Previous Reviews: 2011 | 2010 | 2009
Please note: this review is for the 2010 season rather than the current season.
by CC2 (Newbie Review Crew Member) after attending on Friday, October 15, 2010 at about 2:30 p.m.
Submitted: Sunday, October 17, 2010
I have routinely attended the Dominion of Terror year after year for approximately the last 5-6 years.
My thoughts upon my first few moments into the house this year were, "my how you've grown up".
The Dominion has been at its current location for several years and has been entirely redone from last year's version.
I did not recognize one familiar scene from last season and that was very much appreciated after visiting some houses familiar to me and seeing recycled material and scenes.
For this year's version of Dominion, visitors will pass through a restaurant and kitchen with items you won't find on the Food Network.
There is also a carnival midway with a carousel, a margin of woods with a waterfall, an elaborate medical and dental clinic you will visit among numerous other scenes and can expected to be aggressively welcomed into all of those areas.
The sets in the Dominion are elaborate and detailed down to minute elements like a gruesome dental set that actually smelled of clove oil. Those little factors enhance the experience, nicely.
As we waited for our visit, we were seiged by aggressive clowns who startled inattentive guests and sniffed and growled at those who noticed them.
Dominion features a small concession stand and several portable toilets.
Make up and costuming are solid.
Special acknowledgment goes out to the athletic performer in the padded cell who apparently had some digestive problems before we visited and the two rednecks in the leather shop who affected their characters nicely.
The Dominion's location provides a lot of natural ambiance for a good scare and its sets are well lit so that visitors can appreciate details of the props, make up and costuming.
My pacing was fairly good, but it is difficult in a haunt of this size not to catch groups in front of you that may lag.
Please note: this review is for the 2010 season rather than the current season.
by CC2 (Newbie Review Crew Member) after attending on Friday, October 15, 2010 at about 3:30 p.m.
Submitted: Sunday, October 17, 2010
Creative, innovative, intimate, imaginative and startling.
This year's House of Bathory is darkly themed around the recent Alice in Wonderland movie, and its characters and sets represent that story nicely.
This is the first and only haunt I've visited this season that holds one theme throughout, and that made the trip through it very different and enjoyable.
The journey through the house takes you through multiple rooms on different floors that will bring you into direct interactions with the principle characters of Alice in Wonderland, except with startling twists and turns. They aren't quite what you saw on screen anymore.
Your trip through the House of Bathory is at a leisurely pace and staff do a good job of creating distance between tour groups so that you may not run into one another.
Visitors should be aware that some crawling and climbing throughout your tour is required.
Concessions and restroom facilities are provided at an adjacent shop.
On my visit, we did not experience any in line entertainment, but I have read that it occurs.
In particular, I have to make mention of the Alice character that cheerily greeted us when we entered the house who giggled and skipped as she led us through the haunt.
Also remarkable were the Tweedle Dee and Tweedly Dum performers who affected nice British accents and shared amusing rhymes as we walked through their area.
I don't ordinarily like a lot of dialogue from performers at houses as I don't feel they add a lot to the experience, but with this particular theme the remarks of the performers complimented the experience nicely.
The creators of the house did a remarkable job of making a coherent portrayal of the Alice in Wonderland theme and did a nice job of developing the story as you pass through the haunt.
Make up and costuming were well done. Keep an eye out for the very impressive caterpillar.
I appreciated the costuming and dialogue of the characters in various points of the trip and there are some surprise scares that follow those words.
There is a glowing sensory effect in the middle of the tour that is probably what I would consider most remarkable if limited to one pick.
View all House of Bathory (CLOSED) reviews
Please note: this review is for the 2010 season rather than the current season.
by CC2 (Newbie Review Crew Member) after attending on Saturday, October 16, 2010 at about 4:30 p.m.
Submitted: Sunday, October 17, 2010
As was mentioned in a previous review, the Haunted Barn is a novel experience as a rural take on a haunting.
What makes this place distinctive is the farm nature of the haunt beginning with your walk through a well appointed barn and then continuing on to a stroll through the woods before returning to the barn for some alternative sensory experiences.
There is heavy usage of props and decoration throughout the barn that make it visually appealing.
After initially exiting the barn on your tour, you will walk a lighted path that takes you through a graveyard and past a hearse. Stop along the way to appreciate the atmosphere.
Next, you will pass through a small cabin before concluding your trip back at the barn.
Along your way through the Haunted Barn and its surrounds, you will be confronted by various creatures of the night who do a nice job of creating startles for you, if you aren't paying attention.
I caught the Haunted Barn on a clear, moonlit night and it made for a very nice evening's entertainment.
The walk through the woods behind the barn was the most extensive outdoor path I've experienced this season.
View all The Haunted Barn Stoughton (PERMANENTLY CLOSED) reviews
Please note: this review is for the 2010 season rather than the current season.
by CC2 (Newbie Review Crew Member) after attending on Friday, October 8, 2010 at about 3 p.m.
Submitted: Monday, October 11, 2010
I attended with two other people to get different perspectives on Terror on Rural this year.
Both of them raved about the actor's make up and the large and elaborate sets.
On the trip through Terror, you will pass through a prison lock up, witness an electrocution and observe an operation on a patient with very active arteries.
There is a crematorium to pass through as well as an area featuring hanging, wet meats.
There are some nice sensory effects this year with a tunnel filled with changing patterns of light and another hall with walls that will close in on you backed by strobe lighting.
Depending on how easy you scare, you may not find Terror particularly chilling, but at the very least there are some nice scenes to explore and staff that want to startle you.
Also, the "prisoners" in the jail cells gave particularly enthusiastic performances.
The sets were lit well enough to appreciate the detail.
On our visit, we found ourselves stopped in an area with a dropping floor effect for several minutes. Apparently, staff were trying to regulate traffic through the house, but the dropping effect got old after about 10 occurrences.
As per usual, the sets were impressive and detailed.
View all Terror on Rural Street reviews
Please note: this review is for the 2010 season rather than the current season.
by CC2 (Newbie Review Crew Member) after attending on Friday, October 8, 2010 at about 2 p.m.
Submitted: Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Hubertus House of Horror has been around a while and I attend it routinely.
Creation/re-creation of the house requires a good deal of effort throughout the year to change things up, and staff there are always attentive to trying to keep things as fresh as they can, which is appreciated.
The house features a nice swamp scene and a restaurant with a butcher that wants some acknowledgment, as well.
You will also have an early session with Santa that was an interesting twist.
There is an excellent animatronic effect that awaits you.
There is also a surprise after your instructions before entering the house.
I went with a group of three to get different reactions to the haunt and my guests felt there was too much glow make up at one point in the house and they felt the 3D aspect was not much of a novel experience.
Some of the scenes had rather poorly hidden actors lying in wait, so those scares were unremarkable.
I'm not sure if in week two of the season the actors aren't quite at peak performance, but some of the scenes were slow to develop and the timing was off. There were some awkward waits for the scare during my visit.
The house begins with a bus ride that has essentially zero scare factor and doesn't really provide much of an enhancement to the experience.
Hubertus has a nice snack area available and ample toilet facilities.
Staff at the house gatekeep entry into the different scenes and sometimes you will catch the group before you and hear what you are about to experience.
View all Hubertus House of Horror reviews
Please note: this review is for the 2010 season rather than the current season.
by CC2 (Newbie Review Crew Member) after attending on Saturday, October 9, 2010 at about 2 p.m.
Submitted: Sunday, October 10, 2010
One never knows what they will come across in a cornfield in Washington County, as it turns out.
On your visit to the Haunted Cornfield, you will traverse a glowing spider web and eventually meet its spitting creator.
There is a pirate ship with its captain and a surprise guest.
Throughout the field, you will encounter glowing red and white eyes staring at you from the dark amidst the sounds of the night.
There are witches brewing concoctions in cauldrons and aliens that have found earth to be a fertile area for colonization.
You will meet the Wolfman and will contemplate a solitary walk through a graveyard.
On your trip, you will pass through a house of confusion with tapestry the same pattern as the walls.
Prior to entering the maze, there are plenty of options for how to spend your time.
The Cornfield is a pumpkin farm and has an impressive array of pumpkins, squash and gourds to buy.
There is also a gift shop on site selling Halloween themed gifts and a snack area selling cider and caramel apples among other fall treats.
The staff maintain a raised fire pit and snacks are sold in that area.
I am told they tell scary stories around the fire. When I visited, people sat and enjoyed the warmth in silence awaiting their call into the field.
Prior to being called, there is plenty of browsing to do through the rows of pumpkins, in the gift shop and around the grounds.
As was mentioned, there is a very pleasant bonfire to sit by to pass the time while you are waiting for your group to be called.
There is a digital message board near the fire that lets you know what groups are currently able to wait in line.
Plenty of snacks, etc. are available.
This is really one of the more rich Halloween environments to pass time in.
Overall, all of the live performers in the field had invested involvements with us and seemed to enjoy their roles. Costuming and make up were above average.
There is plenty to pay attention to in your walk through the corn. Quiet moments are few and beware when it becomes too quiet.
Warning: there is a very heavy reliance on strobe lights in the field if you are sensitive to that.
View all Haunted Forest and Cornfield at Meadowbrook Pumpkin Farm reviews
April 24th, 2024 11:31 a.m. CDT 24.06
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