Visibility/Location:
From a distance it almost looks like a run-down motel. The boarded up windows and nice front façade creates a wonderful first impression. It is not until you get closer and see the faintly glow of red and dimmed lights, and decent sized line out front that you know you found The Haunt House. Ok, so they are pretty far away from the central metroplex, but not that much further than Thrillvania, Reindeer Manor, 13th Street Morgue, or Screams… they are just in a different direction off I-30. If you are east bound on I-30, just take exit number 83 toward FM-1565, and then stay on the access road. The Haunt House will be on the right.
Parking:
There is plenty of free parking in the grassy area beside The Haunt House, and very secure because it is in plain view from the front of the house.
Atmosphere/Wait Entertainment: 8.5
The Haunt House exit is right beside the entrance, and this provides a good amount of entertainment. Watching everyone running out screaming is probably our favorite part of the haunt season. But they also have live bands performing on the side stage, so no matter what you have something to watch and listen to as you wait in line.
Set Design/Detail/Floor Plan: 9
For a first year haunt, we were very impressed with the amount of detail that went into the design, inside and out. Small accents such as glowing red light behind spots on the wall designed to look like an older building that is wearing down, and the bare slats are exposed sparsely down the hall. Then we trek through a shrinking hallway, textured hallways, and very effective scream windows through the hallways. This type of consideration for just hallways should give you an idea of how much they have put into every room. Decorating halls between scenes definitely helps people stay in the moment of their experience. The Haunt House house a large plot of land to keep growing, too. Look out, DFW… The Haunt House is putting a big mark on the haunt map, and if they keep this up and keep getting bigger, there will be some big time competition in the years to come! We love to see the new comers raise the bar!
Live Actors/Performance/Enthusiasm/Costumes: 9
Everyone hit their timing perfectly, and we were lucky to have two people ahead of us to watch getting scared. The actors did seem to instinctively know to keep going after these two young ladies in front of us as soon as they noticed our lack of fear reaction (we just don’t get scared anymore). There was also some great interaction with actors pointing us the wrong ways and forcing us into a place to be scared by another actor waiting for us. Even better, instead of just plain dark hallways, there are actors through there flashing lights
Crowd Control: 8.5
From what we could see, groups were relatively small (4-6 people), and each group sent in was fairly spaced out to avoid groups running into one another. This particular night had a good sized line of patrons, so we imagine that this trend will remain consistent through the season. Due to the timing of the actors being a great bonus for scare factor, it would be crucial for the Haunt House to keep the groups spaced out enough to allow actors to reset and no groups run into each other.
Admission Price vs. Length Entertainment Value: 7.5
Print out this Bonus Buck Coupon for $1.00 off admission, and that is $15 per person. The Haunt House is a little bit short - around 10 minutes - but we were entertained enough to find it to still be a good value in comparison. This is also single attraction haunt, but still worth checking out so you can “ooo” and “ahh” at how much they have going for them on just their first year. I can only imagine what kind of interesting surprises they will unleash as they grow bigger. Although, I would not recommend that they increase their ticket prices until they get at least 10 more minutes of haunt using the same great quality they have now, and possibly some side attractions. Honestly, the length is the only thing I could see anyone being bothered by, but we did not see a single person leaving disappointed. This place is a great example of QUALITY over quantity.
Overall Experience/Summary:
We absolutely loved visiting The Haunt House, and it was surprising that this was their first year. Built from the ground up in three months, everything looks as though it has been around for ages. We know for a fact that we were not the only ones highly impressed by this haunt, too… watching each group running out (sometimes falling down in the process) either laughing, screaming, or panting – and EVERY SINGLE person completely satisfied with the experience and commenting on how much fun it was – THIS tells us that this is a great haunt to see. It is rare that you can see such consistent reactions from everyone who exits the haunt… We look forward to seeing The Haunt House again next year, and watching them grow into the pro market and stir up the competition.
Feel free to post your experiences and reviews in the Main Forum (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2)
Caddo Mills, TX
OVERALL SCORE : 8.5
http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/images/stars/big/8_half.gif
Date: Saturday, October 13th
Time: 9:00pm
Visibility/Location:
From a distance it almost looks like a run-down motel. The boarded up windows and nice front façade creates a wonderful first impression. It is not until you get closer and see the faintly glow of red and dimmed lights, and decent sized line out front that you know you found The Haunt House. Ok, so they are pretty far away from the central metroplex, but not that much further than Thrillvania, Reindeer Manor, 13th Street Morgue, or Screams… they are just in a different direction off I-30. If you are east bound on I-30, just take exit number 83 toward FM-1565, and then stay on the access road. The Haunt House will be on the right.
Parking:
There is plenty of free parking in the grassy area beside The Haunt House, and very secure because it is in plain view from the front of the house.
Atmosphere/Wait Entertainment: 8.5
The Haunt House exit is right beside the entrance, and this provides a good amount of entertainment. Watching everyone running out screaming is probably our favorite part of the haunt season. But they also have live bands performing on the side stage, so no matter what you have something to watch and listen to as you wait in line.
Set Design/Detail/Floor Plan: 9
For a first year haunt, we were very impressed with the amount of detail that went into the design, inside and out. Small accents such as glowing red light behind spots on the wall designed to look like an older building that is wearing down, and the bare slats are exposed sparsely down the hall. Then we trek through a shrinking hallway, textured hallways, and very effective scream windows through the hallways. This type of consideration for just hallways should give you an idea of how much they have put into every room. Decorating halls between scenes definitely helps people stay in the moment of their experience. The Haunt House house a large plot of land to keep growing, too. Look out, DFW… The Haunt House is putting a big mark on the haunt map, and if they keep this up and keep getting bigger, there will be some big time competition in the years to come! We love to see the new comers raise the bar!
Live Actors/Performance/Enthusiasm/Costumes: 9
Everyone hit their timing perfectly, and we were lucky to have two people ahead of us to watch getting scared. The actors did seem to instinctively know to keep going after these two young ladies in front of us as soon as they noticed our lack of fear reaction (we just don’t get scared anymore). There was also some great interaction with actors pointing us the wrong ways and forcing us into a place to be scared by another actor waiting for us. Even better, instead of just plain dark hallways, there are actors through there flashing lights
Crowd Control: 8.5
From what we could see, groups were relatively small (4-6 people), and each group sent in was fairly spaced out to avoid groups running into one another. This particular night had a good sized line of patrons, so we imagine that this trend will remain consistent through the season. Due to the timing of the actors being a great bonus for scare factor, it would be crucial for the Haunt House to keep the groups spaced out enough to allow actors to reset and no groups run into each other.
Admission Price vs. Length Entertainment Value: 7.5
Print out this Bonus Buck Coupon for $1.00 off admission, and that is $15 per person. The Haunt House is a little bit short - around 10 minutes - but we were entertained enough to find it to still be a good value in comparison. This is also single attraction haunt, but still worth checking out so you can “ooo” and “ahh” at how much they have going for them on just their first year. I can only imagine what kind of interesting surprises they will unleash as they grow bigger. Although, I would not recommend that they increase their ticket prices until they get at least 10 more minutes of haunt using the same great quality they have now, and possibly some side attractions. Honestly, the length is the only thing I could see anyone being bothered by, but we did not see a single person leaving disappointed. This place is a great example of QUALITY over quantity.
Overall Experience/Summary:
We absolutely loved visiting The Haunt House, and it was surprising that this was their first year. Built from the ground up in three months, everything looks as though it has been around for ages. We know for a fact that we were not the only ones highly impressed by this haunt, too… watching each group running out (sometimes falling down in the process) either laughing, screaming, or panting – and EVERY SINGLE person completely satisfied with the experience and commenting on how much fun it was – THIS tells us that this is a great haunt to see. It is rare that you can see such consistent reactions from everyone who exits the haunt… We look forward to seeing The Haunt House again next year, and watching them grow into the pro market and stir up the competition.
Feel free to post your experiences and reviews in the Main Forum (http://www.dfwhauntedhouses.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2)