Fright Manor Review (2017)

Many of Fright Manor’s cast members have returned from the 2016 season, so you’ll likely see some familiar faces’ and others that have evolved! Most of them were very energized and interactive’ just like they always are every time we visit!

Jed kicked off our tour this year with a lengthy, moonshine-induced conversation, part of which included his grandmother sitting in a nearby rocking chair (she wasn’t very talkative while we were there). Don’t mind his drafty bibs, though’ it’s just overspray. Freddy has become a recurring favorite of ours and we could tell he’s been sharpening his glove for quite some time. Grinder has changed form a bit this year, but his sidekick power tool is still feeling just as sparky! Chuckles introduced his new partner ‘Twinkles’ during our visit and these two proved to be among the most interactive ones of the trip. They had us playing skee-ball, playing hide-and-seek and even taking our chances with a pick-a-door challenge! Along your way, be on the lookout for a certain ‘pet’ that may be crawling around on the floor. The two actresses in the Crenshaw house that followed us around, as well as Sister Sinister (the nun) were also very energetic and interactive. However, Grinder and the tall guy with the shovel were hands-down the most intimidating of our walkthrough! If you didn’t think shovels could spark very much, this guy will show you differently! Lastly, the guy in the trophy room gave us one of the creepiest and deranged performances we’ve seen at Fright Manor. His deathly stare emanated a foreboding vibe that was simple inescapable.

A very large variety of costumes were sported by this crew during our visit. A mixture of masks and makeup were used, as well as some highly-detailed pieces and, in contrast, some examples of more simple attire. We came across some exceptionally believable masks, such as those worn by Freddy and Grinder, both of whom had some of the most complete and believable costumes out of them all. Makeup was mostly minimal and very hard to see on some of the characters, almost making it seem as if they didn’t have any at all. There were also some appliances in use that looked realistic, such as the fellow with no eyes. Additional stand-out costumes include those worn by Sister Sinister, the clowns and Jed the hillbilly. The alien-looking mask was also memorable, although it didn’t really seem to fit very well in the area where we found it.

Not only did our GPS bring us right to Fright Manor’s parking lot, but the multiple signs and parking attendants helped in letting us know we had reached our destination, just as our GPS had confirmed. For those who haven’t been here before, the ticket booth is on the side of the building that you pull in on and also closer to the road, while the entrance to the haunt is around the back of the building. Friendly staff were located inside the ticket booth, helping guests park and at the entrance to the haunt in case you need assistance with anything.

A concession trailer can be found parked next to the queue area that serves food and beverages. Once inside the building, there is some uneven flooring and some interactive scenes so wear proper footwear and be prepared to get limber.

Halloween-themed music and several ‘Fright Manor’ signs were the first haunt-related things to greet us upon arrival. FM is located in a rather large building, but there wasn’t as much decor to say ‘haunted house’ as we’ve seen in the past’ most likely due to the last-minute rebuild just before haunt season began. At their ticket booth, however, is a sign that reads something similar to, ‘Pee yourselves at Fright Manor’ so this really let us know we were at a haunted house. As we made our way to the back of the building, we did eventually noticed a few actors roaming about and a some creepy decorations.

Although Fright Manor does have some larger props and animatronics, the majority of the effects here are old-school and authentic pieces. The beginning portions of the haunt had quite a bit of sounds flowing through that matched the areas we heard them in. Random farting, ominous sounds in the cemetery, rock music, carnival sounds and howling wolves helped bring their respective scenes to life. However, the last portion of the haunt was quiet other than the creatures who were roaming about inside with us.

Some of the scenery is interactive and you may have to get down on all fours a few times during the duration of the haunt. There were a few very well detailed areas and unique zones, such as the swamp bags we walked through, the cemetery and portions of the Crenshaw House.

LED lighting and other strategic lights were in place and helped focus our attention on things that would serve as distractions. A lot of the main scenes have enough props and such to let you know what type of room you’re in, but there isn’t as much detail as we’ve seen in the past; again, most likely due to not having enough time to put everything back together the way it was. There were a lot of individual effects that we would love to share with you, but to keep from ruining all the surprises, we will only list a few. There were falling barrels, a boom stick, hanging bodies, multiple power tools, a skee ball table, taxidermied heads, furniture surprises and much more!

In years past, Fright Manor was split into several differently-themed attractions within one area and, sometimes, we were stopped in between them. This season, everything fell into one continuous haunt with no breaks in between and each of the themed areas weren’t as evident as they have been in the past.

For 2017, part of your journey will include the former Psychomanthium attraction, where they are conjuring the dead. Watch your heads for chainsaws or you might become their next deceased victim in one of their coffins or hanging from the wall!

Because Fright Manor had so many diversely-themed areas packed into this 20+ minute haunt, we have decided to give them an ‘N/A’ for their theme this year. There is so much packed into this house this season that you just never know what you might come across next! There were also some totally new areas that we’ve never seen here before so be on the lookout for those too.

Our stroll through FM lead us directly into the path of some tricky fright techniques. Fright Manor has always had some good, old-school frights up their sleeves and they did this year as well. We weren’t there for very long before they started shooting at us this go-around and we knew it was on from there!

There are a lot of doors along the halls of Fright Manor and, when we say a lot, we mean A LOT! Although some are emergency exits, it still makes guessing where the monsters are going to come from a difficult task. They made sure they targeted each person in our group as we made our way through by using demanding and threatening dialogue; they stalked us and used other good hiding spots and hit us with some very loud noises too. They also made us face many common fears, including clowns, claustrophobia, being eaten and dark places. They also sicked Pluto on us! We highly recommend watching out for him; he’s pretty quick with a chainsaw and won’t hesitate to chase you out the exit!

General admission to experience Fright Manor continues to be $20.00 per person… and possibly some body parts if you don’t get away from these fiends fast enough. Due to the many changes inside this season, it took us about 24 ������������������ minutes to complete our frenzy. That puts their MPD (minutes of entertainment per dollar spent) score at 1.23, which is just below the average of 1.5 that we see most often. There weren’t very many moments spent inside Fright Manor that we weren’t grinning from ear to ear or getting startled, so we still believe this is still a pretty fair ticket price. Other ticketing options that Fright Manor offers includes:

FFA: $10 per person with valid I.D.
Season Pass for 2017: $50
One Night Unlimited Pass: $30
Speed Pass: Additional $10

Fright Manor also offers many other discounts, including Military, Police, Fire and First Responders. For more information be sure to visit their website. They will be doing another Lights Out night on October 12th.

To reiterate, we have been told this will be Fright Manor’s last season in their current building so we look forward to seeing where they move to next year and wish them a lot of luck with the move! If you are looking for a creative, old-school haunt in the Indianapolis area that has some tricks up their sleeves, be sure to pay them a visit in this location while you still can!