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!
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Final Score: 8.59
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 8.25
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 8.08
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 9.03
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 8.82
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 8.64
(5% of Final Score) Theme:
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 8.49
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 9.02
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Summary:
Deep in the woods of Bishopville, glittering in the darkness of the night, is a jewel named Scream Acres. Here, hillbillies tear their way through screaming victims, clowns dance and twirl to a soundtrack of screams, and creatures slip and slide through the darkness waiting to embrace anyone who gets close enough. For a minimal fee, you can look fear in the eye and hope you live to tell the tale. The ghouls and goblins at Scream Acres are invested in giving every person that comes through their domain all the scares they possibly can.
If you’re in the area and looking for a full-charity, high-energy, passionate haunt this is a great place to stop and spend your money and time. Our team has been visiting this haunt for many, many years and this was without a doubt the best show they’ve ever put on. We’re looking forward to next year when they do even better.
Cast: 8.25
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 8.2
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 8.3
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 8.5
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 7.7
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 8.4
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The monsters at Scream Acres are very good at not appearing in front of your face until you have no chance at escape. Our team was assaulted from all sides by the creatures inside of the house, and even when a particular shadow had been spotted he still managed to scare one of our leaders a moment later.
On the trail, we ran into countless monsters that shocked and impressed us. As always the hillbillies were high-octane fun, but beyond them, we found a young butcher who was an artist when it came to handling a chainsaw, a clown with a unique look and even better moves, and a statue that managed to confound and then terrify the party from front to back. The variety of monsters was perfect and fitting for the multiple themes and scenes. The Invisible Man approved of our loud and positive responses to the monsters, and we were more than happy to scream and cheer throughout the entire experience.
Costuming: 8.08
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?: 8.2
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 8
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 7.7
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 7.7
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 8.6
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Costuming at Scream Acres is in line with the scenes and the themes that the haunt holds within it. Every character in the finale of the walking path portion of the show is carefully put together to blend the line between animate and inanimate, reality and nightmare.
There is a heavier reliance on masks than costumes, but our team saw a large number of masks we haven’t seen before this season. We loved the integration of these masks into some innovative costume combinations like an animalistic hillbilly or the charismatic and swaying Freak Show creature.
Customer Service: 9.03
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?: 8.5
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 9
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 10
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 8.5
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Customer Service at Scream Acres is always a pleasure to experience. The Scream Acres team may be volunteer-based, but they are all lovers of haunted houses. Our team had an intensely positive experience from entering the lot to leaving and everything in between. The staff are considerate and sharp-eyed and make sure that all customers are safe and happy.
Exits, safety concerns, and risks are all explained or marked clearly so that guests aren’t in any serious danger outside of the monsters. The walking path is well-lit but you do have to keep an eye on roots and other common outdoor obstacles. There’s also an opening directly through the lines to the concession stands and midway for non-participants or people needing a break.
Atmosphere: 8.82
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?: 8.9
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 8.7
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Every year there is some new aspect to the outside of Scream Acres that our team delights to see. From the deeply authentic-looking entrance that screams cabin in the woods to the props and photo ops that embody death and fear.
The lines leading to the front of the house and through the midway to the hayride waiting area are devoted to all things spooky and rustic and our team loves the addition of the little graveyard and the new souvenir shop that blends into its haunted cabin surroundings. Horror movies and haunted projections finish off the atmosphere to confirm that you are heading deeper and deeper into the fear they’re creating.
Special Effects: 8.64
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 8.4
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 8.9
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 9
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 8.3
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 8.7
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The special effects within the house and along the trail are eye-catching and bespoke to their scenes and creatures. Despite having a large number of variables in a wide outdoor setting like the hayride light and darkness are applied carefully to carry guests from the Hillbilly’s home base to the depths of Hell. Sound effects and gouts of flame add realism and horror to every scene.
Within the house, automated distractions create otherworldly feelings and help monsters to leap out unsuspected at the guests. Textures and details within and without the house create locations that are believable and a world apart from their physical home in Bishopville.
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.”
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There is not a single overarching theme through Scream Acres aside from a desire to elicit screams from the guests. The House is an old-school haunted house that brings back classic, nostalgic feelings that we love. The hayride trail is filled with a variety of different scenes that cover a range of different things in order to be sure to hit almost anyone’s fears.
Scare Factor: 8.49
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 8.6
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 8.6
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 8.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 8.3
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 8.3
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Guests at Scream Acres can expect a lot of things. They can particularly expect to get a wild experience that assails them with sights and sounds. The name includes screaming, and this they always deliver. We expected to hear the people around us shrieking with fear and delight, but we were surprised to find that even our fairly stoic team members were sent jumping and exclaiming as the night progressed.
Among the monsters that slayed our team members were a wide-mouthed woman with an intense set of lungs in the cabin, the dancing freak at the freakshow, the shadow man inside the house, and the camouflaged monsters along the swamp walk. Our fellow adventurers going through the hayride also seemed terrorized by all of the Hillbillies and the Butchers.
Entertainment & Value: 9.02
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?: 9.4
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 8
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 9.5
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 9
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Scream Acres is $25 for general entrance and $30 for a fast pass. It is a strong value for money when you look at the length of the experience offered for these prices. Fast passes are always recommended, not just for the speed at which you go through the line, but because it gives you time to go through the haunt again if you loved it, and our experience this year at Scream Acres was worth going several times in a single night.
We spent a total of 40 minutes getting terrified! That comes out to 2 MPD (minutes of entertainment received per dollar spent) which is well above average!
Free parking, great fair-style concessions including deep-fried cheesecake, and a community of fellow horror lovers round out this experience for both the casual fear fan and the hardcore adrenaline junkie.
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!
