Features:
✓-Free Parking✓-Restrooms/Porta Potties On-Site✓-Food/Concessions✓-Gift Shop/Souvenirs✓-Optional Games/Midway✓-Special Events✓-You will NOT be touched✓-Original Characters✓-Celebrity Appearances✓-Uncovered Outdoor Waiting Line✓-Indoor/Outdoor Attraction✓-Family Friendly
How Do We Get These Scores?
Our Rating System
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: 8.11
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 8.13
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 7.55
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 8.68
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 8
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 8.03
(5% of Final Score) Theme: 7.95
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 8.4
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 8.18
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Summary:
What was that stalking within the corn in Knoxville, Tennessee? It was the terrorizing actors at Screamville Haunted Attraction!
Screamville in 2019 brings their guests face-to-face with the Cursed Acres, a realized horrifying story of curses, bespelled farm animals, and locals gone mad. This attraction is a haunted cornfield trail with several erected temporary structures.
Guests will meet tons of actors and a few animatronics to creep, jump, and scare them throughout their walk in the corn. People can go, if they dare, into the dark stalks, swaying with the autumn breeze and face the unrest that lies there, waiting for their next victim. People need to be very brave as they face the Cursed Acres of Screamville Haunted Attraction!
Cast: 8.13
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 9
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 7.5
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 8
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 7.5
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 9
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Screamville Haunted Attraction had a cast of character actors who were clearly devoted to their craft and to scaring their customers. The entire cast was a tight knit unit, and they worked off of each other seamlessly to get the best of scares.
Not only did the cast work off of each other, but they worked off the guests too. Several characters engaged our team into the haunt and their dialogue. We interacted with several of the cast and they were great at ad-libbing. Our favorite cast was the impressive younger actors who were super creepy, both because kids in horror are just creepy, and because they were so into their characters.
The entire schoolhouse was on point, but the little girls at the end who tag-teamed us a-la The Shining were so chilling that we were talking about it for days!
The variety of characters was excellent. There were animal people, voodoo creatures, and grizzly monstrous creatures. All of the main characters, no matter what they were playing, were well cast and were clearly fully fleshed-out characters.
Costuming: 7.55
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?: 6.5
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 7.5
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 7
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 7
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 9
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Screamville Haunted Attraction has really embraced their location and the characters within the haunt also have looks that embrace it. The costumes and makeup merge the characters into the environment around them, whether their set is a building within the corn, or the corn itself.
The characters that were front and center were well done from top to bottom. Their makeup, effects makeup, and costumes are nearly flawless and super eerie. While the support characters are less done, sometimes being a cool or scary mask and what theater people call “basic block” (black shirt and pants), the main characters’ looks sell the sets and the story as a whole.
Customer Service: 8.68
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?: 9
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 9
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 8.5
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 8
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Screamville Haunted Attraction is very active in trying to provide great services to its customers and its community. Finding information on the haunt is fairly simple as they have multiple social media accounts and are very active on them.
GPS takes people straight to the haunt’s physical location. They have wonderfully-lit signs both for the parking area and for the walking path up to their midway area. Navigating the main area was a breeze as everything was well labeled and well laid out.
The staff, from the very moment our team entered the area, were friendly and knowledgeable. The manager met us as we entered and showed us around and we noticed he was that warm and welcoming to everyone else he interacted with. If you have the chance, ask him for the story of the haunt. The tale is chilling, and he tells it very well. We enjoyed the wonderful service provided by Screamville.
Atmosphere: 8
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
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 8
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Screamville Haunted Attraction is a family fun area, especially in the midway area. While the haunt is pretty scary, the midway is more kid-approved. There is a fire pit, concessions, and a few actors, but they were tame and more fun than scary.
The midway also had an area for videos, concessions, souvenirs, and the buried alive side experience. One of our team did the buried alive experience and we could watch him as he went through it, so the experience is fun for the whole group.
While there is no way for the midway to prepare a person for the haunt, the story told by the manager definitely can help. Additionally, the hearse out front of the ticketing booth is allegedly haunted to the extent that paranormal investigators have researched it. Overall, the aura around Screamville is that of a fun and spooky area leading up to their haunted attraction.
Special Effects: 8.03
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 8
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 8
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 7.5
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 8.5
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 8
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Screamville Haunted Attraction has an amazing acting crew, but the special effects are what sets the scenes for those characters, lights them in thematic hues, and sprinkle in some excellent scares.
The buildings within the cornfield were well designed with plenty of details to make the setting clear. The sounds were also well managed, with silent fields and silent scares at some places and loud, industrial variations in other places. The way the areas are done and lit, it added emotion to the scenes, which we felt amplified the effectiveness of the acting and the story.
The animatronics also added to the story, but more so the scares… especially in the junkyard. The special effects were naturally limited by the fact of being in a cornfield, but instead of allowing that to stop them, Screamville embraced the cornfield and created excellent opportunities for the special effects that they were able to do. This seizing of the opportunities allowed Screamville’s special effects to be more effective.
Theme: 7.95
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?: 8
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?: 7.5
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?: 9
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Screamville Haunted Attraction has such a thorough theme that we had to ask the owner if it was based on real legends of the area. The eerie story of the bewitched cornfield affecting the residents and the animals feeding on the corn was spookily close to what could really be a legend.
Entering the haunt, the story is told in vivid detail with every aspect seamlessly portrayed. The fact that the haunt is a cornfield only validates the whole theme and aids in the believability… because cornfields are eerie enough without the fear of evil magics.
After we left the haunt, the owner told us the story he’d written for this year’s haunt and we understood implicently (since we had just witnessed it). Screamville did a great job telling us a very spooky story.
Scare Factor: 8.4
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 7.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 9
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 9
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 8
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 9
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Screamville Haunted Attraction definitely lived up to their name, as group after group literally ran from the haunt screaming. From beginning to end, the haunt was riddled with creeps and scares.
There were several locations where our group was extremely spooked and a few wonderful jump scares. The voodoo shack and the junkyard had great moments of misdirection that completely scared our group.
The schoolhouse and the church both creeped our group out. Between the great actors and the well-placed effects, this haunt was really scary.
The ending was especially great. They used misdirections, animatronics, and chainsaws to scare the curse words from our group. We were very impressed by the scares at Screamville.
Entertainment & Value: 8.18
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?: 8
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 7.5
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 9
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 8
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Screamville Haunted Attraction is an amazing value! At a rather quick pace, our group went through the haunt in 20 minutes and the regular tickets are $15.00. This is by far the best cost to the time of attraction ratio we have seen this season (1.33 MPD – minutes per dollar spent). At $25.00 for the fast pass, it is still a great value and we can see that closer to Halloween they would get really busy.
The midway entertainment was fun and the haunt also has guest celebrities like paranormal investigators and entomologists to show off creepy crawlies. The buried alive side attraction is only $5.00 and lasted over 5 minutes and was hilarious to watch. With photo opportunities and concessions, the midway is a great place to just hang out at.
Screamville Haunted attraction was a great experience from beginning to end, and our group really hopes to go back again. Additionally, our team is really pleased by how the haunt contributes to its community by performing a kid-friendly trick or treat for charity. We were very impressed by this haunt and we strongly suggest people go see the Cursed Acres at Screamville Haunted Attractions.
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!
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Promo Images:
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Awards:
2023
2022
