The ScareAtorium – 2015 Review

Overall Score (Both Attractions) – 4/5

(all ratings scored out of 5)

The Northland Asylum

Curb Appeal – 3/5
Scare Factor – 4/5
Actor Enthusiasm – 4.8/5
Creativity – 4.4/5

Overall – 4/5

Teresa – This isn’t too impressive from outside, as it is in an old strip mall. Once you get inside, there are plenty of decorations for you to look at while you wait. And the roaming actors are great. Especially Fingers! He did a great job chatting with us and keeping us entertained. Just don’t let him get too close to your own fingers. He can’t be trusted! The Northland Asylum is fun. The characters are enthusiastic. There aren’t a lot of animatronics or expensive effects, but what they do have they use well. And being in an old strip mall, naturally made it feel more old and dilapidated too. Our wait wasn’t bad at all. Older kids should love this. A fun place to get scared where you don’t have to spend most of your time waiting in line.

Donna (The Frightmaster) – We went through the ScarAtorium back about a year and a half ago and at the time I was honestly a little disappointed in the quality, scare factor and creativity of the haunt, so I didn’t have too high of expectations for this visit.

Boy was I wrong!  The entire haunt has been redone and the quality, scare factor and creativity blew me away!  First of all, they took a very familiar theme (old asylum, patients escaping, crazy people chasing you, etc…) and put a new twist on it.  It is VERY effective in the scare factor area and I’ll explain why.

When you enter the haunt, a man introduces himself as the head orderly and welcomes you to the asylum.  While he is talking, you see a door with a window showing an inmate on the other side with an ax trying to break through the door.  As the ax pounds gaps into the door, the orderly rushes you to get out.  Then the journey through hell begins.

The entire haunt is crawling with very strange characters, each one different and each one more terrifying than the last.  The scenes are individually detailed and very convincing, the background sound was creepy but not overwhelming, just enough to set the mood.  But the stars of the show were definitely the actors.  The actors in the Northland Asylum train for an entire year to work in the haunt and it shows!  They are really some of the best, most intimidating, most convincing actors I have ever seen, hands down.

This was a great haunt and so much improved from the last time we went through it.  I absolutely loved it!  Bravo, Kelly and company!!!  Great job!

Todd – We last visited The Scareatorium on the 2014 Midwest Haunters Convention Bus Tour. At that time, I was not blown away. However, I’m happy to report that the past 15 months, things have really improved!

The Northland Asylum is one of 4 attractions indoors at the Scareatorium. This vacated grocery store (?) has been gutted and converted. Remnants of the former store can still be found here and there but walls and other structures have been put up to create the mazes. Given the space, the Northland Asylum’s facade is very detailed as are a lot of the scenes within. The “”patients”” within are very well played out and entertaining.

Throughout this haunt, I couldn’t help but simply know I was inside an empty store. The drop ceiling can easily be seen beyond the walls of each room and long hallways can be seen through the actors’ exits. These things take away from the experience, for me at least. I don’t blame them because I’m sure the build out in such a space is not easy to work with. Just an observation.

The Scareatorium also offers a few short breakout rooms which we did not have time to try out.

Gayle – The location of this haunt seemed odd.  It was located in an outdoor strip mall, so I wasn’t expecting much to be quite honest.  However, once I got through the doors, the decorations and set up were amazing.  There’s a midway with “”Fingers”” the Clown walking around to entertain you…in a most crazy way.  There are midway games and other entertainers milling about to keep you occupied as you wait to gain entry into the Asylum.

Here, the actors were impressive.  Never once got out of “”character””, and seemed professional and seasoned.  It’s refreshing to get a sense of their passion for what they do, and you definitely get that here.

The rooms and props were impeccable, and I was quite pleasantly surprised to find this haunt is open all year!  The owner was definitely passionate about his haunt, and showed much well-earned pride in what he’s created here. I love the fact we were broken into smaller, more personal groups…this adds so much to the intensity and suspense we experienced as we walked through.

It was creepy, eerie and super fun.  I was pleasantly surprised and felt this haunt, and it’s crew, were top-notch!!  Loved it.

Bill – What can I say, this has been the “sleeper” of this year, I don’t mean that in a bad way. When we pulled into the parking lot of the strip mall, I didn’t have high hopes, but as soon as we entered into this magical world everything was transformed. We were dropped smack dab into the middle of a haunted carnival midway which included a demented patient and “fingers” the clown. Fingers was an amazing actor, who like all of the other seasoned actors, never once broke character. He hinted to the madness that was to come. The great part of this was that in the Asylum everything was connected, all of the pieces were in place and there was an amazing amount of detail and skill put into every room. Like I said before the actors were incredible … they weren’t just jumping out at you, they were pulling you into their world. What a great ride.

RIP’s 3D Funhouse

Curb Appeal – 3.2/5
Scare Factor – 4.2/5
Actor Enthusiasm – 4.4/5
Creativity – 4.4/5

Overall – 4/5

Teresa – This is a funhouse themed haunt with creepy clowns peeping out at you as you wait to enter. You wear 3D glasses and wander through a maze of crazy paint effects. This one also doesn’t have a lot of expensive props or animatronics, but it makes up for it with actors, jump scares, and some cool lighting effects. Good, old-fashioned fun with clowns!

Donna (The Frightmaster) – This was without a doubt THE BEST Clown 3D Fun House I have ever been in!  EVER!!!!  It blew me away with the original 3D illusions, clowns, and creative scares.  Normally the 3D clown shows are my least favorite kind of haunts but this one is a MUST SEE for any haunt enthusiast!!!!  This one is different, fun, scary, creepy, and a thrill ride that you want to go through again and again.  Check this funhouse out – you won’t be disappointed!!!

Todd – Another 3D, blacklight-lit funhouse. For the most part, it felt very run of the mill. The typical tricks were applied taking advantage of your distorted depth perception.

There were a few points where hidden doors or misleading pathways were used – they got me! This added a bit more to the funhouse feel than I typically get in these haunts. That was a bit refreshing.

Although well executed, nothing groundbreaking here. However, if you’ve paid your admission, might as well go in.

Gayle – I’ve been to many 3-D haunts before, but this one was amazing.  Not only was it fun, but the actors were well-trained, entertaining and SPOOKY.  The costumes and artwork here is incredible.  Again…there’s so much to be said for actors who can portray their passion and really give you a good, honest scare…and that is what you’ll find here.  Hands down, the best 3-D haunt I have ever experienced!!  Great job guys!!!  I can’t wait to come back next year!!

Bill – I’ve never been much of a fan of 3D fun houses, mostly because clowns scare the crap out of me, but on the other hand I usually just end up with a headache and not much else to remember. Well that was before, this has to be the best 3D attraction I have ever been through. The artwork was amazing-gory, so my hat’s off to the artist. It was a great maze and once again everything was connected and with purpose. There were some great scares, as well as giggles along the way. Keep up the good work, best ever 3D!!!

One Response to “The ScareAtorium – 2015 Review”

1. Shirley Cochran says:

   October 11, 2015 at 2:29 pm

   Not really fair to give a 3 for curb appeal with a haunt that is totally inside and once inside the door is fantastic! Plus the landlord will not let anything be done to the outside so they are stuck with just a sign. Disclaimer: I have worked for ScareATorium in the past.

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