2010 Event Reviews

This is Oblivion’s first year in action. You can purchase tickets online for only $10, but make sure that you purchase them 200 minutes before the house opens that night. When we went to purchase tickets online 2 hours prior to the opening of the attraction it gives a notification that states “tickets must be purchased 200 minutes in advance”.

Walking to the haunted house, the first thing you notice is the smell of treats. They had quite the selections of treats and toys, but chocolate covered bacon is what really caught my eye. I feared the heart attack I might encounter in the haunt, so I did pass on the bacon. As you approach the haunt you can hear loud music and the outside is well decorated with laser effects and props. There were two great areas for dancers, but since we were there right before they opened there were no ghouls in them. Before you reach the outside, you are given the option to purchase glowing necklaces/headbands for $1. As explained to us the glowing necklaces help you to determine who is a friend and who is a foe.

When you first enter the haunt, you are lined up (similar to an amusement park ride) and shown a video. The actress in the beginning was great at encouraging ghoulish talk. The most unique thing about this haunt is the elevator ride in the beginning. I grasped the elevator wall fearing that it would drop at any minute, but alas the ride was over and everyone was safely on their feet. The attraction is in a warehouse that is 15,000 square feet! I would have liked to attend later in the evening as it would have given the volunteer ghouls more time to find their "niche". However, there were a few natural born ghouls that left their mark.

Oblivion started construction in November of 2009 and the detail and props definitely showed the hours well spent. I do not scare very easily, but there were several areas that caught me off guard. Expect the unexpected at Oblivion and even if you are prepared to be scared ... they will get you! I had to stop at one point because I couldn't figure out how the ghoul managed to drop from the sky. One room contained the MOST disturbing scene I have seen thus far ... the blood, screaming and acting was too real!

The total time spent going through the haunt was 14 minutes, however it seemed much longer. Our group surpassed the glowing necklaces, but we were paired with another group that had them. The necklaces were great for seeing where you were going, but I would have preferred wandering in the dark. Our "big guy" was in the back of the group and he was followed by a ghoul the entire way. He explained that it was freaky because he was never "safe".

The Hubertus House of Horror has been around a while and I attend it routinely.

Creation/re-creation of the house requires a good deal of effort throughout the year to change things up, and staff there are always attentive to trying to keep things as fresh as they can, which is appreciated.

The house features a nice swamp scene and a restaurant with a butcher that wants some acknowledgment, as well.

You will also have an early session with Santa that was an interesting twist.

There is an excellent animatronic effect that awaits you.

There is also a surprise after your instructions before entering the house.

I went with a group of three to get different reactions to the haunt and my guests felt there was too much glow make up at one point in the house and they felt the 3D aspect was not much of a novel experience.

Some of the scenes had rather poorly hidden actors lying in wait, so those scares were unremarkable.

I'm not sure if in week two of the season the actors aren't quite at peak performance, but some of the scenes were slow to develop and the timing was off. There were some awkward waits for the scare during my visit.

The house begins with a bus ride that has essentially zero scare factor and doesn't really provide much of an enhancement to the experience.

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House of Bathory is back again and they continue to go above and beyond every year. The theme this year is, "Alice in Wonderland", but do not expect tea and cookies at this party. It's in your face, or rather I should say "beyond in your face". (Yes, this IS a touch haunted house. If that bothers you, then I recommend going elsewhere). What makes the House of Bathory such a success is the outstanding actors, fine detail, and unique creative designs. The actors are primarily high school age or younger. Think the younger ones can't scare? Think again! Every actor is there on a volunteer basis because they live to scare year round! They even open the Haunt in the summer and may open it in December as well. This isn't your typical 4 weekends and its over ... they live for this stuff.

The Mad Hatter invited us to dinner and he had us laughing and trembling. The details of the rooms do not consist of your typical electronic, technologically advanced props. Most of the rooms and hallways appeared to be something you would see in a classic horror movie. The "Alice in Wonderland" theme flowed flawlessly from start to finish with an added bonus "scene" at the very end! There are no concessions and the wait outside has some ghouls wandering around, but as "Dead by Dawn" explains on their website ... they are not there to serve warm doughnuts, they are there to "scare the S*%@" out of you. And that is exactly what they do best!

We were fortunate enough to go when the wait wasn't very long, but I know from previous years the wait can be long. However, the wait is well worth it as they specifically make sure that every room is properly prepared for each victim. You will never have to worry about being rushed or running into another group. The staging of the haunt is meant to play out like a movie rather than herding cattle through hallways and glancing at rooms. According to the website if you are 21 or older you can buy your tickets at the door and wait at a nearby bar until bartender summons you. PLEASE make sure to bring a designated driver if that is the route you choose. At only $15 a ticket you can't afford NOT to attend this haunt, no matter where you are coming from. I am uncertain the EXACT length of the haunt, but we estimated it at about 25-30 minutes! My group is already making plans for a second visit this year!

One never knows what they will come across in a cornfield in Washington County, as it turns out.

On your visit to the Haunted Cornfield, you will traverse a glowing spider web and eventually meet its spitting creator.

There is a pirate ship with its captain and a surprise guest.

Throughout the field, you will encounter glowing red and white eyes staring at you from the dark amidst the sounds of the night.

There are witches brewing concoctions in cauldrons and aliens that have found earth to be a fertile area for colonization.

You will meet the Wolfman and will contemplate a solitary walk through a graveyard.

On your trip, you will pass through a house of confusion with tapestry the same pattern as the walls.

Prior to entering the maze, there are plenty of options for how to spend your time.

The Cornfield is a pumpkin farm and has an impressive array of pumpkins, squash and gourds to buy.

There is also a gift shop on site selling Halloween themed gifts and a snack area selling cider and caramel apples among other fall treats.

The staff maintain a raised fire pit and snacks are sold in that area.

I am told they tell scary stories around the fire. When I visited, people sat and enjoyed the warmth in silence awaiting their call into the field.

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I have to say that this is the first time that I have visited this haunted house even though that I had great things about this haunt since I was 16. I am happy to say that those excited murmurings proved true.

The event started off slow. I had to wait for my number to be called and then have the rules of the house explained to me by a mad doctor but after that the fun began! The entrance was perfect. A creepy door, slowly opening and fog pouring out. This opening, in one word, was creepy.

The attention to detail and entertainment value only continued. The scares began only seconds after I set foot in the haunt. These guys know how to scare. They used extreme darkness and strobes well. When you expected a scare because of the set-up they didn't scare you. When you passed that point that is when they got you. I loved it. They really had the art of the haunted house down to a science.

I have to be honest, at the beginning I was nervous when I heard this haunt had inventive animatronics. I have often found when haunts start collecting animatronics they start relying WAY too much on the technology and not enough on living and breathing actors. Terror on Rural, however, knew what to do with this technology. They used it to help the actors do what they need to do. This was great to see.

I will touch more on this later but right now I have to say that you can tell that the men and women that run this haunt put their all into making it highly entertaining. The scenes and effects were amazing. They were some of the best that I have seen in a long time.

One of the most interesting aspects of this haunt is that it forced those within the 4 or 5 person group (even if they were strangers) to come together and hold on to each other to get to the next area. Why? This house had some VERY dark areas. We are talking you-cannot-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face dark. So get ready to get close to whoever. That may be the only way to get through without running into a wall.

Quite simply this place was great. Just entertainment value alone makes this event well worth visiting. Terror on Rural Street had no lack of scares, no lack of effects, and no lack of fun.

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I really enjoyed this haunt this year! We arrived pretty late on a Friday night (around 11 pm), so it was really busy and we had to wait quite a while to get into the house - we got in around midnight. However, there was plenty to keep us entertained while we waited - there is a concession stand, a DJ playing music, and scary movies playing on a giant screen. I actually feel like the wait made the haunt seem scarier because we kept seeing people coming out crying or screaming, so we were psyching ourselves out a bit.

Once inside the haunt, we were put in an elevator (creepy!!!) and moved on to a ton of really creepy and well designed rooms with some great actors. Some people may not agree, but I acually really love children actors since I think they're incredibly creepy, so I liked that in this haunt. And I got a lot of weary looks from actors, too - they relied more on a psychological thrill than jumping out and saying "boo" as often as possible, and I think that's great!

The haunt plays with the senses a bit too; it's difficult to explain how, but you'll understand when you go through. There's a few mazes in this haunt and WOW did we get turned around and confused, but it was pretty entertaining. I liked this haunt more this year than I did last year, so kudos for making it even better this time around!

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Monster Mayhem is really a unique haunt in Milwaukee and I enjoyed it! I was a little disappointed that there is very little "scary" atmosphere when you arrive since it is located in the basement of a busy restaurant and you actually have to walk through part of the restaurant to get to it. We had a short wait and once inside, you completely forgot that you're in a restaurant basement.

The hallway (stairwell) we waited in was fun and scary since there were actors in there with us (and by the way, kudos to the actor in the stairwell - so creepy!!). Also, the guys on the intercom, though not at all scary, were incredibly entertaining and we liked them a lot! What I liked the most about this haunt was the unique theme employed throughout - I won't say much about it, but everything was connected and there was a story to follow, and I really liked that! Also, they used quite a few actors in makeup and costumes as opposed to animatronic scares, which was really nice. Lastly, although the trip through the haunt was pretty quick, my friends and I really enjoyed that there were scenes throughout that caused you to stop and listen to the actors rather than just running straight through without any interaction. Overall - well done!

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