INTERVIEW: Have a Big Apple nightmare at Haunted NYC Bank
Photo: Haunted NYC Bank finishes with a photo op — if visitors come out alive. Photo courtesy of John Soltes.
NEW YORK — The newest neighbor on the haunted house block is called Haunted NYC Bank, which is located just off Canal Street in Downtown Manhattan. This immersive experience, which combines a classic haunted house with interactivity and immersive techniques, takes place in an abandoned historic bank that adds multiple layers of doom and gloom for frightened visitors.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox received a hellish tour of the dark, dreary environs. There were clowns. There were dead people. There was a bodega, a police officer and a challenge to find money in safe-deposit boxes. It was quintessential New York and the brainchild of Maria Moyano, producer and creative director of the Halloween attraction.
“We had an immersive experience before in this property called INTER, which is like an intergalactic museum, more of like an immersive experience about space,” Moyano said in a recent interview. “And then we decided to close that down, but before closing everything down, we were like, ‘Why don’t we do a haunted house?'”
For those thinking about visiting Haunted NYC Bank, take heed. Moyano said this is a one-year-and-done attraction, meaning 2025 will be the only chance to enjoy the terror in this most unique property. “That’s why it’s important for people to come now,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll do something else next Halloween, but it probably won’t be this concept or this space.”
The plans to pull together Haunted NYC Bank came rather quickly. The team began working in earnest only one month before opening, which is an impressive turnaround given the horrid scenes on display. It’s best to keep the details secret, but rest assured, this haunted banks feels like a challenge, a piece of theater and a haunted maze all wrapped into one. At one point, this writer didn’t know how to exit a ghostly room that seemed to have no corners.
“We made the decision super last minute,” Moyano said. “We did it literally a month before. ‘OK, let’s do it.’ I work with pop-ups all the time, so it’s always a fast turnaround. Again, the space was already here. A lot of the rooms, the framework was already there. It’s just re-skinning it. … This bank has been around since the ‘20s, and it was the First National City Bank of New York.”
Moyano said Haunted NYC Bank stands apart from the glut of other haunted attractions because there is a narrative to the entire experience. This is no hodgepodge of thrills; instead, visitors are whisked away and told a story that is very much a tale of the Big Apple, featuring a city street, a bodega and even subway sounds piping in through the speakers.
“I think why our guests really are liking it is because there’s a concept to the whole thing,” she said. “When people come to New York, they want to do New York things. … You go up out of the underground into the New York City streets, and then there’s the classic New York bodega. We want to make sure visitors not just get stuck in the bank; there are other rooms outside of the bank.”
All told, the attraction employs 12 actors, and joining Moyano in a leadership role is Anthony Farina, the chief operations officer of the exhibit. Moyano was especially excited for the next two weekends, which promise big business given that everyone is seemingly turning toward spooky entertainment.
“We’ve already seen a lot of people, which is really exciting,” Moyano said. “The horror fanatics, as soon as you drop a haunted house, they’re like, ‘I’m there.’ So the opening weekend was really nice.”
Like other haunted houses, there’s a general admission price, plus a Fast Pass and group rates for eight or more visitors. Tickets are available on the Fever platform through Saturday, Nov. 1.
“When I was in high school, I built haunted houses with my best friend in my mom’s garage, and I loved it,” Moyano said. “I love scary movies. I love going to these type of things, so when my client was like, ‘Why don’t we do a haunted house?’ ‘Oh my God, yes.’ I knew it was going to be really hard. How do we do this in four weeks? But I love it.”
She added: “We bought a lot of stuff online. I went thrifting to a bunch of stores in New York. I even went to Philly. A lot of the downstairs stuff, there are vintage phones, vintage lamps. I bought all that. The bodega, there was an abandoned bodega, and they wanted to get rid of all their stuff. So we bought everything, and we’re going to donate everything a few weeks later.”
Readers have been warned that scares abound at Haunted NYC Bank.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Haunted NYC Bank continues at 415 Broadway in New York City through Saturday, Nov. 1. Click here for more information and tickets.
