Perched on top of Skull Mountain, as the locals call it, in Aliquippa, PA, there is a cursed land. Legend has it the McCune family thought they found the perfect land to build and raise their family in the late 1800’s but it turned out to be a nightmare. Members of the family disappeared inside the caves and those who survived eventually went mad. The same happened to the Reinhold family nearly a century after. It is believed the caves bring out your worst nightmares and for these two families, it was true. The caves have been closed off for decades but now they have been reopened for all to explore. Are you brave enough to enter?
Freddy’s Haunts is an old-school attraction and relies heavily on its vibrant cast of characters but it was noticeable this evening that they were not at their strongest. The characters seemed bored, with some, just hanging out or sitting around. We also noticed several points with noticeable dead space but in another area, there would be a group of characters that felt overkill. It seemed the cast was more into hanging out with their friends than scaring visitors.
Another instance occurred when we heard people talking and thought we had caught up to the group ahead of us but it turned out to be a couple of workers just above an area that just said ‘Hi’ as we walked underneath. We heard a few ‘Hi’ greetings, an unenthusiastic ‘Boo,’ and a ‘Good morning’ followed by a conversation between castmates as to why the character said good morning. Not all interactions were like this, although it was about a 50/50. We did see a lot of clowns that were acting similarly.
They did have some good yellers, bullies, and stalkers. The majority of the scares were jump scares produced by loud noises and shrieks. The dialogue was your typical banter of telling us to ‘leave,’ ‘watch out,’ and ‘get out.’ The best acting was delivered by the horned creature who followed us around for over a minute releasing a horrific banshee-like noise.
Variety of Characters – (35% of score)
Complete, Finished Appearance – (30% of score)
Creative, Detailed Costumes – (20% of score)
Creative, Detailed, Realistic Makeup – (15% of score)
As mentioned, clowns made up the bulk of the characters. They were wearing clown masks and clown makeup. Some had full costumes and some had street clothes. The second most predominant costumes were black and white makeup or bloody faces with dark clothing.
The costume that stood out the most was the horned creature. It was donning a mask with antlers and looked like a skinned deer, from what we could tell. The costumes didn’t necessarily fit the scenes they were in such as clowns in a cemetery or clowns in a castle, well I guess they could have been jesters?
If Masks, Effective – (25% of score)
Costumes Appropriate for Scenes, Themes – (30% of score)
Easy to Find, Navigate – (25% of score)
Safety – (20% of score)
Freddy’s Haunts was fairly easy to find with GPS. GPS lead us straight to the haunt using the darkest and windiest roads available not to mention the narrow dirt road right before reaching the haunt that is always encased in a dust cloud. Parking attendants help customers park or direct them on where to drop people off. Once you have your tickets you can hang out and wait for your group to be called.
The staff we spoke with were all helpful and courteous. Freddy’s Haunts keeps an updated website, with the complete legend of the caves, and is active on social media.
The ticket booth is now to the right of the parking area heading to the haunt. Although Freddy’s is all indoors it is still utilizing the outdoor trail. So, the ground is just clay/dirt. Also, the ground is very uneven and I could see the potential of a fall. There are also all dark areas in the haunt, it seemed darker than last year in spots. Although it was nothing too out of the norm for most haunts. If you take your time you should be fine.
Regarding Covid, Freddy’s is following local guidelines.
Staff Professional, Helpful, Friendly – (25% of score)
Ease of Finding Info Before Arrival – (20% of score)
Obviously a Haunt Before Entering – (40% of score)
Prepared for Experience Inside – (15% of score)
Freddy’s sticks with the party atmosphere. This year the huge bonfire returns, a live band played on the stage in the midway, and a snack bar was serving some late-night snacks. If that did not hold your interest you could watch the midway actors terrorize teens and pre-teens, with chainsaws and mallets, which helped get people into the scary mood.
Sound Effects Effective – (20% of score)
Creative, Original Scenes, Props – (30% of score)
Detailed Scenes – (30% of score)
Achieve, Maintain Suspension of Disbelief – (20% of score)
Freddy’s has some intricate sets; the cave system feels like dirt and has a claustrophobic feel, the cemetery gives a great outdoor feel while inside, the cabin looks like a real cabin inside and out, the catacombs look like sandstone, the industrial area has large pipes with asbestos hanging off, the new ghost town glowed like an old funhouse attraction, and the saloon looked like a classic saloon from the silver screen. Some areas seemed a little darker this year but the lighting was spot on for the areas it was used, especially the cool pink and purple shimmery effect in the tunnel area.
The sound was used in some areas but not all, a haunting score was used to accent some areas and scary sound effects bounced off walls in other rooms. Some spots seemed like the sound was off track or static-y; maybe there was an issue with the sound system but this was minor and not everyone in the group noticed.
Several old-school props popped up, literally, through the haunt. Banging coffins, skeletons, and more were scattered around the grounds.
The impressive scenes mixed with adequate sound and realistic lighting helped transport trespassers to another world.
SFX Effective at Scaring, Entertaining – (35% of score)
Could Tell What Theme Was Without Asking – (15% of score)
Theme Well Executed, Believable – (25% of score)
Location Authenticates Theme – (10% of score)
How Scary – (15% of score)
Freddy’s is a mixed bag and does not follow a set theme. It consists of an amalgamation of random horror, which is good for those with haunt ADHD.
Provide Scares to Entire Group – (50% of score)
How Predictable – (25% of score)
Variety of Scares – (25% of score)
Freddy’s does a good job with immersion but its core scares are generally delivered by the cast members. Scares started strong with high-intensity scares popping out of corners, coffins, and the shadows, including but not limited to: screams, yells, threats, chainsaws, and some metal weapons scraping off of the ground and walls.
Towards the middle though, the scares fell a little short as this is where we ran into the characters that just didn’t seem into it as mentioned above. The actors who were into it did a great job and focused on trying to scare the whole group. The saloon finale was a welcomed addition.