Forest of Freaks (FOF) is an outdoor haunted trail hidden on a paintball field in Janesville, Wisconsin. It’s not your usual haunted house; it’s a long, dark walk through the woods where you follow the disorienting path and never know what’s waiting around the next corner.
At FOF, the number of actors felt about right, but they were often grouped too closely together in facades instead of being spread evenly throughout the trail. While walking the trail, we noticed a good amount of the cast seemed not to care much about being there; whether they didn’t scare, didn’t stay in character, or threatened to kick people out for verbally interacting with them.
That said, there were definitely some standout performers who gave it their all. A handful of actors stayed in character the entire time, delivered great dialogue, and really pulled us into the experience. Unfortunately, the number of less interactive or unenthusiastic actors seemed to outweigh those stronger performances. During our walk, we ran into a lot of basic responses, things like simple “hi’s”, grunts, or short phrases, which made some moments feel repetitive rather than immersive.
As we made our way through FOF, we noticed that many of the costumes felt a bit underwhelming. A lot of actors were dressed in casual clothing like black sweatpants, hoodies, or jeans, which took away from the overall immersion.
However, there were a few standout characters whose costumes really caught our attention. The farm character with the horse prop, the tall, hunched creature, and the storyteller warlord near the end all had great detail and presence.
We also saw quite a few generic masks that didn’t match well with the plain outfits, making some characters feel out of place. There was someone dressed up as Michael Myers. This actor did very well in fitting the character’s image, but no other horror icons were present or fit the immersion of the haunt. On top of that, the lighting throughout much of the trail was so dark that it was difficult to appreciate any makeup or costume details that might have been there. That said, some scenes still managed to stay on theme. The clown neon room, for example, stood out for having a consistent look and vibe; everyone in that area fit the scene perfectly.
Once we made it back to the midway, we saw queue actors fully committed to their roles, wearing complete costumes and using air horns to startle guests, which added a fun and energetic touch to the end of the experience.
When locating FOF, it was not the smoothest of arrivals, as most other haunts we visit. Following our GPS to the attraction, we had an abrupt turn in the main lot off the road that is parallel to the attraction. There were a few lights and signage right at the entrance, but these signs are hard to see when driving on the main road and come up too fast. We would suggest adding more lightning in this area to help newcomers.
Once we pulled into the main lot, the parking lot was a bit chaotic and hard to find a spot. We picked two spots, but were told that these random spots we chose are for the handicapped. There is no clear signage for that posted, nor when asking two staff members where we should park in this main lot, they couldn’t give us an answer or help us with our question. Our team was directed to leave and go down the road to a secondary lot. This lot could also use more signage besides the two poles lit up, and have something posted on the website regarding the parking situation. Once in this secondary parking lot, the main tall light generator was not up and running.
After parking was completed, we had the option to walk along a trail back to the main parking lot with the attraction or wait for a shuttle bus to drive us back over. We opted to wait for the shuttle, which is a nice addition to have when having a farther parking lot not located by the main hub area. The drive was brief and nothing out of the blue, but it could have added some music or extra ambiance, getting the crowd excited about the haunt on the short drive. On the grounds, there was no clear signage for the ticket booth or entrances to the haunt. The main building, when getting dropped off by the shuttle, was the ticket booth, and the gentleman explained where to go. Without him mentioning to us where to go, we would have had to wander the midway area until we saw the poorly lit and placement of attraction entrances. It is important to note that if you do not purchase a Speedpass ticket that you have to wait inside the midway before getting called up by certain ticket numbers to enter the main queue line.
There are some areas that need to be improved for guests. There are more areas than not that have potholes or divots in the ground that are in the dark and hard to see, with little to no lightning. On top of this, all of our group had hit our heads more than once during the attraction from areas in pitch black rooms with no cushion on the headboard or crawling through sections that have no padded area, and smacked our heads. In addition to this, there were many times when all of us were unsure what direction to take during the attraction. Certain areas had decent pathing, while others seemed to lead you randomly in the woods to the point we genuinely thought we had wandered off the attraction for 5 minutes or so.
FOF did well in having present, visibly clear security members on the ground, which is always good to see at any large public gathering.
When on the grounds, all the staff we encountered were friendly overall. No one seemed to be angry with the crowd level or anything out of the norm. We did come across a few cast members in the haunt who did not enjoy our group members interacting with them and were threatening to remove them multiple times. This would be understandable at any haunt if there was a scene or rated R material, but that was not the case, and it threw off the immersion. We also have a few other scare actors who enjoyed interacting with us at the same time, which leads us to feel unsure about how to be involved with this attraction.
If you are looking for information on this haunt, make sure to check out the official website. On the website, you can find a variety of useful information, from ticket options, location, and even some other useful information. The website can benefit from adding more tabs, such as a gallery, dedicated parking instructions, an FAQ page, and more, to enhance the appearance of the website. There is some basic solid information, but we would suggest adding more clear-cut information that other haunts typically provide. We would also suggest visiting the Facebook page to see if there is any change with weather operations.
When arriving at the main midway area, we were pleasantly surprised by how it was set up. We saw plenty of bonfires going that helped a good amount of the crowd be able to warm up on the chilly October night. There was also some background noise, more than music being played, and we would suggest sticking to a more Halloween-themed playlist of music for entertaining guests. A very unique addition that FOF had was incorporating a live fire performer in the middle of this hub area. The performer did well in creating a show, and it was a very nice touch that not many locations incorporate. In this main area, we also saw a few queue cast members roaming around with visitors, but we did not experience them prior to us entering the main line.
At certain haunted attractions, the haunt will include a storyline for the attraction. At FOF, we did not find one posted on the website, nor heard of any storyline while on the grounds. With that being said, our team did not score this section of the haunt, but would suggest adding one in the future. A brief explanation on the grounds or even a dedicated page on the website can help guests bond more with the attraction and would benefit the overall immersion.
While inside the main attraction, it was hard to justify feeling immersed throughout the entire duration. A very big, helpful takeaway was being in a dark, fog-filled forest, which helped tie together with the name of the attraction. The mini room sections that we came across were not very well detailed, and some felt randomly placed. These sections were a nice addition to include, but did not flow of any kind during the haunt, or seemed to connect. In addition to that, there was a good amount of dead space or repeated scenery of empty trails that could benefit from more designs and extra effects than what appeared to be repetitive.
Once we completed the main haunt, we were brought back into the main midway area. In this area, you can find the bonfire previously mentioned along with a food area, porta-potties, and some tables to sit around at. This area also had a 21+ bar paired with a THC bar, which is something new and interesting that we have not seen before. This midway area is also the spot to find Shoot A Freak, which is a paid add-on to shoot paintballs at targets and an actor in a shooting gallery.
When visiting FOF, we came across a lack of sound effects located through the main attraction. The haunt itself gave its own raw ambiance by having no sound effects in sections while navigating the dark forest trails. Additional sound effects in areas of the haunt would amplify this section and create a more suitable environment. We did hear a handful of sound effects, but the main times we encountered them were during certain building setups in the trails. For example, in the small carnival section, there were carnival-themed sounds playing, which was a nice touch, but more often than not, it lacked in many areas.
FOF did not perform the best in set design throughout the haunt. The most details we came across were inside the small building sections where it appeared more time and effort were focused on. The pathways of the trails appeared neglected in adding more character to bring the set alive, and at times would see caution tape or orange fencing to attempt at keeping visitors on the right path. The times we did see more creative designs were inside a house building with a variety of plant decor covering the room, or sinks filled with bones and gory decor that added to the experience. A large portion of the haunt felt untouched to create a well-rounded environment, but when considering the haunt is a trail, FOF played that to their advantage.
Being our first time through the attraction, we did not come across any animatronics. When haunts incorporate these effectively, it helps bring to life the environment that actors can not do, as well as create eye candy for visitors. If FOF adds animatronics throughout the haunt, it would elevate this category and the overall experience. Props were found during the haunt, but lacked in many sections. Certain cast members had dolls they held or weapons, while others seemed to be propless. A very unique prop we saw was a pig in a cloak of some kind that was pulled on a zipline above our heads during the trail.
There was only a handful of sensory effects that we encountered from strobes, fog, and a singular drop-down window effect. The largest effect we came across was the use of an inflatable tunnel. If FOF used more effects from laser swamps, vortex tunnels, moving floors, large puppets, among others, this section would greatly benefit from the much-deserved attention. A very well done effect throughout was the amount of fog that filled the air during the haunt. Almost all the haunts appeared to have fog in the air, while some areas had a dense layer of fog, which was very well done. Most outdoor haunts or even indoor haunts that use fog do not produce enough to create a better ambiance. The only note our team would add is to hide a few of the fog machines better with a bit of scene detail or a facade, as a few of the machines are in plain sight with the generator, and take away from the immersion.
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 5.88
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 6.43
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 7.2
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 6.6
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 4.29
The scares our team encountered were hit or miss. If you are someone who gets scared easily, we are sure this haunt will send shivers down your spine. The cast inside the haunts did well in attempting to scare, but more often than not, it felt more like stares than scares. Overall, the intensity of this haunt was on the lower side of things, but it would be a great stepping stone haunt or bringing a younger crowd to for a first-time haunt.
FOF surprised us at the beginning of the haunt by having an actor scare the back of our group in the first few sections. Typically, most haunts aim at the front of the group or middle, and we were impressed to see the variety of attacks on other parts of the group. This was carried throughout the entire duration as the cast hit the front, middle, or even the back. There were also a good number of times that an actor followed our group and trailed us.
At times, the scares were predictable by seeing the cast member ahead of time, while others took us by surprise. A majority of the interactions we encountered were more “Hi’s” or grunts and groans. There was little to no dialogue among the haunt, and FOF could benefit from incorporating more variety. Two standout cast members we came across were the Goughly Cowgirl and Satanic Warlord. These members did an exceptional job with our group and were a few highlights of the haunt. We would encourage FOF to have a bit more variety of dialogue or elements of surprise of actors coming at you from below or even above to be able to really catch patrons off guard.
Our team’s favorite category is the finale. This section lacked a proper finale of any kind. This came as a shock to us as it almost appeared to have little thought or effort put into this category. During our final area of the haunt, we did not come across any cast, nor hear sound effects, nor experience any special effects. This area felt odd and out of place, and could benefit from even adding a typical chainsaw scene to incorporate a finale of some kind. Before the last main section, we did have a few cast that did more stares than scares, which was nothing too intense. Having a grand, proper finale at any haunt really drives home the haunt experience for guests that will leave an impact on the group wanting to come back for more, compared to feeling unsatisfied at the finish line.
At any haunt, the time to complete the main attraction can vary based on the group’s speed. During our visit, it took our group a whopping 47 minutes to complete the haunt! With the General Ticket price of $25, this gives FOF a 1.88-minute per dollar rating! This rating is one, if not the largest, that we have come across, and a great bang for your buck!
FOF does have an add-on experience that you can purchase on the grounds. This is a Shoot-A-Freak experience, which costs $6. Here you can shoot 75 paintballs at an actor and targets in a small shooting gallery. On top of this added experience, FOF offers a Kids Day once a year for the younger crowd without all the scares. The cost of this is $6 and offers 25+ candy stops, a bounce house, and even a paintball range ticket. There are also other activities noted, but it is something that would have to be found out and visited for yourself.
A good thing to note is that all ticket sales are only available at the ticket booth. The ticket options are also CASH ONLY! This is clearly mentioned on the website, but try to remember to bring cash with you. If you forget to bring cash, there is an ATM on the grounds that can be utilized. The price of a General Ticket is $25, while there is a Speedpass Ticket offered for $40. We would suggest purchasing the Speedpass as the time to enter the haunt is significantly less, and it makes the night more enjoyable without waiting in a long line.
The midway here at FOF does well in areas that other haunts do not. FOF does offer a variety of extra paid-for activities, ranging from drinks, food, THC, and the paintball gallery. There is not much other free entertainment besides the fires, queue actors, or the live performer. This area could benefit from adding a bit more entertainment with typical projections playing Halloween-themed images, photo spots, a dedicated merch booth, or even extra paid experiences such as axe throwing to give guests more variety and options, and prolong their visit.
At the end of the day, we encourage you to venture deep into the forest and see what mysteries await you. FOF creates its own unique vibe that other haunts can not achieve, especially having an outdoor trail experience. This haunt is long and well worth the money for the duration, but the quality could be stepped up. There is a lot of potential for creating a more intense haunted house experience, and we’re excited to see what the future holds at FOF!
5946 S US Hwy 51, Janesville, Wisconsin 53546
