It was a dark and stormy night on the evening I visited Terror on Rural Street.  It was clear that Mother Nature had chosen to begin the Halloween Season for this haunted venue in a more trick than treat spirit.  Contrary to Mother Nature’s unpleasant tricks, Terror on Rural Street comes stocked with several creature feature treats to combat life’s unavoidable tricks. 

Upon arriving this haunt greeted my tour group of 6 adults with a well-lit, paved and spacious parking lot along with a patrolling ghoul which little doubt that we were in the right place.  (No trudging through muddy dim lit fields as you approach the ticket window here.)  As an added bonus we were delighted to find that Terror on Rural Street has a heated indoor waiting area with a fully stocked concession stand complete with food, snacks, beverages, beer and Jello-shots.  (A very welcome perk for my tour group companions who had just finished working out at a nearby fitness center!) 

Another nice treat offered by this haunt is the numbering of tickets which allow you to wander about as you wait for your tour to begin…no need to stand in a dreadfully long line and count spiders on the wall as you wait here!  If you love taking selfies with your brothers and sisters in crime you’ll certainly enjoy the photogenic ghouls wondering about the waiting area who are just dying to photo bomb your shot.
 
Here are some of my personal observations about Terror on Rural Street…
 
SPACIOUS ACCOMODATIONS: My tour group of 6 adults consisted of 4 haunt newbies (…2 of which who were attending their first haunt ever…), 1 haunt novice who visited Terror on Rural Street for the first time in 2016 and 1 seasoned veteran who has yet to miss a season of Terror on Rural Street.  Despite having the option to tour this haunt as a smaller sized group the 6 of us decided to stick together….a decision that was not taken lightly by me as being placed into an oversized tour group and crammed into small rooms is a personal pet peeve mine.  Put your mind at ease if you share this personal peeve as we found that the mystic maze of mind bending sets and corridors easily accommodated our group. 
 
CINEMA QUALITY SETS:  This haunt features several Cinema quality sets many of which are pimped out with a dedicated sound system and special effects you won't find any place else.  Portions of this haunt are an interactive style haunt with rooms showcasing a unique theme and a skit performed by volunteer actors. While the actors may be volunteers the costumes and make-up were professionally done and very realistic.  This was most evident in the final pre-tour staging where you receive final instructions before embarking on your tour.  While it’s very easy to get distracted by the costumed actors be sure to take note of the keen attention to detail found with the facial make-up/costumes of the actors as well as the staging set as well.  This same attention to details persists throughout this entire haunt.
 
DAZZLING SPECIAL EFFECTS:  Admittedly not all of the acting performances knocked my socks off nor did every room send me off screaming to the next.  But what Terror on Rural Street lacked with its actors and potential scare factor it more than made up for with its dazzling special effects and elaborate sets.  Scares and surprises frequently came from unexpected flashes of brilliant light, dedicated room specific sound systems and a variety of lifelike techno effects
 
CREATIVE CONCEPTS:  Terror on Rural Street continues its strong tradition of being a techno haunt goer’s dream come true!  There has never been a year when I have been disappointed with the electrifying showcase of terrifying themes found at the Terror on Rural Street.   This year was certainly no exception.  If you’re leery of visiting a haunt more than once in a lifetime you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the number of new rooms/concepts found in this year’s edition.  While a few of the techno-effects have been recycled for this year’s haunt most of them have been given a new creative twist.  (I particularly enjoyed this year’s version of the observation deck!)
 
TOUR GROUP RATINGS:  Here’s how my tour group rated Terror on Rural Street for both the Scare and Fun scale (1 to 5)
 
Haunt Newbie (first timer) #1:  SCARE-4 / FUN-4
Haunt Newbie (first timer) #2:  SCARE-3 / FUN-3
Haunt Newbie #3:  SCARE-4 / FUN-4
Haunt Newbie #4:  SCARE-3 / FUN-4
Haunt Novice:  SCARE-4 / FUN-4
Haunt Veteran:  SCARE-3 / FUN-4

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