Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be scary—but this year, it is.
For one day only this weekend, couples, loved ones and friends looking to do something a bit different for the love-filled holiday can head to Viktor’s Valentine: A Dark Love Story at Lincoln Mill Haunted House.
The experience opens this weekend on Saturday, Feb. 11, for one night only and will feature new scenes, new inhabitants, and 30 scare actors on-site.
“Other than taking your date out to a restaurant or bar, what other night-out options are there in the Philly region? That is when the idea came to us. We wanted to create a dark candlelit experience that wasn’t just about the traditional idea of love and romance,” said Haunted House co-founder Jared Bilsak in a statement. “Instead, we wanted to combine the emotions of love and fear while walking through a haunted mill in the dark….[So,] the idea for Viktor’s Valentine was born.”
Just like the venue’s inaugural Halloween activation, Lincoln Mill’s Valentine’s Day experience leads visitors through a “living story” which follows Viktor Valentine and a twisted tale of love that involves a trail of hearts, hidden chambers and ghosts.
Guests will venture through the hidden chamber equipped with only a candle, and the experience will be interactive.
“The Legend of Lincoln Mill is an evolving story and we want to continue telling that story throughout the year. For our first off-season event, we wanted to tell the story of how the mill’s main villain, Viktor Kane, lost his life and why his spirit haunts the place,” Bilsak added.
He continued: “In the story of Viktor’s Valentine, Viktor’s death is revealed and we learn that he was killed by someone close to him that was driven by both love and fear. Love and fear are the strongest human emotions and have become the key inspiration for this event.”
The trail of hearts for this experience act as clues for Philadelphians who are wandering through. In terms of the haunted house itself, the Mill has been upgraded to introduce some new scenic effects since October, a release states. Guests can expect a “drastically different experience” if they attended in Fall 2022.
When asked if the experience is meant to be scarier than the October experience, co-owner Brian Corcodilos said, “Yes, much scarier. Venturing through the darkness equipped only with a candle will significantly reduce visibility and make guests more vulnerable to our scare-actors. This creates many more opportunities for our scare-actors to appear out of nowhere.”
This year could be the start of an annual Valentine’s Day haunted house experience for Lincoln Mill, and the duo behind the concept are also already planning another spring-time pop-up that could emerge.
As the release states, tickets are on sale now online for $25 each, or two for $45 with times available from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Tickets include access to the deck overlooking the Schuylkill River as well and souvenir t-shirts are also available for $12 when purchased in advance.
For more information on Lincoln Mill Haunted House (4100 Main St.) visit lincolnmillhaunt.com
