Posted By Adam White on Oct 27, 2020 | 1 comment

Earlier this year, a spooky new addition to the newly dubbed LEGO® Fairground Collection was released. The Haunted House also became the first set to fall under the 18+ range of sets. But this isn’t the first time LEGO bricks have built a spooky dwelling. Still much sought after, the Haunted House from the Monster Fighters theme is considered the ghoulish holy grail of sets. Now almost 10 years on, a new contender has entered the ring and boy does it come out swinging. Packed with classic LEGO Easter Eggs and an interesting ride mechanism, the new Haunted House is the perfect treat this Halloween. Grab a ticket, strap yourself in and get ready for a trip around the Baron Von Barron’s Haunted House.

Product Description

If you love ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night, we’ve got a treat for you – the LEGO® Haunted House (10273). Take time out of everyday life and explore something extraordinary as you discover the thrills and surprises packed into this stunning building project.

Spookily good details bring the story to life

Take your time building this impressive haunted house model, before exploring all the intricate details hidden within. The house opens up, making it easy to explore inside where you’ll discover a working free-fall ride plus automatic doors at the top of the tower. See the haunted front doors close for a spooky effect. Add the LEGO Powered Up components (available separately) to control the lift via the Powered Up app.

A building project that’s full of thrills

This Haunted House is part of a collection of LEGO building kits for adults who appreciate clever design. This model also makes a scarily good gift, birthday present or Christmas gift

• Set Name: Haunted House
• Set Number: 10273
• Pieces: 3231
• RRP: £209.99/$249.99/229.99€
• Measurements: measure 26.5” (68cm) high, 9” (25cm) wide and 9” (25cm) deep
• Minifigures: 3 x female patrons, 2 x male patrons, 2 x Haunted House Butlers, 2 x Hooded Ghosts & Skeleton
• Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO.com and LEGOLAND Stores

The Build

LEGO fans, myself included, have a soft spot for the Monster Fighter theme. Released way back in 2012, the theme featured a band of monster hunters and a gang of spooky foe inspired by classic monsters. One of the sets from the theme which has become legendary was the Haunted House. So any other set which follows a similar vein has a lot to live up to. Which brings us to 2020 and an all-new Haunted House. Which is tangled with numerous connections both old and new. Firstly it’s part of the newly dubbed Fairground Collection which has previously included sets such as the Carousel, Roller Coaster and The Mixer. It was the first Creator Expert set to drop that branding in favour of the new 18+ one and it’s filled with so many Easter Eggs, it will have LEGO fans grinning from ear to ear, but more on that later. Let’s focus on the build.

The Haunted House’s foundations are four 16×16 plates, with two forming the bulk of where the house is built and the other two being hinged to allow access to the inside. You are then tasked with raising the mysterious manor from the ground up. The three quadrants of the house fit together remarkably well and the whole thing is quite sturdy. Although it’s not the most colourful of buildings, it more than makes up for it with various architectural flourishes. The sand green walls are a nod to the Monster Fighters Haunted House, these are framed by simple, yet extremely effective columns of grey 1×1 bricks and studs. The roofs are tipped with ornate spires decorated with musketeer swords and my favourite detail has to be the grey frogs sitting along the roof.

Inside is an even more ornate and certainly a little more colourful, with the interior of the Haunted House decorated with legendary artefacts from past LEGO sets. Most are inspired by the old LEGO Adventures theme as well as Pharoah’s Quest and Alpha Team. These all bring an impressive amount of detail to the set as well as adding a story element to the ride. Which is where the set gets even more interesting. This is not just a spooky dwelling filled with LEGO Easter Eggs, it’s an adrenaline-fulled theme park attraction. One thing you’ll notice about the set is it’s rather lofty. The tall tower houses a drop tower ride. This is similar to the old Twilight Zone Tower of Terror or Guardians of the Galaxy Breakout as it is now known, ride found at Disney parks. For those unfamiliar with the ride, it sees an elevator rise up the tower before reaching the top and plunging in freefall back to the ground floor.

The mechanics are this in LEGO form, are nothing short of impressive. Compared to some other sets which rely on gear systems to work, the one employed here appears rather simplistic. The trickiest part of building the working elements of the ride is the chain section. I struggled to connect both ends of the chain after feeding it onto the gear wheels. So I assumed I must have missed a couple of links which I added. Then as I cranked the ride it made an awful clicking noise halfway up and wouldn’t budge so I removed the links and tried any and it worked perfectly. Don’t be afraid to pull the chain, it actually has a little give.

Then the elevator carriage simple slots into place and is carried up the tower with a turn of a handle. As it reaches the top, a set of doors automatically spring open before the riders are dropped back down again. The drop is controlled by two large wheels so even though the carriage free falls down the tower it doesn’t smash into bits when it reaches the ground. It’s an extremely clever system which has been built into the ride and adds an amazing play function to the set. This motion of the ride can be achieved by turning the handle or by adding additional Powered UP elements.

LEGO Lore Easter Eggs

Beyond the glitz and glamour of the licensed sets exists a much-loved universe of stories often referred to as ‘adventure’ sets. These are story-driven builds based on original ideas and although they are seemingly disconnected from each other, there is a deeper connection woven across these themes. The result is an unofficial lore which continues to expand and is widely featured throughout the Haunted House. The most obvious is the name of the house, dubbed Manor Von Barron and named after Johnny Thunder’s arch-rival, Sam Sinister, who went by many names including Baron Von Barron.

His portrait hangs inside the house and is also the source of a great little feature. A light brick is hidden behind the printed picture. Pressing the Manor Von Barron sign on the front of the house lights up the portrait and reveals the ghostly form of Pharaoh Hotep. The button can be pressed from the exterior of the house and is neatly hidden behind the printed plate featuring the ride’s name.

Sinister travelled the world, trying to thwart Johnny Thunder and along the way he has collected a number of important artefacts, each tied to classic LEGO sets and themes. This include:

• The Idol of Everest – from Orient Expedition set Temple of Mount Everest
• The Obelisk of Evil – from Adventurers set Mummy’s Tomb
• The Heads of Anubis – from Adventurers set Oasis Ambush
• The Mask of Sphinx – from Adventurers set Sphinx Secret Surprise
• The Orb of OGEL – from Alpha Team set Ogel Control Center
• The Golden Dingus – from Orient Expedition set Yeti’s Hideout
• Box of Junk featuring Junkbot – from online JUNKBOT game

Powered Up

The set works perfectly fine from the box, but if you want to automate it, you can add additional Powered UP elements. With minimal effort, you can connect a Powered UP battery box and motors to bring the set to life with a press of a button. Although this is a nice option to have, the only downside is cost, with the Powered UP elements being quite expensive, especially compared to their old Power Functions counterparts. The Powered UP elements you’ll need include 88009 and two 88008. Using the Powered UP app, you can also add music and sound effects to the ride.

The Minifigures

The Minifigures are a little disappointing if I’m being honest. Of the nine includes four of them are duplicates, with two pairs of the same character and the various theme park enthusiasts are mostly made up of generic Minifigure parts. One thing I do like is the inclusion of a chap in a wheelchair. LEGO sets continue to embrace all aspects of life and a wheelchair user shows just that. It’s not a token additional either as the entrance to the Haunted House even includes an access ramp.

The most unique of the Minifigures included with Haunted House is a pair of ghostly figures. As expected these aren’t very detailed with a completely white torso, new skirt/robe element in white. Plus a white hood and a head element with two different faces. They look spooky enough but a classic ghost Minifigure would have been just as effective and better really. The other character is simply dubbed The Butler and he appears to be a twin. This top hat-wearing chap appears to be a rather dapper gentleman, with his waistcoat, giving him an air of theatrics.

Inside the Haunted House is a skeleton Minifigures, who is suspended by chains and is clutching a measuring device and wears a top hat, suggesting it could represent the fate of a past adventurer.

Overall

When this set was first revealed I was impressed but in no rush to go out and buy it. It seems a little too pricey for me especially as I was furloughed from work so spending was tight (even more so now I’ve been made redundant). Then I actually got to build the set as part of my run-up to Halloween and it’s one of my favourite builds of the year. Despite the similar details dotted around the set, mostly on the exterior, it never felt too repetitive. I’ve always been a fan of connected threads woven across original LEGO themes and this set is an amazing love letter to that. But not so much that it would confuse the average LEGO fan. Although the star of the set is the building, the Minifigures add an extra dimension to them and those included here are a little lacklustre. I would have liked to have seen these lean into the LEGO Easter Eggs, a shirt featuring a classic logo or characters looking like past ones from themes which have also inspired other aspects of the set.

The techniques used to create the functional aspects of the ride are extremely impressive and don’t feel overly complex to build. Apart from the slight mishap with the chain, there weren’t any issues getting the elevator to work. I understand people saying that it’s such a radical departure from other Fairground sets, but how many theme parks have rides which all feature the same branding? I like being surprised by a set and the Haunted House certainly did that. I missed out on the Monster Fighters version and this is more than a worthy alternative.

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This set was provided to BricksFanz.com by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.