2013 Event Reviews

Abandoned Haunted House Complex was everything I had been anticipating and more when I visited last Saturday night.  Abandoned is a huge two haunt attraction that reeled me in the moment I saw it.  We arrived at about 9:15 p.m.  There were bright inviting lights with a large parking area, with many signs and people guiding you onto the grounds.  The minute we stepped out of the car, I could not wait to get into the haunt.  As you walk up from the parking lot you see a clearly labeled ticketing area.  There are also a few areas that are decorated and a really great little store front that has sweatshirts, T-shirts and other cool Abandoned gear.  Also featured prominently are some amazing masks that are for sale as well. We walked right up and purchased our tickets.  As we made our way around the grounds we quickly realized we were not alone when we decided it was a great night to visit Abandoned. 

Once you walk around the side and to the back of the ticketing area, there is a huge waiting area and on Saturday it was packed with people chatting, laughing, eating concessions they had just purchased at a vendor on the grounds, and many were watching a myriad of macabre and other entertaining video clips playing on the complex’s huge movie screen which has an explosive secret. The lines seemed organized and controlled
and there were plenty of employees and security around if you needed to ask a question.   

We walked around to the area where the FastPass ticket line began, and we were extremely grateful to have our FastPasses when we heard that there was a significant line wait of two or more hours without the FastPass.  I must state that if it is a chilly night or you don’t feel like waiting, I believe this is the way to go.  We walked into a covered
waiting area where a few other groups of people were waiting in the Fast Pass line.  We waited in the Fast Pass line for approximately fifteen minutes where we were kept company by either an extremely funny grounds crew worker, or an actor in a janitor-type outfit, who was conversing with a group behind us in line.  Either way, kudos to you sir, you were funny and helped keep my mind off of the cold!  We made our way into another smaller enclosed winding area where we walked through and found our way to the entrance of the first haunt, Hysteria.

Hysteria

This was the first of the two haunts I experienced at Abandoned.  It greets you with
haunting cackles and eerie laughter, creating an ambiance true to the haunts name.  As we made our way through the amazing and mind-bending haunt I was surprised, terrified, and thrilled. In this haunt I was delighted to find many different areas with a variety of themes and marvelous sets.  While I walked through the haunt I realized that the walls of the haunt had turned from dark creepy passage ways to walls with vegetation growing and cave walls that appeared moist and textured.  Other walls in this haunt seemed to shake along with the floors under your feet.  The sets and props are professional, realistic and unique. I have been attending haunts for many years now and I saw
set ideas I had never seen done before in any of the haunts I have visited.  The variety of different areas is excellent.  Hysteria offers so many things tricking and treating your senses I feel it has something for everyone. The actors were highly interactive and really worked on getting you to jump by creeping up on you when you least expect it.  I really enjoyed the tactile and visual effects of this haunt.  This haunt also seemed to last a long time but every moment of that time I was filled with a great sense of wonder.  I remember thinking, “What could be coming up next?” I was elated by how much fun I had in this haunt. However, I didn’t have much time to contemplate this thought because we walked out of Hysteria and through a short passage way and we were entering Ambush.

Ambush

Ambush was the second haunt that we visited.  This haunt begins with a lot of
dark foggy passages with loud disturbing noises coming from everywhere around you.  I really got the feeling that my senses were being assaulted, thus proving Ambush to be a fitting title for the second half of my journey at Abandoned Haunted House Complex.  Ambush gave me the feeling that I was under attack and I was slowly loosing myself in the haunt.  The actors are coming out of nowhere from every direction.  This provides an atmosphere of chaos.  I heard some pretty chilling
screams during my time in Ambush.  I jumped numerous times and became pretty nervous when I realized I actually might be under attack.  I found this haunt worked on my nerves and made my heart race.  If surprises around every dark corner and a chilling sense that something isn’t quite right, gets you rattled like me, than this haunt will frighten and thrill you.       

As I exited Ambush, I was quickly greeted by the chilly autumn air again.  Around the area where you exit the second haunt is an area with items for sale and one of my favorite characters of the entire evening to greet you at the end of your journey.  I even had my picture taken with this actor. Overall my journey at Abandoned Haunted
Complex was one of my most favorite trips so far this haunt season. I had an amazing time and you should too, shouldn’t you?

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And the winner is...  Abandoned Haunted House Complex!  Yeah, that's right, who's got the best haunt in southeastern Wisconsin? They do!  When asked about Abandoned last year, I always said that it was cool, and had potential.  I knew this year would be special for them, but I didn't know how special!  I don't know if words will do it justice, Abandoned nailed it.  No sophomore jinx here, just pure awesomeness!  We arrived at Abandoned and were told the wait was almost two and a half hours!  Needless to say, we went with fast passes!  After a short wait, less than fifteen minutes, we were ushered into the haunt.

Abandoned Hits you hard from the very start with its first attraction, Ambush.  If you have been to their sister haunt Burial Chamber, you already know that Abandoned relies heavily on disorientation.  Darkness is key here, and they use it so well.  But it's not just darkness; a new fad in haunts is the blinding LED's and smoke.  Ambush is a theme heavy haunt, with a fantastic mixture of live actors and gruesome scenes that rival the very best in haunted houses.  Ambush is a nonstop barrage of startling effects and scares.  The actors here are some of the best you could hope for.  Every last actor in there is most definitely a fan of haunts and horror, if they weren't, this haunt wouldn't be the amazing attraction it is.  Ambush is about fifteen minutes of awesome, covered with awesome sauce, sprinkled with shredded awesome, and topped with a heaping helping of awesome.  To some it up, I think Ambush is a great haunt, could you tell‽

The next section was Hysteria.  On it's own Hysteria is worth the price of admission, and is a fantastic haunt, but when coupled with Ambush, Hysteria is just the icing on an already perfect cake.  Hysteria is slightly shorter than Ambush, but what it lacks in length, it makes up in, well, hysteria!  The haunt focuses less on themes, and more on pure fright.  Lights out, loud noises, which way is up, bright light, thick smoke, tight spaces, pure insanity! 

When I heard rumors that the people who ran Burial Chamber were opening up a haunt in southeastern Wisconsin, I was psyched.  Burial Chamber was always one of my favorites, and I couldn't wait to see if they could make it work down here.  Well, in my opinion, they made it work, and in just their second year, the Abandoned Haunted House Complex is the best haunt in southeastern Wisconsin.  I'll go ahead and say it, they are probably the best haunt in the entire state, at least of the haunts I have been too.  Do yourself a favor, get to Racine, get to the Abandoned Haunted House Complex, buy a ticket, preferably a fast pass, and experience what this reviewer is all fired up about.  You will not be disappointed!

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I must be honest, when I learned that I would be reviewing a brand new haunt, I was a little concerned.  It usually takes a few years for a haunt to hit its stride, so as you can guess, I went into The Haunt & Field of Terror with low expectations.  I must say, I was pleasantly surprised!  Right away we were greeted by some of the most pleasant staff members of any haunt.  We bought our tickets from the concessions area, which thankfully was selling some much-needed hot chocolate, and headed to to many fires that were there to warm you up.  We warmed our bones beside the fire and then we were off!  The Haunt & Field of Terror has two main attractions, a haunted house, and a haunted hayride.  We opted for the house first, because the hay wagon was full at the time. 

My biggest complaint with The Haunt & Field of Terror is the waiting.  We waited in a short line for way too long.  The time between groups was just too much.  It was a cold night, so the wait was worse than it should be, but this is Wisconsin, and I was prepared for that!  Once we got into the haunt I was surprised at how well it was put together.  The haunt was a good mix of live actors, above average animatronics and still scenes.  You can tell the Haunt did their homework, which I later learned was a good deal of on the fly suggestions, to make the house very entertaining.  The actors in the house portion were fantastic.  This is yet another area that can be lacking in first year haunts.  Without the experience of auditioning actors, you can almost guarantee lazy, non-committed actors, but these guys and girls played their parts well, and made me jump quite a few times!  My next issue with The Haunt & Field of Terror is the end was very anticlimactic.  I'll explain why, but am going to remain vague, as I don't want to ruin anything for anyone.  The big finish was played out for everyone in line to see, several times before you even enter the haunt.  I would suggest that the folks at The Haunt & Field of Terror stop that ending from reaching the outside waiting area.  We knew it was coming, and walked right past it, not surprised or startled at all.  It would have been good, if we weren't anticipating it.  In all, the house portion was better than average and I commend the people at The Haunt & Field of Terror for putting a good first year haunt on.

After the house, we walked over to the haunted hayride, and waited for the wagon to return.  We were on pretty quick, but were sitting there idle for a good 20 minutes.  I am not sure if the driver was on break, using one of the port-a-johns, or what, but we sat on the cold wagon, with exhaust blowing in our faces, and waited.  After all that, the ride was just okay.  Again, it was a colder than usual night, so it was less enjoyable than it could have been.  The ride takes you through cornfields with scenes every so often.  The scenes weren't much to speak of, but the actors out there were great fun.  Not much acting took place, just a lot of jumping onto the sides of the wagon, and growling, but considering the cold weather, these guys were top notch!  Hats off to them and their commitment to spooking!  The ride seemed redundant after a while, as each scene wasn't too much different from the last one, it was the zombies and ghouls that made this ride worth it.  They could have skipped the scenes all together and taken you on a dark ride through the fields and it would have possibly been more scary.  The ride took about 20 minutes to complete.

In all, I give The Haunt & Field of Terror a good rating.  Good upstart haunts are few and far between, The Haunt & Field of Terror showed me that they have all the potential in the world to grow and become one of southeastern Wisconsin's premier haunts.  I can't wait to see what they do next year!

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My second time to the Abandoned Haunted House Complex and wouldn't you know it was even better than the first. Abandoned has continued to impress me. My first year there I was impressed with the amount of detail, professionalism of the actors, and amount of technology used by the attraction. This year certainly did not disappoint, with a new layout and new technology this year was just another awesome year.

Abandoned has the benefit of being very close (about a 30-40min drive) to Milwaukee AND Chicago. Even better it is not that difficult to
find. Abandoned is perfectly positioned just off of I-94, near Mount Pleasant, on the frontage road. You barely need instructions. Just drive towards Mount Pleasant and look for the big lit up letters that say Abandoned on the left or right of the freeway (depending on where you are coming from). There is plenty of parking and the ticket booth is easy to find. The attraction also offers “Abandoned” merchandise and concessions. It is definitely a nice stop.

Abandoned this year has grown. You will never be bored in the line as there is now an outdoor movie theater screen that shows music videos
and various other Halloween related media. Actors prowl the grounds and keep you entertained in line. They are not afraid to get in your face but they will also hold a conversation with you in character. My fiancée and I particularly enjoyed a friendly exchange between two reptile overlords and the property’s security guard. Again you will NOT be bored in line. Even as you get closer to the main entrance you will be able to talk with people around you as there are 5 lines that line up side-by-side. So even while waiting you will have a good time.

Due to this attraction’s popularity, even if you get there early, be prepared to wait. My fiancée and I got there near the tail end of the
night and we still had a 30min wait, but it is worth it. For those who are impatient the attraction offers a Fast Pass ticket that will take you to the
front of the line…for an additional fee of course. No matter how you get to the main entrance once you are inside be prepared for an adventure. Abandoned generally puts groups of 4 -6 people through at a time although you may be able to request to be by yourself. Don’t let the fact that you may be with a few more people deter you. It will still be loads of fun.

Like last year you start off in their “main room”. Here you get to watch a borderline disturbing video that will put you in the mood to
either take the house head on or cower behind someone. Either way, this room is going to get you excited. Now, this haunt being so expansive, I could break down the type of scenes you are going to see and things you are going to experience but that wouldn’t be right. So I am just going to focus on the main components that will give you a great experience. Those components are: the actors, the technology, and the scenery.

First let us start off with the actors. ALL the actors are highly dedicated and committed, professional actors. Each actor is “done-up”
(i.e. make-up and costumes) professionally. The actors bring an awesome “lifeforce” to this attraction. They will keep you going, keep you guessing, and keep you entertained from start to finish. Each actor is committed to their role and is tasked with different ways to scare you. It appears that the experience of these actors is so vast you will never feel like one actor just copied another. These guys and gals know what they are doing and they will give you a great experience. Major thumbs up to those actors.

Abandoned offers top-of-the-line haunted house technology for your enjoyment. Tiny LED lights are placed strategically in some areas to
give the impression that you are underground. In other areas they are placed just so to mimic sunlight. And in still other areas they are placed to the give the illusion lightening. That is just part of it. There is so much technology in this complex you feel like you really are in a bad situation. You will see real sparks (that rain down on you), lighting that perfectly sets the stage, and animatronics and other moving parts that make you believe everything you are seeing and doing is real. With the aid of technology you will even experience a zombie attack (and that is all I will mention with that). All the technology is there to disorient you or make the experience as real as possible. Everything this house has to offer is a site to behold.

Finally you have the scenery. Abandoned held nothing back when they created this house. All the scenes are professional, Hollywood-grade
scenes. You will see real coffins, realistic animal corpses, and props that make you wonder if you really are still in a haunted house. This is a full
immersion haunted house. You will smell things, you will feel things that are wet or gummy, and you will see things that are straight out of major horror movie blockbusters. You can tell a lot of work was put into this haunt and you will appreciate the amount of detail that you will experience. It is this type of dedication that makes you want to go through a house again and again.

This haunted house is so expansive you will feel like you are in there for over an hour. The whole attraction, however, is a little more
than 30mins. Abandoned has pacing down to a science. You will likely never run into another group and if you do that group will be separated from you so you can continue on in your group. This further adds to the enjoyment. The pacing will give you enough time to soak in each environment and get treatment from each actor in a given area. There is a reason that this haunted house's popularity has grown. Come and see why first hand.

Oh man. Friday the 18th was my first visit to the Dominion of Terror and let me just say it was an awesome experience. The Dominion of Terror is based in an old factory. From the roadway you can’t miss this building. The attraction has effects (like flickering lights and a soundtrack) on the exterior of the building. Even the building, without all the effects, is imposing in nature. Just the look of the building and that creepy feeling that the special effects give you, make a perfect combo for putting anyone in the mood for some scares.

I was with my fiancée and as we got in line we were immediately welcomed by the freaks and ghouls of the haunted house. I almost did not get in because an escaped insane asylum inmate tried to steal my ticket. Then he made the mistake of attempting to go through my fiancée’s purse. Needless to say the actors are already very committed at what they do before you even get inside the house. Furthermore, nobody in the line will be left alone. Everyone, at some time before they get inside, will get to deal with a dedicated actor. It provides for some immediate fun and scares, and even some laughs.

The wait was nothing dreadful. I believe my fiancée and I were only in line for 10mins at most before we got inside. Unless you ask to be by yourself or just you another person, the staff will generally pair small groups up. So if you are a major scardy-cat this may benefit you. My fiancée and I went with another couple inside the house. Once we were inside we were met with a sweet old lady that told us a story. What is unique is the story was really the rules of the attraction but presented in a fairy tale format. This is no safe zone. All I will say is be weary of the mice!

Once you receive this story you proceed on to the rest of the house. I was pleasantly surprised with the first few areas which took a detour from normal haunted house layouts and instead provided a wide open area. Be forewarned this does not mean that it is less scary. As we went through the house I began to pick up on the theme of this attraction. If you ever wanted to know what it would be like if you ever dropped some of your favorite childhood fairy tales into the pits of Hell, well the Dominion of Terror will show what that would look like.

The scenery was solid. With every area you knew where you were. With this fact and solid acting by the performers you will never be asking yourself, “what kind of area am I in now?”  The actors were committed to their roles which only deepened the immersion that you will experience  at this haunt. The actors also knew every nuance of how to scare. From yelling, to ambush tactics, to creepy portrayals, the visitor to the Dominion of Terror will experience it all. I have to give major kudos to the actors that lied in wait right in the open and were still able to make scares because people thought they were just a prop. Excellent job.

Dominion of Terror, however, does not just rely on great actors and great scenes to get the job done. Like all modern haunted houses, Dominion brings some of the latest technology out to help scare those that venture inside the house. You will certainly not be disappointed with what this house has to offer. Even better is that, even though this attraction is roughly 30mins long, the pacing was so good that the time spent inside felt longer and the pacing allowed you to take in each room and everything that the actors had to offer.

This was all around a fun and scary attraction. There was one point that an actor, knowing exactly what he was doing, almost got my fiancée to fall down onto her butt because he scared her just at the right moment. If you want the experience of escaping to different worlds than the Dominion of Terror is right up your alley.

Neenah’s Most Haunted is a haunted attraction located in Neenah, WI that is a nonprofit and put on by a youth group called Youth Go.
Based in what appears to be an old warehouse building, I was thoroughly impressed pulling up to the location of the attraction. The building has a welcoming, or terrifying (however you see it), façade that really puts you in the Halloween mood. My fiancée and I got to the location early so the wait was minimal. I believe I waited only 5 to 10 mins before I was admitted into the building.

The wait certainly will not be boring, however. Youth Go actors are ready and willing to engage you in some Halloween scares right in
the line. I particularly enjoyed the young man that was playing the gatekeeper at the entrance. I had a full conversation with him and throughout he stayed in his character. He made the wait pleasurable and made my fiancée and I laugh several times. His interaction made me completely forget about the cold weather and the water that was dripping on my neck from the roof (P.S. If it is wet out stand close to the wall or far out from the edge of the roof).

When I finally got inside the house my fiancée and I were immediately welcomed by 2 actors that started off the mood with some pleas for
help, screaming, and sudden movements. The youth certainly make it clear what they are there to do. The scenery throughout the house is simplistic. If you are only interested in highly detailed, professional level scenes, you will not find such scenes at this attraction. Neenah’s Most Haunted is what I like to call “a classic” haunted house.

On Haunted Wisconsin’s website the proprietors of the attraction state that there are no animatronics, holograms [or other high-end
technology] but that what they do offer are "rooms full of over-energized youth that creep and crawl and howl for your shrieks." This is the attraction in a nut-shell. If you like highly motivated actors, that you can tell are enjoying what they do, Neenah's Most Haunted is the ticket. I was impressed with the actors and their determination to get a scare out of you, one way or another. I could also tell all of them were having fun. This really helps increase the excitement of going to this haunted attraction.

At this haunt you will be bombarded with actors. At times, however, this can become more overwhelming than scary. When this happens just let the youth have their fun and move onto the next room. Not all rooms have actors in them so you will get breaks. The attraction was 30mins long and very well paced. We only ran into another couple after that couple had had difficulties finding the next room.

Being a "classic" haunted house you will be forced to interact with the environment. In other words you will have to find the correct door (to gain access to the next area) and you will have to feel around in dark areas in order to navigate to the next location. I thoroughly enjoyed this and it
provided a level of entertainment that some more modern haunted houses have long forgotten. The only time I was not having fun was when my fiancée and I ran into a particularly long and totally dark maze.

The maze was way too long and way too dark to provide any sort of entertainment value. Eventually the maze just became frustrating. All I can say is do your best and eventually you will find your way. Do not count this against Neenah’s Most Haunted, however, I understood what they were trying to do, but it was just a bit too much.

This has been my 3^rd year attending the House of Bathory. It’s always been one of the most scary and unique haunts I’ve attended. This haunt is heavy on dialog, interaction and intense scares. Once again, I wasn’t disappointed.

There’s indoor waiting in the basement area of the building, with plenty of room and a movie playing. What’s unique is if the wait is long, you can leave your cell number and they’ll call you when you’re next up. Which is great if you want to check out an area business or location. Once ready, you head to the front of the building and inside you’re explained the rules. Which are different for the House of Bathory than most haunts in which touching is allowed. No inappropriate touching but actors will grab ankles, grab a shoulder and get pretty close to you. It adds to the intensity.

The theme to this year was a loosely based Disney theme. Though it’s not the Disney you’d expect, unless you expect Snow White with a chainsaw or a creepy chant of “It’s a small world after all.” You start with an excellent scene of a hotel lobby, with faulty electricity and great dialog. Then the scares start and you’re off. Coming across various scenes, some scary, some disturbing but all of them entertaining. Creeping out guests or leaving them screaming. The woman we walked through with several times covered her face and tried to get out of the room as soon as possible. The House of Bathory also requires interaction on your part. Whether it’s talking back to the actors, crawling over a cage, sliding down a ramp or sitting down next to a freak. It keeps this haunt intense and is not uncommon to see guests running up the street screaming.

Once again, the House of Bathory has been my favorite haunt so far of the season and I strongly recommend it. It’s a unique and intense haunt that will stand out this Halloween season. 

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A creepily lit, old, multi-floored warehouse building greets you as you walk up to the Dominion of Terror. Which acts as the perfect backdrop to a solid haunt. Along with clowns and other creepy fellows taunting you as you wait to enter. 

The entrance and rules is like nothing I’ve seen before. They used a fairly tale theme. Having a sweet old lady, with perfect diction, sitting you down for a fairy tale as she explains the rules. With the book projected on the wall. Ending with a good fright. Sending you on your way. 

The most striking thing about this haunt is the elaborate sets and scenes you are sent through. A lot of rooms with trees, props, ghoulish sites. Whatever needed to take you into another world. All the while you deal with actors jumping out, interacting and scaring you along the way. One of my favorite aspects is you’re sent though dark hallways and dead ends. You feel constantly lost. You also encounter many rooms where the exit isn’t clearly known. Many times you had to feel around the walls and find a moveable wall, or some other way, to move on. It was a great way to make the haunt more interactive. Another wonderful aspect of the Dominion of Terror is the size of the haunt. It exists through multiple floors of a fairly large building. The haunt is huge and takes a long time to get through, especially with all the tricks and hidden exits. Making it a great value for a haunt. 

Overall I really enjoyed the Dominion of Terror and was pretty impressed. It has some great thrills, chills and surprises, even for an experience haunt goer. 

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