Features:
✓-Free Parking✓-Restrooms/Porta Potties On-Site✓-Food/Concessions✓-You will NOT be touched✓-Movie Characters✓-Original Characters✓-Uncovered Outdoor Waiting Line✓-Indoor/Outdoor Waiting Line✓-Family Friendly
How Do We Get These Scores?
Our Rating System
UPDATE FOR 2022: Our former “Atmosphere” and “Theme” categories have now been combined and renamed “Immersion.” Our intent with this is to give more appropriate credit to attractions that have shown a clear focus on achieving and maintaining better customer experiences (both inside and outside the attractions) and developing creative storylines.
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
Hide This
Final Score: 6.69
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 7.28
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 5.9
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 7.13
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 5.6
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 6.95
(5% of Final Score) Theme:
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 6.6
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 7.05
Hide This
Summary:
There are few haunts that have been around for over twenty years, the Haunted Forest Moose Lodge is one of them. This haunt has been scaring it’s locals for twenty-four years and giving its proceeds to its local community. Throughout those years, the haunt has grown and developed from a single room in the back of the Moose Lodge to a long trail in the woods outback, which is where our group found them this year. It is evident that this haunt is a local favorite in Savannah, given the large group they had waiting to go in. Our group had a fun time at the Haunted Forest Moose Lodge.
Cast: 7.28
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 8
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 7
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 7
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 6.5
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 8
Hide This
The Haunted Forest Moose Lodge had a wide variety of characters awaiting the customers. This haunt has volunteers of all ages and acting abilities. The child actors add a level of creepiness and they had a lot of energy for their roles. Several of the characters had unique dialogue and were able to interact well with their customers. We enjoyed the dialogue that the voodoo priestess had and her ability to roll with our group. We also liked the dog boy in the cemetery. He was really good at making the dog sounds and his timing was great. The fact that he approached from behind was a good scare.
The characters were a good mix of both well-known movie characters and original characters. The clowns also had good characters developed to be both crazed and also sightly evil clowns.
Costuming: 5.9
How Did We Get This Score?
Costuming Scores (15% of Final Score):
(15% of Costuming Score) How complete / finished did the costumes appear to be?: 6
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 5
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 5.5
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 6
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 7
Hide This
The Haunted Forest Moose Lodge had quite a challenge on them given the variety of characters and the number of actors. While the main characters were fully done, some of the secondary characters had less thorough costuming. The costumes fit with their individual sets most of the time with clowns in the clown area and dead things in the cemetery. The redneck family with the cages in their pantry was especially authentic given that they could wear dirty street clothes and be true to their characters and settings.
There were a number of masks that were fun and creepy. The character in the room before the restricted area was extra creepy! It was really cute that the kids were the characters in the costumes for the classic horror characters (like Freddy and Ghostface).
Customer Service: 7.13
How Did We Get This Score?
Customer Service Scores (10% of Final Score):
(25% of CS Score) How easy was it to locate the attraction, park, and navigate the premises?: 7
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 7
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 7.5
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 7
Hide This
The Haunted Forest Moose Lodge had some nifty ways to improve their customer experience. When people get a ticket, it has a number, then when the numbers show on their sign, that group can enter the haunt. It’s kind of like the line at the DDS when getting a driver’s license. In the meantime, customers are free to mingle, partake in concessions, and gear up for their haunting experience.
The haunt was fairly easy to locate, our GPS took us straight to them. Finding parking is a bit more challenging. Once parked it wasn’t entirely clear where to go at first, however, they had friendly staff there to help us find our way. The haunt was about as safe as any standard wooded trail, with a few stumps and roots in the path. While this haunt does not have a website, it does have an active Facebook profile.
Atmosphere: 5.6
How Did We Get This Score?
Atmosphere Scores (10% of Final Score):
(60% of Atmosphere Score) How obvious was it that you were at a haunted house before entering?: 6
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 5
Hide This
The Haunted Forest Moose Lodge was a fun place for people to hang out. While the front area isn’t haunt themed, they have plenty of space for groups to listen to music and socialize. For a brief moment, we saw a character actor out working the line, but when we were finished with the haunt he was already gone. The front area does have an expansive concessions stand with a grill and funnel cakes. While they weren’t haunt themed, they were delicious! Due to the fact that the front waiting area is not haunt themed, it didn’t really prepare us for what was in store for us inside the haunt. The ticket takers were not in any costume or Halloween garb, so the terrorizing experience at The Haunted Forest Moose Lodge is only within the haunted woods themselves.
Special Effects: 6.95
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 7
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 7.5
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 7.5
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 6
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 7
Hide This
The Haunted Forest Moose Lodge had a wild variety of different special effects, some of which we had never before seen done. While these special effects did not necessarily aid in escapism within the themes, some were truly a wonder to experience. The special effects that they used to make strange obstacles in the path were something that we hadn’t seen in any other haunt. While this did stagger the pacing, it was certainly a nifty experience. Our group was really surprised by the giant simulated sinkhole. It was super gross feeling on our feet without actually being wet! We were spun topsy-turvy in the clown room of many doors. While we never did manage to choose the right door, we enjoyed all the wrong answers and the consequences of each. But physical effects were not the only effects we encountered in The Haunted Forest Moose Lodge. The little girls’ room gave us goosebumps with the slow strobe lighting with the quiet and creepy characters within. Sound also was used to create ambiance in each set, changing the volume and type of sound systems and characters. It created a good mix of chaotic and loud, and quiet and spooky scenes.
Theme: N/A
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?:
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?:
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?:
This score is left “N/A” when we believe the haunt is trying to target a random variety of themes or phobias, rather than a single overarching “Theme” or “storyline.”
Hide This
The Haunted Forest Moose Lodge didn’t have an overarching theme. However, a few of their sets had self-contained themes. These sections were clearly marked as we approached, and inside each we found cohesively themed areas where sound, actors, and effects built that place’s story. The best example of this was the redneck house. Outside was quiet, eerie, and spooky, but then within things were loud, and chaotic. The density of actors increased, the sound system was blaring loud rock music, the characters were more aggressive and wild, and they climbed on walls and crawled on floors.
Scare Factor: 6.6
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 6.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 7
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 6
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 7
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 7
Hide This
The Haunted Forest Moose Lodge is a family-friendly haunt and as such this had a more entertaining, less scary motif. There were still a variety of scares including quite a lot of jumps and a few psychological ones. The best scares were the misdirected ones. Also the redneck house was an intense experience because of all that was happening at once.
Entertainment & Value: 7.05
How Did We Get This Score?
Entertainment & Value Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment received during the main attraction/s?: 7.5
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 6
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 7
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 8
Hide This
The Haunted Forest Moose Lodge was a fun haunt to visit. Their tickets were $10.00 and at a normal pace, our group walked through the haunt in 15 minutes, making the minutes per dollar ratio 1.5, which is decent. The haunt, we believe, was fairly priced for the entertainment and fun we had.
We really enjoyed this haunt. It’s a group of good people doing good things for the community and putting on a fun, spooky show.
How Did We Get These Scores
Our Rating System
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
Hide This
Promo Images:
Click to Enlarge
