Located in the swampy marshes of Holly, Michigan, Rotten Manor resides. A family compound, if you will, with a dark and disturbing past. As you navigate these unholy grounds, each twist and turn presents you with a new horror. With three main haunted attractions known for their long walkthroughs, the House of Wax Horror movie museum, and many other entertainment options, there is something for everyone at Rotten Manor. There is so much to talk about when it comes to Rotten Manor; it will be hard to keep this review short.
Rotten Manor introduces you to the Rotten family and their sick, sadistic ways. From voodoo magic and witchcraft to torture and the removal of souls, they are not a family you wish to meet.
Rotten Forest takes you on a chilling adventure through the woods located on the Rotten family property. Where you encounter terrifying maniacs lurking in the darkness and the shacks they call home. Try not to lose your mind as you fight your way through the run-down Asylum hidden deep in the forest.
The Rotten Hayride brings you to the deepest, darkest corners of the Rotten Property, where dilapidated buildings and old towns still stand. Watch out for the ghouls that still inhabit these areas.
Given the long walk-throughs and the size of each attraction, we noticed the cast seemed a little thin the night we visited. However, the rowdy kin of the Rotten Family we encountered, along with the other monsters and ghouls that call this stomping ground, were truly terrifying.
In Rotten Manor, the ventriloquist and his dolls were creepy and unsettling, and just when you thought you were safe, he made sure to get a big reaction with his second act! While fumbling through the dirty sheet room, we were tormented and teased with misdirection by George, a half-dressed, snorting man. The combination of fog and dust made it hard to breathe in this area, and when Sam showed concern about not being able to breathe, George asked if she was ok, while never breaking character. He then had absolutely no issue scaring her over and over again after she said she was ok.
While taking a nightly stroll through the forest, we encountered many characters, including a lunatic hunter who threatened to carve our names on his wooden crosses. Later, we got to meet the lovely Ma and Pa from the slaughterhouse. Pa was an energetic fella who crawled on all fours and talked with a heavy southern drawl, as did Ma. They wanted to cut the beaver (beard) off my face, and sent us running as Pa chased us as he squealed like a pig.
The hayride was where we encountered the fewest actors. With long breaks between scenes and few actors per scene, the scare factor was low, making the ride feel much longer than it needed to be. The few we came across on our travels were great: interacting with everyone on the wagon, climbing and crawling on it, and ignoring our personal space boundaries!
Each character we crossed paths with looked complete, and given the number of characters scattered across all the attractions and the midway, it would definitely be a daunting task for any makeup and costuming department – but Rotten Manor pulls it off. Most of the misfits of Rotten Manor were placed appropriately. We did see a few that stood out and left us confused, one being the clown in the alien area of the hayride.
The resident caretaker greeted us in the foyer of the Manor and looked as rotten as the Manor. Dressed in full Victorian-style clothing, with long blond hair and full makeup, he set the tone for the manor. Lurking in the forest, we met a mother and her daughter at the gas station; both were filthy, wearing dirty, tattered clothes, and looked as if they hadn’t showered in days. On the hayride, we nearly escaped the wendigo, a towering creature with a deer skull mask, glowing red eyes, and covered in furs and leather. He made us feel minuscule as he paced the wagon.
Located on Dixie Highway, only 5 minutes from I-75, Rotten Manor is easily found using maps. Upon arrival, the parking lot was on the dark side, with few lights or signage, but it was easily navigated thanks to the many parking lot attendants. At the ticket booth, everything was clearly listed, and there were no questions about the prices. They are a cash-only establishment; however, don’t worry if you forgot, they have two ATMs on site.
The team at Rotten Manor is top-notch when it comes to customer service. From the ticket booth to the queue lines, we were greeted with smiles and were very helpful whenever we had questions. In particular, the Gentleman who was running the hayride was phenomenal. He first checked whether the line for Manor was shorter, to see if we should go there first before it got too long, since that is their busiest attraction. He then told us all the rules for the hayride and helped everyone onto the trailer. After the ride was over, he was right there with a flashlight, helping everyone off.
The Rotten Manor website is full of helpful information. From ticket prices and attraction info to dates and times, frequently asked questions, and teaser videos, everything you need to plan your visit to the manor is in one place. Not to mention their Facebook, Instagram, and other social media accounts, where they stay up to date not only during the season but throughout the year.
Although the hayride and forest/asylum don’t necessarily have a storyline, the immersion is hard to miss while you pass through each outbuilding and scene, as each one tells its own story. The Manor itself has a disturbing history that sets the tone before you even enter. This lore can be challenging to find, but we managed to uncover some of the rotten story.
“The Rotten family was originally from down south, with many kids and grandkids who just weren’t right. One day, the family home mysteriously went up in flames along with Mr. and Mrs. Rotten, many say by townsfolk who believed they were witches. Two of the oldest children, along with their kids, fled to Holly. This is where they built a monumental mansion, rightfully named Rotten Manor, where they began practicing witchcraft and voodoo rituals. They were accused of removing people’s souls who dared enter their property and would place them into the dolls that littered the Mansion. One Halloween, the Rotten Family disappeared, never to be heard from again. The property sat vacant for 50 years until it was purchased, and the sinister past of the Rotten Family was uncovered.”
While on the Midway, the Menacing Rotten Manor stands as a centerpiece to all the horrors that occur there. No matter which attraction you visit or which direction you go, you always find your way back to that creepy house. With such a great storyline for the manor, we would absolutely love to see a deeper storyline for the other attractions.
Special Effects is one of the things Rotten Manor does and does well! With highly detailed scenes and sets in all three of the main attractions, as well as creepy sound effects to back them, you feel like you’re in a truly menacing and sadistic place. The toy store and the gingerbread house in the forest were by far our favorites. You could play a game of eye spy in the toy store, and the gingerbread house had one of the coolest exits we’ve seen. The façades of Rotten Manor are of movie quality. The Mansion is beautiful and terrifying; the asylum is daunting as you approach from the woods, and the House of Wax looks like it was moved here right from the set.
The amount of high-end, extremely detailed animatronics is littered throughout the haunts. From a gigantic demon in the manor to witches flying overhead on the hayride, Rotten Manor has the most animatronics we’ve seen to date. Mixing this with actors and other effects like moving floors, trap doors, and air canons means Rotten Manor delivers some one-of-a-kind scares.
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 7.67
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 8.33
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 7.75
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 8.17
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 5.92
The Rotten family, along with their gaggle of misfits, deliver a wide variety of scares across the board. With fast-paced jump scares utilizing both actors and animatronics, it hits you from all angles. The hayride was the least scary of the three, but it used some excellent intimidation tactics. As we left each scene, the scare actor would stand menacingly, watching as if they feared what we would encounter on the next turn. The manor and the forest used tunnels to create a disturbing sense of suspense. They were dark and seemed to go on forever, leaving our minds to wander over the horrors that lay ahead.
One thing that made our experience more unsettling was the fact that we never encountered another group. The space between each group and the pace was perfectly timed. This made us feel like we were truly on our own to escape the horror-stricken grounds of the Rotten family.
Rotten Manor is known for its lengthy, in-depth walkthroughs, and we are here to say that is precisely what you should expect. It took us over 20 minutes to complete each attraction, and in total, it took 75 minutes to complete all three. Ticket prices vary depending on which nights you attend and which attractions you visit. With Single, Combo (2 attractions), and Quad (all 4 attractions) tickets available, you can experience one or all the terrifying attractions Rotten Manor has to offer. The more attractions you choose to visit, the cheaper they get. We got the Quad ticket, which included House of Wax – a fun, museum-style walk-through of cinema’s most iconic horror villains. This added another 12 minutes to our visit at Rotten Manor, bringing the total to 87 minutes spent inside the included attractions. With a quad ticket price of 100 dollars for the night we visited, our MPD (Minutes Per Dollar) is 0.87. This puts us close to our preferred MDP of 1 and is a great bang-for-the-buck haunt.
Now that we have talked about the main attractions, let’s focus on everything else Rotten Manor has to offer. Each haunt starts and ends on Rotten Manor’s huge Midway. Filled with vendors selling their creations as well as some demonstrating their skills on site, such as a chainsaw carver and a glass blower. Food concessions and carnival games line the midway, along with smaller attractions like the Rotten Theater and the Vortex 3D experience. Don’t forget to take a photo with a few of the photo ops and make sure to grab your Rotten Manor Swag at the gift shop!
13245 Dixie Hwy, Holly, Michigan 48442
