Please note: this review is for the 2005 season rather than the current season.

Gilly's Haunted House

by jldiehl after attending on Friday, October 21, 2005 at about 2 p.m.

Fun Factor: High Fear Factor: Medium

Review

Signage / Visibility / Location

None, really. The attraction is right on the intersection of two well-known roads in Milwaukee. As soon as you get within a block of the circus, you see the strobe lights. That's your signage.

Wait Area / Line Entertainment

This attraction is at a floral store, so there was no great waiting area. We arrived early, so we only waited in line for about 10-15 minutes. We waited just outside the store, but within the fence that separates it from the street. I could see how, with a larger crowd, the line would reach onto the street along the sidewalk. As for entertainment, there were three girls with faces painted (intentionally scary, but not so) and honking a bicycle horn every few minutes. Not scary.

Most Unique

The first "room" is a very long hall with black plastic sides that seem to "breath" or rather hug you as you walk down it, so, claustrophobics, beware! You had to walk in single-file. The "spinning room", which is just a stable floor with a hypnotically-painted floor, made it seem like you were moving (it worked for a small sec, then it wore off). I think for being a lower-budget haunted house, it created disorientation very well. One maze was frustratingly simple in structure, but it really bothered us 'cause we couldn't get around it! I really liked the room with the bars hanging down from the ceiling. Coupled with the strobe light, it was quite disorientating. The "side show" room was cute, in a scary way.

Actors' Performance

It was pretty good once you got into the haunted house. It was dark, and I never got a good look at any of the actors' masks or costumes. Of the positions they played, they did so very well.

Appropriate For

10+

Summary

One thing I didn't like so much is that instead of finding ingenious ways to scare us, the actors bordered on harassment, like a "What are you *doing*?!? You're going the WRONG WAY!", which wasn't scary, but funny at first, and then just plain annoying. It was a good haunted house, but not for $10. Of course, you never can tell about these things from the website!

View all Gilly's Haunted House reviews

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April 25th, 2024 8:32 p.m. CDT 24.07