Monster Mayhem, an outbreak experience!  The night began with kind of a boring wait, you purchased our tickets and waited, no music, no monsters, but this is to be expected, you are waiting in a pizza parlor after all.  Once in, you are led to a dark staiway, where you wait in another line, for a gentleman to get you.  Monster Mayhem was very actor and prop heavy.  The central theme is an outbreak, and zombie takeover.  At times you are rushed by "guards" to get from area to area, this is a great effect, gets the heart pumping.  This haunt has two fake elevators that give the effect that you are going down deep into the ground.  There is a couple effects that involve getting sprayed with water, always nice when there are physical scares like this.  The best part of Mayhem was the giant alien at the end that appears to be an animitronic, you walk by, it follows you!  Mayhem was a short, but fun thrill ride!

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Gilly's the haunt I was least excited for, turned out to be the best so far!  The line was short and fast, there were no actors entertaining, but there were, "newspaper clippings" explaining the history of Gilly's.  I really liked the music that was being played as we waited, part circus, part halloween, part ska, it was fun to listen to.  After the line we were led down a path to a very smokie greenhouse-ish area where we boarded an animated boat!  It was great.  A ghoulish woman then boarded the boat and went over a few rules with you.  The smoke was so dense, you couldn't see a thing, it was very cool.  The theme was very circus heavy, which is alright with me, sideshows, clowns and freaks all in one place!  The highlights of the haunt were the spinning room, this left you feeling real disorientated.  There was a room with a swirl on the floor, a strobe light and what appeared to be a fake clown contorsionist on the wall, but he wasn't fake!  Creeped us out!  Another great part was the mirrored hallway, my girlfriend said the highlight of her season was me leading the way down this hallway, walking up to one turn, seeing my refection, and saying "oh wait, that's me"  Great effect!  In all, the effects were great, the actors were top notch, the staff was awesome, and Gilly's was the best haunt of the year!  

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Meadowbrook is always one of the highlights of the season for me.  This year was a bit different, but good none the less.  We arrived, the parking was ample.  Decorations on the outside were the same as years past, highlighted by the Killer Clowns From outerspace exhibit and the penned animals that at times can freak you out.  Nothing scarier than a goat making noises when you are not expecting it!  We got our wristbands and headed to the campfire, where a gentleman was telling ghost stories, this is new to me, there was no fire the last time I was there.  After about 20 minutes listening to stories and warming up by the fire, our numbers were called and we proceded to the line.  This line would have been uneventfull, had it not been for the above mentioned animals, it was fun watching them.  After about 20 minutes in this line we entered the cornfield.  The cornfield had AMAZING effects, I couldn't even begin to guess how much money was spent on props and electricity.  There were a minimal amount of actors in the haunt, which was a little dissapointing to me, I would have liked more interaction.  With that said Meadowbrook went above and beyond decorating the haunt.  The best part, by far was an animitronic at the end that was reminiscent of an alien from the Alien films, fery good detail and very big!  The field took a good 45 minutes to an hour to get though.  In all, Meadowbrook is probably the best haunt for your money, long and detailed, Meadowbrook knows what they are doing! 

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Wisconsin Fear Grounds, what a treat this was!  Three haunts in one, all three completely different.  Our night began with a little confusion, as the grounds have many areas , and not all of them are haunt related!  We arrived only to discover we went to the wrong area.  This was totally our fault as there were signs directing us to the haunt, that we missed.  Once we finally made it to the right area, things ran smoothly.  Tickets and concessions along with port-o-pottys are readily available.  We got our tickets and headed into a short waiting area.  The line wasn't too ling and was entertaining due to a television that was running a loop of one of the hallways in the haunt.  You could see, thanks to night vision, some visitors being scared, some to the point of falling!  Next, we were herded up like cattle and lead to a pen, where I can only guess houses cows during the fair season.  The pen was entertaining because just when you thought it was just another waiting area, out come some ghouls to get you!  They were great, smelling us and telling my girlfriend she had gone bad!  After the pen, we were led to the first of three haunts...

Morgan Manor:  Manor was great, reminiscent of haunts I attended as a child, relying heavily on props and ambiance to scare you.  There were few actors in here, but the decoration and effort they had to put in payed off.  Loud sounds, darkness, and ghoulish props made manor very fun and creepy.  This haunt lasted about 10-15 minutes, after we exited, there was a path that led to the next haunt...

Morgans Torment:  Torment was the best of the three haunts.  Torment  utilizes darkness, which is always my favorite feature of a haunt.  The best part of the house was the vinyl balloonish material on the walls and ceiling to give you that claustrophobic feeling as you have to SQUEEZE your way though these hallways.  It was great!  I have experienced this before, but my girlfriend had never, and it totally blew her mind!  There were a few actors in this house, which played there parts very well, separating us from the rest of the group to add an additional scare to those who fear abandonment! 

Unstable:  Unstable was a the most actor friendly of the three houses.  You are first greeted by a tall goat man, who talks similar to Jim Breuer's "Goat Boy" character on SNL, he was a laugh riot, very funny.  This haunt was very much like walking though an insane asylum, lots of crazies, and creepy rednecks!  The actors were very into what they were doing and committed, no pun intended, to spooking you out!   

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On the night of October 9th I visited Mars Haunted House in Milwaukee.  My visit started in grand style as we waited in a fairly short outdoor line.  Mars seems to know what they are doing, as they had ghouls walking up and down the line, interacting with the guests.  It was cold, and the actors made the elements much more enjoyable.  After a short wait, we were invited to go up a flight of stairs to purchase tickets.  Once up the flight of stairs and after getting our admissions squared away , we were greeted by a woman who appeared to be undead!  She took us through a door and into a small area where an audio recording played a brief history of Mars, the undead girl was great.  Once in the haunt, we were on our own.  The set was fantastic, seemed like they put a lot of time and effort into this years event.  The actors were also pretty good.  At times it seemed like they were tired, which is understandable, as they had been haunting for a few hours and I can only assume that takes a toll on you.  A few of the actors really went above and beyond.  One actor that sticks out had stopped my girlfriend and "forced" me to go on without her.  He blocked her from advancing for quite some time, sniffing her as if she was that evenings dinner.  This literaly lasted about 2-3 minutes, finally he let her go.  My favorite part of the haunt was the vibrating floor.  It shook violently as you passed over it.  I love haunts that physically jar you, and as you walked over the floor, it did just that.  In all I would have to say Mars is definitely worth the time, just make sure you dress for the occasion!

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