The Fright Factory is a haunted attraction located in Buckley, WA that has been operating for over 20 years. Taking up what looks like an old livestock farm, this haunt looks to overwhelm patrons with their scares. Most of the haunt is located indoors, which is nice during October in Washington. Despite visiting on what is sure to be one of the quietest days in the season, we got scared more than a few times and were quite delighted at both the skill of the actors as well as the layouts of the sets. The intensity of the scares and atmosphere are sure to be a treat for both locals and haunt enthusiasts looking for a thrill.
The Fright Factory cast is composed of local volunteers. Overall, the cast did a great job in blending with their environments and timing out their scares. More than once they were able to startle our entire group with simple but effective scares.
Our team particularly loved one of the pirates (nicknamed ‘the one in a tricorn’) who managed to appear out of nowhere. He managed to make our entire team of veteran haunters scream by slamming down a stool on the wooden dock. Despite how simple the actual scare was, it was so well-timed and executed that it was the most memorable scare of the night for us.
There were portions that felt like they were lacking actors. However, our visit was on their first Sunday of the season, so it was not surprising that the cast felt a little light being so early in the season on a much quieter day.
Costumes did their job of blending actors into their environments and fitting into the theme of each scene. Though the mad scientist was simply dressed in scrubs and a lab coat, there were layers and distressing that added to the character. One makeup look that stood out to our group was on the masked witch. Her makeup incorporated the mask with her face to appear as if she had a cavernous mouth.
With each character we encountered, nothing ever looked out of place. Costumes were consistently complete with appropriate makeup and masks accompanying them. It is possible that more detailed costumes are reserved for queue line actors or happened to be missing that particular night, which would have been a real shame but also completely understandable if that were the case.
The Fright Factory was quite easy to find via GPS and parking was clearly marked and lit. Strangely, Google Maps had a strange glitch that told us to turn into the correct lot but incorrectly marked the haunt’s location on the other side of the street. Be aware of this possibility while approaching the haunt’s location.
From the parking lot, it wasn’t completely obvious where to go to find the entrance to the attraction. However, once we rounded the corner, we were directed via signs and ropes. The staff was extremely helpful and mostly easy to locate if we had any questions.
The website for The Fright Factory has all the information that you would need to plan out your visit and a fairly robust FAQ page that is worth checking out.
There are a few picnic tables decorated with fun Halloween lights but it was mostly eerily quiet on the night we visited – save for the few groups headed toward the ticket booth. Once we approached the ticketing area, we were treated to a few cool vignettes that were set up on either side of the queue line. One of our teammates was a particular fan of the chicken coop vignette right next to the ticket taker, as there was something really fun about its kitschy aesthetic.
We were also assured by the owner that on busier nights there would be a number of queue line actors that would help entertain guests as they wait to enter the attraction as well as give them someplace to congregate after they went through.
Each scene blended into the other and didn’t adhere to a specific theme. Instead, each scene played upon a wide range of phobias and fears. As we passed an aged ticket booth to a row of abandoned carnival game stalls, the scene provided a playground for two troublemaking clowns. The floor of the Egyptian room was covered with sand that crunched underfoot as we gawked at some great-looking props.
Our entire team enjoyed the pirate ship and dock with all of its marvelous detail and beautiful decoration from the well-worn planks of wood flanking the dock to the blue glowing water. We later learned that the owner has a particular love for pirates which was obvious with the amount of detail crammed into that particular scene. While we were there, it was hard not to think that there wasn’t something just lurking in the water.
Sounds were blasted into every scene and helped keep us disoriented and just worked. Animatronics were also used extensively to good effect, both in providing scares as well as distracting from the actors wanting to jump out. The combination of the two just somehow works for this haunt.
SFX Effective at Scaring, Entertaining (35% of score): 7.33
Could Tell What Theme Was Without Asking (15% of score):
Theme Well Executed, Believable (25% of score):
Location Authenticates Theme (10% of score):
How Scary (15% of score): 7.67
The Fright Factory provides good quality scares in a unique environment. As mentioned before, The Fright Factory follows the philosophy of completely overwhelming you from every angle, and this is used to great effect. There were a few things that scared us that we were not expecting.
Actors are well situated within their scenes to provide scares and did a great job of making sure to hit every member of our group, not just the front or the back of our group. They were even able to get us a few times even though we knew exactly what the scare was going to be, which impressed all of us greatly!
What They Liked Most:
Went opening night of 2019. I drove two hours to get to Fright Factory because I was on a haunted house tour with my friends. While by itself, it’s no... Read More
What They Liked Most:
Badass
What They Liked Most:
My son and I went to this and to this day, we still talk about it. It was the best haunted house ever! Just when I thought it was over, someone came... Read More
Suggested Improvements:
It's great when you think the scare is over and when you're walking back to the car, more scares come out for you.
MASTER: 100 reviews of 60 unique haunts in 10 years.
EXPERT: 50 reviews of 30 unique haunts in 5 years.
VETERAN: 15 reviews of 10 unique haunts in 3 years.
APPRENTICE: 5 reviews of 5 unique haunts in the past year.
NOVICE: Entry-level team.
2000 Collins Road, Buckley, Washington 98321