Fright Nights at The Resort at Glade Springs Review (2023)

The actors were adequately spaced apart, never letting us feel neglected and left in our own company. Before entering the haunted house, we were assured the actors would not touch us. Touching was not necessary, as they used other tactics such as popping out at us, lurking in dark corners, screaming, laughing, growling, following us, asking questions, showing us a (questionable) magic trick, attacking us with a chainsaw, and banging on walls and props to interact and make us aware of their presence. We were even badgered by a bum repeatedly asking for a dollar!

Upon entering the haunted house, we were greeted by a pirate who warned us, in his pirate accent (with a lot of ye’s and such), what would become of us if we didn’t follow his orders. We knew better than to touch the rum as the confined prisoner was evidence of what happens to those who don’t comply… well, that and the human arm labeled “Shark Bait”! A creepy magician entertained us with his hare-splitting magic trick, then quickly made us disappear from his presence, threatening us all the while that we may be so unlucky as to be put in the show if we didn’t make some tracks out of there. As he presented his trick, he spoke to us with the grandiose flare of a showman. When we approached Camp Killamee, we were greeted by a counselor who wasted no time choosing one of us to be the virgin sacrifice and placed a name tag on a group member’s shirt to ensure identification at a later time. This sicko then provided a flashlight with the instructions, “Shine this on your sacrifice when the Pigman comes.” A nice touch here is that there were also bedwetter tags available. The Sad Clown, lurking in the dark, gave us quite the startle with his intense crying as we turned the corner. Soon after entering the mansion, we walked in on a woman passionately conducting a seance. There was a dark and ominous feeling as her chanting became more intense. The jolly chef was quite the entertainer and full of good cheer as he spilled one fowl joke after another.

It was evident that a great deal of time, effort, and energy went into the costumes and makeup throughout the entire haunt. Despite their scary appearance, the actors were gracious and posed for pictures with customers in the queue area. Images of those actors have been vastly shared on Facebook and Instagram.

We first encountered the head-to-toe detailed makeup and costume combinations by the 3 queue actors we met in the midway. P.T. Ful the sad clown had a classic look to him, with shades of gray makeup to compliment the black and white costume he was sporting. He was wearing brightly colored contacts and had a dangerous-looking smile with sharpened teeth. He carried a black, classic parasol umbrella with little hanging bats. We managed to see him again inside the haunt, a stark contrast to the black light reactive room, but somehow still fit in, although his wails would say otherwise. We did see our friend Giggles for just a moment as she gave a squeal and disappeared, but there was no mistaking her sharp and bright face paint, and bold clown costume. In Shipwreck, we saw various pirates in different styles of dress, some more formal than others… some more alive than others. While Camp Killamee costumes were more common, they fit in well with what we would expect camp staff and campers to look like, complete with war wounds and a disheveled appearance. The creature following us in Camp Killamee had a mouth and face that seemed to move quite well under the full mask. It certainly didn’t affect the guttural snarl he unleashed on us. He was a sneaky guy, somehow thinking his scarecrow clothes could further disguise him as he came out after us. The seance lady in Hexed had makeup on her face while nearly fully veiled and wearing what appeared to be a long black mourning dress.

Makeup was expertly airbrushed. There were no noticeable errors in the makeup applications. No hands or necks were exposed. Some actors wore bone-chilling contacts that mesmerized onlookers. Masks were of the highest quality and appropriate for the respective scenes and themes of the attractions. Costumes were true to character with embellishments such as tears, gore, and dirt. The props were thoughtfully matched to each costume. Inside the attraction, actors appeared to be inanimate until they moved. That was top-notch costume and makeup. Well done Fright Night!

An approximately 3 to 4-foot professional quality sign is planted at the entrance to the gated community of Glade Springs. There is a staff member posted at the gate available for any questions. Following the gate, there is another sign posted for the next turn to get to the haunt, which customers who aren’t staying at the resort would use to enter. Anyone staying at the resort will find a campus map at check-in that they can also use to get to the haunt, and are also provided the phone number to the transportation service to take the “boo bus” to the haunt. Staff is available to direct traffic, and there are well-lit signs directing everyone where to go, be it in the car to park, or off the transit bus.

There is an obvious lighted pathway leading customers to the ticket booth, activities, and the haunt itself. To the left and right are the ticket booth, games, and food and drink merchants. The ticket booth also has signs posted to help hauntgoers find the correct window for their wristbands.

We felt completely safe here. There seemed to be ample staff about with earpieces and walkie-talkies well within reach should anything arise. We could spot staff easily, as they were wearing Fright Nights merch, or directing traffic with neon vests. We appreciated the neon-colored paint on the stairs leading to the upper levels of the haunt, as well as the purple lighting on the spider webbing “tunnel” leading back downstairs to finish the haunt tour. Even when we were accosted by a chainsaw-wielding pigman, we had a wide path in which we could spread out to increase our chances of survival.

All staff were professional and enthusiastically answered any questions posed to them. Fright Nights WV has a dedicated website, as well as an active social media presence. The website boasts a heaping portion of useful information, including attraction summaries, ticketing, hours, and FAQ.

The grounds of the property are well-lit in a festive way, accompanied by upbeat music to put a fun vibe in the air. We encountered a large campfire to warm our bones before walking along the pumpkin path to find the Monster Midway. Mini golf (Spooky Golf), as well as other fun family-styled games, were spread along the sides of the walkway. The strings of lights then led to the ticketing booth where customers traded their confirmation email and digital tickets (or printed, if you are the guy who likes paper) for the appropriate wristband. Instructions are then given to remind the haunt-goers to listen for the confirmation text that tells them when to enter the haunt. There are no lines at the main entrance to the haunt, as they use a virtual queue. At the souvenir shop, friends can buy various wares and join in a smartphone-capable scavenger hunt to entertain themselves while earning a prize for completion. Like last year, the Stranger Things-style escape room is up and running, but this time, guests are offered a helping hand by being able to choose between an easy and a challenging mode. This is not included in the general admission ticket, but can be added at the haunt.

During our time on the midway, we saw 4 different well-dressed and made-up queue actors all doing their own thing to creep out anyone unaware. We didn’t count all the possible photo and selfie stations, but there were several places decorated with traditional Halloween flare to get everyone pumped up and excited to share their experience with others. A massive animatronic Halloween skeleton was added this year that was lit so well, that we were drawn to it as soon as we entered the midway on the far side of the walk.

While we didn’t pick up a storyline per se, we could clearly detect specific themes at each attraction. The scenery, costuming, makeup, and special effects all worked well together, and all fit in well with their intended attraction. Transitions between sets and attractions were brief and kept the overall vibe going. The exit to the haunt brought us back to the monster midway, where we could choose to play games, swing over to the souvenir shop, sit under the tent to rest, grab a snack or beverage, or head back to the campfire. (We doubt anyone would want to walk past all these things just to go back to the transit bus or to their own vehicle!)

Inside all 5 attractions, we noted a variety of sounds that heightened our experience. Each attraction scene had several different sounds that realistically fit the scene and were of high quality! We were lulled by the organ music in what we call the “Davey Jones” set. The sound of dripping water in the caves made us feel like we were in an expansive and damp cave. We could hear the atmospheric sounds of the ocean and seagulls, further convincing us we were beginning our journey dockside. Air cannons shot out loud spurts of air. As props were often engaged with sounds complimenting them so as to make them feel more real. In Camp Killamee, we were treated to nostalgic background music and video/techno noises. Swarming insect sounds made us feel we were surrounded by them and even made us look for a bug! Freakshow started out with the sounds of “the Big Top” or carousel music in the background with some underlying crowd noise. The noises did change as we moved to new sets. The Wax Museum started out with theatrical music, most fitting for a museum dedicated to the classic horror genre. Various alarms were hitting us at the same time classic movie characters suddenly appeared. Not to be left out, Hexed also had a decidedly different atmospheric music to put us in a suspenseful and anxious mood. There were varying layers of loudness depending on where we were in the haunt. The “outdoor” bayou scene used the sounds of crickets to sell the idea of the outdoors. The tempo, style, and volume of the atmospheric music varied. The variety of music wasn’t the only sound we heard. We were actually startled a bit by quick hits of pops, bangs, creepy laughing, growling, and screaming.

The details in the sets were a delight. We could hang out there all day and probably still miss some things. We did like the challenge of locating the little inside jokes hidden in plain sight. Shipwrecked impressed us with the sheer massive size and quality of the ship and each room we entered. The organ appeared to be a real pirate organ with plenty of props about to feel like we were intruding on a real moment. The leaning flooring made us feel like we were aboard a ship and hanging on for dear life. The flooring in the cave felt soft and sandy. Quickly changing timelines, we found ourselves in the early days of movie rentals and tons of horror movies on display to rent, aside from the one the clerk was watching his own horror movie “on the clock”. No, we didn’t pull back the curtain in the adult section of the video store but, there was one there.The office to Camp Killamee was complete with all the equipment one might expect at a camp office, even down to the Karen in the corner having a really bad day. It was most appropriate to go outside for camp and see cabins, a crashed bus, and campers in various states of distress. Freakshow props were all of great quality and fit the theme nicely. The oddities section was intriguing with the varieties and sheer volume of goodies spread out. We saw black light reactive rooms with clowns waiting to introduce themselves to us and a very well-done upside-down room. Hexed was also detailed with many different scenes, yet they all fit together nicely to tell about a cursed property. The outdoor bayou sound effects, cabin, and lighting made us believe exactly what they wanted us to believe. The Wax Museum included more scenes than simply a walk-thru museum with stationary props. The various scenes had appropriate wall and floor treatments, along with props and furniture, to leave no doubt as to where we were. They even treated the props so they would look used. Fright Nights also remembered scents! We definitely picked up on the smell of popcorn in Freakshow and an herbal voodoo concoction in Hexed. Some of us could have sworn we smelled some piped-in mold or mildew.

Lighting was also a strong point inside this haunt. Colors and focus were deliberate and pulled our attention exactly where they wanted it. We were treated to live actors and different animatronics alike. Props and animatronics ranged from quite small to massive and intimidating. All were in working order. Hexed had a nice lightening effect, and they managed to mimic water reflecting off of water that wasn’t really there.

Other special effects worth noting include a very effective and powerful vortex tunnel, compression tunnel, multiple screens, and projections showing ghastly apparitions, lasers, and fog.

The most common scare tactic we experienced was the jump or pop scares. It was like a sneak attack you never see coming, and at times, happened so quickly that we never fully saw the perpetrator. There were drop-down doors and windows, and actors actually moving furniture just to pop out, give a shrill giggle, snarl, screech, or yell; and disappear once again. Some actors seemed like statues or props until they jumped out or made an unexpected noise. Sometimes, we were subjected to a classic distraction maneuver that put us looking one way, only to get a surprise from the opposite direction. Puffs of air from air cannons hit us more than once, and we jumped at sudden cracks and bangs from hidden elements or props being banged and abused by spirited actors. Most scares tended to come at us from the sides and toward the middle of our group, but we did get some frights at the front and end of the line, too. Suspense and scares were heightened with lighting and sound effects. Here and there, we came across a character who would not have to say a word but simply looked at us menacingly.

We heard a threat or two of violence from a costumed actor. One rum-stealing prisoner tried to encourage us to stage a prison break of sorts for him, but we then got yelled at by another to stay out of the rum, as if we were “all of a sudden untrustworthy” in a storage room full of alcohol.

Phobias such as the occult, spiders, clowns, alien creatures, and a pigman were available to mess with guests.

Senses were distorted with a dizzying spinning vortex tunnel, a tall compression tunnel, darkness, projections, laser swamps, and winding through mazes and fog. Sound effects were also thrown in to amplify the nerves.

The finale put us in a state of suspense as we were tip-toeing our way through a darkened laser room only to get a massive puppet coming at us from a corner of the room, which was right on par with the distractions we were getting throughout our walk-through.

The minute per dollar rate fell a little below 1 minute per dollar with our walk-through lasting just under 30 minutes inside, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The details within the sets, costuming and makeup, along with special effects, acting, and activities within the Monster Midway all contributed to a fun-filled night. This haunt is a style of haunt nearly everyone in the family could come out and enjoy. With the variety of activities inside and outside included in the ticket price, we think the 30 dollar price tag was a fair price and comparable to other top haunts in the tri-state area.

Regular admission tickets were $30, which included timed ticketing through a virtual queue. For $40, a VIP pass will allow patrons to skip the queue altogether and head on to the first attraction, thus shortening their wait. Group rates are also available if the group is made of 15 or more guests.