Freddys Haunts Review (2020)

We faced about forty cavernous creatures during our exploration. Freddy’s possesses a wide variety of phantoms that prowl on these grounds. Excelling at stealth, these freaks seem to pop out of everywhere. Scuttling along the earth, popping out from under props, loitering in corners, and even hanging off of walls, it is difficult to see where they will emerge from next. Freddy’s actors seem to fall on the younger side but their enthusiasm and pure energy, at nearly 11 p.m. (after the box office was closed), was impressive. Although they may not have the acting chops of some bigger haunt actors, these guys and girls put out great intensity. Along with the physicality; crawling, jumping, running, banging, thrashing, hanging, and skipping these apparitions can move!

The dialogue was primitive but performed with malevolence. The majority of actors provide boo or shriek jolts. Two female mental patients danced around us la-la-la-ing and asking us to play, pretty common for a haunt. One demon was jumping on a large metal drum with a maniacal laugh. As I went to get a better look at his mask, he started to yell, ‘Look at me’ which was a good improv moment. Another character propped up against a wall in a dark area had two metal swords he scraped against the wall causing a loud sharp (no pun intended) noise. We also heard several other common lines such as ‘Feed me,’ ‘Stay with us,’ ‘Leave,’ and ‘Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!!’

Not all the cast had boisterous roles. Two dead girls stood in our way and stared at us. The prolonged eye contact was very uncomfortable. A contortionist was silently contorting her way around the halls as well.

The most interaction was a group of three undead individuals who trapped us in the morgue area. One character looked similar to Momo, we asked if he knew Momo and that is when he informed us, in a creepy voice, ‘Yep that’s meee!’ We talked back and forth and then it was time to go.

The characters were as diverse and random as you could get, with just about every haunted house stereotype existing inside. This way things never felt stale or repetitive. For younger volunteer actors they did an excellent job at providing good old jump scares. Per the owner, they are going on multi-generational actors which is not something you hear too often. We never went too long without someone attacking us but we feel some areas could have held additional actors.

Costuming fit the old school vibe with the majority of costumes looking like typical store-bought costumes and some characters just wearing dark clothes and hoodies. Since the actors were so good at appearing and disappearing, and the darkness of sets, the untrained eye may not catch these minimalist costumes.

A couple of memorable masks were the pale white clown, the bunny mask, and the Momo mask. The most interesting mask we saw was the demon face mask. It had tiny eyes, gnarly teeth, like a thick, deformed, skull. It’s hard to explain but cool to see.

Makeup was used for other actors but nothing stood out from the normal. Ghost and skull makeup helped the actors blend in with the surroundings. Some actors had bloody faces, too.

All of the costumes were tolerable but we would have liked to have seen a little more effort to help match the character’s personality.

Freddy’s Haunts was fairly easy to find with GPS and maybe four-wheel drive. We joke, but it wouldn’t hurt. GPS lead us straight to the haunt. There is little signage heading up to the haunt, however, as you approach you will know you are at the right place because there is nothing else around. Parking attendants help customers park or direct them on where to drop people off. This seems to be a popular place for parents to drop off the kids and let them hang out for a while.

The staff we spoke with were all helpful and courteous. Freddy’s Haunts keeps an updated website and is active on social media.

Another interesting thing about Freddy’s, which is hard to explain, is that it is an outdoor trail, but all enclosed. The ground is dusty, clay dirt, so don’t wear your new Jordan’s. I’m still trying to get the dust out of my car. Also, the ground is very uneven and I could see the potential of a fall. There are also all dark areas in the haunt, although nothing out of the norm for most haunts. If you take your time and don’t run you should be fine.

Regarding COVID, Freddy’s did not have anything listed on their site regarding procedures. They did have hand sanitizer around the outside of the haunt but we did not notice anything inside the haunt. I spoke with the owner and they were following the guidelines for the area. He did admit things were difficult. As we noticed this weekend at another haunt the majority of customers were not wearing masks. Social distancing also was not observed. Inside the haunt, the actors were not wearing face masks. Since we wore our masks we were ok with going through the haunt. We do also want to note there are several high touch areas as you walk through.

If you count the drive up, as we mentioned, it definitely has a creepy vibe. Once you arrive in the parking lot you can hear music which brings you back to civilization. The ticket booth is to the left of the festival-like area, don’t make the mistake we made of going in through the exit. There is a large sign that points to the left and says tickets but the allure of the shindig drew us directly toward it. After purchasing tickets, you will follow the path to the main waiting area where all the fun is taking place.

Freddy’s has more of a party vibe, with live bands, and DJs playing a mix of top 40 and country music making us older folk feel a little out of place. A huge bonfire is in the middle of the outdoor waiting area with the fire dancing high into the night sky. As the youth would say it was “lit.” As this was invigorating it did not get us into a haunting mood.

There was no other d������������������cor related to haunts before entering. Just the mystery of what is inside.

Freddy’s seems to embrace the ‘If it’s not broke don’t fix it’ frame of mind. As we walked the trail, I seem to remember a good amount of scenes and set pieces from years ago when I first visited Freddy’s in the early 2000s. I could be mistaken, regardless, there is nothing wrong with that. The set designs are expertly crafted. The main theme is a cave but as mentioned before they have thrown just about everything they could into this potpourri of Halloween fun. The cavern portions feel authentic and earthy, varying its appearance throughout. Sometimes the walls are bare rock while others are covered in spider webs. Another area contains stone walls that produce the feel of being in a medieval dungeon. Then there are random themes throughout such as a boiler room area, a small cornfield section, a black tube section, as well as a pitch dark maze. The areas we enjoyed the most were the tightly fenced area with glowing skeletons, the pallet wall area complete with fog and a strobe light, the room with the branch canopy and shimmering lights, and a tunnel with an underwater look. Our favorite scenes were the outside cabin and cemetery. The cemetery was one of the best we have seen with huge tombs and a very accurate tree in the center.

Some scenes had sound but not all. Creepy music filled some rooms while others were silent. The outdoor areas had wind, birds, and wolf howls to accentuate the mood.

Freddy’s had a good amount of old-school props to catch you off-guard. Screaming dummies, popping electrical lines, moving coffins and skeletons are just a few distractions you will encounter.

We also wanted to mention that Freddy’s concludes with two mazes, the first is a blackout maze that took us three minutes to navigate the second maze is larger and brighter with loud music and lights swirling around. This took one of our team members about seven minutes to conquer while it took the rest of us eleven minutes.

The mix of the detailed sets, props, and sounds provide a good immersive experience.

Freddy’s actors do a great job of producing jump scares, which a good deal of patrons enjoy. It’s that quick, loud, unexpected burst of a voice, manifesting from nowhere, that catches you off-guard. That is what Freddy’s shines at and that was the foundation haunts were built upon. In mastering this, they have also learned how to effectively target the whole group and not just the leader, but the middle and end of the group too.

Most of the scares we experienced were unpredictable and surprising. Some objects that appeared to be lifeless were very much alive. A few tight areas may make those with claustrophobia anxious but we were fine. Darkness is also prominent in this haunt which may make people uncomfortable.

The haunt ends with two mazes but no scares as the final maze has no actors inside which we were disappointed with.

Freddy’s Haunts does not try to hide the fact they are not a multimillion-dollar haunt. They are a local haunt providing a fun time for the community. Tickets are $15 a person. The haunt took us a total of thirty minutes to complete but that is subjective because of the mazes. The full haunt took sixteen minutes, the blackout maze took us another three, and the final maze took us eleven minutes. That puts the minutes per dollar amount at 2 which is above average.

As previously stated, there is outdoor entertainment that is included in your ticket price. Concessions are also sold on-site.

The half-mile enclosed trail packs a large number of scares inside with little downtime. According to the owner, they have plenty of areas to extend and I hope someday they do.

Freddy’s provides a good trip down memory lane showing what haunts were like ‘back in the day’. Good set designs, a huge assortment of subjects, and imposing acting are what the community keeps coming back for over a quarter of a century.