Hixson Haunted Hollow is a 2nd year indoor/outdoor haunt located in Hixson, Tennessee. This haunt is filled with different actors and scary things to see. To get here, be sure to use your GPS and watch for signs so you don’t get lost. This location is not too hard to find, though.
The owners have based this haunt around the serial killer H. H. Holmes. During his time, Holmes committed many crimes, including theft, fraud, and murder. This haunts attempts to bring his story to light.
Can you survive the murderous H. H. Holmes as you take a walk through his life?
Most of the time throughout the haunt, we encountered the right number of actors. There were a couple of areas within the woods that were bare and could have benefited from more actors. But the barn had a good number of actors!
Many of the actors weren’t very creative. For example, we encountered several actors who simply used the phrase, “Get out,” or “What are you doing in here?” These phrases are generic, and we would have liked to hear some creative dialogue. These actors did a good job of staying in character, though. Except for one actor, who did absolutely nothing but sit and hide in the dark, thinking we would not see them.
The actors weren’t very physically interactive. Many of them simply jumped out, screamed, and went back into hiding. There was not very much verbal interaction either. We would have liked to see verbal dialogue that forces the visitor to respond or a physical interaction that forces the visitors to do something they wouldn’t normally do. The one actor that stood out above the rest was Leatherface. He played that character perfectly!
We look for a wide range of behaviors when visiting haunted attractions. Many of the actors at Hixson Haunted Hollow played the same roles. They would jump out to scare us, then disappear. There were a handful of actors who were different, though. The hooded ritualist stood and creepily watched as we entered the room. And the lime green clown followed us through the entire barn and appeared when we least expected it. We also enjoyed the performance by the Smiley Clown at the beginning of the haunt. He made himself move like a robot as he followed us. Very creepy!
Many of the costumes were generic and appeared as if they had bought a costume at Walmart and put it on, without any alterations. There were even some costumes that were generic clothes, like a hoodie and jeans. There were a lot of missing articles from each of these costumes. However, there were still a few costumes that looked authentic.
The masks worn by the actors were creepy and seemed to fit well. There were a couple of masks where we could see the back of the person’s head, or they weren’t tucked into the costume. But overall, the masks were effective. The makeup worn by the actors was basic and did not contain any detail. If there were more detail in the makeup, the costumes would have felt more realistic.
Every scene in the woods was the same, so it was easy for the actors to belong in their scene. However, the actors were randomly chosen to be in different locations. The first part of the haunt was in the woods, and we encountered actors like Ghostface, a pig man, a clown, and a creepy actor. The second part of the haunt was in a barn, which we assume is supposed to be a hotel. This location had actors who appeared to be ghosts, a clown, and a satanist. The actors in the hotel seemed to fit well in their respective scenes.
We only noticed one queue actor, and he reminded us of “Billy” from the movie Hocus Pocus. He was fun to interact with and played his part well. His costume was detailed as well.
Overall, this attraction was easy to locate. The only difficulties we encountered were that the GPS didn’t take us directly to the location. We ended up following the small signs to find it. The parking lot had parking attendants to direct you where to park. And the ticket booth is easily noticeable. The only thing that wasn’t clear was the queue line. It did not have any signs to show where to line up. We were told that the original parking area was taken away from them at the last minute, so they had to scramble and come up with a new parking plan.
Safety is always a concern at any facility, and we look for anything that could be considered unsafe. Overall, it seemed like everything was as safe as possible except for the typical trip spots in the woods. Being in the woods always comes with hazards, but there are things to do to avoid tripping. Several areas were too dark, and there were sticks, holes, and exposed roots that could be tripped over. With that said, we did get a warning that there could be trip hazards and not to run, so that helped us to look out for those things.
We enjoyed speaking with each of the staff members. They all seemed very friendly and helpful. This includes the parking attendants, the ticket booth attendants, and the queue staff.
Their website has some helpful information, like a map of the haunt, ticket prices, and other items available to purchase. Their Facebook page contains the date/hours of operation and the address. They are missing some information that could be helpful to guests, like touching policies, rainout information, and ADA accessibility information. We did learn that this haunt is fully accessible as long as someone is available to push the wheelchair through.
The pre-haunt atmosphere was pretty fun. We could tell we were at a haunted attraction with the music, lights, decorations, bonfires, and the queue actor. It was an enjoyable Midway area.
The storyline was supposed to be the story of H. H. Holmes. Unfortunately, this story did not carry through the haunt at all. The only reason we knew of the storyline was because we were speaking with one of the staff members about it before we entered. At the beginning of the haunt, we felt like we were in the woods with a bunch of random creatures. At the end, we felt like we were in a hotel, then we walked into some Satan worshippers’ lair. The haunt would have been better off without a storyline.
We did not feel very immersed in the haunt. We saw things like telephone wires, lights, and vehicles from the Midway and parking area, and water bottles/Weigels cups for the actors to quench their thirst. Obviously, we don’t expect the actors to go without water for the evening, but it must be hidden from view. The only portions we really felt immersed in were parts of the woods and some parts of the hotel.
Upon exiting the attraction, we were back in the Midway area and near the food truck. We were able to try the food from there, and it was pretty good. Especially the hot chocolate! The Midway area has a “DJ” playing music and bonfires to keep warm. It was a very warm and inviting experience.
Overall, the sound effects in Hixson Haunted Hollow were quiet and dull. The entire time we were walking through the woods, there were no sound effects, except for sounds from crickets. Sometimes, that worked to their advantage because it caused an eeriness about the haunt. But having no sounds made the woods quite boring. With that said, there were some sound effects used inside about half of the barn/hotel. It created an overall creepy atmosphere.
The scene designs were lacking in details that would have made them more realistic. Every scene in the woods was simple and only contained solar lights to light the path, and sometimes a prop here and there. Overall, it seemed like there was no detail or thought put into them. The scenes in the barn/hotel were also lacking important details, but there were more details than there were in the woods. In the barn, a lot of bare black plastic was used for the walls, and there weren’t very many props.
There weren’t any animatronics used within the haunt, but no haunt truly needs them. They usually just add to the experience as long as they are realistic. The props were decent but not very realistic. In one scene, there was a body in the bathtub, but that body was just a mannequin that looked like it was pulled from the trash and thrown in there. The props in the body room (we called it this because there were body bags everywhere) were really cool, though!
Sensory effects were used sparingly inside this haunt. We encountered some different types of lighting, like flashing lights, solar lights, dimmed lights, and fog. We would have liked to see more sensory effects, like laser lights combined with fog to create different effects, or the use of different scents.
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 6.63
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 7.14
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 7.13
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 4
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 7.38
We felt like this haunt was not as scary as most haunted houses we have been to. But, overall, this haunt did a good job of scaring us. The actors were in locations that were unexpected and caused us to jump in fright. And because the haunt was so dark, it created an overall creepy atmosphere.
The actors did a good job of scaring my entire group. And we noticed some interactions with other groups, and they were scaring everyone in that group as well. The timing of each scare was good as well. We only caught one actor simply sitting and not attempting to scare anyone. But overall, the actors seem to have their timing down.
Unfortunately, there was not much variety with the scare attempts. Most of the scares were jump scares. However, there were a few actors who would come out creepily and stalk us for quite a while. And most of the actors were camouflaged in the woods because it was so dark.
The ending was pretty fun and unexpected. It truthfully was a character that we hardly ever see, and we’ve never seen it done so well. Great job by this actor!
The extra entertainment, excluding the main attraction, that was included with the cost of admission would be things like the bonfires, the music, decorations, and the queue actor. We felt like there could have been more entertainment, but the things provided were still fun and inviting.
Overall, this haunt was a decent experience, and we had a good enough time. It cost $25 per person and took 18.5 minutes to walk through. Some improvements can be made, but this is a good start for a new haunt. We hope to see these changes in the future!
5410 School Drive, Hixson, Tennessee 37343