If you attend just one haunt this year, check this one out! There are a plentiful supply of scares and special effects here to satisfy even the most discerning tastes. A long dark winding road leads to this venue that features a weathered barn, a terrorizing trail and a vintage 3 story haunted house.

The weathered barn accommodates both the a heated waiting area and a concession stand. A haunted trail complete with graves, tattered shacks, a creepy creak crossing and a tortuous tunnel of terror (...just to name a few of the scares found along the trail...) get your heart racing before you've even entered the main attraction. The 3 story haunted house features an abundant variety of themes, special effects and interactive experiences with ghouls.

This year's edition of the Hartford Jaycees Haunted House had more props and special effects than in past years. Not all of them may rock your world but if you measure the value of your experience by the sheer number of effects this haunt will totally blow your mind.

One cautionary note...if you're adverse to getting dirty or crawling through low passageways this haunt may not be for you.

Here are a few of the highlights from this haunt:

** Length: it took 21 minutes for our tour group of 4 to complete the haunted adventure. (this is nearly twice as long as the Milwaukee haunts!)

** Venue: A terrorizing trail complete with a tunnel of torment prelude your adventure through a 3 story house. The journey through the house takes you from a 3rd floor balcony all the way to the bowels of the basement.

** Sets / Scenes / Props / FX: Both the haunted forest and house are crammed packed with props and special effects. If you have an eye for detail you'll be blown away with the elaborate decorations found throughout this haunt. ...in fact, the venue is almost packed full of props and sets to a fault as some of the rooms become a bit cramped with 6 adult bodies in the room. The house features several secret passages, trap doors, live actors, animated mannequins, holographic images and even a vortex.

** Actors Performance: I wouldn't go so far as to say every acting performance blew my socks off this year but there are certainly some very entertaining performances.

** Sound: Not once was I distracted by the sounds coming from an adjacent room during our tour. Given how many rooms are packed into this house that fact just blows my mind. All rooms appear to be well insulated and equipped with a more than adequate sound system to make you feel as if your group has been totally isolated from the outside world.