Guest Haunt Reviews
While Fearless Leader doesn't seem to mind working every single hour of the day, I'm a different story. So I'm pleased to present these Guest Reviews of local haunted houses and trails and let them do the work. These reviews are the personal viewpoints of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinons of The HOUSE OF DOOM!!!, although they might. Therefore, if you don't agree, don't come looking for me. I'd probably just humiliate you anyway.
Big thanks to the reviewers for providing us with some new voices and points of view!
-Crystal, Fearless Webmistress Of The HOUSE OF DOOM!!!
2003 Guest Haunt Reviews
We wanted to keep the efforts of our guest reviewers on line a bit longer, so here are the 2003 haunt write-ups.
Dave's Walk On The Wild Side-The Middletown Haunted Trail
Dave Bloom, former manager of The Night Of Fright (one of Cincinnati's top attractions for many years), was nice enough to offer to write up a review of the Middletown Haunted Trail for The HOUSE OF DOOM!!! It's good to have another voice on here and I really appreciate it-thanks Dave! So anyway, here it is...
This review is not an in depth interview with a summary of the show like Randy does. This is a straight up opinion on my behalf. I had a hard time figuring out what approach I was going to take. Should I rate the attraction from strictly my point of view (having managed one of the area's premier haunted attractions)? Or do I look at things as a patron would see them? After a couple days of thinking I have what will be a review that I can be satisfied with. The Middletown Haunted Trail and Temple Of Terror is located north of the Middletown airport. There are two events on the same property. Price is $10 for the trail and $7 for the temple or $15 for the combo. We like our fright in large doses, so the combo sounded like the plan for us. When we arrived I was impressed with the expanse of the property. I was not expecting something of this magnatude. We bought our tickets and went through the main gates. To our left was a huge fire pit. This thing was a monsterous ten feet in diameter. That got me thinking "do they do everything on such a large scale"? Well let's find out. The first destination-The Trail. While waiting in line we were worked over by a female ghoul who only spoke in rhyme. It kind of reminded me of the rhyming demon from Night of Fright. We were up next to go in so the undead poet moved on to fresher victims. I had not been on a haunted trail in about ten years so naturally anticipation was getting the better of me. Upon entering we found out way down a twisted path , bringing us to two witches with a cauldron on a real campfire. This was a good effect but fire is too dangerous when you have hundreds of unknown factors (Patrons) travelling through on any given night. There were several wooden hallways erected along the path . Heavy hitting soundtracks throughout. The trail had lots and I mean lots of actors. A few scenes that stand out are the cemetery, the face wall , meat locker, Freddy's hall, and the cornfield.
I personally liked the cornfield the best, mostly because it was the best scare on the trail. That guy had his timing down perfect. I could only find a few negative points. First there were too many guys with chainsaws and hockey masks. Second was the use of open fire. The point where it crossed the line was the dude with the blowtorch at your feet. I, being stubborn as usual, did not move away from the torch. He refused to move the torch away from me. He got within 4 inches of my leg. (He should have backed off when he saw I was not going to move!) Overall I liked the trail. With those exeptions I list above it was still a really good time. Now over to the Temple. We had a bit of a walk over to the other side of the property. It was enjoyable though, it gave us time to reflect on our surviving the trail. Finally I saw the building. It looked like nothing special, just a pole barn. I would guess it at being 4000 sq ft. No facade. The temple was empty, at least there were far less actors. I will list all of the good points. There were several giant vampires (animated), an impaled vampire (animated) , and a giant Scarefactory "Impaler" with thrashing victim (animated). Of course the falling ceiling was pretty cool too. Basically the Temple Of Terror is a Temple in the honor of Scarefactory, the god of animated props. It is however cool to just trip out on the size of the giant impaler. I found out later that it was 13 ft tall! The cool effects make up for the lack of actors.
Over all I truly enjoyed my evening. It made for really good times. So grab some friends and head on over to The Middletown Haunted Trail. For dates , times, and directions visit their website at www.middletownhauntedtrail.com ,
Bluegrass Haunting With Steve-Louisville Haunts
Steve C visited 3 of Louisville, KY's best haunts and shared these reviews. Since most of northern KY's haunted houses have disappeared, people eager for a new experience might want to take the drive and check them out.
The Haunted Hotel: http://www.hauntednetwork.com/
This is possibly the most pulse-pounding, adrenalin pumping, rollercoaster ride of a Haunted House I have ever visited. Staffed by a dedicated, experienced team of actors(much like the Night of Fright), they and the house itself will scare the wits out of you.
This house stands apart in its ability to create in each and every room an EXTREME element of surprise having you literally running from one room to another. I am surprised no other haunts, and I've seen most of them, have replicated the unique scenarios the team at The Haunted Hotel have deviously created.
It is the absolute scariest Haunted House(Hotel) I have ever visited in my 31 Halloween seasons. Take the trip to Louisville if you dare. This is as good as it gets. 502.664.8625
Baxter Avenue Morgue:
The Baxter Avenue Morgue in Louisville Kentucky is one of the most unique Haunts in the midwest. It is set in the basement of an old morgue and the feeling pervades true eerieness. Great actors, never before used scenes and a lot of darkness set the tone for this trip into the bowels of a truly evil place.
This haunt reminds me of the occasional dark dream in which you have no control and cannot escape. The scares are more subtle and the scenes are very unique without feeling pre-fabricated. Waiting in line we were entertained by a troop of 15 dancers doing the synchronized Thriller dance as music pulsated in the background. I highly recommend this haunt for anyone looking for a fresh portrayal of what a Haunted show can be.
Industrial Nightmare:
Of the three haunts I visited on my trip to Louisville I would have to rate this one third overall. It definitely had the largest budget, and used it well. Few and not so enthusiastic actors, but truly incredible eye candy and theming.
It is located in the large underground basement of a huge industial complex and they use their space wisely. If you are taking your kids to a haunt in Louisville this would probably be the preferrable choice. Enjoyable, but not really scary.
Reviews by Steve C