This attraction was reviewed on October 13, 2018 by .
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!
Hide This
Final Score: 8.59
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 8.9
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 8.65
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 8.5
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 8.5
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 8.85
(5% of Final Score) Theme: 9
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 8.18
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 8.33
Hide This
Summary:
Edge of Insanity sits on the outskirts of Kokomo, Indiana on an unassuming residential street. Walt and Tammy Ingham have operated their home haunt for charity for the past 11 years. When we say ‘home haunt’ we mean that three elaborate out-buildings sit permanently on their property and when we say ‘charity,’ we mean that each dollar they make is distributed to people in need locally as well as all over the country. They support charities such as Pals for Paws, Cops for Kids and Don’t Be A Monster as well as the Tom Ingham Scholarship Fund, which was established in memory of Walt’s late brother.
Their incredible cast of volunteers have donated hundreds of hours to improving and rearranging the haunt over the off-season and their pride for their haunt home is evident in each and every scene.
Cast: 8.9
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 8.5
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 9
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 9
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 9
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 9
Hide This
The cast is made up entirely of volunteers, many of whom have been coming back season after season. Their combination of teamwork and individual attention to their own characters make for an absolutely relentless haunted house experience in both of their attractions.
The patients of Weitle’s Asylum overwhelm you with their raw, intense energy as Nurse Alice guides you through the wards while also frantically searching for Patient 25 at the commands of the Doctor, who we certainly wouldn’t want to mess with. This year, the Asylum introduced us to quite a few brand new characters, including a monkey who may or may not actually exist and Patient 25 himself, who most definitely is real.
Once Alice boots you outside to go look for Patient 25 in the asylum graveyard, you fall prey to the denizens of Hell’s Half-Acre, a group of quick-witted, talkative hillbillies who despite their small numbers, manage to pop out of every dark corner you can possibly imagine. The long walk among the open pigpens allows the actors to scare, hide, and scare again many times. These folks are masters of distraction and will charm you into a false sense of security over and over again to give their cousins time to get you from every weird angle there is.
Costuming: 8.65
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?: 9
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 8.5
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 7
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 8.5
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 10
Hide This
Both haunts are canonically set in 1909, which is evident in their costuming choices. Tammy Ingham is fully dedicated to detail and realism in the costuming department, which nicely approximates grungy Edwardian fashion without weighing their actors down with coattails and cage bustles.
Two hobo clowns roamed the queue line outside as entertainment for patrons and patients alike. As for the hillbillies, they were dressed in worn and stained work wear, probably actual sweat and dirt, and some’unusual accessory choices which added extra personality to their quirky characters, as well as allowing patrons to distinguish who was who in the dim lighting.
Customer Service: 8.5
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?: 7
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 8.5
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 10
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 8.5
Hide This
Edge of Insanity is very careful to follow every safety standard in the book, and hires an off-duty cop to keep things running smoothly. None of the set pieces seem flimsy or thrown together, there are plenty of Illuminated exits, and the stairs are well indicated with rope lights and glow paint.
GPS takes you straight to the Asylum’s front door, however, it sits behind a fence on a divided highway, so it can be a bit difficult to spot at first. A few patients, clowns and hillbillies mill about the queue line and driveway of the haunt, sometimes chasing exiting patrons all the way down to the parking area, which is super amusing for those who get to watch. There is a food truck on site, and we highly recommend the BBQ nachos.
Atmosphere: 8.5
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?: 8.5
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 8.5
Hide This
There were quite a few new additions to the outside of the haunt this year, including a larger graveyard display (separate from the one inside the haunt), several lighted signs and a bevy of rotating queue line actors to keep the entertainment fresh.
While it is quite apparent this haunt is located in the backyard of a suburban home, Edge of Insanity does make a strong effort to conceal this fact and furnishes the waiting area with a spooky Halloween aesthetic.
Special Effects: 8.85
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 8
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 8.5
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 9
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 9
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 10
Hide This
Edge of Insanity doesn’t make use of many sound effects within the haunt, but instead rely on their insane cast of inmates to act as their soundtrack. There is a sound activated light within the haunt which is visible to most of the scenes within Weitle’s Asylum. As long as the light is on, they know they’re making enough noise. This is a rather ingenious concept in our opinion, as it gives their actors a continuous challenge throughout the night to stay on top of their game. Various small props within the haunt do make noise, but the majority of their soundtrack in the Asylum is naturally sourced. Speaking of their props, Edge of Insanity makes many of their props in house, and their shock therapy scene includes a huge, one-of-a-kind prop which is based on a real life piece of Victorian quack medical equipment. You’ll know it when you see it, and you definitely should!
Hell’s Half-Acre is differently themed but is still connected to the overarching theme of the entire haunt. They aren’t much for pre-recorded sound effects either, though. The eerie, quiet rustling of leaves were about all we had to keep us company in the dark. The trail was scattered with pine wood shavings, which silenced our footsteps as well as the footsteps of all the actors lurking in the dark. Aside from the family pet in the hillbilly shack and the show’s grand finale, everything you hear in Hell’s Half-Acre is organic, non GMO, gluten free, all natural noise.
Theme: 9
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?: 10
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?: 9
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?: 7.5
Hide This
Under the name Edge of Insanity, there are two themed areas which are loosely tied together by location and time period. Weitle’s Asylum is a mental hospital in disarray, inhabited by lunatics who are patients and staff alike. Upon entering the front door, we meet Alice, the head nurse at the Asylum, who is preparing to take guests on a tour of the facility when the doctor bursts in, furiously looking for Patient 25. The responsibility falls on Alice to find the missing patient, and uses her tour as an opportunity to hunt him down. Patient 25 is nowhere to be found inside the asylum, so Alice boots her tour group out the back door and sends them into the dark to look around for the doctor’s missing subject. Indeed, we did find him lurking just outside the door this year, as opposed to previous years where we were sent on a wild goose chase for a patient that did not exist in actuality.
As we made our way further into the woods, we wander through the grounds of the Asylum’s graveyard, which leads us to a shack in the middle of a clearing. Emerging from the tall grass and corners of the building were a large family of rowdy hillbillies who are squatting on the back of the Asylum’s property. They have been squatting so long, they’ve had time to develop a small farm with a number of pig sties which patrons must navigate like a maze as your new hillbilly besties tease and antagonize you all the while. As you leave the shack, you circle back towards the graveyard on the front of the property, and the hillbillies offer you a shortcut through the mausoleum, which comes alive with the ghostly rattling of bones.
Scare Factor: 8.18
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 8
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 8.5
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 9
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 7
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 8
Hide This
The volunteers at Edge of Insanity are masters of distraction and maintaining a high level of energy through the entire performance. They are not concerned about age, size or apparent gender. They are going to try and get you regardless of whether or not you look like a target. If their scare doesn’t work, they still don’t give up and will instead try to entertain you. Even out in Hell’s Half Acre where there are far fewer places to hide, one person will entertain you with jokes as another surprises you from the other side. I don’t think it can be overstated that these folks are relentless in their pursuit to scare and entertain their audience.
Entertainment & Value: 8.33
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?: 9
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 7.5
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 9
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 7
Hide This
It took us about 20 minutes to walk through the whole haunt. They have raised their ticket price to $12 each, but the value for your money is still 1.67 minutes per dollar which is well above average.
If you choose to skip the line, Edge of Insanity has introduced a fast pass option for this year for $20. They also added several actors to their cast, which helped take care of some of the ‘dead spots’ we encountered on our previous tour. Together between the set improvements and the addition of several new characters, they have done an excellent job at keeping the experience fresh for the 2018 season.
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!
Hide This