Hau
By Brandon Sarzynski
Media Critic
bssl77@psu.edu
Well it's that time of year again.
Halloween is upon us, and since
we are too old for "trick or treating,"
we have to find something else to
get into the spirit of the season.
Yeah, it'll be a lot of fun handing
out candy with Mom this year...
or you could just check out one
of the haunted attractions in the
area and bring your significant
other along, even if it is Mom. We
went to four haunted attractions
in the area to see which one was
best for spending the little cash
you have. (Who knows maybe
Mom will lend you $2O)
Field Of Screams
www.fieldofscreams.com
(717) 285-7748
Location: Mountville PA, Just
South of Lancaster
Price to see it all: $22
The Den of Darkness is definitely
worth a look. It managed to scare
the living crap out of my female
counterpart; she won't go back
in there ever again. I can't lie;
I jumped a few times as well.
Some of the effects inside were
well worth the admission. Let's
just leave it at 15 foot giants and
live autopsies.
The Frightmare Asylum in 3-
D attraction was pretty much
standard fare for 3-D attractions.
There was some creativity flowing
at times, such as where they
started splitting up groups and
sending them through different
doors. When you came out on the
other side, people were popping
out of random doors left and right.
It was like an episode of Scooby
Doo, complete with killer clown.
The Haunted Hayride had some
standard effects but nothing that
really made us jump more than
once or twice. This would be a
great hayride for a date, and the
speakers are attached to the
wagon so you get to hear all of
the actors.
Step up to the challenge
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nted events
Our favorite part of Field of
Screams was the Scare Booths.
What is a Scare Booth you ask?
All I can say is that, you get your
chance to make others scream...
and you can do it over and over
again, and it only costs $.50, so
inquire at the gift shop.
Male score 2.5 out of 5
Female score: 2.5 out of 5
Overall score: 2.5 out of 5
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The Haunted Mill
www.thehauntedmill.com
(717) 225-4811
Location: Spring Grove PA, West
of York
Price to see it all: $25
This attraction was a bit low
budget, but man did that work in
their favor. Whenever you stopped
paying attention there would
always be someone behind you
with a chainsaw. From the minute
we hit the ticket booth up until the
minute we left, we learned really
quick to watch our backs.
The Terror Trail and the
Creepy Corn Walk were the best
attractions to be found here.
Imagine walking by yourself
through the woods at night, or
through a cornfield. Yeah, you
get the point. The idea alone
is creepy, not to mention the
chainsaws. Both walks are at
least 15 to 30 minutes each,
depending how fast you run.
Granted, the costumes aren't the
best, but when you have no idea
where the person is hiding, you
get a nice jump in the heart.
The Hayride here played out as
a 15 minute back woods hillbilly
joke. It wasn't really all that
great until the end. The best part
doesn't happen until after you
unload from the wagon. All I can
say without ruining it is that they
had us in stitches for about five
minutes.
When it comes down to the
.
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Haunted Mill and the Dark Zone,
I wasn't really all that impressed.
My female counterpart begs
to differ, but I didn't like it. The
low budget killed it, and props
with little or no animation hurt it
as well. They would have been
more impressive without them.
More actors would have been
nice, but because it was so early
in the season they weren't yet
at full staff. The best part out of
the two attractions was the end
of the Dark Zone. Two young
girls dressed in black robes
jumped out and refused to let
us pass. They made my female
accompaniment think that she
would have to continue through
alone. Needless to say, that
scared the crap out of her.
Overall a really great place to
take a date...if you don't mind
your arms getting bloody from
his/her grip.
Female score: 4 out of 5
Male Score: 3 out of 5
Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5
Q 01)
Jason's Woods
www.jasonswoods.com
(717) 872-5768
Location: Lancaster PA
Price to see it all: $25
Ok, what can I say about
Jason's Woods? Hold on, I've
got it! PRODUCTION VALUE!
Yes my friends, extremely high
production value.
This was by far the best hayride.
Granted, none of the actual
"hayrides" scared us, but this one
had the best effects hands down.
Giant Demons, Creepy Castles,
alien encounters and giant balls
of fire everywhere. This hayride
was so cool we went on it twice.
The 3-D Scary Tales was one of
the most creative 3-D attractions
we went through. Based off of
nursery rhymes and fairytales it
was just a really neat experience.
I am just going to offer a word
441
Entertainment
of advice to you SAFETY =
STUPIDITY, you'll find out what I
mean when you go through it.
The Barn Of Terror was pretty
good. Nothing really scared me
inside, but then again this was the
third place we had visited and I
was getting used to the stumbling
around in the dark mixed with
random horror characters. My
counter part jumped quite a
few times, but not the scariest.
Once again very high production
value.
Overall, this is a very cool
attraction to see. I enjoyed the
effects and detail in the costumes,
the animatronics were great, and
they were the only place to use
fireballs. How awesome is that?
Female score: 3.5 out of 5
Male score 4 out of 5
Overall 3.75 out of 5
~a~e~
House Of Terror
www. halloweenpark. com
(717)266-8626
Location: Strinestown PA, about
halfway between Harrisburg and
York
Price to see it all: $2O
What can I say? This one blew
us away. Hands down the best!
We originally thought this place
would be the worst of all. Their
advertising is pretty bad and so
we expected the same of the
park. Boy, were we wrong. Rule
number one: don't judge a book
by its cover. Rule number two:
forget everything you know from
other places. Heck, this place
doesn't even have a hayride.
Not to mention everything has a
backstory which they manage to
follow the whole way through.
The House Of Doom amazed us.
Imagine, if you will, being handed
a candle, and walking into a room
where the door closes behind
you: There are no visible doors,
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At the Field of Screams you may run into this scary chain
saw character who is bound to make you scream!
and to get to the next room you
have to solve a puzzle. You
almost work into a panic trying
to get out. There are only four
rooms, but trust us four rooms
are enough. There are no actors
inside but there are a lot of things
to make you jump. I would have
to say this was the most creative
and well-executed attraction I've
ever seen. The only two downfalls
are that if someone moves a clue
to some place it does not belong,
you may not know what to do
next, and if the person in front of
you can't figure out the clue in the
next room, you have to wait and
may not realize that you have
already solved the room.
The House Of Terror was
amazing; just the right amount of
everything. Actors that you had to
interact with in order to continue
on, dark pathways that built so
much suspense that you became
ready to jump at anything, and
just the right amount of special
effects. This was damn near
perfect.
After finishing the house you
head straight into the Terror
Visions in 3-D. This is the first 3-
D attraction that made me really
jumpy. Entirely clown themed, the
rooms felt like something out of a
Photo courtousy of Field of Screams
neon circus. Clowns pop out from
everywhere. Maximizing all of
their actors through passageways
behind the walls, the same actor
could make you jump three or
four times. You never knew where
somebody would pop out next.
Put it this way, the girl in front of
us peed her pants. Literally.
Finally after exiting the 3-D
portion, you head to the Island Of
Terror. All I need to say is Three
Mile Island-inspired zombie
invasion. Not only that, but there
are actors that are your allies.
Yeah, actors who are trying to
help you escape the island. How
cool is that? The island local that
helps you in the beginning was
by far the best acting I've seen at
any of the places we went to.
Be sure to check out the side
attractions. The coffin simulator
and the elevator were both highly
enjoyable.
Overall, this is the best in the
area. Creative, plot driven, and
overall scariest experience.
Female score: 6 out of 5
Male score: 5 out of 5
Overall score: 5.5 out of 5
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