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We had heard of the famous "black busses" utilized by Hamilton Hauntings from a friend of our teenage son. We really had no concept, it was explained to us that "you were on the bus for a while" so we assumed that maybe they took you to another location where they simply did not have room for the concession stand.

Well, you ARE on the bus for a "little while" and they do take you to another location.... several hundred feet back to the wooded lot at the end of their field.

The owners came up with the black bus gimmick as a less expensive way to move people across the field and into the attraction... old school busses were purchased and painted black, the windows darkened as well. The interior was altered, removing the seats that had held giggly school children and replacing them with bench seats that ran along the walls of the bus. Rope lighting was the only illumination and the journey is set to a soundtrack... no time is wasted here, live actors work the bus crowd too. What was supposed to begin in pitch black was once again altered, this time not by the much despised glowing "devil horns" but by "trendy cell phone antannas." (sigh) The busses slowly circle the field to allow the skit to run its course. They have often thought of replacing the busses with other options, but to their regular patrons, they have become a staple of the event, and they are reluctant to let them go.

The bus dropped us off at the entrance to the "Forest of Fear." We were excited by another wooded maze after our trip thru Goatman Hollow, but Hamilton Township in NJ was far less hospitable to the haunt... and christmas lights guiding you along the path detracted a bit from the atmosphere. The haunters were saddled with "not too loud and not too bright."
Along the way thru the woods we came across demented clowns, coffins, headless people, and were even startled in one turn when we mistook an actor "nailed to the wall" as a prop...

We then entered "The Dark Zone." The sets we walked thru were complimented immensely by the actors working the rooms.

No cattle chutes here, each area consisted of a small skit, from the opening morgue type scene with flayed bodies suspended about, guts oozing from them on tables to a particular favorite to the kids, the hillbilly encounter. Such a favorite to folks in the area, the attraction even hosted a birthday party with the beloved hillbilly as host for one group of patrons.

The final scene of the evening required an extra ticket, and it was the performance of Dog Days, backed up by Scare Factory's own "Impaler."(click here to see video) One of the more extravagant (i.e. expensive) props, it's not often that you actually get to see it in motion, but the folks at Hamilton Hauntings refused to let it be one more costly backdrop.

Accompanied by fog and laser lights, the prop's immense stature, and head-banging "impaling" rhythm worked well with the band's hard edge, and whose members did a good job intimidating many viewers at the onset of the show... and who could not have been nicer or more hospitable to us once the crowds had dispersed.

We could see the effort these haunters put forth, and we look forward to what they offer in the years to come. Sandwiched into a little plot of land between a pizza parlor and a car lot, saddled with the restrictions NJ puts on their haunts, and less then hospitable neighbors, they put forth a great show. If you're in the area, stop in and see them, and tell them HauntFreaks sent you.