Halloween Haunt Review: The Scarehouse

Scarehouse

Haunt: The Scarehouse
Location: Etna, Pennsylvania
When: October 24th, 2012
Price: Between $15-$35
Rating: So close to Great, You can taste it.
Recommendation: If your anyplace in a 3 hour drive, shut up and go already.

Such an unassuming entrance!

:DISCLAIMER:

- I've worked for Scarehouse in the past and also know the owners. So I do have a slight bias towards them. However don't think that got them the rating I've given, being bias only makes me even more critical about a haunt. 

-My husband and I where invited down my Scott Simmons, The creative director and co-owner of Scarehouse in order to review this haunt. We also spent some time with him getting some backround on the new designs within the haunt.  In the matter of full disclosure, we could probably bullshit with both Scott and Barb for hours about haunts and theme parks.. but that is neither here nor there.

-It was Wednesday Night and Early. So admittedly it wasn't the full cast nor had actors hit their proper stride yet.

-We are damn near impossible to scare but we love to watch folks try!

What to say about Scarehouse, one of my old haunts? In a word or two..

FUCKING WOW

Scarehouse has really stepped up their creative game with the new layout's and haunts they've got offered for public consumption this year. Needless to say we where pleased and greatly surprised at the many changes that have taken over since we last attended and worked for this haunt. It's a completely new ballgame leaving me with hardly anything worth nitpicking.. and we all know I enjoy nitpicking the details. 

Taken from Scarehouse.Com

Forsaken: This area was once the old "Hall of Nightmares" but with a completely new redesign. Upon entering we found ourselves in the midst of a Carnival/Freak Show gone to pot. Oh great, another circus/carnival haunt right? Let me guess, Clowns Right? 

Because that's exactly what went threw my mind, the typical "Oh here we go again" but I was happily surprised to find myself engulfed in a carnival atmosphere that's going to the shady side of dark. Instead of the typical garish bright colors and over caffeinated actors, we found a faded darkness with a hint of creepy. Actors with enough flare to be active and attention grabbing but just enough spooky to give you the impression: Well this isn't going to end well. 

From the Carnival we transitioned into a more classical type of haunt, flowing threw a graveyard with enough narrow space to confine you for great scares. The perception and overall feel in here was well done, giving you that proper "Spooky Cemetery at Midnight" setting. I found the crypt/chapel room to be greatly improved with twisting turns and set up for easy scares. Flowing easily into the staple "Creepy Manor House" we found a more traditional setting. Bedrooms, Kitchens and Closets.. Oh My!  This place had everything from Living Dolls, Angy cooks and right into Creepy Kids.

Following around we spotted some falling heads from the ceiling and a rather giant rat.. which seemed to give our group a nice scare, remember to always look up and down! Going around we found the Hillbillies with a side dish of Slaughter house tossed in for fun. Admittedly this has always been one of my favorite parts of this show and with the new Slaughter House action going on we found this scene to be a great improvement. The giant attack hog was good followed by the actor yelling "Down Piggy" which follows the mantra "If you can't make them scream, make them laugh" perfectly.

Many of the actors within Forskaen seem to relay on startle scares, sitting very still then jumping up to give you a fast fright. While I freely admit these aren't my favorite type of scares, these folks have them down. The only flaw I could spot is they seemed to re-set themselves a bit to quickly, only focusing on the middle of the group rather then working the group as a whole in order to act upon the next group in line. 

Image from Scarehouse.Com

Creepo's Christmas in 3D: Oh Creepo, Your character always makes me smile in that lovely twisted way. This haunt was a new take on your standard 3D house and the Christmas theme? Enough to make even my hardened self cringe slightly. Angry Elves, The Naughty List, Pissed-off Snowmen.. plus the on-going constant theme of frowny faced gingerbread men everyplace was a great surprise. The scent of cinnamon in the air and body parts on Christmas trees, the holidays have gone way off here. The 3D effects aren't overpowering nor lacking, just enough to give you the right feeling without making your eyes cross from vision overload. The actors had the demeanor of hassled retail workers on Christmas eve and happily shared that "get the hell out or be murdered with a garland" attitude in spades, this gave the whole house a truly great vibe. The Make-up the actors where sporting here really stood out with the effects while still sticking with the themeing. Slightly skeleton eerie with a dash of cheerful, it was Cheereerie! 

Sadly Creepo wasn't present this night, which I can only imagine would be the perfect topping on this tormented holiday fruitcake.. and probably bloodier also. However this character is so detailed to the person who plays them it's nice to see they didn't even try to put in a half-assed replacement that would ruin the show.

Overall I have to say this was the single biggest surprise to me. Normally I'm bored by 3D houses and don't even bother to give them a faction of my attention, seen one you've seen them all. Well let me just say, this one with the unique theme and wacked-out setting made even skeptical me enjoy a true 3D haunt for the first time in many years.  

Image form Scarehouse.Com

Pittsburgh Zombies: Oh Pittsburgh, If there is one thing you do well it's Zombies. Who doesn't love a good Zombie haunt? Drawing off the rich zombie history Pittsburgh has been given by Romaro, this house is a great addition.  However, I have to say I was kind of hoping for some fast/smart zombies but true to the area we got the slow/dumb types. Frankly, I'd have peppered it with both myself to even up the odds of more Yinzers wetting their pants. You flow threw a haunt that could only be Pittsburgh with landmark locations unique to the area such as Primanti Brothers featuring a new special of human body sandwiches! The details of this haunt really surpassed my expectations and threw me straight into rarely seen "Carrie is Pleased" area. This haunt was filled with UPEC signs spotting handy phrases (remember zombies don't like sammiches), Maps of Pittsburgh showing "Your are here" and "Safe Zones", A Steelers Gift shop.. no real detail of the area was left out going so far as to sport TV's stating there has been a "Yinzer Zombie Virus Outbreak"!

The perspective here is simply amazing, giving you both a true 'outside' feeling as well as being in a much larger area then you really are. I've got to say, the Scarehouse team outdid themselves on the little details here that perhaps most people would never spot. Much more like a movie-set then a haunt, it really gives you the one-two punch in the guts.

As I said before the zombies here really where well done, with nice details such as make-up and acting. However they where slow and lumbering, a few faster/smarter zombies would have been one of the two addition's this house really needed. Some really nice touches where added such as zombie actors behind chain fences lurching out for some fresh brains, traveling though a 'safe house' who's owner was on the hunt for a can-opener (I hope she found one!), out threw an industrial yard setting complete with 'zombie snacks in a cage' for later enjoyment.  I found the ending a little dry and a bit lacking however knowing Scarehouse has stairs to contend with at the exit it's understandable. In the past the last punch was high powered which often sent folks tumbling down and out into the street, so I can't blame them for not wanting the mass public running like scared bunnies only to fall down a set of stairs.

With that said, the second addition I would make is the ending.. even with the stairs it seems they could have put their big "ending scare" more towards the middle of this haunt which may give folks a nice "Holy Crap, We Escaped" feeling and a little jogging workout at the same time.  So other then these two minor details to nitpick I found this house overall very pleasing to the eye and senses.

In the end I found that Scarehouse goes by the philosophy of "Slow, Steady and Inescapable" rather then the other side of the coin which is "High-Intensity, In-Your-Face, Run like Bunnies". Neither side is wrong and it just depends a lot on what your opinion of a haunt is. Personally I subscribe to the "High Intensity" school of thought but enjoy both sides of this coin.  One thing I really enjoy is they depend a lot on their team of actors for scares and don't over indulge on technology like Animatronics to get the job done. They have several but their unassuming and work more as a distraction for the real scare coming from left field.

Scarehouse does what they do well and the odd, unsettled feeling you have upon entering will follow you the entire way. You'll find your time and money well spent on this locally owned and operated haun, it's worth the trip. 

Universal Orlando Announces.. an Announcement!

Universal Announces.. an Announcement

Holy Shit on a Shingle, Spiderman!

Universal Orlando's Public Relations is finally breaking the mass seal of silence that's been held over the parks new construction projects.  This comes months after ground-breaking on several of their new constructions which has been mired in rumors and speculation since the masses got a glimpse of equipment being moved in.

The Big Announcement is November 1st, 2012 at 7:30pm EST and be viewed live from their Facebook page.

However, like most things theme park these are pretty much the worst kept secrets ever. Because people like me are nosy as hell, we snoop and listen to the rumors then look at the trends. We all know exactly what is under construction in Orlando even if some of us (read: ME) are in total denial about it and thus refuse to accept it until forced into said submission by an announcement.

Needless to say, Universal botched this 'secret' less then ten minutes after the count-down clock went up. A few industrious folks took a look at the coding and well.. secret blown!

If you DON'T want to know and wish to be surprised, avoid the picture below! I'd also recommend staying away from Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and any other form of social media if you follow theme park folks because we're all talking about it right now!

Credit to @_DanWest 

Smooth Universal, Smooth! 

But thanks for telling us so quickly!

Halloween Haunt Review: Halloween Haunt at Kings Dominion

Image from KingsDominion.com

 WARNING: PICTURE INTENSIVE

Haunt: Kings Dominion
Location: Doswell, VA
Event: Halloween Haunt
When: September 28, 2012
Rating: Good
Recommendation: Good (If Nearby)

Additional Reviews:  Kitsuneverse


Having never been to Kings Dominion, this was something of a new experience for me. A park I'd never been to and haunted houses at the same time. I'm fairly familiar with the various "Kings" parks but never had a chance to visit before, so I had a clean slate of no previous expectations to work with.  I have to admit, I was rather pleasantly surprised by what I found!
Unlike some other Theme Park Haunts we've been to this year, we had a very limited time at Kings Dominion (only five hours) and a bucket list of things we wanted to accomplish including the haunts.  We didn't accomplish everything but managed to see most of the haunts offered up with the help of a maps and some canned libations.

Maps are Helpful!

Unlike some of the other theme park haunts out there, Kings Island is a little crazy. Rather then a few big haunts, they have both big and small totaling the shocking number of 10 total haunts. Their prices are also easily affordable, ranging between $32 (on Fridays) and $40 (on Saturday). We managed to go on opening night, which resulted in a single ticket costing only $20 (college ID). This same night also happened to be "Dress like a Zombie" night which made the who environment of the park even more enjoyable.  It's very rare you find any haunt that will have a theme night and allow folks also in costume to attend!
Thankfully, this Friday wasn't super busy so we managed to do some decent damage. Making it to 7 of the 10 haunts and 4 of their themed scarezones.




Let's begin with the overall themeing which I admit was well thought out and well placed.  The various areas had set themes which worked well and tended to match the attractions in the area, this was a pleasant surprise since it's not nearly as common as one might think! The actors costumes also correlated nicely with the various areas threw out the park. Lot's of attention was placed in the opening courtyard which was nicely themed out with a "Masquerade" feeling which extended threw to the actors and the staple of any one time Paramount Park, the Eiffel Tower which spotted a menacing pair of eyes.

Spooky Skull and Glare-y Eyes!

On to better and scarier things! We quickly acquired an adult type libation and plopped down to make our game plan. What was the plan? Haunted Houses and Roller Coasters naturally, We're simple folk here.  After our quick break and planning session, we used our plot to head to the closest house and work our way around the park in a quick manner and peppering the haunts in with various rides. This sent us in the general direction of our first haunt, Medieval  Macabre.

The name explains a lot really. A Medieval Dungeon inspired haunt. The line was busy but quick moving, allowing you enough time to enjoy the scenery but fast enough that you didn't get bored.  The set was decent but not anything to really write home about spotting your typical haunt fare: Ghosts, Ghouls, Vampires and Dead type folks. One thing we did notice is that this house seemed rather short and rushed. Overall a decent haunt but lacking real inspiration.

Next we wondered threw the "Cleaver Brothers Carnival" which was nicely done to your now generic Carnival/Circus theme. The actors where good and seemed to be having an excellent time using quick startle scares on unsuspecting patrons, electing quite a few screams (to which we giggled).

We landed at "The Slaughter House" up as our next haunt.  This looked promising and we quickly jumped into another good paced line that was moving quickly. This haunt was nice and juicy, full of the lovely gory stuff we so love around here.  Themed like a true slaughter house it had your typical (if generic) props: Bloody Tables, Meat Slabs and Crazed Butchers. The actors here really where having fun, we think they where in the Halloween candy a little bit early because these folks where bouncing off the walls with energy giving the place a good feel. Again though we found this house to be short and slightly rushed but overall the actors made the house work well.

At this point we're enjoying ourselves but haven't seen anything really wonderful to write home about, hoping things would improve haunt wise we took a minor coaster break and enjoyed another fast moving line on Rebel Yell then indulged in a Pepsi followed by a map checking break.

Moving On...

 Up next we had "Toxic Plague" as our next house.
At this point the weather decided to be rather annoying and try to dump some unwelcome rain upon us. Being as it wasn't to heavy and we didn't much care, we kept waiting. The line for this one was decently themed, sporting a large 'chemical' truck spill and your ever lovely toxic waste barrels out front. Some randomly flashing lights and fog really gave us some higher hopes for the speed and themeing inside of this haunt. Inside we found some crazy mutated folks, a few monsters and more run-of-the-mill sets leaving us rather disappointed that more wasn't done.  Now don't get me wrong, it was done well and had decent actors who managed some good scares on our group but it wasn't really impressive. Again keeping with the same theme we found this house to be short and left you with a "hustled" feeling after exiting.

Turning the corner we found ourselves staring at the first decently long line we've seen all night which lead to one of their big 'featured' haunts, "Club Blood".  This haunt being one of their big premier advertising pieces we quickly jumped in line.  The line moved quickly which was a pleasant surprise for it's length, they also had some nice props outside (Coffins, Grave Stones and Blood) peppered all over the area giving you some nice eye candy but they easily could have put some more effort into it rather then just the two areas which props where found.
Inside we found ourselves inside a gothic themed warehouse style nightclub obviously run (or overrun) with vampires.

Now here is when I complain a bit, they where blasting Top 40's music which really wasn't fitting for the slightly ragged/punk look of the inside. For me I'd have expected industrial or something more screechy, having this blasting threw I found to be a huge distraction simply because it didn't fit the theme.  This house was inside and rather warm, we found well dressed actors who did well with startle scares and being up close and in your face.. but little else. Being as this was opening night this was really to be expected, people getting used to the new role and finding their groove. The themeing however was wonderfully done, very much what you would expect from a Gothic club then moving into a darker side of vampires.  However this house too was short and left us with an unfinished feeling upon exiting.

Another jump on a Coaster, This time Grizzly and off to another haunt!

Camp Killauee was looming ahead and so far we where impressed right until we tried to get in line. There where no signs to show folks where to go so we ended up walking up the exit then being sent back. After another minute or two of confusion, someone finally pointed out we where suppose to queue up at the Log Ride. Apparently they never thought to put out signs!

 
Inside we found your typical horror movie type plot, kids in the camp turned to monster and want to eat you. It's the 80's all over again minus a nutcase in flannel and a hockey mask! In fact, I wish they had the nutcase in a hockey mask we found exactly where they got cheap. Actors in cheap rubber masks, zero extra make-up and simple red and white 'camp uniforms' all shiny and clean (which really, if you where murdered or turned into a monster.. you'd at least get a little dirty)!  This outside house was nicely themed in the proper camp style, we wondered what boyscout troop they divested of tents, the actors appeared slightly awkward and were vastly spread out in the first decent sized haunt we'd come across. The costumes where nothing short appallingly cheap and kept bugging me during our entire tour. One bright point was a lady who followed our group about singing quietly, this was the bright spot and added a minorly creepy factor to an otherwise sad haunt.

The Lair ScareZone

Moving along, it was still drizzling lightly so the crowds where quickly disappearing. We jumped over threw "The Lair" scarezone and into line for our next haunt "No Vacancy" which we found located in next to their Dinosaurs Alive theater (the dinosaurs are another complaint for another post).












This haunt was pretty up front and simple, Haunted Hotel. Another inside haunt, this was easily the best show we've gotten so far tonight. It had everything going well, the actors where excellent in their roles and made had already made them their own. The themeing inside was wonderfully done so far as to even include a false stairway and moving pictures. We're damn near impossible to scare but our group was obviously having fun from the various screams coming from around us. This is the one house so far that we didn't find to be short or leaving us with a hanging feeling, it had an ending! They can do it! Without giving to much away it was a security room, just check the monitors while your passing through..


With time running out, we hauled ass over to another haunt and where happily greeted with something right out of the great book of "What-The-Fuck".. The Doll Factory was next!

Wow, this has "Creepy Shit" written all over it and we loved it! Themed up like an abandoned factory this building and the outside of it had the weird factor turned up to 10. This is also pretty straight forward, an abandoned doll factory taken over and re-opened for a much more twisted purpose.

This house should have been their prime haunt because it was all around amazing. It really had the trifecta of a good haunt: Actors, Themeing, Costuming. They even had actors that would go through the haunt with the groups, heckling them and setting up great scares for the actors located in the different scenes. It was an orgy of broken and headless Barbie dolls and mutilated toys located everyplace! Hanging from the ceiling, the walls, random conveyer belts.. it was so much visual candy to take in even I had some trouble spotting the actors until the screams started. This was easily the best haunt and the actors really had their "A+" game on even for opening night, their costumes where a nice shade of twisted (in pastel no less) and the make-up was eerie. Even people as jaded as my husband and I where happily surprised and very pleased with this house, there was something new around every bend and curve in this maze-like haunt. This was the haunt that really boosted Kings Dominion above a "Meh, Okay" rating and right into the "Good" zone.

With time quickly disappearing we jumped threw yet another ScareZone on our way to the two final stops of the night: Volcano and Avalanche.   This was "PrimEvil" and it was also a step above the other scarezones which after our run threw Doll Factory really boosted our moods into the pleased area.  Cannibals and Corpses impaled on stakes, what more can a girl ask for?! They merged this area into working with two joining pathways and part of a queue line for a Top Spin ride (we call them Flip'N'Fuck's around here).



This place was directly across from Volcano and it fit so perfectly we easily could have lingered here all night if the park wasn't trying to hustle us out at closing time.

Overall I can't say I was really "impressed" with Kings Dominion, I was pleasantly surprised but still left wanting more in the end. It isn't that it was a bad haunt, it just wasn't enough but it easily could have been much more without leaving folks with the feeling of "that was is?!" at the end. While I freely admit to being massively jaded when it comes to haunts and damn near impossible to scare, I found it to be fun even if not impressive or very exciting. I suppose to other folks who do get scared by haunted houses, you'd probably enjoy the creepy job they do very well.

In all honestly, I can't tell you to drop everything and see this haunt. However if your nearby or passing threw the area of Doswell, Virginia on I-95 it's easily worth this low admission and worth the time of stopping for the night.