How Do We Get These Scores?
Our Rating System
UPDATE FOR 2022: Our former “Atmosphere” and “Theme” categories have now been combined and renamed “Immersion.” Our intent with this is to give more appropriate credit to attractions that have shown a clear focus on achieving and maintaining better customer experiences (both inside and outside the attractions) and developing creative storylines.
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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Final Score: 7.42
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 7.59
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 7.23
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 8.7
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 6.87
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 6.96
(5% of Final Score) Theme:
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 7.25
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 7.55
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Summary:
Customers are stalked like the corn in Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze! This haunt was full of energetic people, passionate about the haunt season and the fun of their customers. The owners told our group that they are always trying to improve and add to their haunted attractions and this was evident with some of their more innovative props.
In 2019, the location has three attractions, a spooky hayride, the Murder Manor, and the Haunted Cornfield. Each haunt was unique and appealed to different aspects of horror and scariness. This haunted attraction collection was a lot of great fun and the energy within them was contagious at Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze.
Hayride: 7.35
Murder Manor: 7.81
Haunted Maze: 7.12
Cast: 7.59
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 8Explanation:
Hayride: 8
Murder Manor: 8
Haunted Maze: 8
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 7.83Explanation:
Hayride: 8
Murder Manor: 8.5
Haunted Maze: 7
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 7.83Explanation:
Hayride: 7.5
Murder Manor: 8.5
Haunted Maze: 7.5
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 6.33Explanation:
Hayride: 6.5
Murder Manor: 7.5
Haunted Maze: 5
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 7.5Explanation:Hayride: 7
Murder Manor: 8.5
Haunted Maze: 7
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Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze gets its soul from its cast. The array of characters were diverse across the three haunts. The Hayride started our experience and we had to appreciate the physical effort the actors were putting forth. Multiple characters climbed up the side of the moving ride to get great scares that were alarming to all on the trailer. Once off the ride, we were confronted with the Murder Manor. There was a huge variety of characters within the two houses that made up that haunt. The characters were creepy and interactive. We loved the IT clown, as he was both funny and had great timing to be scary. The little girl within the doll room was also a great character as her creepiness was on point. Overall, the cast had pretty unique dialog and really customized the haunt for our experience. Once we survived the Murder Manor, we had to face the Haunted Corn Maze. Within the cornfield maze, we encountered lots of characters. Given that the corn maze was designed to be a maze, the characters didn’t have much dialogue beyond yells and growls. The maze still had plenty of actors in various outfits that were lurking to pounce and scare our group. Some of the cast even anticipated where people would look and one cast member hung a coat so it appeared that he was on one side, then scared us on the other which was devilishly clever.
Hayride: 7.53
Murder Manor: 8.25
Haunted Maze: 7.00
Costuming: 7.23
How Did We Get This Score?
Costuming Scores (15% of Final Score):
(15% of Costuming Score) How complete / finished did the costumes appear to be?: 8Explanation:
Hayride: 8
Murder Manor: 8
Haunted Maze: 8
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 6.67Explanation:
Hayride: 6.5
Murder Manor: 7
Haunted Maze: 6.5
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 7Explanation:
Hayride: 7
Murder Manor: 7
Haunted Maze: 7
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 7.5Explanation:
Hayride: 7.5
Murder Manor: 7.5
Haunted Maze: 7.5
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 7.33Explanation:Hayride: 7
Murder Manor: 8
Haunted Maze: 7
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Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze showed their various abilities with costuming, makeup, and masks. The Hayride and the Haunted Maze leaned heavier on masks. They had some truly spine-chilling masks out within the corn but the outfits with the masks were typically camo, gilly, or basic black. This was effective and showed off the mask details, but was simple. Murder Manor had a lot of different characters with different costumes and makeups. While those costumes and makeups were rudimentary, they were complete from head to toe and helped to establish at a glance who their character was. This is especially true for the IT clown since he’s playing a well-known movie character who needed to be on point. There were a few masks within the Manor, and those were just as amazing as the ones within the corn. Despite being slightly basic, the costuming in all three haunts were good and clearly identified who the character was and aided in making the scenes mesh.
Hayride:7.10
Murder Manor:7.48
Haunted Maze:7.10
Customer Service: 8.7
How Did We Get This Score?
Customer Service Scores (10% of Final Score):
(25% of CS Score) How easy was it to locate the attraction, park, and navigate the premises?: 9Explanation:
Hayride: 9
Murder Manor: 9
Haunted Maze: 9
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 8.67Explanation:
Hayride: 9
Murder Manor: 9
Haunted Maze: 8
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 9Explanation:
Hayride: 9
Murder Manor: 9
Haunted Maze: 9
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 8Explanation:
Hayride: 8
Murder Manor: 8
Haunted Maze: 8
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At Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze if the cast is the soul of the haunt, then the crew is the heart. The crew is exceptionally friendly and helpful. They have a deep passion for serving and helping their customers. Whether it was the crew members at the tickets and concessions or the crew manning the haunts themselves, each one was eager and had a strong emotion for the haunt.
Everything at the area was clearly labeled so there was no confusion about where to go next. The haunt itself had plenty of signs to aid people to find them, and our GPS took us straight to them. While the haunt doesn’t have an individual site or social media separate from the main Beck Mountain Corn Maze that hosts daytime events, they still had tons of information and the haunt information is clearly marked. Everything about Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze has had deep attention to deals and was set up with care.
Hayride:8.8
Murder Manor:8.8
Haunted Maze:8.5
Atmosphere: 6.87
How Did We Get This Score?
Atmosphere Scores (10% of Final Score):
(60% of Atmosphere Score) How obvious was it that you were at a haunted house before entering?: 7Explanation:
Hayride: 7
Murder Manor: 7
Haunted Maze: 7
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 6.67Explanation:
Hayride: 6
Murder Manor: 7
Haunted Maze: 7
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Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze had very cute decorations themed for the Halloween season around their ticket area. Since they were cute and child-friendly, it didn’t build up tension for the haunts. This is understandable, given that the sight does daytime family activities and hosts school field trips.
Once at the Murder Manor, the crew there taking the tickets really built up the tension by telling our group about the corn maze’s frequently seen little girl ghost. While the ghost stories didn’t directly apply to the haunt, it did add a level of creepiness to the whole location. Heading into the Haunted Corn Maze, the ticket taker was very creepy too. He stood there in the eerie lighting and as we entered the corn, he had a chilling laugh. We really appreciated those ticket takers as they built us up for the haunts we were about to face.
Hayride: 6.6
Murder Manor: 7.0
Haunted Maze: 7.0
Special Effects: 6.96
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 6.83Explanation:
Hayride: 7
Murder Manor: 7.5
Haunted Maze: 6
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 6.83Explanation:
Hayride: 7
Murder Manor: 7.5
Haunted Maze: 6
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 6.5Explanation:
Hayride: 6
Murder Manor: 7.5
Haunted Maze: 6
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 7.5Explanation:
Hayride: 7.5
Murder Manor: 7.5
Haunted Maze: 7.5
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 7Explanation:Hayride: 7
Murder Manor: 8
Haunted Maze: 6
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Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze’s three attractions had a variety of special effects. While our group considers these haunts to be ‘low-tech’, what effects they had were good. The biggest effect of the Hayride was that it was a hayride. Performing any kind of haunt with motorized vehicles opens up and an entire list of technical issues that could stop the haunt literally in its tracks, but they made the haunting work fantastically. Of course, within the Murder Manor was when Beck Mountain was really able to shine. They had crawl tunnels, spooky sounds, and great lighting. The placement of the effects was well done as they built off of each other to increase intensity. Our favorite parts were the strobe-lit room with the sheet covered objects that were used as a distraction for the real scare and the fact that that room was after the crawl tunnel made the entire experience more disorienting. The last haunted attraction, the Haunted Maze, is a corn maze, so the use of special effects within the area is limited by power and location constraints. The actors made the special effects by creepy calls across the corn and carrying handheld equipment (like a chainsaw).
Hayride: 6.93
Murder Manor: 7.58
Haunted Maze: 6.38
Theme: N/A
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?:
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?:
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?:
This score is left “N/A” when we believe the haunt is trying to target a random variety of themes or phobias, rather than a single overarching “Theme” or “storyline.”
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Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze’s three haunted attractions didn’t have an overarching theme, but the fact that they embraced the cornfield in both the Hayride and the Haunted Maze made the haunts more realistic which added to the escapism. In the Murder Manor, while there wasn’t a haunt-wide theme, the individual sets had themes which tied in the characters to the sets and props employed.
Hayride: N/A
Murder Manor: N/A
Haunted Maze: N/A
Scare Factor: 7.25
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 7.17Explanation:
Hayride: 7
Murder Manor: 8
Haunted Maze: 6.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 8Explanation:
Hayride: 8
Murder Manor: 8
Haunted Maze: 8
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 7Explanation:
Hayride: 7
Murder Manor: 8
Haunted Maze: 6
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 6.67Explanation:
Hayride: 6
Murder Manor: 8
Haunted Maze: 6
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 7.67Explanation:
Hayride: 7.5
Murder Manor: 8
Haunted Maze: 7.5
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Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze had some great thrills and chills. This place was so spooky that a girl on the hayride literally jumped off before it even started, too scared to go on. One of the really interesting things with how the attractions are laid out is that once a person gets on the hayride, they are taken away to the darker sides of the haunted areas. The ride starts in a well-lit, family-friendly, ‘safe’ area. As the ride goes into the cornfield, things get darker and spookier. Creatures lurk in the dark corn, leaping out and climbing onto the ride, so even the barriers of the tractor aren’t going to protect their victims. So while the initial scares were jump scares, the psychology of the creatures climbing up and being so close was uncanny. The second attraction, Murder Manor, had a larger variety of scares and scare techniques, mainly because, with it being a house setting, it was easier to do such. The actors reacted to our group and were able to get up close and personal. The special effects in the house added an eerie ambiance that also aided in the overall. One heart-stopping effect was the wall that fell towards our group, it was shocking and our hearts skipped as it fell. Because of how hard the actors were going wild, beating the walls and windows, we actually thought they were taking down the walls. The Haunted Maze, the final haunt, was more rudimentary with the scares. There was a heavier jump scare element and less of the creepiness. However, the timings and the misdirection was still well done. Additionally, being within a cornfield maze was creepy in its own rights.
Hayride: 7.08
Murder Manor: 8.00
Haunted Maze: 6.68
Entertainment & Value: 7.55
How Did We Get This Score?
Entertainment & Value Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment received during the main attraction/s?: 7.5Explanation:
Hayride: 7.5
Murder Manor: 7.5
Haunted Maze: 7.5
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 5Explanation:
Hayride: 5
Murder Manor: 5
Haunted Maze: 5
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 9Explanation:
Hayride: 9
Murder Manor: 9
Haunted Maze: 9
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 9Explanation:Hayride: 9
Murder Manor: 9
Haunted Maze: 9
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Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze was an enthusiastic group that was eager to entertain and scare. Each of their attractions was around 10 minutes each. The hayride’s ticket was $8.00 giving that attraction a 1.25 minute per dollar ratio. The Murder Manor or the Haunted Maze can be added to the Hayride, making a combo ticket of $12.00 or people can get all three attractions for $20.00 which is 1.50 minutes per dollar ratio.
The enthusiasm and care that the crew and cast put into the whole haunt experience is more than worth the price in our opinion and we highly recommend people go get jumped, spooked, and creeped out at Beck Mountain Haunted Corn Maze!
Hayride:7.55
Murder Manor:7.55
Haunted Maze:7.55
How Did We Get These Scores
Our Rating System
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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