Spook Hollow has been running for 40+ years, and that experience is evident throughout the haunt. The props, detailed scenes and lighting is proof of their expertise.
Inside MC Manor, most of the rooms feature taxidermy shoulder mounts of animals once hunted down. These decorations make it feel like you are inside someone’s home. In addition, some moving animatronics imply you are not alone. A nice touch of an ominous feeling is the lightning shining through. Finally, the walls in the rooms are decorated with torn wallpaper, as though many entities have taken over and never bothered to keep the manor clean. Though it is clear this is a home, these touches give you a sense that you have been removed from the everyday outside life. Instead, you’ve been transported into a manor with a troubling past.
The only lighting you get on the trail is from the lanterns that are placed not too close to each other. The natural lack of light from the woods and lack of music was a bit unsettling because we were unsure of what we would find next. The cemetery was also a bit uneasy without any lights. The headstones are perfectly placed and not close together, making it fitting since they are spaced out enough to seem like there are bodies buried underneath. The zombie crawling around does confirm those bodies.
Down the trail where the sideshow travelers are, the props in place to show this is a sideshow circus that’s a bit on the twisted side. An actor placed next to a board for his knife throwing game asked for volunteers to have knives thrown at them. You can tell by that board that he is a horrible shot by the many limbs stuck on there. Another grotesque game was called “basket case,” a basket shooting game, but the baskets were filled with severed heads. No, thank you, I will go on to the next game like the strength tester. There is, unfortunately, a head sitting on the area where the hammer goes. That meant it was time for us to leave.
Along the trail, there were a few dark rooms. This area was also a maze made up of black walls and a single light that paved the way. Though simple, it was scary enough to cause us to question if we would ever find the exit.
MC Nightmare is a heavy industrial setting. Entering, you see a few oil drums placed to make a route. The sounds you hear throughout the haunt are tools the workers use, like drills and electrical components. We couldn’t help but notice some pieces that were either laid out or placed on the walls were salvaged tools that eventually were left never to be used again.
Overall, MC Manor and MC Nightmare had some beautiful d������������������cor that created the story of the “town in disarray” noticeably well. But, on the other hand, the trail is simplistic enough to leave you in your thoughts to wonder what you will come across.
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