Dave (Dave_to_the_Grind)

This has been my 3^rd year attending the House of Bathory. It’s always been one of the most scary and unique haunts I’ve attended. This haunt is heavy on dialog, interaction and intense scares. Once again, I wasn’t disappointed.

There’s indoor waiting in the basement area of the building, with plenty of room and a movie playing. What’s unique is if the wait is long, you can leave your cell number and they’ll call you when you’re next up. Which is great if you want to check out an area business or location. Once ready, you head to the front of the building and inside you’re explained the rules. Which are different for the House of Bathory than most haunts in which touching is allowed. No inappropriate touching but actors will grab ankles, grab a shoulder and get pretty close to you. It adds to the intensity.

The theme to this year was a loosely based Disney theme. Though it’s not the Disney you’d expect, unless you expect Snow White with a chainsaw or a creepy chant of “It’s a small world after all.” You start with an excellent scene of a hotel lobby, with faulty electricity and great dialog. Then the scares start and you’re off. Coming across various scenes, some scary, some disturbing but all of them entertaining. Creeping out guests or leaving them screaming. The woman we walked through with several times covered her face and tried to get out of the room as soon as possible. The House of Bathory also requires interaction on your part. Whether it’s talking back to the actors, crawling over a cage, sliding down a ramp or sitting down next to a freak. It keeps this haunt intense and is not uncommon to see guests running up the street screaming.

Once again, the House of Bathory has been my favorite haunt so far of the season and I strongly recommend it. It’s a unique and intense haunt that will stand out this Halloween season. 

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A creepily lit, old, multi-floored warehouse building greets you as you walk up to the Dominion of Terror. Which acts as the perfect backdrop to a solid haunt. Along with clowns and other creepy fellows taunting you as you wait to enter. 

The entrance and rules is like nothing I’ve seen before. They used a fairly tale theme. Having a sweet old lady, with perfect diction, sitting you down for a fairy tale as she explains the rules. With the book projected on the wall. Ending with a good fright. Sending you on your way. 

The most striking thing about this haunt is the elaborate sets and scenes you are sent through. A lot of rooms with trees, props, ghoulish sites. Whatever needed to take you into another world. All the while you deal with actors jumping out, interacting and scaring you along the way. One of my favorite aspects is you’re sent though dark hallways and dead ends. You feel constantly lost. You also encounter many rooms where the exit isn’t clearly known. Many times you had to feel around the walls and find a moveable wall, or some other way, to move on. It was a great way to make the haunt more interactive. Another wonderful aspect of the Dominion of Terror is the size of the haunt. It exists through multiple floors of a fairly large building. The haunt is huge and takes a long time to get through, especially with all the tricks and hidden exits. Making it a great value for a haunt. 

Overall I really enjoyed the Dominion of Terror and was pretty impressed. It has some great thrills, chills and surprises, even for an experience haunt goer. 

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The Mars Haunted House has become my traditional first haunt of the year. The anticipation and energy outside Mars helps set the tone to
this haunt, and the Halloween season. Located on historic Mitchell you wait outside next to old buildings and hear about how what makes this haunt special; is it’s actually in a haunted building. The line entertainment is some of the best you can find. You’ll see a few creepy people, seeking out the meek and giving a good scare. Sometimes making them cringe or even run away. Which makes the entertaining wait go by fast.

Entering the old building really gives you the perfect uneasy feeling of entering a place inhabited by bad spirits. Mars starts you off in a dark room where you hear the story of the souls who haunt the building, continuing to set the tone. You’re sent down dark hallways and corridors making you feel lost and at the hands of the haunt. You come across some goulish scenes that are wonderfully created. The actors, for the most part jump out, yell or scream to give you a fright for the majority of the haunt. The actors gain intensity as you go through and interact more with dialog. The last few frights we encountered were amazingly acted. One girl was perfectly made up, energetic and pulled some ability that rivaled any actor I’ve encountered before. Her appearance came at a perfect time in a dizzying display of flashing lights and a maze of white bloody stained sheets. Leaving you with a pounding heart as you exit. Overall I once again enjoyed my Mars visit. It’s a unique setting, feel and a perfect way to kick off your Halloween season.

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