2019 Event Reviews

Enter the realm of the unknown, you don't know where you are going or which way to go; all you hear are voices! As you find your way out feeling, guessing and maybe listening to the monsters give you advice...do you listen to them or are they steering you in the wrong direction... you will never know! We finally made it to out of the house and onto the haunted trail. Follow the pumpkins and they will guide you to your fate! As you wonder the trail you will encounter monsters and ghouls coming at you from all directions - literally! The trail has some props but the characters here make the whole haunt worth it! You will make your way through many little house as you work your way through this haunt. This is one of my favorite haunts to go to because the actors really go all out with this one and make it worth it by far. I usually get startled as other haunts, but this one leaves me jumping with the occasional scream! Plus its all outside so you never know what is really going on. Is it the weather or is it a monster only time will tell!

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A majority of the haunts in NE Wisconsin have been around for some time, but 3 years ago a new horror appeared in Sobieski. If there was an award for the most improved haunt in 1 year, I would nominate Revenge. It’s a whole new design, and one that flows from one nightmare to the next!

We waited a bit before entering the barn to take it all in. There were 4 actors that were highly entertaining as we waited. Once we were ushered into the haunt it looked like we were entering a mine. There were a ton of different rooms, each one different from the one previous. Unbelievable how many rooms and how big it really felt considering what it looks like from the outside. Here’s a short list of some of my favorite rooms: the photo dark room (It almost seems like our picture was taken as we entered!), the kitchen, the clown room, and the body bag room.

They did a great job using the lighting to their advantage. Sometimes the lighting would flicker, which would allow whatever lurked in that room to get closer to you before your eyes adjusted. Other rooms used strobe lighting. Probably the most strobes I’ve seen used in some time. For me personally, the strobe use was a little excessive and hard on the eyes. They used air cannons and sparks very well in some rooms, always keeping you on your toes!

There really wasn’t any filler in Revenge. It was one scare after another! I’m not sure how many actors they have… but every time we turned around, there was one or two scaring the crap out of us. Pennywise from the IT movies popped up a few times. He never came at us, just kept popping up here and there. Darn clown took my attention off what was in front of me until it was too late!

There were a few times were I was sure we were at the end of the haunt, but it just kept going! When we did exit the barn one actor followed us all the way to our vehicle! For the whole drive home we talked about how great Revenge was!

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Dominion of Terror has been one of my longtime favorite haunts! This haunted house, located in Sheboygan, is an incredible volunteer-run nonprofit, with a very reasonable ticket price, AND the only haunted house to do a special encore every spring (seriously thank you for giving me my fix halfway through the year)! It’s amazing to see how they completely redo the whole thing again and again, creating a new path to walk through and unique sets every time. This is one I definitely look forward to!

My spouse and I visited DOT on Saturday, October 26, which is traditionally one of the busiest days in the haunted house season. We got there around 8:30PM, and elected for their speed pass (VIP) option, which I would definitely recommend given availability for those who don’t want to wait! However, DOT does have a partially indoor waiting area, refreshments, and a little shop to provide entertainment while you wait in line. With the speed pass, we were able to bypass most of the regular line, waiting only minutes before we entered into the haunt with another pair, making us a group of 4.

This is a multi-story, long, and intricate haunt - there are a few flights of stairs up and down, and one very memorable slanted room! I loved their campfire area as they explained the rules - the actors in there were amazing and really set the scene for the night. There were several other awesome “outdoor” (they were indoor for real) scenes, including some spooky, dark, shiny water and a really nasty little outhouse! There was a movie theater scene I thought was super unique as well, and we really liked an area with tight, dark hallways and a slow, creepy strobe. One other thing we really enjoyed this year was how funny some of the actors comments were! They were really quick witted and made us laugh in between our screams!

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As a southerner, I have a hard time saying the name of this haunt, but that doesn’t stop me from coming back year after year! This was my fifth consecutive year going to Terror on Rural Street, and with each year this haunt continues to top themselves, both in creativity and scariness. Best of all, this haunt is nonprofit, meaning they give back to their community with your ticket purchase!

We (my spouse and myself) visited TORS on Saturday, October 26, which is traditionally “Halloweekend”, or the busiest night of the haunted house season. Even though we arrived right when they opened at 6:30, there was already a fairly large crowd, so we elected to purchase their VIP passes for a $10 upcharge ($25 each total). However, TORS has a fantastic waiting area (one of the best I’ve seen) - indoors, very secure, and featuring both entertainment and refreshments. They then call groups in a designated line area using ticket numbers, but as VIPs we were brought immediately to the line. Therefore we had no wait at all before going into the haunt, and we were grouped with another pair to make a small group of 4.

I thought TORS did a great job this year in particular with their “gross” scares - they had a really nasty bathroom scene, a very scary and aggressive jail section, and one area in particular with a strobe light maze that I found to be the scariest thing I’d seen there yet! There is also a really cool “science experiment” scene that will surprise you! I love their combination of well-timed actors and smart use of props/animatronics - they know how to use them to their advantage and don’t overdo it! There are a good amount of jump scares in this haunt, and they utilize air puffs to constantly startle you and keep you on your toes. I also have always enjoyed a certain “problem solving” element of their haunt; they often have hidden or misleading doors, and you need to “find your way out”. I think this is super fun and can be really disorienting!

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If you haven't checked out the Milwaukee Bucks new arena, the Fiserv Forum, you're missing out on something special, it's quite an amazing piece of modern architecture. The area surrounding the forum is a treat, in and of itself. The 30 acres surrounding the Fiserv Forum is known as "Deer District", and is home to some great entertainment, including bars and restaurants, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a great time. I was very excited to learn that this year a new haunt took residence in the area and was appropriately named "Fear District". I had to check this out.

The haunt itself it located directly on the Fiserv lot, so it's very easy to find, although if there's an event happening in the arena, good luck with parking (on the night we went country music star Miranda Lambert was playing in the arena, which made parking a little difficult). The haunt is comprised of 3 separate attractions: Vampire Village, Scare Acres, and Dead Man's Wharf. The three haunts aren't all that Fear District has to offer, as there are at least two areas to buy alcoholic beverages (we are in Wisconsin!), some food stands, carnival style games, and other vendors, including a Bucks team store trailer. There were a few actors roaming the area as well.

Let's talk about the haunts! Well, first let's talk admission... Access to all three haunts is just $20, which in comparison to most haunts in the area, that pretty cheap. We started our adventure in Vampire Village. The lines weren't terribly long, so that was a positive. Once we reached the front we were greeted by a ticket taker who explained the rules, soon after a vampire joined him and silently just stared. This haunt was, as you could guess, centered around vampires. There were coffins, smoke machines, all what you would expect given the name. The few actors in this haunt were great for people in the back as they would follow closely and breathe on you when you weren't expecting it. I was first, so I didn't get this experience. This haunt ends with a pretty good curtain maze. We got turned around a couple time, mission accomplished! In all we were in and out of Vampire Village in less than 10 minutes.

The next haunt was Scare Acres, which is a make shift corn "maze" trail. This line was a little longer and a slower moving than Vampire Village. A worker eventually addressed the line and emphasized that we are to not touch the actors, which led us to believe that someone in the haunt didn't abide by this rule, which would explain the longer wait! Scare Acres is a good idea in theory, there were some really good actors playing demented scare crows, hanging bodies, and tied up (fake) livestock, but the fact that the glow of the Fiserv Forum illuminated the trail, not to mention that the giant sign for the arena can be seen by looking up, the illusion was dulled. This one seemed a little longer than the last, but less fun due to the brightness of the area.

Finally we went through Dead Man's Wharf. Unknowingly we saved the best for last. The line was not long at all, so that was nice. Wanted posters for pirates adorn the walls as you wait to enter, but no actors when we were waiting. Because I was up front, I didn't realize it, but a ghost pirate entered the haunt and followed us the entire time! In this haunt you make your way through many of the typical pirate scenes, a bar, a very cool catacombs scene, etc. This haunt had the best jump scares of the three, I think I was startles 3-4 times! This haunt climaxes with a VERY smoky maze of jail bars, and ends with the 'squeeze through those tight nylon air tubes'. This haunt was definitely the most fun, and seemed to be the most lengthy of the three.

In all, I say Fear District has a good base for what it could be in the future. Personally I found it to be a little tame for my liking, but my wife and friend were jumping and screaming quite a bit, so it is perfect for someone who isn't into overboard frights, and the price is just right! I encourage you to attend Fear District and support this new haunt!

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Haunts come and haunts go. The good ones will stay around and hopefully become a part of your Halloween traditions. Over the past several years we lost some really great haunts, but many of the staples are still in operation and doing quite well. Green Bay Fear has quickly become one of those staples, getting bigger and better with every year. And with the death of one local haunt, they quickly have become one of the top dogs.

Most in the Green Bay area will fondly remember the Morgue which was located in Hobart. (R.I.P.) As legend has it, in 1923 there was a plague that hit the area hard that many residents died from. So much so, that the school was used as a temporary morgue. One day a woman unlocked this morgue, only to realize all the bodies were mysteriously missing! Stranger yet, zombies were reportedly roaming around the school. The woman with the morgue keys guarded the zombies for many decades, luring in new flesh for them to eat. When the Morgue went away recently, this Morgue Witch was homeless after 22 years until Green Bay Fear let her prey… I mean play, with those that visit their grounds. Fear already has the memorable characters Mr. Jingles and Mr. Nice Guy, among many others. The addition of the Morgue Witch has put this already excellent haunt into a league of their own!

It was a windy and somewhat cold night when we attended, so we opted for the Fastpass to skip the lines. It’s been a good 4 years since I last attended GB Fear. At that time, I loved all the detail and different attractions… but the scares weren’t there for me. After all, you go to a haunted attraction to jump a few times! I’m thrilled to say that this visit had me jumping! After attending all four of their events, the biggest thing that changed was the ACTING. If you haven’t been to GB Fear before, let me be your tour guide!

TWISTED TRAIL: A walk through the woods. Sounds peaceful, right? WRONG. Twisted doesn’t just describe the path you walk, there are some scary and demented things lurking in there! The trail is dark and downright spooky. We found a nice little bunny rabbit in the woods, but it turned out he was some sort of demonic aberration that really had me jumping! You’ll come upon a bridge and a little shack along the trail, which sounds quaint, but they are nothing of the sort. At several times we were ‘lost’ in the woods. I’m not sure if this was by design, but there were a few times the actors that pointed us in the right direction. We all let out a sigh of relief when we exited the trail with all our limbs attached. The trail took about 10 minutes.

MR. JINGLES FUNHOUSE: What once seemed like an after-thought in the past has now become my favorite part of Green Bay Fear! When Mr. Jingle’s not singing to patrons or blowing up balloons, he’s inviting you to visit his world. Upon entering, we couldn’t see anything with all the sweet-smelling fog everywhere. You have to feel your way around, and there were several times we came to a dead end and had to back track. Nothing but a white mist surrounding you… until a monster is in your face! No clue how the actors could see us, but they kept jumping out of nowhere scaring us. It took us about 10 minutes to get through.

MUSEUM OF ODDITIES: The museum is setup like a side show trailer from the days of old. It has pretty much stayed the same since I last attended, except for some new props. One nice change is that they have an actor explaining the different things you are seeing. We were in and out in about 5 minutes.

SHAWANO MANOR: The Manor is where it all started for Green Bay Fear. I didn’t want to leave the foyer, it looks amazing and really sets the mood for what you’re about to go through. Most of the rooms in the Manor are very well lit, which is great because you can really see the attention to detail with the rooms and props. They will have you jumping throughout your visit with air canons, sparks, and good old fashioned scares! We made it through the Manor in about 15 minutes.

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The Hill Has Eyes enhanced their scare experience since my first visit there in 2012. This haunt features ambushing scares, shock and an evolving story line that had us breathless. It is in a unique setting atop a ski hill where they used the terrain to their advantage. Mother Nature stole the show by elevating the fear factor. Back woods hillbillies and butchers wanted your blood, toxic waste dumps oozed with demented creatures, satanic churches and even getting a bag over your head as a drill sergeant screamed at you. This haunt is very interactive. They utilized speakers with sounds and music along the paths which were clear and really well done for an outdoor scare. The structures and paths were built strong and solid. Your safety is a priority. This haunt is located in the back yard of Milwaukee and incredibly popular so make an evening out of! It was so much fun in the waiting area that we didn’t want to leave! Great music and we kept warm around all the bonfires.

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