Brian
and I were joined by four friends Dean & Kim, and Vince
& Carolyn, to review this haunt.
We arrived at Frightland, which cannot be missed if you are
traveling in the dark. Driving up on it, in the dark surrounding
farm territory, one might think they’ve stumbled across
a mini Las Vegas. Complete with a few rides and concession stands,
their large skeletal silo can't be missed.
We were greeted by security guards equipped with metal detectors;
so anyone thinking of sneaking in for some mischief, think again!
We then sought out Aven, and were directed to Idalia Manor.
We were waved on to the Hayride, as they were heading out for
the last time that night. We had planned to forego this portion
of the trip, but are ever so glad we didn't. The ride must last
at least 15 to 20 minutes (or so it seems, with the uncooperative
weather, we were too distracted to time it). We laughed, we
screamed (and we got really, really wet!!). We passed under
a skeleton who helped out the rain, by "desecrating"
our heads, as he felt we had desecrated his land. (For those
of you that find that ambiguous, he peed on us!) We drove past
Elm Street, and thru a trailer park beyond Deliverance. Once
off of the hayride, we were directed thru a small maze of cornfield
and out to the Haunted Barn.
It was here
we met the Mad Doctor, who loudly complained about being banished
to the barn. "Working in the barn with the pigs... it was
just unsanitary!" Our entire group proceeded into the barn,
where there seemed to be someone ready to jump out and scare us
at every turn. Taking full use of odd angles, loud noises, excellent
props, and cast members EVERYWHERE (one thing I noticed, in many
scare spots, the cast were elevated, adding another element of
surprise) They certainly keep us jumping!! Except for Dean, who
could just not be startled. (I have theories about that, but I'm
quite sure he would not appreciate me printing them), but his
wife Kim insisted on physical contact with him throughout the
house. So Dean walked behind her, hands on her shoulders, until
unbeknownst to Kim, Dean had allowed his hands to be replaced
by the hands of one of Frightland's ghouls. Unfortunately, we
missed Kim's reaction, when a small tug made her turn around and
come face to face with him! Lucky for them, both Dean and the
ghoul had quick reflexes!
 It
was now time to move on to Idalia Manor, and to visit with our
host for a few minutes. Now Aven had shown us the type of masks
they used at Frightland, and explained how they conformed to the
actor's face. With his mask, and the creepy, cat's eye contacts
he sported for the occasion, I could not help but stare at the
creature's face as he spoke, looking for any glimmer of the man
I had met a week prior.
We
were filled in on the history of Idalia Manor, and I was then
asked if I "intended to be a problem." I explained,
"No, I didn't, but Carolyn did." Now Carolyn had been
standing back from the door, and was asked to approach. She
hesitated, and then did. They engaged in brief conversation,
and she was asked her name. We saw Aven whisper to Freddy (that
would be Kreuger), and Freddy disappeared into the house. Four
of us went into the house first. Out of thin air, Freddy appeared,
screaming Carolyn’s name, chasing us into the next room.
Again we proceeded thru the twists and turns, cast members everywhere.
We
entered the final room toone more shrieking creature, wanting
to know "Is Carolyn dead yet?!" When she arrived in
the room, it began shrieking "Kill her!" We had to
love that "personal touch." Well, maybe all of us
but Carolyn :) One more thing we could all agree upon later,
was that we could NOT believe the "spinning tunnel"
had gotten each and every one of us! Cleverly using darkness,
3-D effects, and painting the bridge to match the surroundings,
we were unable to gain perspective with a focal point, and we
all felt as if we were going to fall over
 All in all,
it was a “Most Excellent Halloween Adventure.” Excellent
props and makeup,coupled with an extremely large and talented
cast made this haunt on par with Universal in quality. It is worth
every penny, and every minute of the drive, even in the rain!
We encourage all fellow Halloween enthusiasts within the area
to visit. You will NOT be disappointed!
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