Features:
✓-Free Parking✓-Handicap Accessible✓-Gift Shop/Souvenirs✓-You will NOT be touched✓-Uncovered Outdoor Waiting Line✓-All-Outdoor Attraction✓-Family Friendly
How Do We Get These Scores?
Our Rating System
UPDATE FOR 2022: Our former “Atmosphere” and “Theme” categories have now been combined and renamed “Immersion.” Our intent with this is to give more appropriate credit to attractions that have shown a clear focus on achieving and maintaining better customer experiences (both inside and outside the attractions) and developing creative storylines.
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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Final Score: 8.1
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 8.13
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 7.89
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 9.49
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 8.3
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 7.49
(5% of Final Score) Theme: 8.05
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 7.39
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 8.55
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Summary:
TWISTED HAUNTED YARD returns for 2019 after a hiatus in 2018. This year, they have a backwoods swamp theme to their attraction with some fun scenes, effects, and scares. Since not incredibly scary, this is a great haunt for the entire family, and with the inexpensive ticket (a portion of which goes to charity), it is also a reasonable venture for a family with brave or older kids.
Cast: 8.13
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 8.25
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 8.25
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 8
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 7.5
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 8.5
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Speaking of kids, TWISTED HAUNTED YARD is one of the few haunts where kids are part of the scare team, because of the unique setup of the attraction, being mostly made up of friends and family of the owners. Because of this, the types of Characters seen encompass a wide variety, making for interesting opportunities (including creepy children in a graveyard, and kids used as ‘attack minions’ in a garage scene). As we went through the attraction at the top of their night, some of the kids had a top of night lollipop which they were still sucking on (possibly worrisome for Safety, and also distracting from scaring), but understandable for kids of such a young age. There’s a mix of dialogue between well themed and concisely delivered script (man standing on the bed of a truck in the garage), to generic phrases over used in the attraction to loosely match the theme but not deliver much story (‘What are you doing here’, ‘Get Outta Here’, ‘Mama’s not gonna like you being here’).
Costuming: 7.89
How Did We Get This Score?
Costuming Scores (15% of Final Score):
(15% of Costuming Score) How complete / finished did the costumes appear to be?: 8.5
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 7.75
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 7.5
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 7
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 8.5
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The Costuming efforts of TWISTED HAUNTED YARD match the theme well and help immerse Guests in the swamp/backwoods theming. While a relatively simple Costuming feat for the most part(distressed street clothes), the TWISTED HAUNTED YARD team does a good job of making the Characters fit within the themes. The masks used are generally effective, however sometimes make dialogue muffled and very hard to understand (especially the character at the cabin location). Overall, the Costuming helps deliver good character looks as well as camouflage opportunities, providing scares and entertainment throughout.
Customer Service: 9.49
How Did We Get This Score?
Customer Service Scores (10% of Final Score):
(25% of CS Score) How easy was it to locate the attraction, park, and navigate the premises?: 9
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 10
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 9.75
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 9
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Customer Service is always top notch at TWISTED HAUNTED YARD. From communicating with the owner(s) on Facebook, to the arrival experience at the attraction, everyone is always friendly, professional, and helpful.
Parking is free, though limited spaces in the front yard are available, and on street parking may be required based the crowds of the night. There is also not a restroom available onsite, so prepare accordingly. There is food available for purchase, and deliciously tempting with the wafting smells from the barbecue grill.
Atmosphere: 8.3
How Did We Get This Score?
Atmosphere Scores (10% of Final Score):
(60% of Atmosphere Score) How obvious was it that you were at a haunted house before entering?: 8.5
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 8
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TWISTED HAUNTED YARD says exactly what it is, an elaborate yard haunt, so this takes place in the backyard of a residential house, with parking and arrival in the front and side yards. A large tree looms over the front yard, and while it provides a spooky appearance, it could be further enhanced by some colored lights shining upwards to create an icon for the attraction. There is, however a sign, and the multitude of cars help you know you are in the right place. There isn’t much more to the haunt than the attraction due to it being a yard haunt, but there are some themed props and set pieces that add to the atmosphere. Because of the setup, it is easy to hear everything going on in the attraction, especially special effects, allowing Guests to prepare for the scares within. With a simple sound system and themed music, some of these sounds could be camouflaged and leave more elements a surprised during Guests’ walk through.
Special Effects: 7.49
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 7.75
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 8
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 7.5
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 7
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 7.25
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Being a low budget haunted trail, TWISTED HAUNTED YARD still manages to pack a few great special effects in, including a laser swamp (especially effective for those that have never seen the effect before) and other special effects that we won’t spoil.
Their trail layout in 2017 was a bit tighter with more narrow pathways and felt more closed in, also seemingly longer due to the more compact layout.
Theme: 8.05
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?: 9
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?: 7.5
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?: 8
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Again, the theme for this year’s trail is swamp/backwoods themes. Several scenic pieces and setups are well themed including a cabin, graveyard, and garage scene. The haunt uses black plastic walls to define the path, and though themed with spray painted phrases, these were more theme-appropriate in the carnival theme two years ago (though understandable and functional for an economic and effective way to define the path of the haunt, for sure). The scenes that are fully realized are well done and appropriate to the theme, most notably the garage scene which provides impressive scale compared to the other reasonable sized scenes.
Scare Factor: 7.39
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 7.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 7.75
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 7.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 7
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 7
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This year’s trail, with its more open layout, seems to have less unexpected scares due to less tight turns and blind corners, making it a bit more family friendly than 2017’s trail. Similarly, the wider pathways and more open layout create a less claustrophobic experience. This is not to say that there are a few good scares within the short trail, especially for families, and those with less intense haunt experience. There is also a good mix of scares and creepy performances, giving something for all to enjoy.
Entertainment & Value: 8.55
How Did We Get This Score?
Entertainment & Value Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment received during the main attraction/s?: 8.5
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 7.5
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 9.5
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 8.5
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TWISTED HAUNTED YARD is an extreme value at $5 per Guest, it makes for a very reasonable haunt, especially for those not sure about the haunt scene, or those with children. Also, a portion of proceeds are donated to charity (including Alzheimer’s Research, among potential other charities), so well worth the visit to both support these avid and passionate haunters as well as the charity(ies) that they are donating to.
How Did We Get These Scores
Our Rating System
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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