Bloodshed Haunted Attraction Review (2016)

Last season there were very few actors in here, but this year, that number has more than doubled! It is obvious that some of the crew members at Bloodshed have been in the haunt-scaring field for quite some time. A large variety of dialogue was thrown at our group, from more-generic phrases like ‘wanna play?’ to very interactive and unexpected phrases, especially those spat out to us by ‘Skanky Franky.’ When he surprisingly emerged from his refrigerator, we had no choice but to ask him why he was in there. Without hesitation, he responded, ‘I was lookin’ for some condiments for my wiener! You reckon I oughta eat it anyway?’ Needless to say, we found it to be nearly impossible to predict what this crew might say next. Every time we were confronted with a verbal interaction with them, they always instantly had a comeback! If you give this crew any ‘ammo,’ they won’t hesitate to use it against you, too! In our case, their weapons of choice were our names. They knew one of our names and literally used it from beginning to end, so our thoughts are with you if they learn yours too! Some of them had great theme-related dialogue; such was the case with ‘Granny,’ who asked us to assist her with sewing together coffin liners. Overall, this cast was very obnoxious, energetic, insane and interactive as they blocked our paths… literally leaping head first across workbenches with an outstretched circular saw and the hopes of stopping our eventual escape!

The characters at Bloodshed were mostly sporting work uniforms, hillbilly attire or coveralls because they are, after all, just living a normal day at their casket company when folks like us come in for a visit. So, although these costumes aren’t the most detailed or intricate pieces we have come across, they did match their theme, which is what they are aiming for. The makeup mostly consisted of wounds and blood that was splattered all over them, but none of them really stood out to us as being particularly exceptional and some had hardly anything added to them at all. We didn’t stick around long to figure out why there was so much blood on some of them; but, judging from their familiarity with power tools and an impressively-calamitous corpse collection, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out!

Other than a dimly-lit yellow and black sign by the road and the ticket booth out front, there wasn’t much going on at Bloodshed to let us know we had arrived. This wasn’t our first rodeo at this attraction, so we already knew where to go and our GPS warned us of their upcoming entrance’ but, admittedly, we still almost missed the entrance, so be on the lookout for it once you start to get close. Free parking was available in a small, gravel lot that’s lit pretty well and portable restrooms were next the building. We suggest making use of them if you’re a bit on the ‘skittish’ side… don’t say we didn’t warn you! We didn’t run into any queue entertainment during our visit, but it was late and we were the only ones in line, so that could be why. The folks at the ticket booth offer concessions and were very friendly and willing to answer any questions we had. Inside the building, we encountered some VERY steep steps that can be rather unnerving while attempting an ascent. By ‘steep,’ we mean they were almost like climbing a ladder and a low ceiling at the top can make for a tricky entrance to the second level, so do be careful while navigating this attraction. Several of the cast members also use electric power tools with very long cords, so be sure to watch your step at all times as well.

There wasn’t much going on outside that rang ‘haunted house’ to us other than the ticket booth that sits in front of the building. Now, the haunt is located in an older-looking warehouse that is surrounded by other similar buildings, but that’s all we got while we were outside. No music or other haunty sounds could be heard before we entered’ no creepy lights’ no mean monsters’ the place was just ‘dead.’ Granted, as mentioned before, we did arrive pretty late in the evening and no other customers were there during our visit. However, the lack of any outside amenities really wasn’t doing the place any favors’ except for maybe adding a touch of realism and/or authenticity by making it seem a little more ‘normal’ than most attractions. Still, if we hadn’t seen the staff members outside, we probably would’ve thought the place was closed.

Bloodshed is more of an actor-driven house, so there isn’t a lot of focus on what we call ‘eye candy’ or a bunch of animatronics for your viewing and screaming pleasure. Instead, there are many static items here that identify each of the rooms and add to the realism of the casket company. Most of the time, they are trying to aim your focus on the casket company crew anyway. There were, however, a few surprising effects here and there… namely some incredibly-loud poppers. We also encountered flickering lights, blood splatters, a nasty bathroom, authentic furniture, workbenches, coffin liners, beds complete with chains for holding workers there (who had also been marking tally marks next to their beds, counting the days they had been held there) and a kitchen. Many power tools sought refuge on our noggins during our visit and their wood chipper scare was probably the most unique item that we noticed during our tour. Creepy sound effects, hard rock and many loud bangs helped fill the air, but it was harder at times to hear the background sounds over the screaming crew members.

As soon as the company’s front door shuts behind you, you are seated in a casket-viewing area to watch a short film about the haunt’s history. The introduction video will definitely help prepare you for what you are about to experience inside the attraction. Sometimes we are just thrown into an attraction and left trying to figure out what an attraction is all about on our own. Well, that is not the case here and we sure do appreciate their efforts in trying to make sure their customers are informed. If you are familiar with ‘The Massacre’ haunted attraction that used to take place in Bowling Green, this haunt’s backstory is ‘Part 2′ from that. If you are not… long story short, Bloodshed is based on a casket company’ but these aren’t your ordinary coffin constructors. People go missing at this one! The facility is run by Otis Schaeffer, a man whose life has been filled with loss and sorrow. Recently, many tourists have turned up missing in the town of Franklin. As a result of the missing persons, Otis had multiple run-ins with the law and, eventually, the town discovered that he’d been murdering the tourists, so they sentenced him to a sanitarium. But, as fate would have it, he escaped and hasn’t been found since. Is he still working in his casket company? Many references were made to Otis, but we don’t believe we actually ever ran into him. However, we did come across several caskets in various stages of construction and, with all of the tools, workbenches, supplies and even a crew person answering phone calls, the ‘casket company’ notion was made quite clear to us.

All of the scares basically come from the actors and their weapons here. The thing is’ you just never know WHERE they are going to come from! From the moment we became ‘fair game,’ we quickly realized this was going to be a tough crew to try to predict. The actors hid around corners, behind benches, behind walls and even underneath things. They relied on banging various weapons on the props and scenery for producing startles to our group on many occasions, including a shovel that was hit so hard over the top of a barrel that it was throwing sparks! Some of the other types of scares that we encountered include intense dialogue, screams, high-speed power tool chases, unexpected noises from above and a unique black tunnel with a scare from below! The finale of the attraction consisted of a horde of maniacs who attacked us with random tools and weapons as we fled from the exit. We’ll tell you, when someone is slamming the ground right behind your feet with a shovel, you probably won’t be stopping!

General admission tickets to check out the inside of the casket-making facility will cost you $15.00 per person. Ironically, it took our group around 15 minutes to go through, putting this attraction at one minute of entertainment per dollar spent. However, this is below the average 1.5 that we calculated from all the haunts we were able to attend last season. This is more of an old-school, in-your-face type of attraction and, although the actors don’t actually touch you in this one, they will grab your personal space bubble and rip it from your white-knuckled grip! So, if an energy-filled, actor-driven show is what you are looking for that follows a single theme the whole way through, stop by Bloodshed Haunted Attraction this season in Franklin, Kentucky!