Folklore Haunted House Review (2020)

Folklore has a wonderful, talented cast of actors who clearly love to scare. Throughout our tours, our group was lead, followed, stopped, and chased at nearly every turn. No one was safe from the scary creatures within, even several rooms after we saw someone.

The Manor is full of wild, crazy, sadistic residents. Each had a clear, interesting personality and scares to match. We found ourselves enjoying not only their interactions with us but with each other as they followed or lead us from one room to another. Clearly, these actors have their characters flushed out and we were impressed by the way they interacted with our group.

Asylum ’67 had all of what you’d expect and more. Wicked doctors, spooky nurses, and crazed patients guided our tour through the horrible institution. We especially like the doctor who was ready to give us our medication, regardless of allergies or existing conditions and we were over the moon to see our old friend, piano patient, as she’s always ready and eager to welcome in the new blood. Overall, Asythum ’67 had characters who were terrifying blasts from the past and we wonder if they will truly keep us next time.

Manor: 7.55
Asylum: 8.05

Folklore has a wonderful variety of costumes for their menagerie of characters. With the emphasis on safety this year, we were particularly impressed by their creativity in using masks in the costumes that corresponded with how close the character would get to us. We noticed that many were wearing cosmetic masks over top of medical ones.

The Manor’s residents were all appropriately attired for their spaces, often blending in to become part of the scenery until they were ready to scare. Every costume both added to the character and worked into the scene. In particular, at one point we shuffled through a packed wardrobe where one of the outfits was in fact a person! It was impossible to tell until they spooked us!

Asylum ’67 often blurred the line between patient and doctor, and the costumes brilliantly reflected this. Sometimes it was clear and other times it was not, but it was always done purposefully. Every character’s individual madness was defined at a glance.

Manor: 8.4
Asylum: 8.25

Even before entering their property, the looming old building along with the great music had our group excited for Folklore Haunted House. The characters within the midway providing scares clearly enjoyed creeping on the unsuspecting and were great fun for taking pictures with. We even saw characters creeping on those in the potties which was hilarious!

During our visit, they were setting up some midway games, but they didn’t seem quite ready when we arrived. Despite that, we had a grand time heading into each haunt. Once in the queue, we were greeted at each attraction with a great staff member who made sure we were prepared for the haunt and understood the rules and safety guidelines. The haunt cues had fun haunt trivia and great photo opportunities with old spooky props.

Manor: 8.4
Asylum: 8.6

Folklore was incredibly meticulous about the use of lighting and sound as an important part of the psychology of the attractions. Our team was impressed by the careful attention to detail that prepared our subconscious for each scare. They use a very effective mix of high tech props and traditional tricks to keep things fresh throughout the experience. The juxtaposition of animatronic motions and the more organic gestures created by actors often caused both to be creepier.

A fan favorite for both our group and others interviewed was the hall of mannequins within The Manor. Without spoilers, let’s just say that the special effects within it were VERY effective.

Within Asylum ’67, we adored the lights or lack thereof. The details within this attraction were on point and made us feel both excited to be in a new era and terrified by the creepiness dripping from the walls.

Manor: 8
Asylum: 8.2

Folklore’s strongest point is their pacing using scientific theories of the scare. They have a very strong, steady buildup with points of intense fear and points of rest, keeping us from getting numb to the scares. Lights, sounds, and atmospheres are all balanced in the same way to keep us from acclimating.

The actors combined jump scares with psychological scares, causing creeps and frights to overlap and build on one another. At one point, we were followed by a looming doctor into a drop panel scare. Both attractions exit through the crypt, which was a very strong and spooky cooldown before being chased by a chainsaw-wielding maniac.

Manor: 8
Asylum: 8.43