Jimmy Fallon’s Tonightmares experience was a nightmare, and not because it delivered a well-executed horror experience.

Last Saturday, The New School’s Student Leadership and Involvement (SLI) program took a group of students to attend Tonightmares for $20, where students waited in line for two hours before entering the actual haunted house — which took less than 15 minutes to walk through.  

Originally, the tickets for Tonightmares were $40, but prices vary depending on the time and day you attend. Despite the way the experience is marketed all over social media and on their website, it is pretty much a complete scam, and a waste of money — so much so that SLI refunded the tickets to the students who attended the event. 

For the wait being as long as it was, you’d think the attraction would be one of the best horror nights in the city — especially since the advertising makes it appear quite thrilling, but that was not the case. The production was minimal, and it fell short of what Fallon’s team could have executed if there had been more attention to detail and more of a theme to the maze. 

The actors were great for what they were given. Props consisted of werewolf masks and other creatures and basic horror makeup. The set design was good, with “10 terrifying rooms” according to their website. However, that’s not quite accurate. Some of the rooms were very creative and well done, but most of them lacked the actual aspect of horror or were just flat-out overhyped. Overall, they fell short of the “spine-chilling rooms” the guests were promised. 

One of the rooms transported the haunted house-goers into a creepy cornfield they had to maneuver through. While rummaging through the maze, a scarecrow would jump out followed by a few other jump scares, but this all happened too quickly to even appreciate. There is one room where a video plays on a tiny TV where Fallon gets bitten by a cute golden retriever puppy and turns into a werewolf, which later appears to scare you…Terrifying right? 

Fallon narrates the entire experience, guiding the groups through the maze, but it’s unnecessary and takes you out of the experience. Guests don’t need to be reminded that it’s Jimmy Fallon’s Tonightmares experience — it says it on the sign. 

The audience for Fallon’s experience feels ambiguous. Advertised as “His nightmare. Your reality,” these rooms might scare Fallon, but why would they scare us? The maze’s rooms come across as random and ultimately disappointing, especially after hours spent in line. 

The only other haunted house in the city is Blood Manor — which also costs $40, but is of much higher production quality and consistent in its horror. 

If you’re looking for a horror night filled with mild jump scares and hours-long wait time, then the Jimmy Fallon Tonightmare is just for you.