A thick fog began to settle in and a fine mist filled the air as I arrived at Terror on Rural Street. Ahhh, what an eerily perfect way to set the tone as I kicked off my 2018 haunting season! While some may argue that only a duck could enjoy our recent Wisconsin weather, you need not worry about the weather at this particular haunt as Terror on Rural Street comes stocked with several creature feature treats to combat Mother Nature’s unavoidable tricks. Upon arriving, this haunt greeted my tour group of 3 adults and 2 teenagers with a well-lit, paved and spacious parking lot along with a patrolling ghoul which left 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. Another nice treat offered by this haunt is the numbering 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 you’ll certainly enjoy the photogenic ghouls wandering about the waiting area who are just dying to photo bomb your shot. This entire haunt is indoor, including the final staging area before you actually enter the haunt….there’s no need to endure that wrath of Mother Nature as she tests your Halloween Spirit.

Here are some of my personal observations about Terror on Rural Street…

SPACIOUS ACCOMODATIONS: My tour group of 5 consisted of 3 adults and 2 teenagers (…all experienced haunt goers….), with the 2 teenagers attending Terror on Rural Street for the first time and 1 adult who has yet to miss a season of Terror on Rural Street. If you have a personal pet peeve as I do of being placed into an over sized tour group and crammed into small rooms, put your mind at ease. Terror at Rural Street’s mystic maze of mind bending sets and corridors easily accommodated our group of 5.

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 both 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 REALLY enjoyed this year’s version of the observation deck….the room alone is worth the price of admission!)

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 Teenager (first timer) #1: SCARE-4 / FUN-5
Haunt Teenager (first timer) #2: SCARE-4 / FUN-5
Haunt Adult #1: SCARE-4 / FUN-5
Haunt Adult #2: SCARE-3 / FUN-4
Haunt Veteran: SCARE-4 / FUN-5

Signage / Visibility / Location

Wait Area / Line Entertainment

Actors' Performance

Sets Scenes / Props / FX

Length

Crowd Control

Most Memorable Moment