The Haunted Farm NC Review (2020)

The cast at Haunted Farm spans the gamut of classic, old-school Southern horror with some more unique and inventive monsters mixed in. We had our two youngest members with us for the visit, and we were delighted when a group of ghouls in the woods started up a chant of ‘Yes’ versus our youngest’s ‘No’ for being chased. The guardian of the cannibal house wittily offered us steak tartare, the entryway to the mine included some delightfully scene appropriate improv, and even the nurses taking temperatures and keeping COVID precautions were on point and ready for us. Some characters did stick to rote dialogue, but where monsters took liberty with the script it was delightful. We were also impressed with the collection of creatures, especially the Treant none of us expected and the Tooth Fairy that had our entire team stopping to marvel.

Our team paid close attention to the costuming details as this year has been hell on monsters due to PPE requirements and the need to blend or hide them into costumes. Haunted Farm features a number of creatures that sport impressively applied makeup or well-fitting masks.

The dentist’s neighbor had alarmingly realistic blood patterned for her injuries, the mine operator looked appropriately weathered and dirtied, and the bloated patriarch of the cannibal feast gave several of us the chills. Some masks may seem familiar, but even a few days later our team is still fawning over the beauty of the Tooth Fairy creature. In the walking path portion of the house, monsters were perfectly costumed to be both visually terrifying and invisible in the darkness of the woods. Another shoutout here goes to the Treant whose costume was perfectly blended with his scene.

In response to Pandemic concerns Haunted Farm has gone above and beyond to offer their guests as much safety as possible. Tickets are sold by time block this year, and it’s recommended to buy online before time slots sell out.

Parking is easy to find, GPS is your friend here, and signage is clear and helpful. All patrons are given a card with a QR code and asked to stay in their car until their group is called. Hand sanitizer is plentiful, social distancing marks are clear and easy to follow, and temperatures are taken along with masks required. All of our interactions with customer service were friendly, clear, and helpful. Parking staff appears to be separate from the haunt employees, but are uniformed and easy to spot. There are some bumpy and dark paths in the forest portion, but nothing truly dangerous or concerning.

Haunted Forest is a grand blend of hand-made special effects and modern store-bought ones modified for their haunt.

Sound effects, in the grand tradition of Southern haunts, are for the most part genuine. Sound bleed in the forest portion of the haunt is a beautiful thing, as screams echo their way through the darkness of the woods along with the sound of yard power tools. In the woods we also saw gorgeous sets that spread along the forest floor and stretched up into the branches, merging into the bark and leaves. In the mines, we were impressed by the floor to ceiling details that transport you into the setting, and the heavy amount of special effects placed inside for jump scares and long tension building twists and turns. From start to finale there is a sense of authenticity and surreal believability throughout the haunt.

When it comes to scares more than one group around us at the haunt told us that this is their favorite place to go in North Carolina every year to scream around Halloween, and we can see why. Monsters have mastered the art of distracting group members so that scares seem to come out of nowhere. Scares themselves are varied enough that there’s no pattern you can become bored with or find in any way predictable. With a blend of drop panels, hidden creatures, spooky sets, special effects, and bold animatronics there is no shortage of things to scream at.

Creatures spread scares evenly over groups, making sure to go at front and back without focusing so hard on more easily scared group members that they forget the rest of the party. We were super pleased with the detailing and the effect of the finale, and of course very excited to see a goodly number of chainsaws throughout since they are always a crowd-pleaser.