Field of Screams PA EXTREME!!!!!! 2015 Review

Well, we closed out our official Halloween season reviews with the same haunt we kicked off with. On November 13th Field of Screams turned down the lights and turned up the intensity. For starters you must sign your release form before entering and paying. This is giving them consent to do as they wish and to not be held liable for you falling over in the dark or any other crazy thing that can happen in the dark. All 4 attractions were open and all 4 were very different from how we left them in September. Field of Screams is never a let down for us. We call them the most consistently amazing haunt in the industry and most definitely in their market. 
We hope they will do this again next year, maybe even for 2 nights. The place was packed for this one night show. We were kidnapped, bags over head, and lead to torture. The hayride pulled us off unknowingly and the things we saw their was absolutely the most twisted nonsense ever. Handcuffs and blindfolds. We aren't sure what they used but our guess is a cattle prod! We were breathless throughout the show. They do have an out for you should it be too much. You must tell them "chicken" bow your head and admit defeat. 75% of the group cried chicken in at least one part or another of the show.
They changed layouts on us, made it so pitch black we couldn't figure out where we were. When we could see we were being painted on and separated from the group. One by one we were picked off. 
The actors were in character and definitely enjoying the insanity of the night. Just when we thought it couldn't get crazier, Field of Screams went level 10 on us. We are dying to see the 2016 show!!!

Screamland Farms 2015 Review

The HRC is pleased to officially declare Screamland Farms as Maryland's premier haunted attraction!  This place is such a good time. They've got 3 main attractions and several fun add ons you can do as well! We highly recommend zombie paintball!!
The farm is huge and has much room to expand. The first time we went two years ago we were so blown away by the hand made sets and props and couldn't wait to watch the place grow. Grow it has! The corn was a great walk through, the back bending actress gave us a startle for sure. Well placed actors, and great attention to detail to make sense believable. Next we did the hayride. We would classify it best hayride in MD for 2015, no doubt. They took it back to the basics here and have props we've only seen at this attraction. They have a scene depicting movie legends. The Freddy Kruger had a standout performance. He was rude, crude and creepy. Not the typical Freddy mask either. Totally embodied his part. The massive hogs should be mentioned as they carried off one of our members, right off the hayride unexpectedly. Now for the barn,  Barn of Bedlam is a trick in itself. They've made it even larger this year. It looks from the outside to be smaller than it really is. We got quite a few scares along the way. They really did a great job and stayed in character. We all had a few "gotcha" moments in there. Overall this place is wonderful. Bring your friends out, you have two full weekends to go!!!
We also wanted to add, after the haunt season, Screamland will host the Great Pumpkin 5k on 11/7/15, so go back and enjoy this vast farm in the daytime!! 
https://runsignup.com/Race/Events/MD/Frederick/TheGreatPumpkinRunMaryland

Kim's Krypt Haunted Mill 2015 Review

The Haunt Review Crew paid a visit to Kim’s Krypt Haunted Mill in Spring Grove, PA.  We wanted to see what had changed since Kim purchased it two years ago & we were pleasantly surprised! The last time we visited, the mill was in a bad state of disrepair as Mr Sterner had passed away earlier that year. It felt like the heart of the mill died with him. (We in the haunt industry miss you Mr. Sterner!)

In 2014 Kim purchased the mill & worked hard to bring it back to life & SHE DID! We noticed the fresh paint & some new sets were built. Many signature pieces that Tim Sterner built were left in place and touched up a bit. The mill now has the “Kim’s Krypt” feel with a mix of the old school farm haunt. I wondered if it would still have some of the old school props left & they are still there working even better than before. Each attraction is full sized, not a bunch a mini attractions.

As we went through each attraction we were met with creeps in places that were unexpected. Creeps seemed to be hanging from the ceiling, crawling on the floors\ground & running behind us. There are a few places that did need an actor or two. As this is Kim’s second year, I am sure these issues will be addressed.  The walk through the woods is SO MUCH better than the last time we saw it. The path is dark and creepy with plenty of places for the ghouls to get you!  We found ourselves freaked out because we were hearing scary sounds in the woods but, could not see anything.  Two of the attractions are inside. These have so many hidden pathways for the ghouls to run through. This creates a crazy experience for the patrons as you never where they will pop out from. It gave us the feeling of being stalked.

The HRC is happy to say the Queen of Halloween has blessed the mill with her over 20 years of haunt experience. We notice a few small places that need improvement BUT…..The overall experience was just great!  If you a fan of farm type haunts, please pay them a visit. Tell them we sent you.

Halloween Park 2015 Review

HRC headed off to another of our repeat haunts this year; Halloween Park in Strinestown, PA. They have 6 attractions, the electric chair, and the band.
This is a great "hidden treasure" in York county; they are just off I-83 exit 28 (Strinestown), but far enough off the exit for an ideal creepy location.
The first attraction we did was the Swamp Mines; this is truly a mine experience. It's narrow, creepy, and filled with ghoulish mine workers and coal cars. We then ventured to the Catacombs, and let us just say, 1 member's claustrophobia reared its ugly head. If you have always wanted to be "buried alive," well this is the ideal place for you!!!

We headed across the road to Creekside Manor and the crazies within. This is a historic building, which just adds to the creep factor! This was the "controlled" setting for the mad Dr. Stampfl's experiments centered on people's fears and phobias. Needless to say, there is "something" for everyone; if you have a fear, or phobia, they've got you covered!! There's darkness, creepy crawly things, insane people, mad clowns, and just about anything else you can think of.

After surviving the Manor, we went to 1 member's favorite part of Halloween Park; the island (a real island), which is now 2 separate attractions. We started on Insanity Island, where many of Dr. Stampfl's "patients" tried to escape. We ventured down very dark and creepy paths with a dimly lit tiny flashlight; lets just say the flashlight seemed more like a target for the escapees, rather than a tool to help us see! As we were walking along, the darkness played tricks on our minds. We could hear the creek flowing and the leaves rustling, so the escaped patients lurking in the darkness were well camouflaged until the very last second. Luckily, we survived our walk and headed over to the 7 Gates, on the other side of the island. Once again we were given our target....we mean lantern.....to guide us through the deep darkness and patients that had escaped the fire in the asylum on Toad Rd. The great thing about the 7 Gates (& Insanity Island) is the darkness alone could scare most people, without 1 single "patient" surfacing during your walk. The island is an attraction all by itself, but then patients lurk in the ideal places. They seem to appear out of the darkness at just the right moment. As we were walking through the 7 Gates path there were props and building structures all over the island; things you wouldn't expect to see on an island, but did because of the fire at the asylum.

The last attraction always amazes us; Terror Behind the Doors. What looks like a small, unassuming attraction, is actually a maze of darkness! We entered this small hallway of about 8 doorways and 2 "helpful" creeps proceeded to "direct" us to the exit; however, their sense of direction, or maybe ours, was lousy. We were totally confused!! It seemed like we walked in circles for hours, but in reality we were in there less than an hour. Each doorway seemed to lead us to an exit, but somehow led us right back to this little hallway; Crazy!!!

After all that, 1 member decided to partake of the electric chair. Let's just say, she was truly shocked and jolted about like a rag doll!! Such a cool side attraction!!

Halloween Park is like a mini haunted amusement park. Every time we go back they have changed something or added something, or re-invented an attraction. And we absolutely loved the new "assistant" the mind behind the madness (Stacey) has this year!!! This is a great place to have fun, get creeped out, but yet still feel comfortable taking your kids (not too young). Please visit Halloween Park and tell them the Haunt Review Crew sent you!!

Screams at the Beach 2015 Review

Friends on the Eastern shore and friends who like to travel for a great show, this is the spot! Screams at the beach has several scary attractions for you to enjoy. We highly recommend their VIP tickets as it gets busy quick. This place has one of the best indoor mazes we've been in. So much fun. Their use of the strobes and darkness was ridiculous. Not for the faint at heart. They do caution folks about it. The walls and things seemed to move on us and redirect us. A few well placed actors and boom, you've got a scary maze. The group favorite was their cemetery. The leather face in there is the best most in character chain saw chaser ever. We see chain saws often and this guy was a pro.

This place was so fun. This is not one of those "don't touch them they won't touch you" shows. Don't touch them, and they are going to touch you! We were violated in a fun way. Painted our faces. Robbed our group of a member here and there. Forced one of us to do the house almost entirely alone. Really great makeup and acting throughout. We had so much fun there. It was the kind of place that didn't need to be over the top with gore or vulgarity and is still scary.  Highly recommend you check them out. The food was delicious, the scenery and ambiance is on point, there are a few dates left to check it out for 2015, Go!

Reaper's Revenge 2015 Review

On October 10th HRC paid a visit to Reaper’s Revenge in Scranton PA & it was CRAZY!   We entered the 60 acre attraction through a dimly lit, unassuming path. Our first impression was “did we drive 3-4 hours for this?”  We are happy to say, it was well worth the drive, as we entered a nonstop assault on your senses!

As we got in line to enter the hayride, we noticed that line or queue system was different. They use a dynamic queue that can be adjusted as needed to control the flow. Once on the Reaper’s property, we saw PLENTY of security & other staff, which we appreciated.

The Hayride was phenomenal! This is not the typical hayride, as each scene was well thought out & themed; it did not look like a junk pile. The sets are custom built; not the standard prop-shop type.   Attention to detail seems to be paramount here. We could not believe how well the hayride flowed from scene to scene.  There are some cool surprises in the hayride….A disco ball!  One of our members (Cara) was blown away with the quality of the sound system. This is high end movie quality sound for sure.  At some point we were forced off the hayride and sent hiking through the woods (NOT CORN) & that was just trippy!

The path led us to the Lost Carnival, which was creepy! Ponder walking through an old abandoned carnival circa 1950’s… it was filled with old rides that looked like they were hit by the Chernobyl atomic disaster.  We had to keep our eyes open here as the creeps hid in strange places. After the carnival we found our way back to the hayride.

Our next stop was ‘Pitch Black’ and as the name implies, it really is PITCH BLACK! We thought Mike was going to come unglued in this thing!  With a lack of light, our other senses were heightened. They have a droning soundtrack playing that scrambled our brains to the point we literally found it hard to focus! There were some SCARY surprises waiting for us in Pitch Black; this was definitely an HRC favorite.

The last attraction was Sector 13.  This had a bio-hazard, nuclear blast theme. Yes, we know what you are thinking…this was done back in the 90’s, & so what. You would be so wrong! This had a movie set feel that embraced us.   There were armed guards protecting us & the facility as we entered.  They had very realistic news report on the monitor that explained the situation; from there it was us and the mutants…Good luck!  One of our members (Yolonda) was literally grabbed, tossed on an exam table, assessed as “infected”, and shoved off the other side to be quarantined!

  Reaper’s Revenge is a baby, at 7 years old, and it rivals most of the old veteran haunts.  The 60 acre property has an incredibly efficient layout that lends itself to a haunted attraction. The actors definitely had a level of professional training; they DID NOT break character! Not to mention, they were sporting movie quality makeup. To build an attraction of this magnitude in 7 years requires research & strict project management; for example, the Sector 13 attraction was built in 14 weeks.  The mad scientist, Paul, took us on a behind the scenes tour of Sector 13. This is a true haunt nerd’s dream; the building was engineered well and is filled with the latest technology. This was not some random pile of metal.  They actually hired a structural engineer to design it!!

In closing: Reaper’s Revenge exceeded our expectations, by a mile! This should be on your ‘MUST DO’ list.  Tell them the Haunt Review Crew sent you!

Legends of the Fog 2015 Review

2015 has brought some major changes to Legends of the Fog! They now have 4 attractions, bringing back their corn maze. The sinister circus is like something ripped right out of a creep show. The actors in there aren't out to jump out and yell boo at you. This is more of a take it all in and check out the unique scenery kind of place. The 2 headed lady is one of the creepiest things we've seen this year. The hayride has had some updates too. They have an all new theme which is hopefully going to be expanded upon. The intro gives a comic feel and had us comic nerds pumped for the rest of the ride. The Hayride it self has some very detailed scenes. We do not recommend sitting in the very front of the wagon close to the tractor. A few of us missed some things overhead that were great (we were told) bc the wagon rolled under the action. They had a few good scares and surprises with props. The corn maze was a great surprise. We didn't know they brought it back. The maze feels a lot bigger than it is. We had fun trying to get out. We also were not prepared for the few surprises in it too. The last attraction is by far their best! The manor kicked butt. They've added even more detail to the rooms and placed actors perfectly in there. The two ladies who greeted us in there were amazing! The rooms confused us and we had a few good scares trying to get out. The manor has a solid foundation and each year seems to get better! We really enjoyed our time there this year. If you have a family and want to bring kids 10 and up out to get scared and to not have overwhelming or offensive props, this is your best bet. Go and tell them HRC sent you!!

The Bates Motel 2015 Review

Video review!

Bates motel and haunted hayride are celebrating their 25th year!! They've brought back some classic scares and surprises for folks who have followed them all along the duration of them running a show. It was very cool to see the new details they've added to the motel. Seriously state of the art handcrafted props. It is unbelievable the amount of specifically placed items all over. We had a hard time remembering to get into the mood of being scared and not stare intently at all of their hard work. The wall paper, the candles in their final room are amazing. Little things like this go such a long way. The hayride is by far the longest one ever. They added a lot there as well. We've never ever seen a flaming fiddle. All hayrides have that classic hillbilly scene but there's is truly a standout.
They have an asylum scene that is very realistic and detailed too. The only feedback we had was that common issue in busy haunts, the groups sometimes run together. It's hard to get the balance of not letting the group ahead ruin the scares to come and not slowing down so you're running someone else's.
Everything else about that place is amazing. We got really scared a few times. That trail leaves you wondering what is real and what isn't. Some of the best surprises we've seen. They have definitely stepped up their game for this special anniversary year. We really hope you'll go check them out and see if you can spot the oldie but goody classics they've brought back!

Pennhurst Asylum 2015 Review

The Haunt Review Crew checked out the show at Pennhurst Asylum on their opening weekend. We were not disappointed! The haunts that let us come up before they're really in their groove run the risk of not giving us their best; well, you would never know it at Pennhurst. What an amazing time! Their make up is horror movie quality and they have unique ghouls. This isn't the same stuff you see at every other haunted attraction. The attention to detail in their haunt is crazy.

The asylum was scary and set up well. The sets, and actors, are convincing. Props are real items, in most cases, and not just stock Halloween store stuff. The scenery in the tunnel and dungeon was indeed some of our favorite. They have a wild floor in the asylum and the tunnel landed us in a swamp. There are so many things they use to trick us; classic misdirection, lighting done just right, and whispers in the dark. We skipped this one last year, to give them a chance to change it up and let us forget the scenes, but honestly it was so so different; we could probably go next year and not recognize a thing. The voices and make up were the two most outstanding things at Pennhurst this year. The chick with the rat was pretty creepy too. We love that the actors listened to our group and played into that. They used our fears and names to interact.

It was a treat and a trick to visit Pennhurst Asylum. Being one of the few places that is actually a haunted place makes this one a must do! Go, and tell them HRC sent you!!!
 

Field of Screams PA 2015

HRC pleasantly began 2015 haunt season with Field of Screams in Lancaster PA. They have 4 unique attractions sure to scare the pants off of everyone! We felt like the moment we began the first attraction, there were 0 breaks in the show. We were breathless by the time we were ready to go!! We began in the den of darkness and went along through the asylum, the nocturnal wasteland and the hayride. The den set the tone for the night. It seems they've added actors to every attraction. Non stop scares and so many new things added this year. The rooms seemed to be differently laid out too. We would end up back in a room we just left and have no idea how it happened. Their use of scents and light trickery is genius. By the time we made it to the hayride we weren't sure we could handle it. Then we realized going on a Sunday was a mistake. We were the only people on the wagon for the hayride. Clearly out numbered between us and the monsters. They went full throttle on us in there. That hayride isn't even close to the same one as last season and it was great then. They've added home built props we've never experienced. Trippy ride for many reasons.

The most impressive part of their show is their ability to keep a great flow. The actors understand the importance of scaring the whole group. Not just the front or back of the line. They made us crawl, run, hide and get sick from nasty smells. The asylum really did a great job with their actor placement this year it seems like they have really blended into their surroundings. No doubt it is full of experienced actors. The nocturnal wasteland is the first walking trail we've ever done that we commented on how you forget your outside walking through. They've decorated so well and added so many people and props in there that we were surprised by one girl whom we thought was a prop. Insane.
We can't even say enough about how amazing they did this year. We are eager to go back in November for their kicked up lights out show.
This won't be for the faint of heart!
We hope you'll go check them out. They're the most consistent place we visit each year. HRC says this one is in the hall of fame for scare excellence!!!

Jekyll and Hyde Club in NYC

On May 5, 2015 Cara and Todd went to The Jekyll and Hyde Club in NYC! Now there have been a couple incarnations of this club/restaurant, mainly being located in Time Square. They have now moved to the Village just outside of the Christopher St. station.

Walking in, there is definitely a conservatory feel. Lots of dark wood, dim lighting setting the mood, and a very friendly staff who sat us in our booth. Now when you get in to the actual restaurant, you’ve walked in to a collection so to speak, of the good Dr. Jekyll. Perched in his podium overlooking the dining room, along the walls admiring a giant talking Sphinx head, an unfortunate soul trapped in a cage, a talking gargoyle, a 2 man skeletal band, werewolf, and a Mummy that randomly come to life.

After placing our order, we were greeting by lovely assistant of the good doctor, Blossom (actress Bernadette Maass). Blossom is a groovy, sweet flower child who just happens to assist the doctor with “The Experiment.” There were some technical difficulties getting the show going, but Bernadette was a true professional and stayed in character while working to get the show going. Even though we were the only people there (we got there at opening), she performed like it was a full house. I won’t give it away, but the show is entertaining, and keeps you occupied while you wait for the food!I had the BBQ burger, AWESOME SAUCE! It was so juicy, onions grilled to perfection, with a bourbon BBQ sauce that was sweeeeeeeeet.

They unfortunately do not have a haunted attraction anymore, but The Jekyll and Hyde Club is still worth the trip when in NYC, and say hi to Blossom for us!