Final Scores – By Category:

Cast (20% of Final Score): 7.12

Costuming (10% of Final Score): 6.37

Customer Service (10% of Final Score): 8.42

Immersion (10% of Final Score): 6.61

Special Effects (15% of Final Score): 6.22

Scare Factor (20% of Final Score): 7.25

Entertainment & Value (15% of Final Score): 6.44

Hide This

Final Scores – By Attraction:

Attraction 1: 6.91

Post Mortem Haunted Trail is an all-outdoor charity haunt located in McDonald, TN. Every year, the haunt changes and creates a new theme. This year, the theme was insanity. Every aspect of this haunt was insane!

This haunt is easy enough to locate using GPS. It is also right down the road from the interstate. Once you arrive, park in the gravel parking lot and head to the ticket booth. Be sure to bring cash as this haunt is cash only. Once you get your tickets, you will wait in the queue until it’s your turn.

Be sure to check them out for yourself! All proceeds go to a good cause and you will enjoy yourself at the same time.

We felt that this attraction had plenty of actors. There were only a few transition zones that could have benefitted from more actors, but overall, they did well at filling the haunt and providing scares.

The actors inside the haunt played their roles decently well. There were just a few of them that would not do much more than pop out and scare us, or stand in the distance and stare. The only actor this action was appropriate for was Michael Myers, since he does not do much more than that anyway. With that said, the other actors did well at playing their roles. We especially enjoyed the patients and the clowns.

Each actor had their own role to play. Some actors were not very interactive with us. We would have liked to see more interactions to include us. However, some of them had interesting dialogue such as “We eat him on Thursday” or “Give me your skin!”

Many actor behaviors were the same where they would just jump out and scare, and then follow. However, we encountered a few actors that had interesting behaviors, such as the clowns at “Derry”. We enjoyed the introductory clown.

The costumes were not as detailed as we would have liked to see. But, some had some cool aspects to them, such as the clowns in the carnival. They had makeup or masks that were creepy-looking. Some actors looked like they were dead, based on their makeup. Many others had great masks though.

Many of the actors were wearing costumes that fit the scene they were in. There were only a few that didn’t quite make sense, but that may have been because we weren’t sure what the scene was supposed to be. We encountered clowns in a carnival, insane patients in an asylum, and a victim in a spider lair.

Post Mortem Haunted Trail only had one queue actor and unfortunately, they were not realistic. This actor was wearing regular clothes and a top hat. No mask or makeup. We recommend adding makeup and clothing more suited to the character the actor was to portray.

This attraction is very easy to locate using your GPS or even without it. It is right down the road from the exit off the interstate. They have a small sign at the entrance, and plenty of lighting in the gravel parking lot. There aren’t any parking attendants, but it’s easy enough to find a parking spot. The ticket booth and queue line are marked well enough with signage or lighting as well. It is also important to note that there are no bathrooms on site. They are located 2 minutes from a gas station, so that is always an option.

Post Mortem seems like it’s safe enough with the amount of lighting. There are just a few places in the woods where there may need to be more lighting around tree roots. Otherwise, we didn’t notice anything unsafe.

Every employee or volunteer we encountered was extremely friendly. Each of them was willing to help anyone who needed it.

This attraction has a Facebook page, but no website. Their Facebook page is lacking some important information that should be on every haunt’s page. The only information we were able to find were the dates/times, location, price, and cash only. We would have liked to see rainout, parking, the type of attraction, etc.

The pre-haunt area does not have a lot going on. There is some spooky lighting and music, but nothing else is available to do while waiting. We would have liked to see bonfires, games, etc.

The theme when inside the haunt is “Insanity”. This theme seemed to carry throughout the haunt pretty well. Most of the haunt was in an asylum so that fits, but then we were in an unclear area, followed by the spider’s lair, and the carnival with insane clowns. Overall, the actors were all insane, or at least appeared to be.

The only times we felt like we were not completely immersed in the attraction, was when we could see other groups of people. The way the haunt was laid out, meant at times, we would see each other from a distance. We wanted to feel like we were completely stuck inside the attraction, which they were able to do except when we saw other groups.

The vibes after exiting the haunt were too calm for our liking. The exit was near the parking lot, but because they did not add entertainment, it wouldn’t have made a difference if the exit had been placed somewhere else. We recommend an activity or two in the pre-haunt area, which would then mean the exit would need to be placed near by.

The sounds inside Post Mortem Haunted Trail were decent. At times, the sounds would overlap with each other, so we would hear carnival music when we were still in the asylum. We enjoyed the sounds specifically in the carnival area, the spider lair, and the beginning of the asylum though.

The details of each scene were okay, but would have benefitted from more detail. We noticed a lot of bare walls and black plastic. However, there were scenes like the spider lair and the carnival that were full of detail and creepy things!

There were not many animatronics, but they used quite a few props. Each of these props was realistic and provided some decent scares. We enjoyed the box-headed prop and the neon-painted items in the carnival.

Lots of fog was used inside the attraction in different areas. We also noticed different uses of lighting. We would have wanted to see more use of sensory effects, but the ones that were used were done well.

Overall, this attraction did a good job of scaring us. We encountered different actors in every scene. They even got us lost at one point, on purpose.

Post Mortem Haunted Trail did a good job of scaring everyone in our group. However, we are only a group of two, and in some areas where the actors did not move, we felt like a scare could have been missed by someone from a larger group.

The scares did not feel predictable. We enjoyed the actors that looked like props or the ones in areas that were not easy to see. There were many twists and turns inside the attraction and we were followed more often than not by multiple actors.

There were a few different types of scares within the haunt. We would have liked to see a few more, but the ones that were used were done well. They used directional scares where they had an actor in a tree. We did not expect to see him above us! This attraction also used phobias where they had dark spaces, clowns, and spiders (my least favorite). They used jump scares and disorientation as well.

The finale of this haunt left us wanting to run away! We encountered multiple chainsaw actors ready and wanting to chase us out.

Post Mortem Haunted Trail was entertaining. We felt like the haunt was long enough since we spent 15 minutes in the attraction.

The entertainment that’s available, excluding the main attraction, is not very exciting. They only had spooky music, lighting, and one queue actor available to provide excitement. We would have liked to see a bit more to keep the crowds entertained.

The ticket price is $20 per person and we spent 15.5 minutes in the attraction. The minutes per dollar rating is 0.78 which is lower than some attractions in the area, but not too bad. We feel like the ticket price is a bit too high based on the quality of the show and entertainment. But, we still had a great time and if you’re in East Tennessee, be sure to check them out!