2011 Event Reviews

This was my first experience of The Haunted Barn in Stoughton. On first impression this haunt looked exciting. The grounds were abuzz with visitors and screams could be heard throughout the grounds. Needless to say, all in all, this haunt did not disappoint.

Easily located off of Hwy. 51 in Stoughton this haunt is easy to find. After turning on to Hwy. 51 all you need to do is look for the flashing arrow sign and you will be guided in by staff from there. Parking is a plenty and you will easily find the ticket booth to begin your adventure.

As I already mentioned this haunt was BUSY. Even so the wait time was roughly 15 minutes. Don't worry though even while you are waiting your actors will be around to keep you entertained. At no time was the wait ever boring, which is certainly a nice change of pace. Even if the actors weren't out and about the screams of your fellow haunters would do the trick.

All in all this haunt was a fun time. There were times were I was disappointed. Spacing was a major issue (although you must remember this was Halloween weekend that I attended). Throughout the haunt I kept running into the group before me and the group behind me kept running into me. At one point I had to stop because several groups got held up in the house. Although we eventually had an actor that kept us entertained while the groups were being spaced out it took awhile.

At one other point the groups bumped into each other but we were able to keep moving. The other issue was the lack of actors in some areas....especially the woods. I know first hand that it is not easy to scare people in an outdoor environment but even in the house there were areas that an actor could have made an excellent scare but there was no one around.

Other than spacing and times of no scaring or interaction this was still a fun haunt. The scenes and props were simple but enough to "set the scene". Of most important note was the actors. Although some scares were not powerful the actors were having fun. This was contagious. It made the whole haunt that much more entertaining.

Oconto Jaycees Trail of Terror is a frightening HANDS ON experience. What I like the most about smaller town haunted attractions, such as Trail of Terror, is that they do not rely on the use of popular animatronics and props. All of the props at Oconto Jaycees Trail of Terror are original and appear custom made. Trail of Terror is a lengthy guide through a very dimly lit forest located about 20 minutes North of Green Bay. They are located right off of 141N on Cty Rd J. You will know you have arrived by the roaring bonfire and numerous vehicles parked on the road. The Trail of Terror is probably one of the longest Trails in the State of WI and YES you can EXPECT the actors to fall from the sky and grab you at ALL times.

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I’ll admit to this upfront, my experience at Nightmare factory was more of an unfortunate nightmare than a frightfully fun time.  As a result my review of this haunt may be a little unfair to a haunt that many have reviewed favorably.  (Although honestly of the 6 haunts I’ve been to this year I don’t think I would have placed this one in the top 5.)  Here’s what went wrong with my experience…it’s probably unlikely that you may experience the same misfortune as me but for what it’s worth….

Nightmare #1…the waiting line incident.  It’s mostly outside and unfortunately while I was waiting a car driving by decided to hurl an egg into the crowd.  My guess is that they were trying to hit BoBo the Clown who was nearby but they missed…and hit my friend standing next to me.  With no local law enforcement patrolling the area and numerous parked cars along the street obstructing you from getting a clear view of the street (including a large snack wagon) there appears to nothing in place at this haunt to discourage incidents such as this.

Nightmare #2…the dark hallway incident.  This haunt, like a few others, features a few really dark hallways.  Typically you don’t find ghouls dashing through these hallways but at this haunt there was.  Have you ever wondered if the ghouls in these dark hallways can see you when you don’t see them?  I’ll admit, I have always been a bit curious.  Unfortunately for me, I found at the hard way when a little ghoul ran right into me in the middle of a dark hallway.  OUCH!  The incident knocked the wind out of me but at least the little ghoul was nice enough to apologize and turn on a flashlight to show me the way through the rest of the maze.

Nightmare #3…not every ghoul may know you’re in the room.  As a result of Nightmare #2 I arrived in the next room a few seconds after my group.  The ghoul in the room had already jumped out and was waving an object with a long wooden handle…not exactly sure what the object was but as he spun around in a move that I originally thought was meant to scare me the long end of the handle caught me square in the stomach.  In hind sight the ghoul obviously had no idea I was there as he was just as surprised to see me as I was at being struck.  No apologies from this ghoul though…just a surprised look and then he continued to carry on with the show.

Nightmare #4…when these ghouls smell blood, look out!  I’ve never seen this before at a haunt.  There were a few ghouls at this haunt who were perfectly positioned to scare those stuck in the back of the group.  In every instance these ghouls actually intentionally walked right past those in the back just to scare the group members in the front.  Admittedly the girl in the front of our group was really scared and it was fun watching her get freaked out but on the other hand everyone else in the group paid to be scared as well.  As a result of this and being stuck in the back of our group there wasn’t a single instance at this haunt where anything made me jump.

Other than these misfortunate instances The Nightmare Factory is a decent haunt.  The 3D section is pretty cool visually and features a trick or two but it doesn’t have much in terms of scare factor.  The non 3D section does contain a little gore and has a few cool concepts but it lacked the oomph to make me jump.

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Ever wonder what the Salem Witch Trials were like? How a chat with Charles Manson would go? Check out the House of Bathory and you could experience these and many other nightmare scenarios. Every turn takes you into a different situation throughout various dark times in history. The dialogue and interaction with the actors make you feel like you stepped back in time. There are plenty of scares along the way. I never knew what to expect the whole way and even to the frightening end which had us running out into the street.

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