This is Dare To Dream's first year putting on a haunted house, and it's held in a old church. I’m not sure how I feel about a haunt being in a church. Granted, it does add to the creepy factor. But I can see how this might offend some people. I have to admit, I was creeped out before I even entered the haunt! Old churches can be creepy. Add some mood lighting and some spooky music, and I didn’t want to enter!
Our first few seconds in the house, we received a slight scare right off the bat. A wall with skulls caught us off guard as we walked by. As we walked into the next room, Michael Myers was waiting for us. Now, I have a soft spot for MM... and I’m not talking about any of my organs. The first Halloween movie was the inspiration for many of my early nightmares! So having Mikey following us throughout the haunt just seemed right to me. The actor had the mannerisms down pretty good, from the slow strides to the dog-like cock of the head. He was taller which helped too. One word of advice though: Dirty up the mask and suit. Both looked like they were just purchased. Mess up the hair. Get some wear and tear in the gray overalls. Make it look like Mr. Myers has been around the block a few times.
There was a great scene where we walked down a long hallway, and there were little girls (I would guess around age 10) screaming on either side of you ALL the way down the hall. It felt like we were in an insane asylum. They were behind doors, so I couldn’t make out what they were screaming. Not scary, but visually creepy as Michael was still following/chasing us!
It felt like there was a lot of dead space. More actors can easily fix that.
The final scene had some vampires in it. We walked by as they acted out a quick skit. Another word of advice: Get in our comfort zone. People are paying to get a good scare, so give them what they’re asking for
Not a bad first year effort, but there’s much that can be improved. I think the time spent in the haunt is the most important to improve on. Make people feel like they are getting their money’s worth. You can do this by blocking exits with actors, doing more skits in more rooms, etc... Personally, I would think that 20 to 30 minutes is a reasonable amount
of time to spend at a haunt.
An old church is a great fodder to build a story around and use to your benefit.
Some people will drive from other cities (like we did), so give them something to talk about on the way home.
Signage / Visibility / Location
There was no real signage for this haunt until you actually find the house. We had a GPS, so it was easy enough to find that way. The actual sign for the haunt is hard to read at night. It was a black sign where the letters were hard to make out until you're right next to it. In a residential neighborhood, and I was able to see the old church lit up when we were about a half a block away.
Wait Area / Line Entertainment
There was no line, and no apparent entertainment if there would have been a line. Some of the actors/children were standing outside talking.
Actors' Performance
The actors really gave it their all. With some continued experience under their belt, they’ll end up giving many customers some good scares and maybe even a nightmare or two! They might want to avoid being outside the house when they are out of character, as this takes away from the spooky vibe the old church creates.
Sets Scenes / Props / FX
The sets and scenes were good. You can tell that they put a lot of time into their first year. A great building block to build on!
Length
We were in and out of the house in 10 minutes. We left scratching our heads, asking ‘Is that it?’ I believe that is the shortest haunt I’ve ever attended.
Crowd Control
Unfortunately, we were the only ones there. We were a bit on the early side, so I do hope that it picked up as the night went along.
Most Memorable Moment
We started up our car, ready to leave. As we started to drive away, I could see Michael Meyers standing in the exit at the front of the house. He was watching us! I nervously waved to him as we passed, and he slowly brought up his knife. Classic!
There is a lot of potential for this haunt to become something that will have people talking. Their website looks GREAT, it just needs more meat. It's their first year, so hopefully they can learn from this year and come back bigger and better!
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