Dread Hollow Review (2024)

Dread Hollow brings back some familiar faces and introduces new characters for this year’s stories. All of the actors take great delight in playing with guests and do a great job of making you feel drawn into the storyline. Their dialogue often alludes to characters that you have yet to encounter, and you realize that everyone knows everyone and everything is connected in this tiny, terrible town.

In the queue area, we met Rusty McCracken, who seemed to be having a rough day with the town’s swerve pipes. Fair warning: Steer clear of his plunger! Ewwww!

Demented clowns, Candy and Ricketts, roamed the queue line area and were more than happy to pose for pics with guests. We’ve seen them before at Dread Hollow, but now we understand they must be out on a “day pass” from the Sanitorium!

Long spider-like fingers drummed menacingly on the glass windows of the hydrotherapy room of the sanitorium as we entered. We soon discovered they belonged to “Mother” who was keen on cleansing us of our sins.

In the ElectroShock Therapy room we found the Reanimator – who gave us quite a charge with his spark wand! We’re pretty sure he’s not a licensed physician.

As we ventured into the dark forests of Camp Dread we ran into Alan Wayne, the quintessential silent killer, wielding his huge ax! This big guy somehow seemed to be in every corner of the woods making escape feel impossible.

Principal Goreman, with his strange babydoll mask face, and otherworldly voice, reminded us how scary a visit to the principal’s office can be. The High School was alive with insane teachers, crazed students, and deranged cheerleaders wandering the halls and hiding in the classrooms.

Dread Hollow’s attention to detail and character interactions make this a memorable visit for this haunt season!

Dread Hollow’s original characters have unique costumes and makeup that really complete the look of their well-themed haunt. Masks and makeup are customized so that each character’s look is thoughtfully crafted, making them distinctive.

Principal Goreman’s mask featured a broken mirror mounted on a babydoll face that gave him an odd and unsettling appearance to match his otherworldly voice. His look was very bizarre, which matched all of the odd activities at the high school.

Then there’s The Mother, who oversees the grimy hydrotherapy area. Dressed in a filthy white nurse’s outfit, paired with a bizarre nozzle mask, and elongated spidery fingers. This unsettling costume combination makes her a memorable character, and causes us to wonder how and why she looks this way. Regardless, her look communicates darkness.

All characters, regardless of their setting, wore appropriate costumes that fit their respective scenes. The townspeople, who were trying to warn us to escape, clearly looked as though they had seen better days.

Dread Hollow provides a lot of information on their website about the haunt storyline history, as well as a brief synopsis of some of the more significant characters you will encounter in the haunt. If you appreciate a haunt with a storyline, you can read up to prepare for your visit.

Tickets for the haunt and escape rooms are only sold online. Additionally, tickets are timed to reduce your wait in line. Guests show up prior to the time of their ticket. Ticket holders for a specified time are directed inside to the counter for check in. From there, staff will send you on to Main Street and the frights that lie ahead.

GPS directs you to the shopping center parking lot. You will easily spot the Dread Hollow sign and distressed ambulance with flashing lights parked in front. There is plenty of free parking on site.

Portable toilet area is conveniently located near the haunt entrance/exit.

The check-in counter has a limited selection of candy bars and soda. As you exit the haunt you’ll have the opportunity to purchase photos and/or t-shirts from the merch store.

All of the staff at Dread Hollow is amazingly kind and helpful! They say in business it’s the people that bring the customers back time after time, and their extremely talented (and friendly) crew have made us want to return year after year for their fantastic haunt!

Dread Hollow provides a good bit of backstory that you can research on their website. Visitors who appreciate a cohesive storyline can find photos and short summaries of some of the primary characters on the website. You can put names with distorted faces/masks so that you know who to avoid…if only that were possible.

The extended indoor queue line is a stroll through the shops and sites of Dread Hollow’s Main Street where you can look through windows of the unusual local businesses, and encounter a few characters along the way. This certainly helps immerse you in the Dread Hollow setting before you step into the sanatorium and the haunt properly.

Inside the haunt, characters share more of the story with you, and warn you of the menacing characters that you will encounter. The actors even integrate a few of the animatronic props into their narrative, making each scene feel more cohesive.

For visitors with a discerning eye, be sure to check out the posters of lost children posted at Camp Dread, as well as various photos hanging in the dark room. You might spot some faces that you’ll recognize.

Throughout the haunt, Dread Hollow uses great lighting and sound to bring their sets to life. They creatively placed a bright flash of light in a room to allow the character to cross the room and appear right in front of us when our eyes recovered.

Dread Hollow uses the classic haunt special effect of cage sparkers quite well by incorporating them into the electro-shock therapy room of the sanitorium. There were more than a few sparks that flew in that area, and as if that weren’t enough, the Reanimator added to the excitement with his spark-wand, threatening to give us quite the shock.

The creepy woods of Camp Dread were enhanced with well-timed fog machines that let the fog roll in, and obscure our paths. The fog also hid the serial killer who lurked among the trees! Throughout the simulated outdoor camp scenes, sound effects were coming from all around, making us feel that we were really outside in the woods.

In addition to sights and sounds, Dread Hollow uses intense odors in a few choice scenes in their haunt. Unfortunately those scenes don’t have flowers or great-smelling foods. The scents that you encounter definitely add realism to the grossness of the scenes, and make you anxious to escape to the next room.

Dread Hollow always amazes us with their extensive use of water in the haunt. From wet (yet safe) floors, dripping ceilings, and squirting props, the characters can spray, mist, or splash you. Expect to get at least damp on your trek through the haunt.

Jump scares are the lifeblood of any haunt, and Dread Hollow certainly has its share to catch you off guard. We have to say, there were at least two times that a character appeared behind us and seemed to come out of nowhere. We were genuinely perplexed by how they made their entrance. Needless to say, their surprise factor was effective!

If you suffer from ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), Dread Hollow gives you an encounter with several serpents that make your blood run as cold as the reptiles that are attacking. But it doesn’t stop there. Giant alligators, wild boars, and other oversized creatures lie in wait to ambush you along the way. If one of these mutated critters doesn’t get your adrenaline pumping, the maniacal townsfolk of Dread Hollow certainly will!

The Dread Hollow denizens will get menacingly close to you, and scare you with sheer intimidation. Alan Wayne is the strong/silent type who let his huge stature and ax do the ‘talking’ for him. Unfortunately, you do have to get past him to continue through the haunt, but somehow Wayne manages to track you in the darkness, and take you by surprise several times as you wind your way through the scary woods!

Dread Hollow also does a great job with suspense-building…especially with the ax murderer in the woods. Alan Wayne plays a bit of hide-and-seek as we encounter him several times along the trail. Just when we thought we were on to the next challenge, he stepped out to surprise and menace us again.

A general admission ticket for Dread Hollow is $25. Our walkthrough time was 22 min. This results in a value of .88 MPD (minutes per dollar). This ratio is a good value when compared with many other haunts we have seen.

In addition to the haunt walk time, Dread Hollow provides a lengthy indoor queue line experience where you walk through a scenic Main Street. You are welcome to take photos here. Queue line actors greet you and there are some occasional fun interactive props along the way. This feels like an extension of the haunt, but is technically a decked out indoor queue line experience.

Besides various spots on Main Street, there are a couple of additional photo op spots. Near the check-in counter, there is an electric chair prop which is great for a group (and victim) pose. Outside the haunt, an ambulance is a crowd favorite for group photos. And of course, roaming characters are always ready to join you for a selfie or to photo-bomb your group shot.