2014 Event Reviews

No longer the new kid in town, Abandoned Haunted House Complex returns for the 2014 haunt season. Abandoned is two haunts rolled into one, it will take you all of 30 minutes to complete this terror filled attraction. You have two options for tickets at Abandoned, general admission, which is $20, or $30 for a VIP ticket. The VIP area is covered and heated. I opted for this as it was cold and the wait was 2 minutes! The two-minute wait is not typical however, in years past I have waited roughly 30 minutes in the VIP line. If you opt for the General Admission line, expect to wait anywhere from 1-3 hours, depending on the night and time. Abandoned does exactly what you'd expect, they turn out the lights, but that's the only thing that's expected in this haunt! Abandoned hits you with sensory overload, from touch, to scent, sight, to sound!

Ambush
The two haunts are Ambush and Hysteria, the first of which, Ambush, is an in your face, loud at times, experience, with ghouls popping out, complete black outs, blinding lights, and complete unexpected fun!

Hysteria
Hysteria, the second haunt in the complex, features more of the stuff you would expect from a haunt, only amplified by eleven! Abandoned somehow figured out how to take dark rooms and make them seem darker and scarier! This haunt is really where the senses get taken for a ride. You are going to feel, see, smell, and touch things that are unlike anything you've experienced at any haunt before. All of this plus quite a few area of uneven terrain and vibrating floors and walls! Wow, like I said, sensory overload!

When I’m looking for a haunt, this is exactly what I’m looking for. Be prepared to move! This is by far the best haunt in the area. Do yourself a favor, check it out, you wont be disappointed!

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Ghost Boat: Season of the Witch is a haunted attraction that is put on by the Wisconsin Dells Boat Tours company. The best way to describe this haunt is this your Dells Boat Tour, "after dark". If you want to get in on the action be aware that you have to reserve a seat with the Dells Boat Tour company in order to attend. The company offers various block times for you to arrive at the ticket office and subsequently board the boat. I reserved my seat for the 8:30PM time slot (the last tour of the night). Once I arrived at the ticket office (located right along the "main drag" of the Wisconsin Dells) and got my ticket, I was instructed to wait to board in the waiting area. The waiting area is cozy and has a Halloween themed video playing over the suspended TV screens. There was some décor but minus that, there was no other entertainment or things to do. We began to board the boat to start the adventure around 8:50PM.

Now you may be thinking, "Ah a haunted boat ride...that's unique...". Unfortunately, I have to report that the 35min boat ride (to the actual attraction location) is essentially a stripped down version of the daytime boat tours. There are no scares on the boat, actors, or other entertainment save for a pre-recorded soundtrack that details a story of a witch that used to roam the woods of the Dells. Make sure you dress for the weather. With no actors or scares and a long boat ride, you will get cold on a fall night very quickly (I know I did).

The boat will take you to one of the tourist stops on the daytime boat tour...Witch's Gulch - one of the area's legendary caverns. This is where the actual haunted attraction is located. Once you disembark the boat you walk through the cavern as a large group (i.e. everyone on the boat, which is approximately 35+ people). Laced throughout the cavern are appropriate haunted house props and of course, the actors. There are only a few actual "scenes" set-up in the cavern. As you walk through, guided only by Tiki torches, the ghouls of the night come out from all areas along the winding boardwalk. It was difficult to really enjoy the full experience due to being in a mass of people and having been an actor myself I also understand how difficult it is to scare such a large group.

After you get to the other end of cavern, you come to a clearing where you can buy refreshments and food from the tour stand. Once you buy what you want (or not) you head back through the cavern and back towards the boat. This is where the cavern attraction got fun. Now the Tiki torches have been extinguished, and you are split up into small groups. You can only navigate the path by feeling for the railings. At this point the actors excelled at their job. They used every available advantage they had to create a very harrowing experience and some quality scares. There were even scares that were done that I thought could only be accomplished with plenty of space. The walk back was the definitely the best part of the entire trip.

Once you make it back through the cavern you board the boat for another 35min cruise back to the boathouse. Here you better make sure you have some warmth because this time there is no entertainment whatsoever, not even a soundtrack (so make sure you bundle up and buy some hot cocoa at the tour stand). Once you're back a the boathouse that is it...you've experienced the Wisconsin Dells in a brand new way.

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The Dark Side...now this is a haunted attraction that I have some history with. I was with the Dark Side as an actor/actor supervisor when it first began in the early 2000s. This trip was my very first time through the attraction since I left for college in 2008, and this time as a customer. Needless to say I was impressed by how far the Dark Side had come. The route to the farm has always been a favorite aspect of mine. A long country back road dead ends at the haunt's parking lot. Once there you buy your tickets at the "general store" area where there are heaters, concessions, merchandise, and a tiny Halloween village displayed. Once you buy your ticket you enter the waiting line area which is inside the barn. This provides ample protection from inclement and cold weather.

The wait to actually begin the haunt was approximately 15mins (This would have been considerably longer if I had arrived any later than I did). I was a little disappointed that there was no line entertainment but I guess I was just happy that I was warm and out of the wind for the time being. After 15mins 35 of us began the walk up to The Descent and that is where the attraction begins.

The Descent
After the group was greeted by a kindly farm hand, people were paired off, and instructed to walk up the hill towards an old abandoned "mine". This was another trip were I was alone so when they got to me I made my trek up the hill and entered The Descent. The Dark Side does an excellent job of making it feel like you are going deep underground and everything around you makes you feel like you are in a legit mine. It wasn't long before the actors began to do their job....and an excellent job they did. All the actors used the nooks, crannies, and darkness of the "mine" to their benefit. Unfortunately I did not get the full experience of what I'm sure The Descent had to offer because the pacing of the groups became a bit of an issue. Shortly after entering I ran into a large group of patrons that had grouped up together. Thus I would suggest that when you make your walk up the hill that you take your time so that you can get the full benefit out of The Descent. Other than the pacing, The Descent was an environmental pleasure with lots of fun to be had.

Twilight Nightmare
You exit The Descent to a common area that has a large bonfire in the middle. Here again we waited for 15 minutes while people exited The Descent. Actors did spill out into the common area and kept all of us huddled around the fire entertained. After all 35 people made it through The Descent, we loaded up onto a wagon which begins the next attraction, Twilight Nightmare. Now this was a fun ride! With a fully "decked out" wagon that is pulled by a tractor we began our journey into the backwoods. Here, the Dark Side, shined. With actors that literally climb on the wagon and effects that completely disrupt your senses (such as gas explosions), Twilight Nightmare was a visceral onslaught. What made it even better is that this is no open field hayride. There are times that it feels like you are going to collide with trees of slip off the path into a river below. This is not a pumpkin patch hayride...this is the hayride from hell. With plenty of scares and unique effects (some that I would say are unique just to THIS haunt), Twilight Nightmare provides for a very entertaining ride.

Backwoods Revenge
Following the hayride, you are dropped off in the middle of a pine forest. Here you are greeted by an armed farm hand who reads you into what happened on the farm (namely institutionalized boys messing around with toxic waste) and warns you about what is ahead. Again the Dark Side excels in using the natural environment to set a really creepy scene. What I really enjoyed was the feeling of being able to "roam" the forest. The paths are not tight and there are even areas dedicated to one scene where you can take your time and walk around in the area. This is something you don't get to do too often in haunted houses. I was let down in that actors appeared to be few and far between in this area. I was all alone and was prime pickings to be stalked and scared, but unfortunately rarely experienced either. Chalking that issue up as a fluke, Backwoods Revenge still provides plenty of fun and a "free roam" environment that really makes you feel like you are in a movie.

Mephistopheles Lair
Once you exit the woods a wooden bridge takes you over a corn field and into the next attraction, Mephistopheles Lair. This attraction is small but, depending on your disposition, can be very frightening, or at the very least, frustrating. Without giving much away on this particular area, Mephistopheles Lair is a maze...and a really good one at that! Exiting is not as simple as you might think. There are no scares here...but it can get scary.

Schizophrenia
When you finally find your way out, you will follow a dirt path that will lead you into the corn. With deranged hillbillies calling out "fresh meat" from every which way in the corn field, you may just want to turn back. In Schizophrenia you are again given a pretty wide berth to navigate the area, letting you walk around and investigate as you please. Again the Dark Side excels at using the natural environment. Just being in a field with corn towering over you, at night, and hearing "things" move around is enough to make anyone skittish. Actors do a great job of exploiting the field and providing some top notch scares. There is no telling what is a prop and what is a "monster" in this attraction. You will just have to find out for yourself. Exciting from beginning to end, Schizophrenia could easily be a haunted event by itself.

Foxglove Nursery
Once you clear the corn you have one final trip...through the greenhouses. Foxglove Nursery has beautiful scenes and with the attraction being outdoors, everything about this greenhouse feels authentic. In this attraction you get more of the haunted house feel as flower beds and pot shelves constrict the path and close in above your head. Keep your wits about you, there are plenty of ghouls waiting inside to give you a scare. This was a great way to end the trip and by far felt the most "realistic" which always adds to the experience.

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