2009 The Shrine Of Horror Event Reviews

I went to The Shrine of Horror on three occasions. The first time they were closed because of not having permits, the second they closed a half hour early and we were unaware and the third was, to say the least, AWESOME!

I had been to five haunted houses (and most of having good reps) before this one and I can tell you this was my favorite by far! After going to it myself I sent two more groups their way who were looking for a good haunted house and both groups called me after and gushed about their favorite parts totally loving the experience.

Parking: it was easy enough to park, but it wasn't too busy and you weren't told where exactly to park.

Tickets: sold to us very cheap as compromise for them being closed on those two occasions. After going through it, however, I would have well paid full because it's well worth the ten dollars!

Lines: We only had two groups ahead of us so we got in after maybe 10-15 minutes. The line is outside in a non-covered area. The actors at the entrance were VERY amusing as we waited. We could have left at the door and been more entertained than some haunted houses' full experiences. Also, the jester had scared me at least a few times before even entering! Kudos for that, "ninja" =) The story behind the house should definitely be given to every group before entering. It adds to the effect and there's time while waiting, so why not?

The Set-Up: I was not disappointed in the set-up. They had a good balance with lighting and attention to detail was there. Some more sound effects would be nice to hear next year, but the silence worked. It was brilliant how they separated the "chicken" in the group in the first room. It was fun being separated from your support group.

Actors/Actresses: Altogether was a really good group. They were fun humored (which is so important!) and good at keeping character. There are just a few things I thought could be better however...
-The first room had a man who messed with you while you heard the rules. Some of his comments could have definitely been less rude. You can have the mean guy effect without the insults.
-In the room with the girl running around the pole we spent a lot of time. Too much time. We were eager to get to the house and she spent a lot of time talking, which is better than being too short but didn't need to be so long to have the "she's lost" effect.
-The room with the bags hanging from the ceiling had a girl acting in it. She made a random statement about her chest "being real" and used the "f" bomb which seemed inappropriate. Have to keep in mind there are families that come to these events.
But to end on a good note with acting, the girls who we played Simon Says with and the girl that I "got married" to were very funny.