The Haunted Graveyard at Lake Compounce Review (2017)

Final Score8.6/10
8 categories scored
Scariness
Moderate ScaresModerate Scares
Runtime45 minutes
MPD 1.61
TouchNo Touch

Summary

The best way to describe The Haunted Graveyard was something that was said to me by a makeup artist there when I went on a backstage tour two years ago; that this place embraces a traditional Spirit of Halloween. Quite simply, if there is a Halloween theme you can think of then they bring it to life here. Witches? Vampires? Werewolves? Zombies? Spiders? Cannibal Hillbillies? Demons? Etc’ Yup they got em all, except for clowns. I don’t remember clowns, but they would have seemed out of place here strangely enough. But literally every dark and creepy thing you would think… Read More…

Cast8.43

The cast, as usual, is very energetic and into their roles. There is very little if any of the actors standing there just staring at you, or lazily going through the motions. They will startle you and pop out sometimes where you don’t expect it, but they can also interact with you, and not just with repetitive or clich������������������ dialogue. Their tone and words match the theme of their area, so a witch will put a curse on you, or chant some spell, while a vampire will try to lure you in a Victorian type of way, and sometimes they… Read More…

Costuming8.66

While most of the costuming is nothing that will blow you away with detail, the goal here seems more to be to match the environment they are in, and almost blending into it. Everything in regards to costuming and makeup was spot on to the character and location. They used masks very sparingly, but effectively as tools for scaring and distraction. Just very solid overall and the best thing I could say was that as you transitioned from one theme to the next, you could immediately tell what this new area was about by the d������������������cor, costumes and characters.

Customer Service8.75

The general mood from the folks I saw interacting with the crowd was enthusiastic and welcoming, as though they wanted to let you know that they were proud of this haunt, and wanted their guests to really have a good time. It was easy to find The Haunted Graveyard by it being attached to the amusement park, so it really stands out. The downside is that they need to funnel the crowd through the main ticket gate area of Lake Compounce, so it’s a bit of a walk from the parking lot where you have to pay to park all… Read More…

Atmosphere8.5

There were all kinds of different sounds or music used to help sell the theme of the area, and you definitely knew you were at a haunt by the giant facades and fog, and music. I think it was a good choice setting the catacombs as the entry point of the walkthrough as it towers over you in a dark gothic way. The only drawback is the noise and lights from the roller coasters and rides nearby as you get ready to enter, but once inside it’s blocked from your vision and you don’t really notice. They have also expanded… Read More…

Special Effects8.43

Again everything is spot on to the theme and environment and done in a way to enhance rather than distract from what that area is supposed to be and look like. Their strong suit is the massive facades for the Catacombs, the Mansion, The Keep which is a huge castle structure and The Mayan pyramid, which is all very impressive and effective to instantly setting the tone and telling the story of that area. They also have probably the best Vortex tunnel and lazer fog mist areas I’ve seen.

Theme8.6

If you couldn’t tell by now this haunt is all about theming, and they do a great job of executing it, keeping it authentic, and not including things like characters from movies or even clowns that are too bright and cheery for this dark, gothic world of mythological creatures. While they nail all the different types of characters they use, they lose a little in not really having unique characters. That is probably by design as they want you to know this creature is a vampire or a zombie, and they will look like the classic version of those characters.… Read More…

Scare Factor8.33

When we visited this haunt and two others in the same time period, each of the three places had strong suits that were exceptional, but then also lacked one part. So despite being three completely different types of haunt,s they all scored almost the same overall. The lowest score for The Haunted Graveyard by a little was how scary it is. Now there are points where you will be startled or scared, and maybe it’s by design, but it’s not meant to be horrifying fear for your life type of stuff. It’s really more of the fun getting scared kind… Read More…

Entertainment & Value9.05

One thing for sure is that you will get your money’s worth here as it ranks at 1.61 ration in minutes per dollar (minutes of entertainment received per dollar spent, MPD) and that doesn’t include queue line time. This is not a quick walk through so make sure you have comfortable shoes for the distance and terrain. I believe they advertise the entire path being a mile long as it weaves it’s way back and forth around the property. They definitely use every bit of space available, and in such a way that you don’t know where you are within… Read More…

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