Maryland’s award-winning haunted attraction Hera’s Nightmare returned for its second season in 2025 with a major expansion that pushes the boundaries of what a haunt can be. Owner Carlos Rivas introduced The Horror Vault, an interactive selfie walkthrough that lets guests step into detailed horror sets designed specifically for photos and videos—a first-of-its-kind concept for Westminster’s TownMall.
From Immersive Scares to Immersive Creativity
After opening in 2024 with three full-scale haunted attractions—Containment X, Reign of Darkness, and The Curse of Hexen Hollow—Hera’s Nightmare quickly made an impression for its ambitious storytelling and movie-quality scenic design. The attraction went on to receive the 2025 OSCARES Award for First Year Haunt from the Haunted Attraction Association, recognizing its standout debut season.
But for Rivas, that was only the beginning. “We are going on our second year, and we decided to go bigger,” he said. “Now we have 25,000 square feet and a fourth attraction. We’re opening up a scare zone and expanding the horror shop.”
That fourth attraction, The Horror Vault, represents a creative shift—one that moves beyond traditional scares and into participatory art. “People want to take pictures when they go through the haunted house, but that’s hard when you’re getting scared,” Rivas explained. “So I wanted to make an interactive version of a haunted house where you can take videos, take pictures, and really see the scenic details we put in.”
Designing a Selfie Walkthrough for Horror Fans
The Horror Vault features between 16 and 18 themed rooms, each blending horror aesthetics with interactivity. Some rooms are simple photo opportunities, while others include motion triggers or animatronics that react to guests. “You might sit in a chair, put your head through a prop, or take a picture where you’re being attacked,” Rivas said. “There are buttons that make something happen—animations that might even talk to you.”
Rivas sees the experience as an extension of his scenic design background. Before opening Hera’s Nightmare, he worked for other haunted houses as a scenic designer and spent years studying how set design influences guest emotion. “Coming from a scenic background, I like making pretty sets,” he said. “This is a way for people to actually appreciate that work for once—not just walk through in the dark and miss the details.”
The result is a photo-ready environment that lets guests engage with the artistry of haunted house design at their own pace. “Some people just want to come to a haunt and get scared, and that’s okay,” Rivas added. “But there are others who want to make a big night of it—and this gives them something different.”
Expanding the Guest Experience
Alongside The Horror Vault, Hera’s Nightmare also expanded its midway offerings for 2025, adding new food and mocktail options, a larger retail shop, and outdoor entertainment zones. “We added more photo ops than ever and just a bigger midweek experience for everyone,” Rivas said.
For Rivas, every addition serves one goal: keeping the experience fresh while strengthening the sense of community that forms around the event. “I wanted to do something different,” he said. “You can only add so many haunted houses before it becomes the same thing. This gives us a new way to entertain people—and it’s something guests haven’t seen before around here.”
As The Horror Vault continues beyond Halloween season, Hera’s Nightmare is carving a unique niche in Maryland’s haunted attraction landscape—one that celebrates both the art of horror and the fans who love to document it.
