further by trying to get rid of ONE honest, but negative review. I’ve now deducted a star to leave my final review at 1*.
My original review is stated below:
I don’t know why people think that this is a 5* attraction.
Pros:
Creative themes inside
Makeup and props were higher quality
Cons:
* Lines were WAY too long, and we got there early. I feel badly for the people arriving after 8:30. Yes, I know Brighton is popular but they should let people know that they can expect to wait 3+ hours to get in … Maybe people would understand the point of the Fast Pass
* Actors outside were completely out of character, talking to people and taking photos with them… Did not help keep the excitement for what’s inside
* Staff was INCREDIBLY rude. No excuse for that.
* This is NOT an asylum haunt. It’s a prop haunted house with general scares from behind doors and around corners. There were so many themes inside and none of them were an adequate depiction of what they advertised.
************
Tip: Spend the money and go to Pennhurst. Though it does have some additions and props, the most interesting part is that it is actually within the awesome parts of a real asylum … Actors stay in character as hospital patients … Rooms utilized for the haunt were on theme with their original use (the original cafeteria was used as the cafeteria scene, etc.)
I feel as though Brighton advertised this to be on par with Pennhurst and it is NOWHERE NEAR the same spectrum.
Brighton is popular for people who want a carnival-​pop-​up type haunted house, not for people who know what a haunt is supposed to be.
Never going back, would never recommend.

Really well done and worth the experience. Even the surrounding area fits in perfectly. You can tell the staff really enjoys their work. Which made this place really stand out from the rest. I would recommend buying the speed pass. The line is insane.

Yes, yes, yes! Someone I follow on Instagram posted a photo of her and her friends at Brighton, so I decided to check it out. We were going to head to Bane in Livingston, but the idea of an Asylum intrigued me more! I wasn’t disappointed. I wasn’t scared much (I’m a horror movie junkie) but it was still AWESOME. My brother and cousin enjoyed it!
A lot of people complain about the line, but it’s literally on the website «dress warm, wait times can be up to 2 to 3 hours». I heeded that warning and dressed like it was 30 below and was very comfortable. A lot of people in line were not haha. I didn’t mind the wait either. It didn’t feel that long, honestly, maybe because I was expecting it. My brother timed our wait haha 2 hours and 13 minutes for us to get to the front of the line. We arrived at 10 and got into the attraction at around 12:13am 10÷31÷15.
The attraction was really cool with a lot of unexpected twists and turns. The workers running the lines were very sweet, striking up conversations with us.
An all around awesome way to ring in Halloween.
**The only complaint I have is I wish they enforced the no flashlight rule (confiscate flashlights). The group in front of us kept trying to find the actors before they popped out and were huge jerks about it. The actors shut them down a few times (told they would get kicked out) but they continued to have their phones out/​flashlights on some of the way. It kinda ruined the experience, but not by much!
Also, I wish the sign that stated «no alcohol, no touching the actors, no lighters, etc» included «no cell phone use» more clearly. It very well may have, but I missed it. A lot of people seemed to as well because they tried to take pictures throughout the attraction without knowing it wasn’t allowed**
All in all I will definitely recommend this place! Totally worth the $ 25 in my opinion. HEED THE WARNINGS ON THE WEBSITE AND YOU’LL KNOW WHAT TO DO/​EXPECT.

I had heard about the «asylum» but never quite took notice until a good friend of mine told me about the intricate details and behind-​the-​scenes info as he was the original electrician who wired the place some 4 years prior… I decided to have myself a look.
I arrived the other night to see a sea of patrons waiting to get in… having paid extra ahead of time I was whisked in and that’s when the fun began.
I entered an elevator which took me down to another level in the basement and followed the group as we walked through a maze of rooms filled with such detail and spookiness I had to keep telling myself.“It’s ok, it’s not real,.it’s not real“
Everything from «jump scares» to excellent and constant staff character participation fueled by the surrounding ambiance of gore and horror all contributed to a truly frightful time there.
The owner, Mr. Gonci, is quite an artist and a vivid conceptualist… he (in most cases) single handedly fabricated just about everything you see in this huge labyrinth spanning an excess of 6600 square feet.
For my money, it was well worth what I had paid, the wait was minimal, and the staff were organized… I will return next year to see it all again.
Thank you for the scares,
Anton E.

This place deserves to be in the top 3 places for the New Jersey area to visit during the halloween season! I would have given it 5 stars, but that’s only because I wasn’t as scared as they make it out to be. However I was beyond entertained and spooked. The actors are great and really steal the show here! On my list for the 2016 season!

We arrived at about a quarter to 8 on a Sunday and were able to park in one of the last spots there. The line was ok, but I would guess people were already waiting for a half an hour. We paid the extra money to get the fast pass– which made our experience just under $ 100.
The attraction was well done and the actors were great. I was super impressed by the contact lenses and make up. When we were inside, I honestly had no idea where we were– lots of twists and turns.
The thing is, $ 100 is a lot for a 1 attraction haunted house. You can drive to a house and hayride and pay a lot less or a lot more. The bigger places usually also have concession stands and fun pictures, and this place has basically nothing extra. Also, the end of the attraction includes a slide with a pretty severe cut off that can hit your back, and a ball pit that is screaming lawsuit.
It’s not the best haunted house I’ve ever been to, but it’s not the worst.

The wait time was ridiculous. We had a 9:30 reservation and didn’t get into the building until about 11:30. It was an hour and half trip from New York and we weren’t happy. To make it worse it was freezing out. On the positive side the attraction was done well. The actors inside were scary and playful. The makeup was done well and they definitely made me jump a few times. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend the trip. Way to long of a wait for a short scare. Go to fright fest, at least you get a ride at the end of the 2 hour wait
Since I can’t reply, I will update my review in regards to Dick’s comment. The wait time was ridiculous in comparison to the headless horseman, located in upstate New York. Which by the way for 15 more dollars you get a haunted hayride, multiple haunted houses and a corn field. The makeup is no different from the employees who work at your establishment. Oh and for the small wait time, they at least sell hot chocolate and other things to make the time enjoyable. As a business man wouldn’t that be the perfect opportunity to make additional income? Also, thanks for the one clown and one guy on the tricycle. They made the two hour wait interesting. And if that’s not enough, your employees directing your CUSTOMERS where to go were some of the rudest people I’ve ever met. Also, to your point about reading the web site. What if the tickets were purchased as a gift or someone just watched the trailer on YouTube (nothing like the actual haunted house) All of this and I’ll still say the actors were GREAT… Maybe put a cap on how many tickets you sell per time slot… And please tell me you do because that would be bullshit. A happy customer is a returning customer. I won’t be returning and won’t be recommending your business.
P.S you should make things right with your customer not bitch at them because now people really know how shitty my experience was. I was being considerate before
–angry customer who drove an hour and a half to stand and wait for two hours and then have the owner cry over reviews.

Ayoooo! Went to Brighton Asylum on Saturday holy shit this place was amazing. People jumping out on you from all sides and ceiling. We had so much fun I would definitely recommend it to anyone just not kids. We also did the escape room don’t waste your time or money. You better off investing it on the VIP ticket. So hurry up and go I guarantee you a great time with your family and friends. Lol I wish I could have recorded my wife and niece screaming like little scary cats. So much fun

Driving up to the asylum was pretty creepy and definitely set the mood seeing all of the barred windows. I love that it still looks like a run-​down asylum! We found parking pretty close since it seemed like there were a lot of people leaving.
We got tickets to the 9:30pm show, didn’t get in until 11:30pm and there was a lot of staff confusion about where we should have been waiting. There was even one point where we realized that they had let the 10:30pm group go before us! The line could have definitely been better organized. I could understand a one hour wait because the attraction was really great, but two hours in the cold was just too much.
Apart from that I was really scared! I was a little disappointed that some of the actors from the website were not in the asylum, especially the woman with the device holding her mouth open which was by far the creepiest picture on the website in my opinion. They had a great contortionist kind of actor who really pulled off the creepy exorcism look. All of the actors chased me and really enjoyed what they were doing (or so it seemed!). I wish there was some music and actors outside to make the wait go by a little quicker. Or if they had sold hot chocolate, that could have smoothed things over a little better.
Overall it was a good experience but I don’t think I would be paying to return to wait on a line like that again. I am a pretty understanding client, but that wait was really crazy. Blackout in NYC seems way scarier!

Went here on a busy weekend night and was pleasantly suprised! The attraction brings in alot of people, and it’s because the owner really puts his heart and soul into this place! I’m not sure what the other reviewers meant but I was scared most of the time! I have been coming here for years as recommended from a friend and is always a part of my halloween season! This year was no exception and I’m looking forward to coming next year and for all the other attractions offered throughout the years!

I love Halloween, I love getting scared, I love haunted hayrides, houses, etc. I spend a lot of time & money traveling to haunts all of the country and this was pathetic to put it nicely.
Brighton Asylum was a huge disappointment & waste.
A group of 4 of us went last night and we barely screamed or jumped. We saw few actors throughout the entire haunt & they were pretty sad. The majority of the attraction was walking through halls with no one popping out. They had more electronic & faux rubber looking bodies than anything else.
Multiple times we were stuck behind the group in front of us making it even more anti-​climactic since we basically knew what was coming.
Where were the actors? Where were the creepy, crawling, shrieking people popping out & chasing us? My middle school put on something similar for children 15 years ago.
We spent $ 50 a person for absolutely nothing. I should have asked for a refund upon exiting but I was too annoyed to even have that discussion. It was a HUGE RIP OFF & I hate to say, but I wouldn’t even recommend this haunt to a toddler.

Awesome! Come with time. It’s worth the wait. Pissed my pants lol. Can’t wait to come back to do it again. Wear comfortable shoes!

My mom and I come here for it all, the regular Halloween season, Santa’s haunted slay, the Easter attraction, and the Valentine’s Day attraction (which my mother and I won the contest for one year). The owner is such a sweet guy he really does a great job and he’s not like your typical jerk owner who simply could care less about making an appearance. He’s usually there and he’s very welcoming and it’s nice to make a face to the attraction that’s so popular. I’ve been going to this attraction since they first started and didn’t have so much popularity now I’ve watched there attraction grow into something so big! It’s awesome I’m so happy for this attraction cause it deserves it. It doesn’t seem to disappoint at all! I will probably be there next week! Can’t wait to get my scare on :)

The rooms are beautifully done and the actor makeup was better than I thought it’d be. But to me it wasn’t scary and it didn’t freighten me but ived worked on a haunted set before so that’s just me. The girls I were with however were very scared, held on to me and made me lead the way. The line wasnt long because we got there 20 min before our set time. Prob 30 minute wait. I did however have a lot of fun. I like how the actors have something to say back if you say something to them. I like how one of the girls had a stare down with me. And when you wait in line actors entertain you and the free parking is a plus. The staff seems to love what they do. So its something to appreciate. It is definitely for all ages.

*This review is based on Contact Night 10/​23/​2014 and is broken up into Overall Verdict (summary), Arrival, Line and Asylum Experience as well as notes on the Extent of the Contact.
— — — Overall Verdict:
Set, Costumes & Makeup: Phenomenal
Actors: Amazing
Extent of Contact: Unsatisfactory
Fear Factor: Low (of course, this is subjective to your «startle/​scare-​tolerance»).
Length: 15 — 20 minutes
Additional details: It’s never too early to arrive; this place gets packed! We got there an hour before the event and the parking lot was more than half full.
More tips: Buy online and skip the first line (ticket line [see below for details])
Verdict: It’s a lot of fun and good to try once, but I don’t have much incentive to try again.
— — — Arrival Experience:
A large group of 12 of us came here during Contact Night. As my car was driving in, we see a sign that directs us into the parking lot which really set the mood because you don’t see any other cars or people around at that point. All you see is an ostensibly isolated place for trucks and warehouses. However, as you turn towards the parking lot you’re brought back to reality and realize that this place is actually packed! We arrived around 7pm (the actual event begins at 8pm), which we thought was decently early, but there was already a long line and the parking lot was more than half full!
— — — Line Experience:
There are two lines:
1) Line to buy and/​or sign waiver
2) Line for entry to Brighton Asylum
We all bought our tickets online (with a promo code so it was less than the usual $ 25) and were able to skip the first line. All we had to do was go towards the special «online-​ticket» line (which was non-​existent), present our tickets and sign the waiver (for contact). Then we got our glow sticks (err…I mean «glow-​in-​the-​dark» necklace) as a sign of approval to be touched and rushed to the line for entry to the Asylum (Yippee! ^_​^).
As we were leaving (around 8:30pm), the two lines grew even longer and there was hardly any room for parking.
— — — Asylum Contact Night Experience:
We only had about 5 — 10 minutes wait before entry. This was enough time to interact with the Walking Dead and take pictures. When it was time to go in, we split into 3 groups of 4 (because those are the rules) and excitedly awaited to experience Brighton Asylum. The act for getting us inside the Asylum is one of the best moments in my opinion. They really set the mood by having you release your partners so that you feel isolated, back you up against the wall and put a black bag over your head so you have limited vision as you enter the asylum. Then they tell you to close your eyes…
The entire attraction will take about 15 — 20 minutes, depending on how fast you move from room to room. I recommend taking your time for maximum experience (but not too long as the next group will catch up); It’s not that big of a place.
— — — Extent of Contact:
This was the disappointing part. On the site, «contact night» is advertised as a night where you can be, but not limited to being, grabbed, abducted, etc, against your will. The reality? By «abduction», they meant that they have you voluntarily be separated from the group and by «contact» they mean, petting your head, grabbing you (but ever so gently) so that you’ll be isolated (for like a whole 5 seconds), which is all still relatively voluntarily because if you really didn’t want to be touched — even if you do have your glowing necklace on — they won’t chase you or try harder to do so.
So overall, I’d say this is somewhat comparable to a family-​friendly asylum. For those who are just looking for a fun time, I’d say give it a try at least once. I had a lot of fun and the actors did well with playing their parts (at least it wasn’t cheesy). However, for those haunted-​house enthusiasts who expect much more terrifying experiences like Blackout (well, not 2014 Blackout but prior years), this is probably not an attraction for you.

Here’s the deal.
A group of 7 of us came last night (¹⁰⁄₂₃ full contact night). We bought tickets online but still had to wait on the huge line to get our physical ticket and fill out a waiver. That was a turnoff because my online ticket specifically says «Skip Ticket Booth Line & Proceed Directly to General Admission Line». While waiting in line they had several actors walking around scaring the patrons (and posing for pictures). This made it exciting and was a nice touch.
After waiting to get tickets we then waited on line to get in. We did not have a fast pass but I highly recommend getting one. For $ 15 more you don’t have to wait 2+ hours to get in. Get the fast pass. At first we were super excited but by the end of the line we were antsy and losing steam.
They only allow groups of 4 in at a time so we were split up 4 and 3 (because there were 7 of us).
FULL CONTACT NIGHT:
It’s the same price as regular except they give you a glow in the dark necklace and if you have it on they can touch you, push you, grab you, etc. I kept mine on it made the experience more exciting. Most of my group had it off.
Overall the actors were great, the details were great and the makeup and masks were phenomenal. It isn’t over the top scary but it’s the best haunted house I have done so far. They went above and beyond with props and set design and had plenty of actors throughout.

Not bad experience. I got there at 9pm on a Sat. There was a line but it moved pretty quick. I wish I parked my car at Food Basic to avoid the car line into their small parking lot.
The actors and set design was pretty good. I wish they got more physical with us.