LiveForTheLaunch
CF Legend
Since the 2017 haunt season is now officially done (wah), I was wondering what your top five (or ten) haunts are! I love hearing about different haunts so maybe also include why you rate it so highly. As far as scream parks, you can either split them into separate attractions or just leave it all as one as I have done. On that note, I really need to make it to an amusement park haunt event next year because I am seriously lacking in that department.
1. Night Terrors at Wiard's Orchard- I could go back here every year and not get bored. It's a scream park made up of a hayride, zombie paintball, and four haunted houses (Alien Caged Clowns, Mind Shaft, Barn of Terror, and the Asylum), and everything is very well done. I also like the way that each individual attraction is entered separately with its own line, because some places with multiple attractions just make you enter them successively. I like being able to take a little break and take full advantage of the free donuts, cider, bonfires, and karaoke! Out of all the haunts I have been to, these offer some unique scares, and although they're on the short side, they are literally non-stop.
2. Deadly Intentions Haunted House- Although as a whole I think I prefer the experience of the other scream parks I have done, it would really be a shame for me not to include this one as high up as I have. As a stand alone haunt located in the Detroit ghetto, I was pleasantly surprised with it! They gave backstories to all of the characters, the actors were clearly very interested in their roles (I have never seen a clown climbing up on walls and ceilings like this guy did), the scares were intense and constant, and no group before us made it through the whole thing! I went for the first time when I was just a kid, but I made a point to go back during their final season a few years ago and it was still as good as I remembered it being. I don't know how much I agree with live creatures being used in haunts, but being cornered with a live spider and snake certainly did it for me.
3. Darksyde Acres- Another awesome scream park that I did for the first time this year. Besides their lack of signs which caused me to get lost for about two hours on the way there (it is located in the most obscure location I have ever seen), and their overly hick and drunk clientele, it was a very good experience. The value dollar for dollar is incredible as it's only a $22 admission for The Catacombs, KlowneTowne, the Rusthole, the Labyrinth, the Dark Abyss, and Escape the Woods, and with how busy it was they did a great job with keeping the line moving as well as keeping groups spaced well apart (only letting in three at a time at the most). The haunts did seem a little short and they had to be done consecutively, but there was still a good amount of intense scares and good actors.
4. Erebus- It would almost be a crime for me not to include such a famous haunted house in my list. The only reason it doesn't rank higher is because it's not really frightening and their group spacing is done absolutely horribly. They need to take note from Darksyde Acres! They have a lot of amazing special effects and a lot of unique rooms with cool illusions, but to me it almost feels like a hybrid between a fun house and a haunted house. It's a fun experience that's only ruined by having to stop in a weird line and having to wait a few minutes again halfway through the haunt to keep spacing (which usually fails anyway). I tend to go back every few years to see how it has changed, and I'm sure it will be on the list next year as I haven't gone since 2014.
5. Blake's Haunted Big Apple- No, it's not a haunted kiddie cred and yes, it has a lame name, but it was actually a really fun experience. I don't know if it's really the best quality haunt I have done, but there's something about the whole atmosphere on a farm/orchard that I really like. They had a haunted barn and a haunted hayride, a petting zoo, zombie paintball, a kiddie glo-in-the-dark "haunted" walkthrough, and some Michael Jackson dance thing going on, so the whole experience was quite interesting despite the haunts not being out of this world. I love a good haunted hayride, especially when it includes free cider and donuts, and this one was one of the better ones I did.
Honourable mentions- Boneyard (would've made the list if their advertised haunted hayride wasn't just to bridge the gap from the haunted forest to the haunted house with literally no scares whatsoever), St. Lucifer's Asylum, Slaughtered at Sundown, Haunted Farm of Terror (best haunted hayride I have ever done).
1. Night Terrors at Wiard's Orchard- I could go back here every year and not get bored. It's a scream park made up of a hayride, zombie paintball, and four haunted houses (Alien Caged Clowns, Mind Shaft, Barn of Terror, and the Asylum), and everything is very well done. I also like the way that each individual attraction is entered separately with its own line, because some places with multiple attractions just make you enter them successively. I like being able to take a little break and take full advantage of the free donuts, cider, bonfires, and karaoke! Out of all the haunts I have been to, these offer some unique scares, and although they're on the short side, they are literally non-stop.
2. Deadly Intentions Haunted House- Although as a whole I think I prefer the experience of the other scream parks I have done, it would really be a shame for me not to include this one as high up as I have. As a stand alone haunt located in the Detroit ghetto, I was pleasantly surprised with it! They gave backstories to all of the characters, the actors were clearly very interested in their roles (I have never seen a clown climbing up on walls and ceilings like this guy did), the scares were intense and constant, and no group before us made it through the whole thing! I went for the first time when I was just a kid, but I made a point to go back during their final season a few years ago and it was still as good as I remembered it being. I don't know how much I agree with live creatures being used in haunts, but being cornered with a live spider and snake certainly did it for me.
3. Darksyde Acres- Another awesome scream park that I did for the first time this year. Besides their lack of signs which caused me to get lost for about two hours on the way there (it is located in the most obscure location I have ever seen), and their overly hick and drunk clientele, it was a very good experience. The value dollar for dollar is incredible as it's only a $22 admission for The Catacombs, KlowneTowne, the Rusthole, the Labyrinth, the Dark Abyss, and Escape the Woods, and with how busy it was they did a great job with keeping the line moving as well as keeping groups spaced well apart (only letting in three at a time at the most). The haunts did seem a little short and they had to be done consecutively, but there was still a good amount of intense scares and good actors.
4. Erebus- It would almost be a crime for me not to include such a famous haunted house in my list. The only reason it doesn't rank higher is because it's not really frightening and their group spacing is done absolutely horribly. They need to take note from Darksyde Acres! They have a lot of amazing special effects and a lot of unique rooms with cool illusions, but to me it almost feels like a hybrid between a fun house and a haunted house. It's a fun experience that's only ruined by having to stop in a weird line and having to wait a few minutes again halfway through the haunt to keep spacing (which usually fails anyway). I tend to go back every few years to see how it has changed, and I'm sure it will be on the list next year as I haven't gone since 2014.
5. Blake's Haunted Big Apple- No, it's not a haunted kiddie cred and yes, it has a lame name, but it was actually a really fun experience. I don't know if it's really the best quality haunt I have done, but there's something about the whole atmosphere on a farm/orchard that I really like. They had a haunted barn and a haunted hayride, a petting zoo, zombie paintball, a kiddie glo-in-the-dark "haunted" walkthrough, and some Michael Jackson dance thing going on, so the whole experience was quite interesting despite the haunts not being out of this world. I love a good haunted hayride, especially when it includes free cider and donuts, and this one was one of the better ones I did.
Honourable mentions- Boneyard (would've made the list if their advertised haunted hayride wasn't just to bridge the gap from the haunted forest to the haunted house with literally no scares whatsoever), St. Lucifer's Asylum, Slaughtered at Sundown, Haunted Farm of Terror (best haunted hayride I have ever done).