GA Boeckling’s Eerie Estate:

This is an old school haunted house that hides a dark secret! A lot of detail has gone into the design and decorations in this creepy old manor, from the low but effective lighting, “antique” furniture and even some of the former “residents” of the house who are are still lurking around. The character/audience interaction is the best I have seen anywhere with true dialogue with the actors talking to you and asking you questions as you walk through. There are many surprises in the old house with one of the most unique “gotchas” yet towards the end. Great shocks! Well put together haunt!

Rating: 10.5 – FRIGHTMASTER

Club Blood – Vampire Disco:

This was a very high energy/low light/loud haunt with vampires and other “unworldly creatures” at every turn. The decor was a former toxic waste dump now used as a disco for vampires. Strobes and lasers made forward movement very unnerving as you couldn’t see what awaited you down the next hallway or tunnel. Good use of misdirection here with barrels getting you turned around.

Rating: 9.5 – Excellent

Dr. D. Mented’s Asylum for the Criminally Insane:

This is a new addition to the Halloweekend haunts line-up, replacing the Mortuary U. from last year. The theme is an insane asylum where the patients have gone wild and taken over. The design calls for excellent use of lighting with strobes timed slower to permit movement by the actors across the room without being detected. You see them in one spot, then before you know it they are in your face! The mirror room was my personal favorite with 360 degree scares and high energy actors who made you feel that THEY were in control and all you wanted to do was find your way out! This was one of the best designed and scariest haunts I have ever been in! Kudos to the designer and the actors!

Rating: 11 – FRIGHTMASTER

The Fright Zone:

This is an outdoor walkthru that is located at the rear of the park. Dark with only the occasional strobe for light, foggy to the point of not being able to see your hand in front of your face and scary music playing all added up to one of the best thrills of the night! Various actors jump in and out of your path, some sliding on the concrete, some lurking behind you until you notice them and scream, some just quietly following you. This is always one of my favorite outdoor haunted zones! It never fails to scare you.

Rating: 11 – FRIGHTMASTER

Overall:

This year was a close race between Cedar Point and Land of Illusions but in the overall evaluation of the most scares for the for best value – it has to be Cedar Point for the 2nd year in a row! Best, well designed haunts, great actors, high energy show that both entertains and scares at the same time. We were blown away with the amount of time and effort that just go into the nightly make-up session and the dedication of the actors to their characters. Attending the pre=show “Pep Rally” was the highlight of our trip.

Overall rating: 11 – FRIGHTMASTER

Sandusky is still the reigning location for scares, thrills, laughs and all around Halloween fun. Congratulations once more go to Cedar Point Halloweekends – Frightmaster Award Winner 2nd year in a row!!!

Visit their web site at www.halloweekends.com

The Dent Haunted Schoolhouse ranks among the top 20 haunted attractions in the country in that it always delivers a quality haunt experience year after year. This year was no exception.

You can’t miss this old schoolhouse on Harrison Ave. with it’s impending Gothic architecture, eerie red glow and frightening sounds emanating from it’s doors. There are numerous creepy characters walking the grounds to give you a fright while waiting in the queue lines, including Charlie the Janitor himself! Your journey through terror begins with a discerning walk through an old outdoor abandoned playground with a couple of frightful children following you and a very bad crypt keeper pushing you on. If you make it through the playground pass the rusted old schoolbus, you finally enter the old schoolhouse, where your true nightmare begins!

The story goes that years ago a janitor named Charlie went crazy and killed many of the children attending this school and hid their bodies somewhere within the walls of the school. This is supposed to be a true legend since the building was actually used as a public school building in the 50’s. Whether true or urban legend, the school serves as a frightening backdrop for the scares that await inside it’s walls. The actors, especially Charlie the janitor and Damien Reaper, are very real and definitely in your face as you try to escape it’s winding maze of rooms, one more horrible than the next. The detail that goes into the design of this haunt continues to amaze us every year. We like the fact that it always manages to stay on the “haunted schoolhouse” theme (except for the clown room, but hey! who’s NOT afraid of creepy clowns?) and yet, adds something new every year so it doesn’t get stale. We especially liked the addition of a couple of “dark” areas this year to add to the suspense of the next scare. Actually, the addition of several more dark areas in the future could bring up the shock/scare factor which we felt was the only thing lacking a bit in the overall haunted attraction experience this year.

We still have to give the Dent Haunted Schoolhouse kudos for another great year and another excellent haunt!

Rating: 10 – Excellent

Visit their web site at www.frightsite.com

Trail of Terror is an outdoor haunt with a Hillbillys gone crazy theme. The props included a lot of Hillbilly related essentials (milk jugs, port-o-lets and old washtubs). You wind your way down a dark path through the woods where you encounter several members of the deranged Hillbilly family. Some notable scenes were the dismembered dolls two creepy girls walking towards you singing a child’s tune. The old wash machines and abandoned cars gave this haunt a country feel but the lack of actors definitely hurt the scare effect. The chainsaws at the end were almost expected and would have maybe been a better addition to the middle of the haunt to add some scares as, although it was fairly dark, it was more like a relaxing stroll through the woods rather than a “Trail of Terror”.

Rating: 6 – Good

Carn-Evil:

Carnevil is one of the better Monster Clown themed haunts that we have seen and overall is a lot of fun. If you can only go to one or two haunts at KI, this should be on your list. Although the theme is not quite original, the execution is well done largely due to the 3D effects and the great funhouse style characters. Highlights inlcude a neon dot room complete with “surprise” dot actors and a bearded lady and other traditional circus freak characters. The seedy Ringmaster/head Carney was the best actor I have seen yet in a haunt. Very convincing but just creepy enough without going over the top.

Rating: 7.5 – Good

Tombstone Terrortory:

Tombstone Territory is a fun haunt both because the back-story is interesting and because it is outdoors. The haunt begins with a train ride through dark woods where we’re told the legend of Walley Sparks, a miner who struck it rich in the old West but then goes on a deadly rampage terrorizing the town. The ride ends abruptly forcing passengers to walk down a dimly lit path to where the the haunted trail picks up. The actors were dressed in appropriate period dress, but unfortunately the trail left little room for hiding spaces so there was very little suspense. The smoke made the trail seemed creepy and the actors played the part well, but overall, more could have been done to add to the element of surprise.

Rating: 7.5 – Good

Urgent Scare:

The Urgent Scare is a hospital taken over by patients infected with a virus. Before you enter, you are told about a “pandemic virus” that really exists (“You can Google it – go ahead! It really exists!”) by a doctor with a bloody face. After being warned, you enter a building with many hospital rooms separated by bloody white sheets. There is a bit more of the scare factor here due to the claustrophobia created by the closeness of the sheets and actors and the constant blaring sirens and warning bells. The rooms, though, were a bit repetitious but did have ample actors and the actors did all stay in character, many being quite good. There was one man in particular who had what looked like rubber bands around his arms who jumped out and gave our group quite a scare.
As you reemerged from the hospital back into the open, you had to walk through an old junk yard with army men hidden behind crates and cans. This was quite effective for a last minute hidden gotcha.
This haunt seemed to improve from last year when a lack of actors left you wanting a bit more.

Rating: 7.5 – Good

Massacre Manor:

Massacre Manor is a twist on the old fashioned haunted house theme with the idea of the house being advertised for sale. This is explained to you by the eerie looking real estate agent upon entering the parlor room. You’re told about the owner of the house, a woman named Emily. There are many interesting rooms but not a lot of surprises overall because the house it was too well lit. One quirky and cute touch is that there are portraits of Emily on the walls throughout the house that at first are nice and sweet and get progressively more ominous, ending up with her holding a bloody chainsaw. In the last room you finally meet Emily and she has a man chained to the wall in a chair and chases you out of the house with a knife. The overall effect was a bit better this year but the scare effect was still lacking due to lack of actors and not enough dark areas to build suspense.

Rating: 6.5 – Good

Corn Stalkers:

The Cornstalkers is a very short outdoor haunt that was lacking in overall design to the point where we were literally going in and out of the “trail” and would have wandered further off if not for the employee who steered us back on track. With very few actors, not very well hidden, too many places to wander off the path, and the path being too well lit, this was not a good haunt. It needed much more smoke, hidden surprises and scarier actors. I would either improve this next year or do away with it altogether. I’ve had better scares walking through a cornfield on a sunny day.

Rating: 4 – Poor

Slaughter House:

Slaughter House theme was, well, a slaughter house. Upon entry you meet Mama who instructs you to stay away from her “boys” (aka the butchers). The haunt was very repetitious as every room had the same hanging meat, meat on the table, bloody walls and counters, an actor with a butcher apron spouting one liners. Parts of it were a bit confusing on were to go next, so much so that the actors had to direct people where to go. This takes away a lot of the believability of the haunt and demotes the “scary actors” into being just ushers. The last part of the haunt did have a tight inflated balloon walk through that impressed some of our reviewers who were a bit claustrophobic. Good effort but the theme needs a bit more dimension rather than just one room of gore after another. That gets old.

Rating: 7 – Good

Club Blood:

Club Blood theme is a vampire nightclub. After getting past the “bouncer” at the door, you enter to find a leather clad girl revving a motorcycle. The next thing you pass is a club-goer vomiting into a very disgusting toilet. I would have saved that for the last. You continue to walk past cages with scantily clad teenagers dancing to loud music. You continue past a bar with people dancing on it with very short shorts and tops. This is definitely a haunt aimed at adults, although the majority of people we saw going through it were definitely under 17. The guys seemed to like it, in large part due to the scantily glad girls, but the girls thought it was just so-so.

Rating: 7.5 – Good

Wolfpack:

The Wolfpack is a new haunt addition this year and definitely has the look and feel of being not quite finished yet. It’s located on the platform of the old Son of Beast ride, which radically limits the overall length of the haunt. You enter into a fairly dark, sparsely decorated room that is supposed to look like a (I am guessing here) wolf’s lair? The theme was wolf-something…never very well defined. The actors mostly existed of a few shirtless teenagers with a wolf mask on jumping out at you from their not-too-well-hidden corners. The only thing that seemed to be well hidden was the path through the rooms. That was very confusing at times with odd tires (?) on the floor that a few of our reviewers almost tripped over. The haunt needed more actors, better actors, more trees and smoke to create suspense, better sound (maybe wolves howling?) to create atmosphere. Overall – pretty ineffective, unclear theme and overall, not good.

Rating: 3.5 – Poor

Overall rating: 8.5 – Very Good

Visit their web site at haunt.visitkingsisland.com

3D Killer Klowns:

This haunt used 3D glasses for the 3D effect, however, the glasses we were given were used previously and not in the best of shape. The scratched glasses made it hard to see a lot of the darker areas of the haunt but were still good at bringing out the 3D effect. This was a fairly short haunt but the amount of actors and creepy passages made up for it. The 3D spinning tunnels were fun!

Rating: 9 – Excellent

Middletown Haunted Trail:

This was the original outdoor haunt that the Land of Illusions is known for. The length has been extended over the years and the design improved so that it is now one of the premier outdoor haunts in the tri-state. The trail takes over 20 min to walk (even at at a frighteningly fast pace) as you are constantly being scared by different creatures, both animal and human, walking along the dark, foggy path. The actors were very good and really played their parts. The make up and attention to detail in the different themed shacks was exceptional. The people at Land of Illusions have honed their craft of scaring people over the years and it definitely shows! You barely have time to catch your breath in between scares! The path eventually winds around and through several shanty’s with different themes and ultimately winds up at the entrance of the newest addition to the Land of Illusion – “The Nest”.

Rating: 10.5 – FRIGHTMASTER

The Nest:

This is the newest addition to the Land of Illusion and, in our opinion, one of the more creative haunts we have seen in a long time. This haunt reminds me of the old Baxter Ave Morgue in Louisville in the sense that it was dark, eerie and creepy; almost silent inside. The actors were not the usual “over-the-top” haunted house actors who are in your face shouting. They quietly approached you, unnoticed until they were literally in your face and then just hissing like a vampire. The haunt was made like a dark vampire bat cave with lots of smoke and just enough red lighting to be able to see the blood covered stalagtites and stalagmites hanging from the roof and coming up from the floor. The overall feel was very vulnerable because you were in a big area with no walls to protect you. I was actually creeped out by the Nest. This is a definite must see when you go to Land of Illusions!

Rating: 10.5 – FRIGHTMASTER

Dr. Psycho’s Haunted Estate:

This haunted house is very old school but in a good way for the fact that it is a dark scary type place with many creepy rooms and even creepier actors. They also had a good supply of animatronics, especially in the dark cemetery that was adjacent to the house. The scare factor was excellent especially in the room that says “Don’t look up”. The dark, foreboding cemetery walk through had some great scares. This was one of the better haunts as far as chilling scares go that we’ve seen all year!

Rating: 10 – Excellent

Temple of Terror:

The Temple of Terror used the “Indiana Jones” theme very well and added a dark twist. This creepy walk through haunt was loaded with old, dusty tombs and cobweb-covered mummys, skulls, and some other surprises that made it a walk of terror. The atmosphere and surroundings were so convincing that I started getting claustrophobic as if I were in a real tomb. Very convincing design and great scares!

Rating: 9.5 – Excellent

Overall:

Maybe it was the cool, rainy weather on Saturday night that helped build the perfect atmosphere for anticipating a dark walk in the woods and the Land of Illusion in Middletown did not disappoint. Upon arrival we were met by Brett, Operations Manager and owner, who told us that he had recently added over $2 million worth of upgrades to the Land of Illusion haunted trail and, from the looks of the some of the huge animatronics and the addition of “The Nest” vampire theme haunt, it definitely shows. It’s been a few years since our last visit to Land of Illusions and, to be honest, I am very sorry we waited so long. This place literally blew us away with the creativity and uniqueness of their 5 haunts. At $35 for the “VIP/Fast Pass” it is probably one of the pricier haunts in the tri-state but it’s worth every penny considering you have a full night of scary haunted entertainment for the price.

Overall rating: 10 – Excellent

Visit their web site at www.thelandofillusion.com

We always look forward to our annual trip to the USS Nightmare which has proven over and over again that it is one of the leading haunts in the Tri-state. This year was no different. The theme of the USS Nightmare remains a haunted boat, but this year Allan and the crew threw some changes into the haunt that took us by surprise – LITERALLY! While keeping the animatronics to a minimum in just the right places and slightly increasing the number of actors (who, by the way, were some of the best we’ve seen so far!) and increasing dark areas, the boat has definitely moved ahead in the scare factor. The haunt is long, twisting, multi-themed (love the new infirmary area!) and full of “gotchas” and creepiness. There is some misdirection near the chain-link area, probably caused by the slow strobe and the semi-darkness. This, however, only added to a sense of panic as to which way to go next to escape! We had a “newbie” along with us on the review tour and the bloody usher at the door learned her name and then everyone inside the haunt called her by name as she went through. Nice personal touch although it was very creepy for her to hear her name called out by the ghoulies in the haunt. From the “Newbie’s Perspective” – She said it was scary but fun! All in all, the USS Nightmare really delivers the screams this year and with an overall length of 20 to 25 min walk-thru time and a cost of $16 – it delivers the value as well. Haunted House Tour highly recommends this haunt!

Rating: 10 – Excellent

Visit their web site at www.ussnightmare.com

Sandyland Acres is always one of our favorite haunts for the fact that they build it from the ground up using whatever they have available. Don’t let that fool you into thinking this is your average “back yard haunt”! Brenda and Gene and the crew really put the scare factor into their haunt by using 360 degree scares, attention focus tactics, dark areas with chilling “gotcha” factors and great actors. Combine this with a great overall theme and a good “bang for the buck” with the $10 entrance fee and over 20 minute ride, you have an extremely good haunt that has been getting better every year. They have unique elements in their haunt that you don’t see anywhere else. We highly recommend Sandyland Acres as the best outdoor haunt in the Tri State!

Rating: 10 – Excellent

Visit their website at www.sandylandacres.com