Final Scores – By Category:

Cast (20% of Final Score): 7.58

Costuming (10% of Final Score): 7.91

Customer Service (10% of Final Score): 8.85

Immersion (10% of Final Score): 8.34

Special Effects (15% of Final Score): 7.39

Scare Factor (20% of Final Score): 7.31

Entertainment & Value (15% of Final Score): 7.88

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Final Scores – By Attraction:

Attraction 1: 7.78

Fariston’s Haunted Forest has been providing scares to the people of Southeastern Kentucky for over two decades. Their reputation of being one of the favorite haunts in the area keeps people coming back year after year. Myrtle Manor has been added in the last couple of years and is quickly becoming an added favorite among guests.

Like many of the other haunts in Southeastern Kentucky, Fariston’s Haunted Forest and Myrtle Manor are located deep within the hills, in the middle of nowhere. One will get an eerie feeling just driving the road that is the final stretch of travel to get to the haunt.

Myrtle’s Manor is located right behind the ticket booth, right in view of the main queue line. The forest provides an additional queue line where we waited for the hayride. We knew we were in for a treat when we were loaded onto a cattle trailer pulled behind a tractor and taken deep into the forest. The hayride itself proved to be just as scary as anything we encountered, as some “additional guests” hopped on the trailer with us halfway through the ride. We were dumped off in the middle of nowhere and had to find our way back among the winding dirt path through a mixture of cornfields, hay, and dense forest.

You have the option of doing one or both of the attractions once you arrive. You can purchase individual tickets for the attraction of your choice or get a combo. Tickets for Fariston’s Haunted Forest are $15.00 and Myrtle Manor is $12.00 if you choose to do only one attraction. A combo ticket can be purchased for $22.00, which gives you a $5.00 discount.

When we entered Myrtle Manor, we first met Myrtle herself. Myrtle was very interactive with us as she welcomed us to her beautiful home. Myrtle’s Manor is not a huge attraction, but that doesn’t mean there was a shortage of actors inside. In fact, it was just the opposite. We often encountered multiple actors in the same room, each providing different types of scares. The actors inside of the Manor were very vocal and there was no shortage of dialogue among those characters. One actor wanted to chop us up and serve us for dinner and another warned us of our ultimate fate if we continued to be Myrtle’s guests. There was a good variety of actors inside the manor. Some hid in corners and closets and jumped at us. Others stared or stalked. When we entered Myrtle’s bedroom, there was a literal “jump scare” from an actor who seemed to come from nowhere and jump on Myrtle’s bed at just the right time in order to scare us.

The forest provided a nice variety of characters. The trail actually begins in a small barn that you walk through. Make sure you look for scares coming at you from all directions in there– especially from way up high! After the barn, there is a cornfield and a maze of plenty of large, round hay bales. We heard the familiar theme from Jeepers Creepers playing over a loudspeaker, so we knew what type of character was coming soon. We still were not prepared for the scare he gave us!

As we walked through the haunted trail, we encountered all different types of characters. We saw demons, clowns, and even Michael Myers. The actors in the forest were not as vocal as the characters inside of Myrtle Manor, but they interacted with us in different ways. One actor slowly stalked our group for what felt like an eternity. There was a demon hiding behind a tree that made himself known by a flame-throwing torch that definitely caught us off guard.

The highlight of the cast at Fariston’s is always Shanaynay. This year, “she” was dressed in a wedding gown and white boots. She was excited when one of the men in our group entered her room, as she was “looking for a husband.” She entertained us with a nice pole dance before rubbing all over her “new man.” The acting that this gentleman provides as this character is top-notch.

The overall costuming for each character we encountered varied. Some characters were fully costumed from head to toe, while others had on some makeup and bloody clothes. Either way, it was always obvious to us what type of character we were encountering.

We arrived just before opening, and upon parking in the parking lot, we immediately noticed some of the parking staff were wearing masks. In addition, much of the security staff were also wearing masks throughout the grounds. The individuals working the ticket booth were in costume and were wearing makeup that was applied very well.

The queue actors were plentiful when we arrived, and the costumes varied among them. The Pinhead costume was very detailed. A favorite among our group was a clown in the queue line who carried around a small speaker that played carnival music. A few of the queue line actors had masks with street clothes.

In the Manor, we saw a lot more actors with makeup. The makeup was applied well and fit to the overall theme of the Manor. Their costumes were mostly old clothes, but with added scary effects, such as dirt, rips, and blood. This definitely worked better than a store-bought costume might have.

The costuming inside the haunted forest differed from that of the Manor in that the actors mostly wore masks. All of the masks we saw fit well and were scary. Shanaynay was one of the few forest actors that wore makeup. Her white face makeup matched her wedding gown and helped hide her beard perfectly.

We always do our research on a haunt before going, as most people do. Fariston’s Haunted Forest and Myrtle Manor have a nice Facebook page where you can find most of the information that you might need. If you have a question that hasn’t been answered on their page, they have proven to be very responsive to messages. It is easy to find the common information such as location and ticket prices. I would love to see some type of FAQ section added to their Facebook page that answers questions such as: Will I be touched? and helpful information. This would just be an added bonus to help patrons find even more information.

Fariston’s Haunted Forest is easy to locate using a GPS. The address is easy to find on their Facebook page. When you get close to the haunt, there are clearly marked signs at each different turn that you have to take. The last couple of turns you make lands you on small, country roads, so these signs are especially helpful. There was no shortage of parking attendants when we arrived at opening time– those are all definitely needed to direct the crowd of traffic that flows throughout each haunt night.

The ticket booth itself has grown over the years, and I assume that is partially due to the size of the crowds that Fariston’s hosts each night. There are clearly marked signs directing people where to go. There were two different windows for the ticket booth, with two ticket lines in each of those windows. Four people selling tickets at once helps speed up the flow of traffic.

After purchasing tickets, the ticket attendant will tell you which way to go: left if you purchased the combo ticket or a ticket for Myrtle Manor only and right if you purchased a ticket for the forest only. There you enter another, smaller queue line for the intended attraction. There are attendants near each line to answer any questions one might have. There is definitely no shortage of staff working outside of attractions themselves, and every single person we encountered was helpful and extremely friendly.

We knew we were at a haunted attraction from the second we stepped out of our vehicle. There were scare actors walking among the parking attendants. Some of them were even going to up car windows and trying to scare people before they even exited their vehicles.

When we entered the queue line, we saw at least five actors walking among the waiting crowd. Music was playing over a loudspeaker. There were plenty of decorations and photo opportunities near the entrance. There was a hearse parked near the ticket booth.

The storyline for Myrtle’s Manor was obvious: you were in a house that belonged to Myrtle and there is terror lurking at every corner. We saw scenes that one would expect to see in a traditional house: a living room, dining room, kitchen, and even a bathroom. However, these were no ordinary rooms in no ordinary house! We were fully immersed in the horror that Myrtle Manor provided. The actors somehow learned some of our names before we entered, so having them call us by name was great.

Fariston’s Haunted Forest, in my opinion, would scare the daylights out of someone even without the added factors of scare actors and special effects. Walking through a trail in the middle of a forest, in the middle of nowhere, at nighttime, is scary in and of itself. Add in plenty of monsters jumping from every which way, and you have a combination that leaves you fearing to go to sleep at night.

Haunts that have multiple attractions sometimes leave “dead space” between the haunts, meaning there isn’t much excitement when walking from one attraction to the next. This is definitely not the case at Fariston’s. Myrtle Manor is the first attraction people go through, and upon exiting, people are directed toward the entrance of the forest. In that short span of time between the two attractions, queue actors are waiting to provide plenty of scares. Patrons of these attractions are immersed in the haunt experience from beginning to end.

When we stepped inside Myrtle Manor, we noticed that we were indeed inside of Myrtle’s home. There was a living room, dining room, kitchen– all the areas you’d typically see in a traditional home. Except Myrtle’s place was anything but typical. Everything was dirty and musty– we could see and smell both aspects. The sound effects in each room fit the theme of that room we were in. I would have loved to hear background music or sounds throughout every room that matched the scene.

The trail in the forest is lit with real flaming tiki torches. This is your only source of light for much of the trail. There is music playing over a loudspeaker in some parts of the trail, and the music in those scenes fit the scenes perfectly. It’s obvious when you hear that Halloween theme, who you will most likely encounter soon.

One would definitely not expect to hear Taylor Swift blaring louding inside of a haunted attraction. However, at Fariston’s Haunted Forest, we certainly did, and we weren’t mad about it. This was the soundtrack for one of the more popular scenes at Fariston’s.

We saw a few animatronics and electronic props throughout the attractions, including a creepy merry-go-round. These all added to the overall atmosphere of the haunt.

Our large group had to divide into two smaller groups for each of the attractions (6 is the average number they’ll allow to go through at one time.) Each person in our group of six seemed to receive the same amount of scares throughout Myrtle Manor. The actors did a good job of giving us some very unpredictable jump scares. They seemed to come out of nowhere at times!

The trail in the forest is scary enough without adding anything like actors and special effects. But that is exactly what Fariston’s does, and they do it well! One would certainly not expect to be scared while riding a hayride to get out to the attraction itself, but our group probably got the biggest scare right there in the back of that cattle trailer. We were dropped off and told to “get in the barn.” The barn is the actual beginning of the trail, and we weren’t sure what to expect. It was quiet and creepy, so we were on alert. However, we failed to look up high, and that’s where our scare came from. There were a variety of scares on the trail. Some of the actors jumped at us, some stalked us, but all of them scared us. I would have liked to see a stronger ending with each attraction.

We spent a little under five minutes inside Myrtle Manor. The haunted forest was much longer, and we spent a combined total of 25 and a half minutes in both attractions. I guess this would depend on how fast you run though, because I will say that some of our group finished much quicker than that amount of time. They ran the entire way! That being said, with the combo ticket costing $22.00, patrons get about 1.16 minutes for every dollar they spend. That seems to be on average with other haunts of similar size. This haunt does not offer speed passes. This could be a great addition for patrons wishing to spend the extra money to get in quicker.

The entertainment provided inside the attractions was top-notch. You exit the haunted forest and immediately enter a gift shop where you can purchase t-shirts and other haunt merchandise. Outside of the attraction, there were plenty of photo opportunities. Upon exiting the final stage of the haunt, there is an option for ax throwing for an additional fee.

Our group thoroughly enjoyed Fariston’s Haunted Forest and Myrtle Manor and will certainly return. We were entertained the entire time, both inside the haunts themselves as well outside the haunts.