This was an incredibly disappointing haunt. The setting offers so much, but Meadowbrook Farm does not use it to their advantage.

First, we got there shortly after 8:00 pm planning to buy our tickets and enjoy the bonfire for a bit before going into the cornfield. However, we were told that our numbers had already been called twice and if they were called a third time, we might not be able to go in. Instead we had to wait in line with absolutely no scary atmosphere for about 30 minutes.

The actual cornfield maze wasn't really any better. It was long, at about 40 minutes, but had the fewest live actors of any haunt I've been to. Scenes were set up into cleared out areas of the cornfield, most with inanimate objects, some with animatronics. Nobody and nothing to startle or scare. Many of the scenes didn't even seem to fit the setting (pirate ships?). Where were the demented farmers jumping out with pitchforks and following the group?

After 20 minutes of that, the rest of the maze was interspersed by small shacks, some with live actors waiting outside or in, but still, no really good scares. Certainly no startles. The one good shack was a room that confused you until you were trapped in a shrinking section of it for about 5 minutes. Two members of our group somehow missed this and went on without us though.

As we exited the haunt, two actors were heading in. I expected a scare from them, but they weren't even in character and just nodded at us as they walked by. Not good.

This has to be one of the best haunted houses I've been to in years. The scare factor is high with a live actor (or two or three) around nearly every corner. The makeup and costumes are fantastic (the clowns are some of the scariest I've ever come across). The acting is fantastic. But the true star of this show is the venue.

The old, abandoned high school is left pretty much intact, with some spooky additions, of course. Instead of a maze of tiny halls and small rooms that are hard for even four people to cram into, this haunt uses the cafeteria, the auditorium, the hallways lined with lockers, the boiler room, etc. and lets your imagination, along with the help of live actors and props, work for you. And does it work!

We got there at 7:00 pm and ended up waiting about an hour and a half before getting in; however, it was in the old gym and warm. The haunt itself probably took 30 minutes to go through, but it feels like it takes so much longer. You'll find yourself walking up and down actual school steps and covering all three floors of the school. Unlike the houses where they just trick you into thinking you're going up and down, you literally are in this one.

I have two complaints. In the waiting area, they projected soundless clips and trailers of scary movies, but didn't have any live actors trolling about. The addition of even two (one for the area with tables and one for the waiting line) wandering about in character would really add to the scene. The other is the incredibly loud volume of the frequent announcements. But at least nobody could be confused about when their number was up.