The city of Riverside had been without a good haunted house since the “Chambers of the Mausoleum” left a few years back. Now, Downtown Riverside once again rings with the joyful sound of screaming thanks to Joshua Roa-St. Pierre’s “Human Roast House”. In its second year-running, the story of this haunted house’s creation seems like some sort of dream come true for fans of Halloween events. Joshua had been creating haunted houses at his family’s home since he was 11 years old. Now 18, the city of Riverside Arts Council noticed how popular his “home haunt” had become and decided to fund him professionally – hence, the Human Roast House was born.
The front-facing facade of the Human Roast House resembles an old, rundown house. You see, the Human Roast House takes you on a journey through the home of Austin Reed Trebbe, a serial killer… Before entering the home of this deranged individual, you get a short briefing/setup from the caretaker of the grounds. From there, you are off to explore the house and the inhabitants within. Perhaps you will even come face to face with Austin himself?
Throughout the experience, my fellow reporter and I were very pleased with how the maze actors “attacked” us with intensity and never broke character. The cast of the Human Roast House is made up of 25 to 35 volunteers who you can tell really love what they are doing. There was also a lot of variety to the types of characters we got scared by throughout the experience. We were never really sure what to expect in the next room.
Overall, the Human Roast House was a fun, scary experience with plenty of jumps to go around – all for a very reasonable ticket price of $10 dollars each. The Human Roast House is located on the corner of University Ave and Main St in Downtown Riverside. You can find more information on dates and hours as well as the maze’s backstory at its official website.
