Pete (dubstyle_2k)

Haunted Cornfield at Meadowbrook!!! Here I thought a fire destroyed this place in 2015 and it was never to return... Well, no, turns out they never missed a a season... See what rumors can do! Meadowbrook has always been one of my favorite attractions during the hunting season and I was psyched to go back, to say the least. Not much has changed since my last trip here in 2014. Once you buy your tickets you are told to wait by a bonfire until your number is called. In years past this has been a great feature, but apparently mid to late October nights in Wisconsin is now 68º season! The ambiance was still nice. Once our numbers were called we were herded into a line, like cattle to slaughter, ironically with a view of cattle that were freer than we were! Waiting in line was entertaining, not because of roaming ghouls and goblins, as there weren't any, but because of the farm animals were hanging out! We soon entered the corn, and our adventure began!

Now I mentioned earlier that Meadowbrook has always been one of my favorites, though that still remains the same, I do think my three year hiatus has given me time to reflect on this place and allowed me to come to some conclusions that maybe I had missed in years past. Meadowbrook continues to awe me with their presumable fortune of animatronics and lighting. Every time I go through that trail I walk away thinking 'That must have been expensive, and their electrical bill must be staggering!', but the lack of updating seems to be catching up to them, Those animatronic props were once my favorite part of the haunt, now just seem kind of boring. There was an over use of strobe lights, which don't get me wrong, can be a great effects, but we found ourselves saying, "Oh great, here comes more strobes." several times through it.

My favorite part of the haunt was the live actors, which there were WAY TOO FEW OF!!! To me, nothing is creepier than being shocked by actual voices in a corn field. If I were Meadowbrook, I would scale back on the animated props and get a significant amout of actors out there. While walking through the trail you will encounter several areas you have to enter, these are some of the more entertaining parts of the haunt. From pirates to backwoods creeps, these sections are what makes Meadowbrook shine! In all though, Meadowbrook is dark, disorientating, and lenghthy! It still remains one of my favorite haunts in the area!

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Let me preface this review by saying I admire Phantoms: Matinee of Nightmares, it's a small operation, it's presumably put together by a small group, if not just one man, and it's proceeds benefit the Historic Downtown Theater in West Bend.

Not being familiar with West Bend, Apple Maps was my navigator, and I found the area no problem. Matinee of Nightmares is located in the downtown area, so don't expect much more than a sign on a storefront (a live actor was behind the glass as we left, which would have been helpful when we were looking for the spot!).

Upon entering the location you have to descend a flight of stairs to the ticket area, please be advised, this is a cash only operation, but I was informed that tickets can be purchased online at: https://phantomshauntedhouse.ticketleap.com/matinee-of-nightmares/dates, From there we were ushered into a room where the proprietor welcomed us and gave us a little backstory. I was very happy to hear that after a few years of moving around, Phantoms was back to where it started in West Bend. Hopefully they can remain in one location and can continue grow a great following!

The haunt itself is interesting. At first I was a little confused due to the lack of blaring crunchy industrial guitar that we've come to expect while walking through a haunt, but for the most part Matinee of Nightmares scrapped that idea and piped in little to no noise, which at times added to the creepiness of the whole thing. Walking down hallways hearing nothing but the shuffling of your own feet adds an element that we don't experience often enough in these haunts The live actors were few and far between, but the ones that were in there were pretty good at what they do.. The biggest jump came from a little girl actor, which I think is great. I was fortunate enough to meet that little girl after, and she was so polite and genuinely seemed to enjoy spooking patrons! Matinee of Nightmares will not blow you away with gore or extreme jumps, but it does fill a void for haunt fans that aren't looking to be uncomfortably terrorized. Matinee of Nightmares was a nice, easy haunt that you are safe to bring the whole family to!

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