Scarevania Haunted House Review (2014)

Scarevania utilizes around 50 volunteer actors on an average night and the ones in the indoor part of the haunt continue to be some of the most intense and energetic that we get to see! This number seemed to fill out the haunt nicely, although there seemed to be a little more action going on inside compared to outside. A lot of screaming and violent threats were heard through the first few rooms, but the dialogue used throughout the rest of our tour matched the characters and helped make them more intimidating! The queue actors working the crowd outside were particularly entertaining and so was Tipsy (the clown actor on the stage in the first room). The butcher had some interactive dialogue and so did the impressive, 10-year-old stalker, who learned one of our group members’ names and provided plenty of creepy threats to everybody throughout our tour! The chainsaw guys gave us a few threats as well. Each of the actors outside clearly knew the trail well and popped out from several places where we least expected them!

Several of the monsters at Scarevania were some of the most original-looking that we’ve seen out there! Many deranged makeup designs were used and detail wasn’t shorted, especially on the characters that we met in the house. Costumes matched their respective scenes and a handful of them helped them actual blend in with their surroundings… until they WANTED us to see them, of course. During our visit, a few of the actors on the outside trail didn’t have quite as elaborate costumes or makeup when compared to those in the inside portion… some to the point of nearly looking out-of-place. However, each of them still proved to be intimidating characters, given their surroundings and prop usage. Scarevania’s owner also runs Pumpkin Pulp Productions and many of their high-quality, custom-made masks were noticed throughout the attraction.

A large Scarevania banner on the side of a patchwork truck makes it easy to find the attraction once you’re on the right road. As you work your way towards the entrance, you may notice that there are multiple things to help keep you entertained. Next to the ticket booth is a little hut where Tarot card readings are offered for different prices, but start out at $5.00. There is also a concession trailer on-site for your convenience, and haunt memorabilia is on display for purchase near the entrance of the building. New this season is the Carnivale Cabaret stage, where karaoke was taking place during our visit and anyone in the crowd was welcome to take their turn if desired! Multiple roaming actors did their best at interacting with the line, and even had customers clapping along with the karaoke while they waited. Friendly staff could be found inside the ticket booth and at the entrance of the haunt in case any questions or concerns were to arise. The attraction was easy to navigate, including the new portion of the trail. However, the parking lot is dimly lit as you get closer to the road, so be careful.

Scarevania provides a very fun and entertaining atmosphere! Upon arrival, we instantly felt as if we were at a Halloween festival! Charismatic clowns, flamboyant flames, intrinsic tarot readings, deranged decorations, and killer karaoke renditions compliment the waiting area to create an all-around, frighteningly-fun atmosphere! The haunt’s new, well-decorated hearse parked in front of the building gave the atmosphere more of a spooky feel, as did all of the custom signs and decorations. As we approached the entrance, the multiple roaming characters sneaking scares in on innocent customers provided an additional reminder that we were getting ready to enter a haunted attraction.

The majority of the special effects found at Scarevania have been made in-house by the haunt’s creator! With that being said, you may run into a lot of unique items here that you won’t see anywhere else! There are so many sights to see here that it may take you several trips to notice them all! New items were added to the collection this season as well, including some that may blast you away! Considering the loud atmosphere inside that was provided mostly by the irate characters, we were still able to hear some realistic sound effects along with hard rock music that helped boost the areas they were heard in. Several of the characters worked well with the effects around them, enhancing their overall effectiveness. Some of the effects that can be found among the madness include a vortex tunnel, a giant bear, a life-like tree, a moonshine still, a possessed pumpkin, an active mannequin, a sparking weapon, a revealing hog dinner, and much more!

The haunt owner’s imagination and creativity are what makes this haunt tick! Once you enter, it won’t take you long to realize that you are in a portion of his mind’s own freakshow as it comes to life right before your eyes! Since this show is complete with many original, twisted characters and ideas, you may never know what or who you could run into. Even after you see some of them, you may still be thinking ‘what the heck was that!?’ Although the scenes didn’t seem to follow any particular flow, the majority of what we encountered in each area seemed to go along with their respective themes. Some of the atrocities you may face (and try to run away from) upon entering this sideshow attraction include a deranged dentist, a butcher shop, a toy room, a killer kitchen, a conniving camper scene, hellish hillbillies, nasty nuns, and demonic displays!

Different levels of fright techniques were used at Scarevania from creepy stalking, intense circumstances and abrupt encounters to multiple chainsaw pursuits, threats, alerting sounds and acts of torment! A few good distractions were used that supplied startles to our group during our tour as well as some effective hiding spots! The haunt remained unpredictable most of the way, especially inside. It was so loud and intense, and there was so much going on that we weren’t sure what to focus on, which kept us on our toes! They also made sure to target everyone in our group, not just the front or back of the line each time.

General admission to witness the dark creations that are waiting for you behind Scarevania’s doors will cost you $12.00 per person, and possibly an arm or leg (depending on how fast you can run in the woods)! It took our group around 14 minutes to regain our composure and get the heck out of there, putting this value at 1.17 minutes of entertainment per dollar spent! The time it takes you to go through may vary per group, especially if you try to outrun any of these nutcases! If you are looking for movie characters such as Leatherface or Freddy Krueger, you won’t see any of them here. The only characters you’ll see here are the ones that have been created by the haunt’s mastermind himself! The intensity level at this haunt combined with the many, original and creative ideas that were showcased here, make for one deal that you shouldn’t pass up during the haunt season! But once you enter, remember, ‘don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!’