The Haunted Farm is located at 5450 Old Millersport Road NE-Pleasentville, Ohio 43148. Owned and operated by Kim Hicks, this haunt is a must see every year for your fright needs. Their unique areas combined all in one gives you endless fun and scares for a night long adventure. Also be sure not to wear your good shoes.
We have always appreciated The Haunted Farm’s emphasis on character training and development. This haunt has produced some very talented volunteers who come back year after year. This year is no exception. As always the actors who work the grounds and queue are among their best character actors and demonstrate skills of engagement at their creepy best. Additionally, some cast members within the haunt are due some special recognition. Two characters stood out to us all- we called them ‘Tiny” and “Cage’. They demonstrated well developed characters. They made us laugh. They made us jump. They engaged and surprised. Great job. They are not on everyone tour, they are random. So if you want an experience ask for them. They make a huge difference in your experience. We also loved the ‘Doll Girl,’ a very young volunteer who is starting off early. Her qualities make you second guess if she is real or not until it becomes very clear. At such a young age she is a great bonus for this haunt . With the training that goes on that allows the inexperienced to work with the experienced, it can lead to some spotty scares and character development. There are those who are very good and those who could and need to do much more. However, on the whole we are pleased with the cast of volunteers of The Haunted Farm.
The Haunted Farm allows its actors to do their own make-up and costuming, but it has to be based upon the theme, realistic, and what fits their area.. Some of these cast members have been at their art for a very long time. Some of the cast takes classes and seminars to advance their technique every year. With their abilities they help younger members work on their development of characters. Consequently, you will see some really fantastic make-up and costuming at The Haunted Farm- zombies complete with drool and missing eyes, an old farm wife with a real rooster, a pair of bloody farm helpers complete with chain and a pigs head, just to name a few. However, you will also see a portion that are far less developed with little context for the haunt they are in. We applaud the exploration of creativity, but would encourage more consistency.
The Haunted Farm does a LOT that other haunts could learn from when it comes to customer service. They are always working to provide a complete experience for their customer. The Haunted Farm’s locale is a little out of the way for most. The last thing you want to do is have someone travel a half hour or better to get there, only to spend 20-30 minutes on the grounds before leaving again. The Haunted Farm gets this so they try to provide an experience that keeps the customer engaged and entertained for as long as they stay. Arrive at the opening and you will be treated with live bands ,stage acts, concessions, bon fires and random characters that are out and about and ready to play. As always, The Haunted Farm is up to code in all areas of safety. They train their actors and staff in first aid and make the safety of the customer a priority. This haunt also makes special accommodations for those people who have disabilities and those that need wheelchairs. Just call ahead of time and they will plan for your arrival. This haunt feels just because of limitations you shouldn’t be excluded from the blood hungry farm. We feel this is a bonus that most haunts don’t think about and truly can make a difference. However, the parking can be an issue. It is free but it can become full very fast. Then you have to park on the side of the street and walk up the street in the dark, which can be dangerous.The haunt is aware of this and have started to make changes for next year.
The long dark walk and the crunching of the leaves under your feet give you an eerie feeling. Then as you approach you see a huge white farm house and then there it is staring you in the face, the old rickety barn. As you stand in line you hear the blood curling screams and the monsters are out roaming the grounds for you. You swallow hard as they yell for you to be next and then you head to the hay wagon. Who said farming isn’t scary?
We were impressed with The Haunted Farm in this area. Due to the locale they can’t use a lot of animatronics in the outside. They do use their fair share whenever they can. Since they are outside they have come up with many unique and classic ways to scare you. The Haunted Farm uses a blend to create the right effects to scare everyone in your group. However, we would like to see growth and expansion in this area for this haunt in the future years.
(35% of score): N/A
(15% of score): N/A
(25% of score): N/A
(10% of score): N/A
(15% of score): N/A
A well-developed theme can really add to the overall experience of an attraction. The Haunted Farm is based on the history of the land. The Watson’s were a family of farmers and during the depression their farm started to suffer. So the family took drastic measures to save their farm and if you are not careful you will be come one of those measures. This haunt does a good job at keeping things realistic and not getting carried away with things that don’t fit. Overall, this haunt does a good job utilizing all the areas and matching them to fit the story with the haunt. However, we would like to see the theme expanded and flow together better.
We were pleased with the amount and levels of scares used in The Haunted Farm. They utilize everything they have to create new scares around every corner. Their talented cast makes sure they cover each inch of the three areas that are included in the haunt. From props to real chickens they use everything so that you are scared. If you want a lighter time ask for ‘Tiny and Gage’ to come along. They add a side of funny along with your scare.
5450 Old Millersport Road NE, Pleasantville, Ohio 43148