SCARE RATING SYSTEM
5 ..... Go ahead and have an Ambulance on standby, you're gonna need it!
4 ..... May initiate releasing of bodily functions!
3 ..... Scary, but nothing you can't handle!
2 ..... Seriously? This place would only scare the Elderly & Young Children!
1 ..... Don't walk, RUN back to the ticket booth to get your money back!
Death Row - Sanitarium of Slaughter (Nashville, Tn.)
Scare Rating: (2.5 out of 5) Overall Experience: (3 out of 5)
http://deathrowhauntedhouse.com
OVERALL RATING = 16.5 out of 25
Scare Rating: 2.5
Overall Experience: 3
Costumes & Make-up: 2.5
Decorations & Special Effects: 3.5
Bang for Your Buck: 5 (43 min. @ $12.00)
Rated #8 Most Viewed Haunted Houses in Tennessee by Hauntworld.com
10-11-13 (Friday, 7:15pm) ... Death Row is located on the Southside of Nashville (418 Harding Industrial Drive, Nashville, Tennessee 37211 ... 615-833-1433). I don't know what this building use to be but it was some type of industrial warehouse and had lots of space inside that housed what seemed like an endless trail of hallways.
Scare Rating: Death Row - Sanitarium of Slaughter is an old school type of haunted attraction. It kind of reminded me of the old days when local Jaycees usually ran all the haunted houses. It's a pretty simple formula that Death Row uses. It is mainly comprised of endless hallways of scary scenes. The hallways are composed of black painted stud and plywood walls that meander throughout this large old warehouse. Along these hallways, they have tens of "room scenes" I don't know how long Death Row has been in business, but you can tell they have been around for a long time, because they have collected thousands of props that they use throughout the attraction.
There are so many props in each scene that you could literally stand there for a few minutes at each scene just trying to see everything in the scene. I noticed on their website, it mentions that they have collected artifacts from old prisons and other old historical parts of old Nashville. You can tell. It's almost like a museum of artifacts.
The reason why I give it a scare rating of 2.5, which would be considered an "Average" score is because of the lack of human scare element. Even though the scenes are really neat and some are very graphic and grotesque, there were no human actors in the scenes, they were just simply "Scenes". Neat to look at but not really scary.
There were also a lot of hidden windows, nooks and crannies that there were no actors. It seemed like they didn't have enough actors. There were a lot of missed opportunities. It took us 43 minutes to go through the event but they didn't have enough actors to really sustain that length of an attraction. You find yourself just simply walking through looking at scenes almost as if you were window shopping with long gaps in seeing any human actors. For as long as the attraction took to go through, they could have used at least double the number of actors that they had and this greatly affected the scare factor. The hallways are somewhat narrow and almost all the actors came at you in the hallways. Unfortunately, due to the narrow hallways, the actors were limited in what they could do and it became a bit predictable after a while. I really think they should have had double the amount of actors and integrated them into the scenes and worked the distraction scare tactics more.
They did have a few animatronics that were, for the most part, ineffective at scaring and were not placed well or accompanied with live actors to increase the scare element. Costumes and Make-up were average.
Overall Experience: Admission price is only $12.00 for a 43 minute experience, so the bang for your buck was great. I did not see any concession stand and they only had a small 10x10 tent where you could buy some t-shirts. They did have a port-o-john for a bathroom but there is nothing special to the event.
It is just an old school type of attraction with no frills. It is great for a date night because it's cheap and last for a long time. It's not too scary but scary enough to make your girlfriend grab your arm. Even though there are no frills, it was an enjoyable experience.
The exit was a bit confusing as to how to get back to your car and I ended up walking a good distance just to get back to my car. Parking was free and there were plenty of spaces to park.
Once I got in line, the wait was only 18 minutes to go into the event and the staff was friendly. The line was under a canopy top fenced in area, so if it rains, you will be partly covered. One nice touch was these guys had banner ads attached to the fencing that advertised other haunted events in and around the Nashville area. I thought this was a nice touch and really showed some class by the owners.
If, for no other reason, it is worth the $12.00 just to see the enormous amount of artifacts and scenes. Overall, you will have a good time and if you are easily scared, this would be a good event for you to attend.
Nashville Nightmare (Nashville / Madison, Tn.)
Scare Rating: (4 out of 5) Overall Experience: (4.25 out of 5)
OVERALL RATING = 21.75 out of 25
Scare Rating: 4
Overall Experience: 4.25
Costumes & Make-up: 4.5
Decorations & Special Effects: 4.5
Bang for Your Buck: 4.5 (46 min. @ $23.00)
Rated #4 Most Viewed Haunted Houses in Tennessee by Hauntworld.com
Rated #29 "Must See Haunts" in America by Haunted Attraction Magazine
10-11-13 (Friday, 8:55pm) ... Nashville Nightmare is like the "Netherworld" of Nashville. It reminds me a lot of Netherworld in Atlanta but just not quite as grand as Netherworld. It is located on the north side of Nashville in a suburb called Madison (1016 Madison Square, Madison, Tennessee 37115 ... 615-75BLOOD).
Scare Rating: I have to admit, driving to Nashville Nightmare, I was a little disappointed. It is located in a suburban strip mall and my first reaction was, "oh no, it's in a strip mall"? It is a little difficult to find actually because it is located on the back side of this strip mall, Madison Square. However, once I got there, it kind of reminded me of Netherworld in Atlanta. The similarities continued as I went through the attraction.
This is a very professional haunted attraction much like other top rated attractions that I have rated right here on Monster Blog 13. As you wait in line, there were at least 4 or 5 actors with very professional make up and costumes scaring everybody in line and anyone who drove by to park. These actors did a great job at entertaining the crowd outside making the wait not so long.
Inside, the decorations are incredible. The decorations are very professional and well done. They have a lot of animatronics that are well placed and effective at scaring people. They have some really large animatronics like a headless horseman that I had not seen before and they had what I call the human animatronics. These are the ones where an actual human operates the animatronic but it looks like a regular animatronic. They had a great gator head that really lurched out at you and almost grabbed you as you walked or ran by.
The actors are very well done costume and make-up wise and they do a great job at pursuing you. They really did a great job at taking advantage of scare moments that you would not expect. Even when you walked into spots where you just knew something was going to jump out at you, they would still manage to make you jump.
Nashville Nightmare has two attractions, "Night Terrors" and "Dark Descent". Night Terrors is the main event and was very scary but Dark Descent was only mildly scary and is the reason why the scare rating is listed as a 4. I would have given Night Terrors a 4.25 by itself.
During the middle of Night Terrors, there is a pitch black maze that is really hard to get out of and you find yourself getting frustrated trying to get out. I mean it is pitch black and you can barely see anyone except for some black light that lights up anyone who is wearing light colors. There is one actor who keeps sending you in wrong directions and I won't give away how to get out. You'll just have to suffer!
Dark Descent is suppose to be a government research lab. They give you a background story and then they give each group two light sticks. These light sticks are the only way to keep these monsters away from you. If you shine your light stick at them, they will back away. Otherwise, they come for dinner! It was mildly scary but was more neat than scary. It was extremely short however and really was more of a waste of time in my opinion, although I love to experience even the parts that aren't so great.
Overall Experience: Tickets are $17.00 for one event, $23.00 for the two attractions and they have a $35.00 Splash Pass that you can buy to bypass the wait in line.
As I mentioned above, Night Terrors took us 39 minutes to go through and I would have given it a 4.25 scare rating by itself, but Dark Descent only took 7 minutes to go through and I would have given it a 2 scare rating. Therefore, if you are tight on cash, I would suggest just buying the $17.00 one event ticket price and going through Night Terrors. Dark Descent is just not really worth the extra $6.00 unless you are just adventurous.
Once I got my tickets, which there was no wait in line to get tickets, I waited outside in a line for 43 minutes. Then they do a security check with a scanning beeper wand to check for weapons. Just a heads up, do not take lighters or pocket knives in with you, they will confiscate them and do not guarantee returning them to you. Once they scan you at the security check, you go inside and wait in one of three lines. We waited another 21 minutes in this line for a total of 64 minute wait total before we entered the attraction.
The atmosphere at Nashville Nightmare is great and very festive. They do have concessions and a gift shop, although I didn't get to spend much time looking around because I was in a hurry to make it to one more haunted attraction on this night.
They do a great job at entertaining you and it has a good bang for your buck rating with 46 minutes of attraction for $23.00. Night Terror alone is a 39 minute for $17.00 bang for your buck if you opt to only do one attraction.
Overall, you will really enjoy Nashville Nightmare. Bring your friends and your enemies and you will have a great time! It makes for a great night of fun!
Dead Land Haunted Woods (Lebanon, Tn.)
Scare Rating: (3.5 out of 5) Overall Experience: (4 out of 5)
OVERALL RATING = 18 out of 25
Scare Rating: 3.5
Overall Experience: 3.75
Costumes & Make-up: 3.5
Decorations & Special Effects: 3.5
Bang for Your Buck: 3.75 (38 min. @ $30.00)
Rated #3 Most Viewed Haunted Houses in Tennessee by Hauntworld.com
10-11-13 (Friday, 11:44pm) ... Dead Land Woods was my last attraction of the night after a whirlwind night of hitting 3 of Nashville's best haunted attractions. It was a long night and I had a 2 hour drive to get back home, but it was well worth the trip. Dead Land Woods has a Lebanon, Tn. address but it is actually just north of Murfreesboro, Tn. which is southeast of Nashville. They are located at 7040 Murfreesboro Road, Lebanon, Tennessee 37090 ... 615-519-3116.
Scare Rating: I have a real soft spot for any haunted attraction that is located on a farm. I just love being outdoors walking through the woods and enjoying the country cool air. However, they can be disappointing if they aren't scary.
It is a little harder sometimes to make a haunted trail scary because there are so many obstacles to overcome, but these guys did a good job at scaring you. For the most part, you won't need to change diapers at Dead Land Woods, but there are moments that will really make you jump. Anytime people jump out at you in the woods, it makes you jump a little.
Dead Land Woods is comprised of 3 attractions, "The Curse" which is a haunted trail, "The Portal" also a haunted trail and "The Maze of Screams" which is a maze inside a barn.
I am giving an overall scare rating of 3.5 mainly for the two haunted walking trails, The Curse and The Portal. The Maze of Screams by itself would only have a scare rating of .75 and only because they had two actors who walked around the Maze and occasionally jumped out at you or screaming at you as you made your way through a pallet walled maze. The maze only took us about 4 minutes to get out of and so it really wasn't scary at all.
The actors on the haunted trails did a really good job of not only scaring you but they also pursued you as you walked along the trail. They didn't just jump at you and retreat back, they kept at you. They also would talk to you in character that added sometimes funny banter with the actors. Many of them were well hidden and you couldn't always see them coming. That is always one of my biggest problems with walking trails is when you can see them coming or they make too much noise waiting in the woods and you can hear them coming. These guys did a good job of surprising you.
The costumes and make-up were good also. I actually like farm haunted attractions because the costumes are often homemade and many of the props are homemade. It's refreshing sometimes to see homemade scare elements. The big haunted attractions spend a lot of money on props and these farm attractions often build these props themselves. I like that.
The Portal had "Live" scenes from some of your favorite horror movies and this was kind of neat. It was as if you were walking into a scene of Friday the 13th or Jeepers Creepers. While it was slightly predictable it was something that I had not seen before and I thought it was kind of cool as long as they didn't over do the scenes.
The actors really did a good job at interacting with you both physically and verbally. They do not touch you but they get in your personal space and I like the verbal interaction with them, as long as they stay in character.
Overall Experience: Like I said before, I really enjoy these farm haunted attractions. There was no wait in line for either tickets or attractions, even though there were a fair number of people there. Everybody is spread out over the 3 attractions.
They had a nice fire going that you could sit around and keep warm on a cool night. They also had Port-o-let bathrooms and concessions. I got some Mozzarella Sticks that were really good and a cheeseburger that was average. The only complaint I have about the concessions is they set it up like a picnic style for your condiments and it needed to be cleaner than it was and the serving window shelf was dirty and had ketchup and I don't know what else. I kept getting stuff on my hands and wrist every time I touched something. It just needed to be wiped clean every now and then. The concession prices were very fair.
I did not see a gift shop or t-shirts for sale but they may have had them. I just didn't see them.
Tickets are $30.00 for all 3 attractions at Dead Land Woods. They do offer a VIP Bundle for both trails + Maze and Fast Access Pass for $50.00. I would not suggest doing this as I didn't have to wait at all for all 3 attractions. You could easily do without the Maze but they don't offer a price for just the two trails. I do think $30.00 is a little over priced for what you get. I think $25.00 for all 3 attractions would be a fair asking price. $20.00 for the two trails and $25.00 for all 3. The Maze is just not worth the $10.00 they ask if you do the Maze only.
It took me 19 minutes to go through The Curse, 15 minutes to go through The Portal and just 4 minutes to go through the Maze of Screams for a total of 38 minutes.
If you get a group of friends, you will enjoy Dead Land Woods. It's a neat place to just hang out for a while and it has a good bang for your buck rating with 38 minutes of attractions for $30.00.
It is a little harder sometimes to make a haunted trail scary because there are so many obstacles to overcome, but these guys did a good job at scaring you. For the most part, you won't need to change diapers at Dead Land Woods, but there are moments that will really make you jump. Anytime people jump out at you in the woods, it makes you jump a little.
Dead Land Woods is comprised of 3 attractions, "The Curse" which is a haunted trail, "The Portal" also a haunted trail and "The Maze of Screams" which is a maze inside a barn.
I am giving an overall scare rating of 3.5 mainly for the two haunted walking trails, The Curse and The Portal. The Maze of Screams by itself would only have a scare rating of .75 and only because they had two actors who walked around the Maze and occasionally jumped out at you or screaming at you as you made your way through a pallet walled maze. The maze only took us about 4 minutes to get out of and so it really wasn't scary at all.
The actors on the haunted trails did a really good job of not only scaring you but they also pursued you as you walked along the trail. They didn't just jump at you and retreat back, they kept at you. They also would talk to you in character that added sometimes funny banter with the actors. Many of them were well hidden and you couldn't always see them coming. That is always one of my biggest problems with walking trails is when you can see them coming or they make too much noise waiting in the woods and you can hear them coming. These guys did a good job of surprising you.
The costumes and make-up were good also. I actually like farm haunted attractions because the costumes are often homemade and many of the props are homemade. It's refreshing sometimes to see homemade scare elements. The big haunted attractions spend a lot of money on props and these farm attractions often build these props themselves. I like that.
The Portal had "Live" scenes from some of your favorite horror movies and this was kind of neat. It was as if you were walking into a scene of Friday the 13th or Jeepers Creepers. While it was slightly predictable it was something that I had not seen before and I thought it was kind of cool as long as they didn't over do the scenes.
The actors really did a good job at interacting with you both physically and verbally. They do not touch you but they get in your personal space and I like the verbal interaction with them, as long as they stay in character.
Overall Experience: Like I said before, I really enjoy these farm haunted attractions. There was no wait in line for either tickets or attractions, even though there were a fair number of people there. Everybody is spread out over the 3 attractions.
They had a nice fire going that you could sit around and keep warm on a cool night. They also had Port-o-let bathrooms and concessions. I got some Mozzarella Sticks that were really good and a cheeseburger that was average. The only complaint I have about the concessions is they set it up like a picnic style for your condiments and it needed to be cleaner than it was and the serving window shelf was dirty and had ketchup and I don't know what else. I kept getting stuff on my hands and wrist every time I touched something. It just needed to be wiped clean every now and then. The concession prices were very fair.
I did not see a gift shop or t-shirts for sale but they may have had them. I just didn't see them.
Tickets are $30.00 for all 3 attractions at Dead Land Woods. They do offer a VIP Bundle for both trails + Maze and Fast Access Pass for $50.00. I would not suggest doing this as I didn't have to wait at all for all 3 attractions. You could easily do without the Maze but they don't offer a price for just the two trails. I do think $30.00 is a little over priced for what you get. I think $25.00 for all 3 attractions would be a fair asking price. $20.00 for the two trails and $25.00 for all 3. The Maze is just not worth the $10.00 they ask if you do the Maze only.
It took me 19 minutes to go through The Curse, 15 minutes to go through The Portal and just 4 minutes to go through the Maze of Screams for a total of 38 minutes.
If you get a group of friends, you will enjoy Dead Land Woods. It's a neat place to just hang out for a while and it has a good bang for your buck rating with 38 minutes of attractions for $30.00.
Deadwood Hollow (Killen, AL.)
Scare Rating: (1.5 out of 5) Overall Experience: (4 out of 5)
OVERALL RATING = 13.5 out of 25
Scare Rating: 1.5
Overall Experience: 4
Costumes & Make-up: 2
Decorations & Special Effects: 1
Bang for Your Buck: 5 (41 min. @ $20.00)
10-18-13 (Friday, 8:25pm) ... Deadwood Hollow is a haunted corn maze located at 1358 County Road 130, Killen, AL. (Green Hill). It is a little out of the way but not hard to find and it was an enjoyable drive on a crisp cool evening.
Scare Rating: Deadwood Hollow has two attractions. "Stalk" is their haunted corn maze and they have a new attraction this year called "Xtreme Zombie Hunt" which uses airsoft guns and you get to shoot at zombies. I knew I was going to have to try that! Any time you get to shoot at something, especially zombies, It's a go!
The haunted corn maze was a lot of fun, but it really wasn't scary at all. Deadwood Hollow is a very kid friendly attraction. There were some young kids going through the maze on this night and I think it is definitely safe to take younger kids to this one. Almost all of the actors that I saw were young kids on up to young teenagers. They were all made up as zombies and were spread out in the maze. There were not a lot of actors and it was very tame from a scare standpoint. You could tell the actors were having a lot of fun and they did a great job.
The actors would sometimes jump out at you and you could have some conversation with them, which was kind of fun since they were kids. One kid/zombie even asked one of the guys in my group to dance to "ring around the rosie" and he obliged. It was humorous and fun. The actors sometimes threw corn or something else towards you but didn't hit you and they would sneak around in the corn to try and scare you. They were having fun and even though it wasn't very scary, it was a lot of fun just walking through the corn maze and seeing these kids having fun. Some of the actors would let out occasional yells and impish laughs and would ask you why you are going a certain way.
The maze is not one directional. It has many twist and turns and intersections to choose from. You can easily get disorientated and a little confused on where you have been before and where you need to go, but it is an enjoyable journey.
The corn maze has a large green light that rotates around like a beacon light and they play scary music as you walk through the corn maze. The green light scanning over the corn field is pretty cool looking.
Xtreme Zombie Hunt was a lot of fun but was not scary. It wasn't really meant to be scary as you really are just having fun shooting down zombies.
Overall Experience: It took us 24 minutes to go through "Stalk" the haunted corn maze and 17 minutes to go through "Xtreme Zombie Hunt" for a total of 41 minutes. The tickets are $10 for Stalk and $15 for Xtreme Zombie Hunt or you can buy a combo ticket and do both for $20.00.
Deadwood Hollow has a great bang for your buck rating at 41 minutes of attraction for $20.00. They also have some pretty cool t-shirts for $15.00.
After you park your car, you walk up a winding trail through the woods to get to the attraction. The ticket booth is actually an old looking small cottage. It's a neat looking area. They have port-o-lets for bathrooms and the parking was free.
I have to say that the staff at Deadwood Hollow are some of the nicest people I have come across. I have followed Deadwood Hollow on facebook for a few years and have always been impressed with the cool things they do. They have zombie 5K runs and a Scream Beak run also for all you runners out there and they do some charity work in the community also sometimes.
They seem to really have a lot of fun with it and I couldn't wait to finally visit Deadwood Hollow. The fun they have really shows in how they run the attraction. They are just really super nice people and are just enjoying what they do. It really comes across.
The new attraction, Xtreme Zombie Hunt was actually a lot of fun. I wish it had been a little longer or maybe had more zombies to shoot and kill, but it was a blast. They give you some goggles that have a light on them and an airsoft assault rifle looking gun that shoots little small plastic pellets or more like BBs. You walk along a trail with a guide and as you come across zombies, you shoot them until they fall down dead. The guns have like a laser light and you can see the pellets all the way to the target, so you can clearly see where you are hitting the zombies. The guns are amazingly accurate. The zombies would sometimes run at you and your team of 6 people would bombard the zombie with a wave of plastic ammo until his perforated body hit the ground!
There was no wait in line to get tickets and no wait to go through the corn maze. We did wait for 20 minutes at Xtreme Zombie Hunt, because it is a guided tour. While you wait, they have a sitting area and a TV was showing episodes of the Walking Dead (how appropriate). Many of the actors in the Zombie Hunt would stay in character even after you shot them dead and some would still lurch at you as you walked by them.
As I was leaving, I went to see if they sold concessions. I asked the girl what kind of drinks they had and she said they had 12 oz. soda drinks, so I asked for a Mountain Dew. I asked how much was it and she said it was free! Then she asked me if I wanted some popcorn and I saw they had hotdogs. I asked for a hotdog and asked how much it would cost and she said it was free! I got a hotdog and a drink for free! Wow, that's a first. I have never been to a haunted attraction where the concessions are free. They only had hotdogs, popcorn and drinks but you can't complain about free! This was a nice touch and just added to the overall experience and bang for your buck ratings. It also proved that these guys enjoy what they are doing and aren't trying to grab every penny they can off of you. I can't say enough about how nice and classy the staff are.
Even though I gave Deadwood Hollow a low scare rating, I had a lot of fun at this attraction and that's really what it's all about, having fun. They have a good bang for your buck rating and you can take the kids to this one. If you are in the area, I would highly recommend going to Arx Mortis to get your scare on and then head down to Deadwood Hollow just to have some fun. Arx Mortis is only about 15 miles down the road from Deadwood Hollow and you would enjoy that double header. Check these guys out if you have a chance! Say "Hello" to Rachel for us while you are there!
Warehouse 31 (Birmingham/Pelham, AL.)
Scare Rating: (4 out of 5) Overall Experience: (4 out of 5)
OVERALL RATING = 19.5 out of 25
Scare Rating: 4
Overall Experience: 4
Costumes & Make-up: 4
Decorations & Special Effects: 4
Bang for Your Buck: 3.5 (18 min. @ $25.00)
10-19-13 (Saturday, 6:35pm) ... Warehouse 31 is a new haunted attraction to the area of Pelham in Birmingham, Alabama and it takes place at an old Marvin's place of business. It is located at 3050 Lee Street, Pelham, AL. 35124.
Scare Rating: I gave Warehouse 31 a scare rating of "4" because these guys did a fantastic job, especially being their first year. I was really surprised at how well they put this attraction together for their first season.
The actors did a really good job at scaring you and they had good timing. Rigamortis is their main attraction and the actors had great costumes and make-up. While not quite as professional as Netherworld in Atlanta, the costumes and make-up were about as professional as you will find anywhere else.
They had some animatronics but I like the fact that they didn't have too many. You didn't really notice many animatronics and the ones they did have were well placed.
Warehouse 31 relies mainly upon human actors for the scare element which is the way it should be and the actors didn't disappoint. They stayed after you and followed you even when you were sure they were gone.
There were some really great scenes with a lot of originality. Warehouse 31 has it's on personality. They aren't trying to copy anyone. The decorations were great and did a wonderful job at creating a spooky atmosphere.
It only took us 13 minutes to go through Rigamortis but I will say that it is an action packed 13 minutes. The actors really kept after you and there were no real gaps throughout.
The 3D Clown Nightmare is their second attraction. It only took us 5 minutes to go through it but it was probably the best 3D attraction I have gone through to date. Most of the 3D attractions I have been through look really cool but they weren't very scary but this one didn't disappoint. Even though it was only 5 minutes, they really tried to scare you. The 3D effects were awesome and they give you 3D glasses to wear. The decorations were amazing and it was full of scary beings that came at you. There was even an invisible to 3D actor who kept darting around you and behind you and it was really a cool effect. For 5 minutes, it was not only a cool looking attraction but they really did a good job at scaring you.
Overall Experience: The ticket booth had a lot of people waiting in line on this night but one thing that Warehouse 31 offers is two windows for people who have credit cards. This is a great idea and we were able to bypass probably 30-40 people waiting in line to pay cash by using our credit card, so our wait time was 1 minute. We just had to wait on one party in front of us. They give you a ticket and 2 wooden tokens. They have letters on the tokens that they will call out, so you can walk around while you wait.
Once you get your tokens, you walk into a midway type of area to wait. This use to be a Marvin's and this midway area is like where they use to house all their lumber type of stuff outdoors. There are tall warehouse storage buildings that are open on the sides. Down each of these rows of open warehouse storage areas, they have something going on. Down one, there was a stage and apparently they have some type of performers on this stage, although there was nothing going on when we were there. I heard that there was a flame thrower that was suppose to be there but I never saw any show times or heard anybody talk about what was suppose to happen.
Down another section, they have a theater where they were showing the Alabama vs. Arkansas game. I stayed clear of this area because I am a dye-hard Auburn fan. My heart was already fully pumped after listening to the Auburn vs. Texas A&M game in the car in the parking lot before we walked up to get our tickets.
They also had a food vendor trailer like you would see at the Fair or some other festival event. They had a wide variety of food and drinks but it was a little pricey, much like what you would expect to pay at a festival.
They had a tent set up where they sold beer and small snack foods, as well as, poweraide and water. These were also a little pricey at $5 for a cup of beer. They had some t-shirts for $10.00 for one sided and $15.00 for two sided. They sold hats and beenies as well.
The atmosphere was pretty upbeat. As people waited, they had Corn Hole games set up that you could play and overall, they did offer enough to keep your mind pre-occupied while you wait.
We waited for 28 minutes for them to call our first token which was the 3D Clown Nightmare. We only had to wait in line for maybe 2 minutes before we went into the 3D section and right as we left the 3D Clown Nightmare, we heard them call out our second token for Rigamortis, so we were able to immediately go right into Rigamortis. There was only like a 4 minute wait to enter Rigamortis.
It only took 5 minutes to go through 3D Clown Nightmare and 13 minutes to go through Rigamortis for a total of 18 minutes of attraction. My only real criticism is that the attractions both need to be longer. Rigamortis needs to be closer to 18-20 minutes if they are going to ask $25.00 for both. Rigamortis, by itself is $20.00 and if you add the 3D Clown Nightmare, it's $25.00. The 3D experience is definitely worth the extra $5.00 but both need to be longer. They offer a $45.00 Heart Bypass/Fast Pass also if you have the money. They do offer a couple of bucks discount if you buy your tickets in advance online.
I gave a 3.5 rating for bang for your buck, but only because it is an action packed 18 minutes that you will experience. Based on just time, I would have given it a 3 rating for bang for your buck, but because it was high energy action packed, I bumped the rating to 3.5.
You definitely need to check this one out as it is one of the best around. I am really curious to see how they will or IF they will grow this attraction. If they can make it longer, it will be a great haunted attraction. The length is an issue but at least the actors and what they have really was efficient. I hope they will continue to grow this attraction, because I think it has the potential to be one of the best haunted attractions in Alabama and maybe in this region. I will definitely have to go back to this one in the future and see what they have done to improve but for a first year, these guys have made a great impact!
Insanitarium (Pinson, AL.)
Scare Rating: (4 out of 5) Overall Experience: (3.25 out of 5)
OVERALL RATING = 18 out of 25
Scare Rating: 4
Overall Experience: 3.25
Costumes & Make-up: 3.25
Decorations & Special Effects: 3.5
Bang for Your Buck: 4 (11 min. @ $10.00)
Rated #3 Most Viewed Haunted Houses in Alabama by Hauntworld.com
Rated #3 Most Viewed Haunted Houses in Alabama by Hauntworld.com
10-19-13 (Saturday, 9:15pm) ... Insanitarium takes place in what use to be a small school in Palmerdale (north of Pinson), Alabama. It most recently has been used as a community center located at 5320 Miles Spring Road, Pinson, AL. 35126. Supposedly, this place is really haunted and you can read about it on their website (link above).
Scare Rating: I have to admit, Insanitarium was scarier than I expected. Most of the time when you go to a haunted attraction and only pay $10.00, you get what you pay for but Insanitarium will scare you silly for $10.00.
The actors had impeccable timing. They knew just when to jump at you and they kept pursuing you along the way. I am not easily scared and I jumped and let out a yelp several times.
The story goes that this evil doctor turned all these patients into zombies but then experimented and turned them into "Super Zombies". The costumes and make-up were well done and very believable. The decorations weren't anything spectacular but they didn't have to be because insanitarium does a good job at using the existing atmosphere of the old school to it's advantage. They added in some very well done decoration scenes but kept it simple. No real special effects or animatronics, just good old fashion human scare!
Insanitarium really does remind me of the old days of haunted attractions. No animatronics and super special effects, just well done decorations and good costumes and actors who really know how to scare the hell out of you. The old school way!
The theme was kept all the way through and the actors really just had fantastic timing. I never knew what to expect. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was wrong. The actors would seem to come out of nowhere.
There was this one part that I don't want to give away too much but it was one of the best effects I have seen. It seemed like this was one actor whose face would light up with a strobe like effect and he would just appear and re-appear in every direction. It was pitch black in this area and I was amazed that this actor could move around like he did unless, it was more than one actor. I still don't know exactly how they pulled this off but it was a perfect example of how the most simple thing can scare the heck out of people and the fact that it only took one actor (I think) and he kept our whole group scared to death for a long portion of the attraction just proves that these guys know how to scare people. It really worked well and I was impressed with it's simplicity but great effectiveness.
Part of the journey takes place outside and once again, the actors did a great job at menacing you and timing was great.
I was just really impressed with Insanitarium. It only took us 11 minutes to go through the attraction and I would really like to see that increase, although, given the size of this building, they may not be able to increase the length. Even if that is true, the bang for your buck is great at 11 minutes of attraction for only $10.00 and they will scare you.
Overall Experience: There was no wait in line to get our token, so we paid our $10.00 and you enter what use to be a basketball gymnasium to wait. It is dimly lit and they have concessions, merchandise and a decorated stage area to keep you occupied.
They do have concessions where they sell pizza, popcorn, hotdogs, drinks and candy and the prices are very reasonable.
They sell t-shirts, zombie ear necklaces, glow sticks and a Halloween music CD composed by Justin McElroy. I bought the CD, because it has some really good background chilling Halloween music.
My only criticism is the wait. We waited for them to call our token color for 43 minutes and once they finally called our token color, we waited in line for another 13 minutes for a total of 56 minutes to enter the haunt after purchasing tickets.
We looked around for a while but ended up sitting for most of the time. They have a perfect stage for a Halloween rock band or for showing a scary movie. They need to have more chairs for people to sit on while waiting and maybe watch a scary movie while they wait. There just needs to be a little more to occupy everyone, but for $10.00, I guess you can't complain too much. They did have one insane actor walking around creeping people out while they waited.
They definitely could send each group through a little quicker and I don't think they would bunch up. They only let small groups of around 4-6 at a time go through, so this caused much of the long wait. 56 minute wait for an 11 minute attraction is a bit excessive in my opinion.
Having said that though, the 11 minutes is an action packed 11 minutes. The wait brought down the overall experience rating down a little but the scare rating remains strong at a "4" because they did such a good job during that 11 minutes.
This is a great haunted attraction to take a date on or go with some friends. It's cheap and action packed. Kudos to Insanitarium for proving that the old school way of scaring people is still the best!
Scare Rating: I have to admit, Insanitarium was scarier than I expected. Most of the time when you go to a haunted attraction and only pay $10.00, you get what you pay for but Insanitarium will scare you silly for $10.00.
The actors had impeccable timing. They knew just when to jump at you and they kept pursuing you along the way. I am not easily scared and I jumped and let out a yelp several times.
The story goes that this evil doctor turned all these patients into zombies but then experimented and turned them into "Super Zombies". The costumes and make-up were well done and very believable. The decorations weren't anything spectacular but they didn't have to be because insanitarium does a good job at using the existing atmosphere of the old school to it's advantage. They added in some very well done decoration scenes but kept it simple. No real special effects or animatronics, just good old fashion human scare!
Insanitarium really does remind me of the old days of haunted attractions. No animatronics and super special effects, just well done decorations and good costumes and actors who really know how to scare the hell out of you. The old school way!
The theme was kept all the way through and the actors really just had fantastic timing. I never knew what to expect. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was wrong. The actors would seem to come out of nowhere.
There was this one part that I don't want to give away too much but it was one of the best effects I have seen. It seemed like this was one actor whose face would light up with a strobe like effect and he would just appear and re-appear in every direction. It was pitch black in this area and I was amazed that this actor could move around like he did unless, it was more than one actor. I still don't know exactly how they pulled this off but it was a perfect example of how the most simple thing can scare the heck out of people and the fact that it only took one actor (I think) and he kept our whole group scared to death for a long portion of the attraction just proves that these guys know how to scare people. It really worked well and I was impressed with it's simplicity but great effectiveness.
Part of the journey takes place outside and once again, the actors did a great job at menacing you and timing was great.
I was just really impressed with Insanitarium. It only took us 11 minutes to go through the attraction and I would really like to see that increase, although, given the size of this building, they may not be able to increase the length. Even if that is true, the bang for your buck is great at 11 minutes of attraction for only $10.00 and they will scare you.
Overall Experience: There was no wait in line to get our token, so we paid our $10.00 and you enter what use to be a basketball gymnasium to wait. It is dimly lit and they have concessions, merchandise and a decorated stage area to keep you occupied.
They do have concessions where they sell pizza, popcorn, hotdogs, drinks and candy and the prices are very reasonable.
They sell t-shirts, zombie ear necklaces, glow sticks and a Halloween music CD composed by Justin McElroy. I bought the CD, because it has some really good background chilling Halloween music.
My only criticism is the wait. We waited for them to call our token color for 43 minutes and once they finally called our token color, we waited in line for another 13 minutes for a total of 56 minutes to enter the haunt after purchasing tickets.
We looked around for a while but ended up sitting for most of the time. They have a perfect stage for a Halloween rock band or for showing a scary movie. They need to have more chairs for people to sit on while waiting and maybe watch a scary movie while they wait. There just needs to be a little more to occupy everyone, but for $10.00, I guess you can't complain too much. They did have one insane actor walking around creeping people out while they waited.
They definitely could send each group through a little quicker and I don't think they would bunch up. They only let small groups of around 4-6 at a time go through, so this caused much of the long wait. 56 minute wait for an 11 minute attraction is a bit excessive in my opinion.
Having said that though, the 11 minutes is an action packed 11 minutes. The wait brought down the overall experience rating down a little but the scare rating remains strong at a "4" because they did such a good job during that 11 minutes.
This is a great haunted attraction to take a date on or go with some friends. It's cheap and action packed. Kudos to Insanitarium for proving that the old school way of scaring people is still the best!
The Barns of Horror (Locust Fork, Alabama)
Scare Rating: (2.5 out of 5) Overall Experience: (3 out of 5)
OVERALL RATING = 17.25 out of 25
Scare Rating: 2.5
Overall Experience: 3
Costumes & Make-up: 3.25
Decorations & Special Effects: 3.5
Bang for Your Buck: 5 (18 min. @ $10.00)
10-25-13 (Friday, 10:27pm) ... The Barns of Horror takes place on a family owned farm (Boogie Bottoms) where they offer several events year round. In addition to Barns of Horror, they also have a drive-in movie theater and several biker rallies and other events as well, so check out their website and see what all they have to offer. The side of the Barn of Horror is actually the screen for their drive-in movie theater. Boogie Bottoms is located at 310 Sherbert Road, Cleveland, Alabama 35049 (205-680-2962, 205-681-3139). They have a Cleveland address but it is actually located near Locust Fork.
Scare Rating: I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting a whole lot at this one but I was surprised at how well they put this haunt together. As far as scary goes, it is slightly above average but there are some things they did very well. There aren't a lot of actors but the ones they have did a great job. Several kept pursuing us from behind, so even though you thought they were done, they would sneak up behind you. It got me once or twice. This one female actor kept staring at one girl in my party and it creped her out. She kind of fixated on the girl and just stared her through the room with her blackened eyes. She didn't have to move, the stare did the trick.
Some of the actors were misplaced and their timing was off while others had great timing. This takes place in a 3 story barn, so you go upstairs and downstairs and the passage ways are very narrow, some just shoulder to shoulder.
Several times, the actors would comment on someone in our party like, "Hey Blondie" etc... and this was weird because you couldn't see the actor and you couldn't figure out how they were seeing you. It was kind of creepy to be honest. You would hear a comment and then look around like, "where did that come from"?
The actors won't grab you but they do touch you a little. I had my legs grabbed lightly a couple of times and that always startles you. Several actors bang hard on walls behind you to give you a jump start!
This attraction has no animatronics or any super special effects, but they do a good job just using the old fashioned human scare treatment. Some of the costumes were really creepy and some were average or just someone dressed up with a mask.
10-25-13 (Friday, 10:27pm) ... The Barns of Horror takes place on a family owned farm (Boogie Bottoms) where they offer several events year round. In addition to Barns of Horror, they also have a drive-in movie theater and several biker rallies and other events as well, so check out their website and see what all they have to offer. The side of the Barn of Horror is actually the screen for their drive-in movie theater. Boogie Bottoms is located at 310 Sherbert Road, Cleveland, Alabama 35049 (205-680-2962, 205-681-3139). They have a Cleveland address but it is actually located near Locust Fork.
Scare Rating: I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting a whole lot at this one but I was surprised at how well they put this haunt together. As far as scary goes, it is slightly above average but there are some things they did very well. There aren't a lot of actors but the ones they have did a great job. Several kept pursuing us from behind, so even though you thought they were done, they would sneak up behind you. It got me once or twice. This one female actor kept staring at one girl in my party and it creped her out. She kind of fixated on the girl and just stared her through the room with her blackened eyes. She didn't have to move, the stare did the trick.
Some of the actors were misplaced and their timing was off while others had great timing. This takes place in a 3 story barn, so you go upstairs and downstairs and the passage ways are very narrow, some just shoulder to shoulder.
Several times, the actors would comment on someone in our party like, "Hey Blondie" etc... and this was weird because you couldn't see the actor and you couldn't figure out how they were seeing you. It was kind of creepy to be honest. You would hear a comment and then look around like, "where did that come from"?
The actors won't grab you but they do touch you a little. I had my legs grabbed lightly a couple of times and that always startles you. Several actors bang hard on walls behind you to give you a jump start!
This attraction has no animatronics or any super special effects, but they do a good job just using the old fashioned human scare treatment. Some of the costumes were really creepy and some were average or just someone dressed up with a mask.
Overall Experience: This is a small budget local family owned farm haunted attraction, but I really enjoy these kind of attractions for that very reason. It's always fun to see the creativity of these types of attractions and you always come away thinking, "That part was really neat" etc...
They had this one room that was painted like Zebra striped black and white lines and it had a strobe light in it. All you had to do was walk through this room but it was a strange but cool attack on your senses. Almost like a spinning vortex, which they had also. This room really messed with your sense of balance and I had not seen anything like that. It was really simple but creative and effective!
I did not see any concessions or bathrooms. I may have missed some port-o-lets somewhere but if they did have these things, they are not clearly marked where to go. You park right in front of the barn and to the right, they had a small bonfire going, which turned out to be the exit. You would walk to the left of the building to enter the attraction but I never saw any concessions.
There was only a 4 minute wait and it took us 18 minutes to go through the attraction, so at $10.00 for a ticket, the bang for your buck is great!
There really wasn't much to do other than the attraction itself, but I really enjoyed being on the farm. It was a cool looking barn with lights in big letters that say "The Barns of Horror" - You can't miss it once you are there.
Overall, it was a fun experience. Not super scary but scary enough to make you jump and scream a little. It has a great bang for your buck and I commend the family/owners for putting together a fun haunt in little ole Locust Fork Alabama.
Dead Man Trails (Locust Fork, Alabama)
Scare Rating: (3.5 out of 5) Overall Experience: (3 out of 5)
OVERALL RATING = 16.5 out of 25
Scare Rating: 3.5
Overall Experience: 3
Costumes & Make-up: 3.5
Decorations & Special Effects: 3
Bang for Your Buck: 3.5 (10 min. @ $10.00)
10-25-13 (Friday, 11:05pm) ... Just down the road from The Barns of Horror is Dead Man Trails located at 60 Warren Road, Cleveland, Alabama 35049 (205-353-2342). Once again, they have a Cleveland address but it's really located in Locust Fork. It's a haunted walking trail through the woods of Locust Fork, Alabama.
Scare Rating: I was curious to visit Dead Man's Trails being that it isn't too far from my home (about an hour) and I always enjoy outdoor walks in the dark woods with a bunch of monsters lurking around. Call me a sicko but this is what I call "Fun"!
There wasn't much in the way of decorations or special effects, just basic walking trail and a bunch of actors just waiting to scare the hell out of you.
These guys really prayed on the females in our group. So much so, that at the end, one of the girls in my group had to sit down on the ground when it was over.
The actors did a good job at timing their scares and the costumes were creepy enough, even though you couldn't always tell what they were due to the darkness. There was this one actor who I think was dressed up as Michael Meyers but a more monster-ized looking Michael and not the traditional Michael outfit. A more creepy Michael Meyers. This actor looked like he was 7 feet tall. I mean, he was huge! He may have been 6'-7"? I just know I'm 6 feet tall and this guy towered over me. He was not only tall but big. He stayed on these girls in our group like white on rice. The girls were petrified and I have to admit, this guy's intimidating size and height along with his costume even creeped me out too. I couldn't really see his costume that well and the only reason why I think he was a Michael Meyers was because I heard one of the other actors say, "Get 'em Michael". Maybe that was just the dude's name but whatever, this guy was awesome.
I'm sure the girl's in my group would give the scare rating a "5", but for me, being a guy, I would give it a "3.5". It was fun and hilarious though to watch these actors just totally petrify these girls. I mean, every time we came up on some actors, they went to the girls like a magnet. Poor girls, I think it wore them out at the end.
It only took us 10 minutes to go through the trail, so the girls are lucky it wasn't longer!
10-25-13 (Friday, 11:05pm) ... Just down the road from The Barns of Horror is Dead Man Trails located at 60 Warren Road, Cleveland, Alabama 35049 (205-353-2342). Once again, they have a Cleveland address but it's really located in Locust Fork. It's a haunted walking trail through the woods of Locust Fork, Alabama.
Scare Rating: I was curious to visit Dead Man's Trails being that it isn't too far from my home (about an hour) and I always enjoy outdoor walks in the dark woods with a bunch of monsters lurking around. Call me a sicko but this is what I call "Fun"!
There wasn't much in the way of decorations or special effects, just basic walking trail and a bunch of actors just waiting to scare the hell out of you.
These guys really prayed on the females in our group. So much so, that at the end, one of the girls in my group had to sit down on the ground when it was over.
The actors did a good job at timing their scares and the costumes were creepy enough, even though you couldn't always tell what they were due to the darkness. There was this one actor who I think was dressed up as Michael Meyers but a more monster-ized looking Michael and not the traditional Michael outfit. A more creepy Michael Meyers. This actor looked like he was 7 feet tall. I mean, he was huge! He may have been 6'-7"? I just know I'm 6 feet tall and this guy towered over me. He was not only tall but big. He stayed on these girls in our group like white on rice. The girls were petrified and I have to admit, this guy's intimidating size and height along with his costume even creeped me out too. I couldn't really see his costume that well and the only reason why I think he was a Michael Meyers was because I heard one of the other actors say, "Get 'em Michael". Maybe that was just the dude's name but whatever, this guy was awesome.
I'm sure the girl's in my group would give the scare rating a "5", but for me, being a guy, I would give it a "3.5". It was fun and hilarious though to watch these actors just totally petrify these girls. I mean, every time we came up on some actors, they went to the girls like a magnet. Poor girls, I think it wore them out at the end.
It only took us 10 minutes to go through the trail, so the girls are lucky it wasn't longer!
Overall Experience: Overall, there was not a lot to do at Dead Man Trails. There were two 10x10 tents set up with what looked like some homemade concessions, but I couldn't really tell what all they offered. I didn't see any restrooms, unless I missed a port-o-potty somewhere. They had a bonfire going on this chilly night and this is where you waited to enter the attraction and where the exit came out. The fire was nice!
The staff were very friendly, Just some good ole downhome people in the little town of Locust Fork.
The trail really needs to be longer if possible. At only 10 minutes to go through, it really dropped my bang for your buck rating, but $10.00 for 10 minutes is decent. If you are female, you will definitely get your money's worth in that 10 minutes!
This is a homemade haunted attraction and I love these types of attractions. It's just fun to see what they come up with and how they approach scaring you. There were a good number of actors all along the trail and they stayed on you.
Dead Man Trails reminded me of Spooktrail that I visited last year (see 2012 HAUNTED ATTRACTION CRITIQUE link above) but just a couple of notches below, but these guys did a good job with what they have.
We only waited at the bonfire for a about 5 minutes before they sent us through the trail. Just enough time to warm our bones before entering the chilly dark night air of Dead Man Trails.
If you get a chance, check these guys out and stop off at Barns of Horror just up the road also and make it a double header!
Haunted Hill (Tupelo, Ms.)
Scare Rating: (3 out of 5) Overall Experience: (3 out of 5)
OVERALL RATING = 16.75 out of 25
Scare Rating: 3
Overall Experience: 2.75
Costumes & Make-up: 3.25
Decorations & Special Effects: 3.75
Bang for Your Buck: 4 (14 min. @ $10.00)
Rated #1 Most Viewed Haunted Houses in Mississippi by Hauntworld.com
Rated #1 Most Viewed Haunted Houses in Mississippi by Hauntworld.com
11-1-13 (Friday, 7:00pm) ... What would Halloween be without a trip to the birthplace of Elvis Presley? Elvis is everywhere, so why not include him in your Halloween plans. Haunted Hill is located at 433 Road 1057, Tupelo, Mississippi, 38804 (901-217-0156).
Scare Rating: I have seen Haunted Hill on HauntWorld.com over the last few years and have wanted to check it out one day and that day finally came. This is only maybe the 4th or 5th time I have stepped foot onto Mississippi soil in my whole life. Just the trip to Tupelo is a scary experience in itself. I don't know what Mississippi has against proper highway signage or who makes the decisions on where to put signs or what signs to put where, but someone needs to take signage 101 at Ole Miss, Mississippi State or Southern Miss. You are also in GPS "No Man's Land". I've never seen my GPS "Calculate" so many times in one trip! I apparently was driving through pasture land according to my GPS. To say it was confusing would be an understatement. If you are a local, I guess you know where you are going and don't need all those pesky signs but if you are a visitor, good luck!
It is a nice drive through the country to get to Haunted Hill and as you wind along the road, you suddenly come upon what looks like a medieval castle. Haunted Hill is built like a castle with the main attraction and then a second attraction called "Devil's Tower". As you walk up to the entrance, the scene is spooky with a couple of old run down hearses and all types of skeleton creatures doing battle along the top of the castle walls. Devil's Tower also has smoke cannons that fire off every few seconds. While they are not that loud, it does give you a little jump when they fire off. The cool thing was they blew smoke rings out into the cool air. Then you see a draw bridge that you cross to enter the interior of the castle. This is the entrance and the inside is decorated in a very spooky way. Just the look of Haunted Hill is a factor in the scare rating, because it is very well decorated and just the way the layout is will scare most people.
The actors did a good job at scaring you and most of them, I couldn't tell what they were because of the darkness but they utilized some simple tactics to scare patrons. Some were just simply behind plastic sheets that just looked like the wall and they would lurch out at you. There were a fair amount of actors but they could have used a few more.
There were only a few animatronics and they appeared to be homemade but they were well done and they utilized them well.
Overall, I think Haunted Hill was only slightly above average from a scare standpoint and it only took 9 minutes to go through the main haunt. To be honest, the decorations made the attraction worthwhile.
The second attraction, Devil's Tower, was about equal to Haunted Hill in scare factor but it only took 5 minutes to go through. It mostly involves various monsters jumping at you from plastic walls and some well hidden nooks and crannies. Once again, slightly above average scare factor.
Scare Rating: I have seen Haunted Hill on HauntWorld.com over the last few years and have wanted to check it out one day and that day finally came. This is only maybe the 4th or 5th time I have stepped foot onto Mississippi soil in my whole life. Just the trip to Tupelo is a scary experience in itself. I don't know what Mississippi has against proper highway signage or who makes the decisions on where to put signs or what signs to put where, but someone needs to take signage 101 at Ole Miss, Mississippi State or Southern Miss. You are also in GPS "No Man's Land". I've never seen my GPS "Calculate" so many times in one trip! I apparently was driving through pasture land according to my GPS. To say it was confusing would be an understatement. If you are a local, I guess you know where you are going and don't need all those pesky signs but if you are a visitor, good luck!
It is a nice drive through the country to get to Haunted Hill and as you wind along the road, you suddenly come upon what looks like a medieval castle. Haunted Hill is built like a castle with the main attraction and then a second attraction called "Devil's Tower". As you walk up to the entrance, the scene is spooky with a couple of old run down hearses and all types of skeleton creatures doing battle along the top of the castle walls. Devil's Tower also has smoke cannons that fire off every few seconds. While they are not that loud, it does give you a little jump when they fire off. The cool thing was they blew smoke rings out into the cool air. Then you see a draw bridge that you cross to enter the interior of the castle. This is the entrance and the inside is decorated in a very spooky way. Just the look of Haunted Hill is a factor in the scare rating, because it is very well decorated and just the way the layout is will scare most people.
The actors did a good job at scaring you and most of them, I couldn't tell what they were because of the darkness but they utilized some simple tactics to scare patrons. Some were just simply behind plastic sheets that just looked like the wall and they would lurch out at you. There were a fair amount of actors but they could have used a few more.
There were only a few animatronics and they appeared to be homemade but they were well done and they utilized them well.
Overall, I think Haunted Hill was only slightly above average from a scare standpoint and it only took 9 minutes to go through the main haunt. To be honest, the decorations made the attraction worthwhile.
The second attraction, Devil's Tower, was about equal to Haunted Hill in scare factor but it only took 5 minutes to go through. It mostly involves various monsters jumping at you from plastic walls and some well hidden nooks and crannies. Once again, slightly above average scare factor.
Overall Experience: I don't know what Haunted Hill used to be. It almost seems like it was a partially torn down house maybe. I don't know but part of the pathway through the attraction goes underground down into what seemed like a basement with dirt floors and then back out into the open air for some parts. Kudos to Haunted Hill on decorating this place. I have to admit the decorations are cool. From the castle façade where you feel like you are storming the castle to the super narrow walkways down into dark dank underground world to coming back outside. You couldn't get a sense of what you were going through exactly but this made it even more spooky. The dirt floors were often uneven and you had to bend your head down on several occasions.
Like I mentioned above, it only took 9 minutes to go through the main attraction at a cost of only $5.00 and Devil's Tower only took 5 minutes to go through at a cost of only $5.00 also. For $10.00, you got 14 minutes of attraction which puts it in the good column for bang for your buck.
I did not see any concessions or restrooms so if you have to wait in line, there isn't anything to do to keep you occupied. There was only a 5 minute wait on this night and no wait at all for Devil's Tower. Parking is free and easy to access.
I have to mention that there was another attraction that was right down the street (literally walking distance) called "Tunnel of Nightmare". It appears to be part of Haunted Hill because it is so close but apparently it is not. I am guessing that it is maybe a neighbor who is taking advantage of Haunted Hill being across the street. They charged $5.00 also for a walking trail that was not scary at all and only took 3 minutes to go through. I would not suggest wasting your money on this one unless you just have time to kill. All they really did is come at you a couple of times and chase you with chain saws for 3 minutes. I didn't factor it in with any of the ratings for Haunted Hill.
Although, Haunted Hill is a cool place to visit and I have never seen the decorations like these guys have done, I wouldn't go way out of your way to visit Haunted Hill. It is great for a cheap date at only $10.00 and your date will probably grab your arm and let out some screams along the way!
Hurricane Haunted House & Forest (Thaxton, Ms.)
Scare Rating: (2 out of 5) Overall Experience: (3 out of 5)
OVERALL RATING = 12 out of 25
Scare Rating: 2
Overall Experience: 3
Costumes & Make-up: 2.5
Decorations & Special Effects: 2
Bang for Your Buck: 2.5 (6 min. @ $10.00)
Rated #2 Most Viewed Haunted Houses in Mississippi by Hauntworld.com
Rated #2 Most Viewed Haunted Houses in Mississippi by Hauntworld.com
11-1-13 (Friday, 8:30pm) ... Not too far down the road northwest of Tupelo is a little town called Thaxton where you will find Hurricane Haunted House & Forest. It is located at 120 Esperanza Rd., Thaxton, Ms. 38871 (662-609-4300).
Scare Rating: Let me first say that Hurricane Haunted House & Forest is suitable for children and for that reason, the scare rating is lower for adults. The actors had good timing and they got me a couple of times pretty good.
There are no special effects and this is not a big time budget attraction. It takes place at an old country style house. It's not spooky probably at all to adults and only slightly spooky to kids. They did have a spinning vortex inside the haunted house.
They rely on good ole fashioned human scare tactics and well timed moments to scare people.
The haunted house is really short as it only took us 2 minutes to walk through it. The Haunted Forest was also short at only 4 minutes. It's really not a Forest at all but just a marked walkway around the back yard of the house. There was one actor on the trail that really kept at people and would keep coming back for more after you passed him. Then they chase you out with a chain saw and this guy did literally chase people all the way out of the Haunted Forest. He was running people down with that chain saw. It was really funny and I know that guy got a work out if he does that every time.
Your kids will find it more scary than the adults but if your kids enjoy being scared, take them to Hurricane Haunted House & Forest. You may end up carrying them along the way but they will have fun.
Scare Rating: Let me first say that Hurricane Haunted House & Forest is suitable for children and for that reason, the scare rating is lower for adults. The actors had good timing and they got me a couple of times pretty good.
There are no special effects and this is not a big time budget attraction. It takes place at an old country style house. It's not spooky probably at all to adults and only slightly spooky to kids. They did have a spinning vortex inside the haunted house.
They rely on good ole fashioned human scare tactics and well timed moments to scare people.
The haunted house is really short as it only took us 2 minutes to walk through it. The Haunted Forest was also short at only 4 minutes. It's really not a Forest at all but just a marked walkway around the back yard of the house. There was one actor on the trail that really kept at people and would keep coming back for more after you passed him. Then they chase you out with a chain saw and this guy did literally chase people all the way out of the Haunted Forest. He was running people down with that chain saw. It was really funny and I know that guy got a work out if he does that every time.
Your kids will find it more scary than the adults but if your kids enjoy being scared, take them to Hurricane Haunted House & Forest. You may end up carrying them along the way but they will have fun.
Overall Experience: They do have concessions with can drinks, hot dogs, chips and some other basic necessities. The staff are really nice and they create a very upbeat positive atmosphere.
As I mentioned before, your kids will have a great time and therefore, the parents will too. If you are expecting to have bodily fluids scared out of you, this probably is not the attraction to visit. This is a nice positive fun local community haunted attraction where the patrons and staff are neighbors and know each other. The staff are extremely friendly and it is a nice environment to spend some time with family and friends.
They also had a nice bonfire going to help warm your bones on a cool evening.
Parking is free and easy to access. My main criticism is the length. This is the shortest haunted attraction I have ever been to with only 2 minutes for the haunted house and 4 minutes for the haunted forest. A total of 6 minutes of attraction for $10.00. This gives them only an average bang for your buck and truthfully, it would be lower if not for the fact that you can take the kids with you and have some fun with them.
For this reason, I would not drive a long way to get to Hurricane Haunted House & Forest. If you are around the Tupelo, Mississippi area though and you would like to have some good family time or Dad's time with the kids, take them to Thaxton and have some fun with them for a while at Hurricane Haunted House & Forest.
Corn Creeper Stalk Maze (Moulton, AL.)
Scare Rating: (3 out of 5) Overall Experience: (3 out of 5)
OVERALL RATING = 15.5 out of 25
Scare Rating: 3
Overall Experience: 3
Costumes & Make-up: 2.5
Decorations & Special Effects: 2
Bang for Your Buck: 5 (22 min. @ $10.00)
11-2-13 (Saturday, 9:00pm) ... This is the second year that Corn Creeper's has been open but I just found out about them this year and being that they are so close to where I live, I had to check them out. They are located at 1128 County Road 58, Moulton, AL. 35650 (256-974-7226).
Scare Rating: Just the drive out to this Haunted Corn Maze is a spooky trip at night through the winding country roads of Lawrence County. You drive on some paved roads and some gravel roads to get to Corn Creepers and it is kind of out there. Be careful, there are a lot of curvy roads and it is dark along the way.
It is situated on 4 acres of a corn field and as you drive onto the farm, you see a raging bonfire that had a good number of people sitting around getting warmed up. This farm also has a pumpkin patch, gem mining and other activities.
On their website, they remind you to bring a flashlight. If you forget, they do have a few small cheap flashlights that you can borrow. You will definitely need a flashlight. It is dark in the maze. I mean dark and you will have a really hard time navigating through all the corn without a flashlight.
You cross a walk bridge and enter the maze. There are not a lot of actors in the maze but the ones that are there do a good job at scaring people. They are mostly hidden and pop out at you and some are in plain sight and you're not sure if they are real or not until they come at you.
There is one main actor who is very vocal and menaces you through the whole maze. He likes to target people in your group and remind you what he is going to do to you. It is actually funny to hear him pick things out, because you never really can see him. He stays hidden almost the whole time. Sometimes he is close and sometimes he is far away. He gets real close at times but you still can't see him. We called him the tazer man because he has a tazer with him. He does a great job at messing with people and is very funny to listen to as you try and navigate your way through the corn.
The maze itself is difficult to find your way through to the end. It takes you a while and at times, gets a little frustrating which gives you a little paranoia.
There are no real special effects or decorations. The maze itself is all that is needed. There are some basic decorations in the maze, but that's the reason for the lower rating for decorations, but it is not really needed. What is needed is a few more actors. I think if they had just a few more actors throughout the maze, it would raise the scare rating. The actors they have though did a great job. The costumes were average and I really never saw what kind of costume the Tazer man had.
Even when you reach the end, the actors keep creeping behind you on your way out. It's about a two minute walk from the end of the maze back to the walk bridge and the actors menace you all along the way back, even though you think you are done.
11-2-13 (Saturday, 9:00pm) ... This is the second year that Corn Creeper's has been open but I just found out about them this year and being that they are so close to where I live, I had to check them out. They are located at 1128 County Road 58, Moulton, AL. 35650 (256-974-7226).
Scare Rating: Just the drive out to this Haunted Corn Maze is a spooky trip at night through the winding country roads of Lawrence County. You drive on some paved roads and some gravel roads to get to Corn Creepers and it is kind of out there. Be careful, there are a lot of curvy roads and it is dark along the way.
It is situated on 4 acres of a corn field and as you drive onto the farm, you see a raging bonfire that had a good number of people sitting around getting warmed up. This farm also has a pumpkin patch, gem mining and other activities.
On their website, they remind you to bring a flashlight. If you forget, they do have a few small cheap flashlights that you can borrow. You will definitely need a flashlight. It is dark in the maze. I mean dark and you will have a really hard time navigating through all the corn without a flashlight.
You cross a walk bridge and enter the maze. There are not a lot of actors in the maze but the ones that are there do a good job at scaring people. They are mostly hidden and pop out at you and some are in plain sight and you're not sure if they are real or not until they come at you.
There is one main actor who is very vocal and menaces you through the whole maze. He likes to target people in your group and remind you what he is going to do to you. It is actually funny to hear him pick things out, because you never really can see him. He stays hidden almost the whole time. Sometimes he is close and sometimes he is far away. He gets real close at times but you still can't see him. We called him the tazer man because he has a tazer with him. He does a great job at messing with people and is very funny to listen to as you try and navigate your way through the corn.
The maze itself is difficult to find your way through to the end. It takes you a while and at times, gets a little frustrating which gives you a little paranoia.
There are no real special effects or decorations. The maze itself is all that is needed. There are some basic decorations in the maze, but that's the reason for the lower rating for decorations, but it is not really needed. What is needed is a few more actors. I think if they had just a few more actors throughout the maze, it would raise the scare rating. The actors they have though did a great job. The costumes were average and I really never saw what kind of costume the Tazer man had.
Even when you reach the end, the actors keep creeping behind you on your way out. It's about a two minute walk from the end of the maze back to the walk bridge and the actors menace you all along the way back, even though you think you are done.
Overall Experience: I really had a lot of fun at this one. Just walking through the corn maze was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful night with a slight chill in the air and you are out in the middle of nowhere in a corn maze in Lawrence County. How much more fun could you have?
They do not have any concessions or bathrooms that I could see, but it was fun hanging out by the fire and seeing everybody enjoy themselves.
It took us 22 minutes at a cost of $10.00, so the bang for your buck is great. Truthfully, the maze could be longer depending on how well you navigate through the maze.
The best part was listening to the tazer man and his relentless ranting. Whoever that guy is, he did a great job.
There was no wait in line to get tickets or enter the attraction. It was not a super busy night.
Even though this is a "No Frills" attraction, it was a lot of fun and definitely worth the $10.00 ticket. The bigger the group the better, so bring your friends and give Tazer man hell!
Evil House of Horrors - Terror in Trenton (Trenton, AL.)
Scare Rating: (3.5 out of 5) Overall Experience: (2.5 out of 5)
OVERALL RATING = 15.25 out of 25
Scare Rating: 3.5
Overall Experience: 2.5
Costumes & Make-up: 3.25
Decorations & Special Effects: 3
Bang for Your Buck: 3 (14 min. @ $10.00)
11-2-13 (Saturday, 11:00pm) ... Ok, this is my final haunted attraction of the 2013 season. I have had a lot of fun this year and can't wait for 2014 Halloween/Haunted Attraction season. I really wanted to close out this season with a trip to Evil House of Horrors, because all proceeds go towards the Valley 2 Volunteer Fire Department in Trenton and these guys really have some fun with this event. They are located at 70 County Road 252, Trenton, AL. 35774 (256-656-0189).
Scare Rating: These guys did a great job at scaring you and I was a little surprised at how well they did, to be honest. It takes place in an old house that is not very big, so the pathways are very narrow and every room is tight quarters, which means you are in very tight quarters with every monster actor there is in this attraction.
The actors had great timing and every time, I walked into a room, I knew something was going to come at me and they didn't disappoint. Even when I could see the actors, they still did a good job at scaring people. You can't really get away from them, because the rooms are so small.
Then you get a sense of paranoia because it's difficult to figure out how to get out of each room. Even when you see a door, it wouldn't open or it opened inwards instead of outwards. I mean, you are standing in a room with an actor who is trying to crank up a chainsaw and you are at the door to get out and you can't get the dang door open. It's like a scene out of a horror movie. Then you hear the chainsaw crank up and it's too late - they gotcha! A couple of rooms, I had to get the actors to show me how to get out.
There are no real special effects but they did do a great job at decorating the house and the way it is decorated and the layout, helps add to the scare element. They hit ya as soon as you walk in the door.
My one criticism would be that it is too short. It only took 4 minutes to go through the Haunted House. They do an excellent job at scaring you during that 4 minutes but it would be much better if it were longer. I don't see how they would be able to lengthen it because the house is limited space-wise, but it ends all too quickly.
11-2-13 (Saturday, 11:00pm) ... Ok, this is my final haunted attraction of the 2013 season. I have had a lot of fun this year and can't wait for 2014 Halloween/Haunted Attraction season. I really wanted to close out this season with a trip to Evil House of Horrors, because all proceeds go towards the Valley 2 Volunteer Fire Department in Trenton and these guys really have some fun with this event. They are located at 70 County Road 252, Trenton, AL. 35774 (256-656-0189).
Scare Rating: These guys did a great job at scaring you and I was a little surprised at how well they did, to be honest. It takes place in an old house that is not very big, so the pathways are very narrow and every room is tight quarters, which means you are in very tight quarters with every monster actor there is in this attraction.
The actors had great timing and every time, I walked into a room, I knew something was going to come at me and they didn't disappoint. Even when I could see the actors, they still did a good job at scaring people. You can't really get away from them, because the rooms are so small.
Then you get a sense of paranoia because it's difficult to figure out how to get out of each room. Even when you see a door, it wouldn't open or it opened inwards instead of outwards. I mean, you are standing in a room with an actor who is trying to crank up a chainsaw and you are at the door to get out and you can't get the dang door open. It's like a scene out of a horror movie. Then you hear the chainsaw crank up and it's too late - they gotcha! A couple of rooms, I had to get the actors to show me how to get out.
There are no real special effects but they did do a great job at decorating the house and the way it is decorated and the layout, helps add to the scare element. They hit ya as soon as you walk in the door.
My one criticism would be that it is too short. It only took 4 minutes to go through the Haunted House. They do an excellent job at scaring you during that 4 minutes but it would be much better if it were longer. I don't see how they would be able to lengthen it because the house is limited space-wise, but it ends all too quickly.
Overall Experience: These Firemen really have a lot of fun with this event and anytime you get to support a volunteer Fire Department, no matter what they are offering, it's a good thing and really helps the community of Trenton.
As a matter of fact, on this night as I was driving to the Evil House of Horrors, there was an accident on the way there. It looked pretty serious and some of the Fire Dept. crew was there on site handling the situation. It kind of put it in perspective that while they are taking time to raise money for their Department and having fun also, they have to break away and help the community when bad things happen. I found out when I arrived that there was a second accident on the other side of town also, so these guys had a busy night. Not bad for a bunch of volunteers! Kudos to them and all that they do!
When you arrive, you actually are at the fire station and that's where you buy your tickets. You can have a seat on some picnic tables while you wait or wait outside. I didn't see any concessions although there is a coke machine on the outside and a port-o-let.
You first get to take a 10 minute hay ride, which was a lot of fun. I love hay rides myself, even though this one is not a haunted hay ride. It's just a nice hayride behind an old Ford tractor around the Trenton Cemetery to get you in the mood before going to the haunt.
You exit the hay ride at the doorstep of the Evil House of Horror, which is an old shotgun style house. As I mentioned above, it only took 4 minutes to go through but factoring in the hay ride gives you a total of 14 minutes of attraction for $10.00. Just keep in mind that only 4 minutes of the 14 minutes is the scary part of the attraction, therefore, the bang for your buck is a little lower. There was only a 4 minute wait before the hay ride and really no wait for the haunted house.
I really appreciate these guys staying open through November 2nd. It gave me a last chance to visit them and see what they had to offer. I would not travel a long distance to visit Evil House of Horrors but if you are around the Huntsville area, go by next season and check these guys out and help support these volunteers for all the hard work they do!
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ReplyDeleteThat sounds really fun - I think I would like the Deadlands. I like outside trails, too. :)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you didn't review Hellbilly Hollow! That place was AWESOME! I honestly loved it more than Atrox or Warhouse 31. https://www.facebook.com/Hauntedswamp
ReplyDeleteThat one is on my "to do" list - just didn't make it there this year. I'm glad to hear it was that good. Hopefully, I can make it there next year! Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteyou guys should check out Spooktrail as well. it's a weird little home grown haunt that's been around for years...also bring a canned food for a discount!
ReplyDeleteSpooktrail was the last attraction I checked out last year. Go to 2012 HAUNTED ATTRACTION CRITIQUE link above to check out the review. I agree with you totally, it is a great Haunted Attraction and it is a little weird - LOL. Weird in a good way but those guys know how to scare you! Thanks for bringing it up and I hope I can get back to Spooktrail sometime soon.
DeleteHey guys! Haunted Hill here. Thanks for coming out and thanks for the critique. We really like your site and think it is a very cool idea. Wish I had thought of it. We appreciate every comment we get (good or bad). We are always open to feedback and view it as a great way to know just where we are succeeding and where we have failed. It is sometimes hard to see better ways until someone points it out. For that we are grateful. This was Devil's Towers' first year and we made major changes as the 2013 season progressed with an eye on increasing the size next season. Not sure who does your critiques, but I do know when I see professional work. Great job! I pretty much agree with you from start to finish and it is obvious that you paid attention as you went through Haunted Hill. We will continue to try to improve and maybe at some point we will be worth a drive out of the way. We do brain-storm a bit and attempt to 'straddle the fence' when it comes to scare factor and gore as there are quite a few kids who come out. This is A really hard thing to do. All the actors watch for smaller kids and tone it down a bit for them. One of our brain-stormers thinks that a 'Nude Night' would be a good idea, but I had to nix that one. But I did tell him that there would be nothing scarier than him naked. And by the way, your assumption was correct; the tunnel attraction across the street is a neighbor who decided to ride our coat tail. They use our leg work, reputation, and even our parking lot. We don't like it, but decided it was best to let them 'bury' themselves. We figured it would not take long for word to get around. We have great rapport with our customers and would never ask anyone not to park in our lot while they go to the tunnel. We would like everyone to know that we are in NO way associated with the tunnel of nightmares. Again, great job Monster Blog 13!
ReplyDeleteHaunted Hill, thanks so much for the kind words. I had a great time at your place and I am glad to hear that you plan to continue making Haunted Hill even better than it is now. It's a really cool looking attraction! Thank you so much for giving clarification on the "Tunnel" so called attraction down the street. I thought that had to be the case, but you guys are being very gracious! Yeah, Nude Night sounds good in theory but probably wouldn't be a good idea on those cold October nights for the guys anyway, if you know what I mean! Thanks again for the kind words and hopefully I can make it back over there soon! Keep up the good work!
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