Fallsburg Fearplex Review (2024)

The hellions inside Fallsburg Haunted House were definitely the highlight of the Fearplex’s cast lineup. They stood out as the most committed crew, keeping us on our toes from the moment we stepped inside. These denizens of darkness knew how to jolt us, delivering startles with solid timing and bursts of intensity.

However, the prisoners were the real show-stealers. They were the most believable, constantly grabbing at us and trying to “butter us up” while also trying to “let us show you what we’re working with!” Their commitment and relentless interactions made their area one of the most immersive parts of this haunt! In addition, the pig-faced fellow and man in the shocking room also had more believable performances. Others mostly yelled or screamed at us.

The cast inside Jon Lynn Asylum certainly knew how to tap into the chaos and frenzy of an asylum. Screams echoed through the halls, but in this setting, it worked perfectly. The loud yelling and constant cries for help fit the theme much better here than in the other haunts at Fallsburg Fearplex.

Some patients simply yelled at us as we passed by, asking where we were going or what was wrong, while others gave us more memorable encounters. One doctor handing out “prescriptions” stole the show, accusing us of having chlamydia in a hilariously twisted moment. In the dayroom, the patients were convincingly out of control, while others kept up the asylum’s chaotic vibe by shouting phrases like “Save yourself!” as they randomly opened doors. The cook in the cafeteria also stood out. She got really upset when we turned down her real food and came bolting down the hall yelling at us, ending her rant in a very loud, “Starve!” This lady rocked!

The cast inside FreakFair was noticeably sparse, leaving certain areas feeling rather empty. With fewer actors than the other attractions, it often felt like we were walking through stretches of dead space without much interaction. And sometimes, even when a character was in the scene, they just stared at us. The ticket taker was irate, while a piano-playing clown made us clap for his performance. Another clown climbed around on a cage and had some good banter with us, promising to be “nice” if we played along. His energy was one of the highlights of the attraction.

As we tip-toed our way through the moonshiners’ territory, similar characters suddenly sprung out at us from hidden panels and doors. Too often, the actors would scream at the top of their lungs, which quickly became more annoying than scary. Leave the screaming crazies to those in the asylum. That said, one actor stood out with a more engaging approach, bursting out of a wall and yelling “toe soup” – a bizarre but far more effective scare than the usual scream. The only character that really leaned into the hillbilly theme was the one beating a metal bar against a trough, which felt more in line with the Appalachian vibe.

Fallsburg Haunted House has such a large and diverse cast of creatures that look terrifyingly tormented and authentically evil. From the moment we stepped into the house, screaming freaks surrounded us! Dressed in trashed and torn blood-soaked rags, these hellraisers looked like they were hungry for flesh. Most appeared well outfitted however, some could use some additional dirt or makeup to really transform them into creatures from the grave. Some actors donned really interesting masks like a two-headed pig or bloody burlap rags fastened into a makeshift mask. Some of the standouts from the House were the two prisoners who looked so foul and disgusting it made us feel sick.

From the Fallsburg Haunted House, we made our way to the newest addition to the Fearplex, The Jon Lynn Asylum. The staff and the patients at the Asylum were dying to meet us; feverish laughs filled the halls, and screams echoed throughout the Asylum. Classic characters like receptionists and an Asylum officer helped set the tone for what was to come; they almost seemed the most normal. As we continued through the asylum, we witnessed more foul-looking patients dressed in nightgowns or straight jackets covered in dirt and blood. A few orderlies and even a ski mask-wearing preacher in the chapel held up a bible with a snake on it! In the surgery wing of the Asylum, we were granted audience to some bloody doctors performing experiments on patients who were writing in pain and gore. One of the patients even had an eye removed by a doctor, although it seemed a little unrealistic with the lack of blood that should accompany one’s eye being removed.

FreakFair introduced us to a slew of captivating carnival misfits and clowns from your worst nightmare! The Ringmaster, dressed elegantly in sequins and a top hat, made sure we were ready for the show of a lifetime. Most of the haunt was inhabited by some seriously messed up clowns. Each individual clown featured its own unique style. Most were outfitted in striped suits, dirty and bloody, but still bright and colorful, and had interesting clown paint. Other clowns had gruesome rotting masks that looked as if they were made out of flesh! The clowns appeared to be the only ones in the freakshow, while we would have enjoyed seeing a slight variety of other characters in the FreakShow that you might find at a circus, like an animal tamer or a bearded lady.

The fourth and Final attraction at Fallsburg Fearplex is Appalachian Nightmare 3D. From the backwoods, these twisted country folk aren’t the nicest. They will skin you alive and make “Toe soup,” as we were told. These neon nightmare inhabitants mostly featured your run-of-the-mill redneck attire, jeans or overalls, and flannel, but these hillbillies went full glowstick and were playfully colored and brightly neon. A majority of the monsters had masks that were also painted to match the surroundings, making them harder to see and anticipate coming. They all looked very at home in their respective scenes. One of the cooler masks was a neon-painted animal skull!

Fallsburg Fearplex was fairly easy to find information about. They have both a website and a Facebook page. All pertinent information about the haunt is provided, and there is even an FAQ section, which can always help prepare you for your visit.

GPS took us to the well-lit parking area in a grass field. Parking was $3.00 per vehicle. Plenty of support staff were present to help us park and get to the ticket booth. The field can get muddy, so prepare for that.

All the lines were clearly roped off, providing general admission and a speed pass option, making the grounds easy to navigate.

Most of the waiting areas were well-lit and easy to maneuver through. Some of the walking from haunt to haunt is outside. There may be some uneven ground. However, overall, we did not notice any safety hazards – minus the bubbles; those may try to suffocate you! And there was always a smiling face to help us if we had any questions. Wait, we take that back. Some of those faces wanted to kill us!

Fallsburg Fearplex takes full advantage of its eerie Kentucky setting, nestled in the remote hills where, if you hear banjos, you know it’s time to run! A large red-and-black trailer with the haunt’s logo marked our destination, but beyond that, there wasn’t much spooky decor to pump up the anticipation. An old vehicle near the ticket booth, rock tunes, and a single scarer roaming the waiting tent provided a little extra atmosphere, but we’d love to see more decor to set the tone before entering the haunts.

The entrances to the attractions were fairly unassuming, leaving us wishing for clearer signage so guests knew exactly what they were stepping into. While the school bus and clowns near the entrance to Jon Lynn Asylum created some confusion, FreakFair had a more fitting entrance, complete with a clown cutout and a ringleader, despite being inside what appeared to be a wood-slated barn. Like we said, this haunt is way out in the country, folks!

Each attraction does follow a storyline, but we recommend reading up on them before going for a better understanding of the experience. The Fallsburg Haunted House was harder to follow once we entered the prison area, and the Appalachian Nightmare 3D didn’t emphasize its hillbilly theme or moonshine aspect as much as expected.

The immersive touch of ending the haunt in a chicken coop-themed gift shop was a nice surprise, though we noticed a lack of the photo ops and decor we’ve seen on past visits. A recent storm may have contributed to this, but we hope to see those immersive touches return in the future.

While from the surface, Fallsburg Fearplex might not look too advanced and state-of-the-art, it sure does a fantastic job of being original and creatively ingenuitive. They utilize a number of classic haunted house features, and they add a touch of their own individualism to create that unique experience.

The first attraction, the house, kept us on our toes, with actors popping out of drop panels left and right. One particular section we passed through had caging around and above us where actors thrashed about and banged on, trying to grab us from all angles. As we continued further, we were surprised by an actor that lunged from an electrical device, who could’ve fooled us for an animatronic. Loud noises and a good soundtrack filled the haunt with so much noise that it was hard to hear yourself think. A loud horn and blinding headlights of a car will make you jump out of your skin. They do a good job of utilizing air guns to keep that startle flowing in between scenes. Scenes were accurately decorated to create the illusion of a disgusting, decaying estate. The last room we entered featured a cadaver on a table and another actor playing with its intestines. While the scene was shocking, the addition of some more blood on the cadaver and the actor would really intensify the shock.

The Jon Lynn Asylum held its fair share of scares and surprises that made us jump and shriek around every corner. The not-so-friendly staff and mental patients of the asylum have all collectively gone insane and lost a bit more than just their minds; some have lost limbs! The mood was set with evil, dim red lights and strobing rooms from the moment we stepped through the doors. The Asylum felt more like an assault on the senses as it was filled with dirty and grimy scenes and disgusting displays like real food in the cafeteria. Electronics seemed to be on the fritz as all the lights flickered throughout. Guts and gore appeared to be one of the main focuses of special effects inside the Asylum. Doctors prodded and poked patients on surgical tables, exposing their insides and removing body parts. One of the Asylum staff had a pool of acid he was dissolving patients into that sprayed us as we passed by!

Following the Asylum, we faced the FreakFair, a Satanic Circus, and the big top from the bottom of Hell. FreakFair is quite the show, filled with bright lights, loud sounds, and scary sights. This Carn-evil begins with classic circus music and bright multicolored lights, getting you in the mood. But this circus likes to mix things up. One of the rooms makes you dizzy with huge spirals on the walls and a strobe, and another room makes you hungry because massive, larger-than-life candy and popcorn decorated the room. Rooms that moved and rooms with ball pits kept us guessing what could come next. As we twisted and turned through this demented maze, strobes and patterns confused and disoriented us. Prepare to be squeezed by some large inflatable airbags, but at least it’s not as bad as getting crushed by a life-size claw machine!

From the depths of a sewer, we reached our final test, Appalachian Nightmare 3D! A dive into a hellish backwoods holler filled with glowing hillbillies and neon rednecks! The entire attraction was painted using bright colors that were intensified by the 3D glasses, giving depth to almost any wall and the floors with minimal effort to achieve a unique sense of depth and realism. The nightmare featured several drop panels and hidden doors, which actors kept ambushing us from. For the few scenes that were decorated, they were executed well and had layers of real objects that blended in to make the scene feel more intense. The actors seemed to be the main focus of the Appalachian Nightmare as there was a lack of animatronics that could have boosted some of the scares.

From the moment we entered each of the four attractions, all the actors were completely engaged with us, some more aggressive than others. But the fear of not knowing what lurked behind every corner was overwhelming.

Fallsburg Haunted House had a dark and dingy, run-down appearance. And the misfits of this place were ready to gut ya or butter you up! Either way, their intentions were not good! And left us wanting to get on out of there just as they said! We were targeted by several devious distractions, loud sounds, sudden pops, air blasts, and a few scares from above.

The Jon Lynn Asylum was busting at the seams with patients who had been driven mad by the conditions they were living in. And don’t get sick! No antibiotics! So keep your germs and STDs to yourself! Patients randomly opened doors and screamed from within the walls. Several staff members threatened us with demanding dialogue! This haunt focused more on gore for scares. We’d love to see various scares added to the large rooms and hallways.

Freakfare this year did not disappoint. As with the other attractions, jump scares were common. Some well-disguised clowns made it difficult to know where the next freak would be coming from and always left us guessing what was around the next turn. The ticket taker was rather intense as they barreled out of their booth, opening their door rather swiftly!

Lastly, in the 3D Attraction Appalachian Nightmare, even without the 3D, we would still be running and diving from these hillbillies! They were quick and loud. The 3D effects made all the crooked doors, crazy panels, and pictures pop out at us. While we were constantly focused on the artwork, characters would briefly steal our attention, but we’d love to see more scares added to this house in general.

Fallsburg Fearplex was entertaining and fun, and it had quite a few good scares. However, it could have been improved by adding more dialogue and less random screaming. Leave that to us! Also, the finales for each attraction were some of the weaker points when they should be like that final send-off, wowing, scream-inducing transition to the next area.

It took us 23.5 minutes to complete all four attractions, bringing the MPD (Minutes Per Dollar) to 0.94, just a little below the national average. However, we still had a great time at the FearPlex, and our hearts were racing when we got out! We were thoroughly entertained and felt it was well worth the cost of admission.

You can purchase tickets online for $22.00 before fees or $25.00 on-site. Speed passes are also available for a different charge. Fallsburg Fearplex also offers Lights Out Extreme nights for those wanting to get a little closer to their worst nightmares.

In addition to the main houses, the ticket price included very little entertainment while guests waited or before they left. There were a few costumed staff members that we interacted with before going in, as well as some music. We hope that their photo ops can make a comeback!

Fallsburg takes place all indoors now, and there’s a large tent for guests to wait under. They also had a food truck on-site with really good food! We highly recommend the corn dogs and the french fries! The prices were reasonable, too!

If you’re looking for a spooky trip through various haunted themes, Fallsburg Fearplex is a good spot! Just don’t look the prisoners in the eyes, don’t take any kind of meds they offer you, don’t play with the clowns or hillbillies, and you should be good. *Should is the keyword here…