Warriors Haunted Asylum Review (2024)

Inside the walls of WHA, visitors are greeted by a range of captivating characters that enhance the eerie atmosphere. Each room and scene features about one to three performers, creating an immersive experience that draws guests deeper into the haunt. However, in the outdoor maze section, the number of characters is noticeably lower, with performers more anchored to specific scenes.

In our opinion, the outdoor area could be further enriched by incorporating additional characters roaming the trails. This would not only heighten the suspense but also encourage guests to move through the maze with an added sense of urgency. More roaming characters could amplify the scare factor, creating a more dynamic and thrilling adventure as visitors navigate the winding paths toward the scenes set up throughout. Overall, enhancing the outdoor experience with more performers would elevate the haunt, making it even more engaging and unforgettable.

While walking through this haunt, we encountered an array of characters who truly embraced their roles, enhancing the overall immersive experience. One standout character was the crazy scientist doctor we found in the basement. This character really brought the scene to life, fully embodying the manic energy and unsettling demeanor of a mad scientist. As we approached, the scientist engaged with us, using eerie dialogue and unsettling movements. After their scene, the character crawled and creepily scooted along the floor, creating an unnerving sense of urgency, pushing us down deeper into the haunt.

This haunt‘s cast was one of the more interactive casts we’ve seen so far, they all had their own dialogue to go with their scenes that included more than just the typical generic grunt, growl, and moan. This also included interacting with the guests. There was a scene where the character has you sit in an electric chair and at the end of the scene the chair vibrates to portray you being electrocuted. Along with that, there was another scene where you are the “fresh meat” and can go inside a refrigerator prop.

While going through this haunt we noticed a good variety of character behavior. We encountered giggling clowns whose unsettling laughter echoed through the halls, a crazy scientist who was fully committed to their role, a mad maniac, and an eerie raven-like bird character. Their ominous masks and cloaks added to the unsettling ambiance, and we can’t forget the hillbillies who were humorously trying to make us their next supper. This range of character behaviors not only keeps you on your toes but also ensures that there is never a dull moment as we went from one scene to the next. Each interaction added layers to the experience, making it clear that the cast was dedicated to immersing us fully in their scenes.

There were a lot of costumes we came across in this haunt, most of which were complete from head to toe with details that matched the theme of their respective scenes. A few good examples of this was the raven-like bird character. This character was head to toe in a black cloak with a hood that made the wrinkled raven-like mask stand out. This character paired that with black gloves with long metal stiletto nail extensions that glided ominously against the battered machete they were wielding. A second good example was the crazy scientist who was in a white lab coat with glowing arm braces that made it look like it was part of their arms; this was paired with glasses that fit the crazy aesthetic and went well with the crazy messy hair that you would picture a crazy scientist to have.

In this haunt, we didn’t see the use of too many masks, but we did encounter a lot of makeup. We think this category could benefit from some slight improvements. While we saw a good amount of detail in some of the makeup, there were others that could benefit from more fine-tuning and a bit more detail. Some well-detailed makeup we did notice was the character screaming in the queue line who was well-detailed and uncomfortably creepy, and the clowns with full faces and necks of makeup with UV neon makeup details scattered throughout the haunt. WHA could also gain a better overall score here with the use of more masks as makeup can only do so much while masks can get very detailed or very unique that makeup simply can not achieve only enhancing the cast members’ costumes.

It was very nice to see that this haunt made the effort to make each scene have corresponding characters that match their scenes to make it feel as though they were meant to play that part. We saw good examples of this through the whole haunt. The basement was a notable part; not only is the basement of this 100+-year-old building creepy on its own but adding the scientist with their victim and the electric chair character with their victim really fit the creepy basement vibe. On the upper floors, we came across a birthday party celebration with the doll/clown-like character that was having a tea party with the dead eagerly awaiting to collect more dead bodies. The crazy doctor/patient in the bloody messy bathroom had an eerie ambiance, and outside the hillbilly in the scrap yard area rummaging through their things, trying to cook you for dinner that led you to the other hillbilly in the cottage that was looking for fresh meat dressed in a flannel and denim overalls. Most of the cast at this haunt flowed very well with the scenes they were placed in.

This haunt seemed to have one main queue character that read you the rules and fed you into the haunt. This character was dressed as a bloody doctor wearing blue scrub pants and a bloody white physician coat with makeup signifying what looked to be a bullet wound to the head. While this part of the costume was good and stuck to the doctor theme of the costume, we did notice this queue character was also wearing a headband with a unicorn horn and ears. We thought this took away from the doctor’s theme of the costume and could be improved by adding a scrub cap or something similar. Overall, the costume was not bad by any means but could be slightly improved to fit the theme better.

This haunt was easy to locate if you follow the address listed on the website and Google. They also have signs as you get closer that say “haunted house” with an arrow in the direction of the haunt to lead you the right way. Once you arrive, they have people in high viz vests with red cone flashlights directing you to the grass parking across the street. These same workers help you cross the street safely. Once on the premises, there is a sign directing you to the staircase where you enter the haunt. When inside, you are welcomed by the ticket and concession area that leads you into the queue line. They do a good job at making things easy to find and are happy to help if you are confused.

As for safety, we felt that this haunt overall felt safe. We did not see any real safety hazards. They had people helping you cross the street when you first arrived. Inside the haunt, we did not notice anything we would deem unsafe. Aside from not being aware of your surroundings and tripping on a prop, the only things we would otherwise mention is the cellar door in the basement was loose and has the potential to fall closed, and the lack of the presence of security. While we didn’t feel as though it was needed for this haunt but it’s always good to see.

The staff of this haunt was so friendly and welcoming. They give the feeling that everyone is their friend and willing to help with anything you need. We even saw them go looking for a father/son who gave their tickets back because the child was too scared to go through. When they did this, they explained that they offer a “buddy” option. This is where they tell the characters inside the haunt that there is a “buddy” coming through. When a buddy goes through the haunt, the characters inside the haunt do not scare, they give out candy to the “buddy” so they have a positive experience in a haunt they were originally afraid of. We thought this was nice of them to go out of their way to try to find the family so they could still experience the haunt they already paid for.

If you are looking for information about this haunt, it might be harder to find. Although they have the address on Google, they only offer a Facebook page that gives the hours of operation, address, and a small amount of operation info. We believe this haunt would benefit from an actual website where they can display all of the haunt information, pictures of what to expect from the haunt, and some history of how it came to be to entice people to stop by and experience the haunt. If you can not access Facebook, look up the haunt on Haunted Wisconsin, which has a page showcasing more solid basic information for attending the haunt. This category is done dramatically better with most other haunts and can easily be addressed to help future customers find more pertinent information before coming out.

As you approach the haunt, you’re welcomed by an eerie, old-fashioned building that captures the spirit of Halloween. Once inside, the pre-haunt area is alive with vibrant lights and a projector showcasing Halloween-themed videos. However, one element that caught our attention was the music. While the ambiance was Halloween-themed, the radio’s long ads interrupted the haunting atmosphere, distracting from the immersive experience. To better enhance the spooky vibe, we recommend curating a themed Halloween playlist that would better complement the eerie surroundings or a fast-paced rock playlist to get the blood pumping and elevate the overall experience.

Inside the haunt, there were a lot of characters that kept us immersed as we walked through. Some characters even had an interactive part of their scene that added to the immersive experience. The decor in the haunt had some parts that were immersive as we walked through. For example, some scenes had prop decor that hid the path to the next section of the haunt that was revealed by the character of the room. A few things we did notice that caught our attention were the amount of dead space and the plain black walls we saw. We feel as though this takes away from the atmosphere of the haunt and could benefit from some decor to fill that dead space and make the halls more immersive between scenes. Another small thing we noticed was in the outdoor haunt, one of the characters came out of a refrigerator to greet us in the scene, and we noticed inside the refrigerator prop was a jacket and water bottles that were in view as the character came out. This wouldn’t normally stick out to the average customer, but it is something we noticed that distracted us from the rest of the scene due to it looking out of place with the surrounding decor. A suggestion to hide these things would be a “basket” that ties into the theme of the room or hiding it within the scene, so it isn’t as noticeable.

As we exited the haunt, we were greeted by a bonfire and a staff member who asked how our experience was and explained all they had to offer in the small midway they offered at the end of the haunt. This gave a cozy vibe to the end of a spooky experience. This midway offered spots to sit next to the fire, a small concession stand that sells candy, popcorn, merch, and soda/water, photo opportunities, and a port-a-potty if you need to use the restroom. Overall, we thought that this was a relaxing way to end a frightful night.

While walking through the haunt, we noticed the use of some sound effects. While we did notice the use of buzzers, air pops, and banging on the walls. We also couldn’t help but notice a few things that could use improvement. The first thing we noticed was the lack of music throughout the haunt. Adding music throughout the haunt or soundtracks per room helps set the scene and give a sense of urgency as you walk through. Adding music to the haunt will also help with the silent dead space we experienced in parts. Silent dead space can be utilized to build suspense in some areas but we feel as though this silent dead space was poorly placed. Sticking to talking about music, we noticed some stereotypical haunted house sound effects that we felt didn’t fit into the areas they were placed. We would like to see more jump-scare sound effects that will catch customers off guard when they least expect it.

This haunt definitely benefits from being inside a 100+-year-old building to help add to the eerie, unsettling vibe. We think some of the scene designs were well put together with well-thought-out details. Other scenes could benefit from more detail being added to the walls and room to better set the scenes. We also noticed that some scenes were staged in rooms that were too big for the size of the scene. This causes scenes that would be detailed in a smaller room to look small, less detailed, and out of place due to the overwhelming size of the room it’s placed in. This also leaves room for accidental dead space and details to be missed. There was also an out-of-place stuffed panda prop that was just oddly sitting at the end of a hallway with no other props or details surrounding it. Besides that, we thought most of the rooms had details and designs that matched the themes of the rooms and helped tie the rooms together.

When exploring the haunt, we unfortunately did not come across many animatronics. This was a bit of a letdown as animatronics, small or large, can really enhance the overall experience. There were a few from the monsters coming at you behind the fence in the basement or the large dog when exiting out of the cellar stairs. During the haunt, we did find a decent amount of props that corresponded with the scenes. There could be more props, such as the use of certain cast members or inside some of the rooms, that would make it more complete.

One of our favorite categories is special effects. WHA did not do the worst but not the best in this area. During our time through, we did not find any vortex tunnels, laser swamps, endless tunnels, water effects, more strobes, squishy floors, or even an inflatable tunnel. These types of effects are great additions to any attraction, and we typically find a few among other haunts from which WHA could benefit. On the other hand, WHA did extremely well by incorporating scents inside a few of their rooms. This was extremely well done, as the scents you will come across are strong and can be noticed. Other haunts typically skip this tool or do not use it properly. We also found ourselves in the freezer in the basement, which had an AC unit, and truly felt cold while walking through. WHA also had some creative displays from the shock chair or even some good lighting in some areas.

For being our first time at this haunt, WHA took us off guard because of how many frights we got in the night. This haunt is not the scariest but will catch you off guard. As we have visited many haunts, it is hard to always get scared but were pleasantly surprised with the amount of spooks we received.

As our group only consisted of two members, the cast did well in providing scares to everyone in the group. The actors here seemed to tend to the front members as they enjoy popping out of corners into the next rooms when you least expect it. This was not always the case as they at times trail behind such as the mad scientist who crawled making a screeching voice subconsciously making us walk faster and farther into the haunt.

During the attraction, there were some areas that were predictable where a scare would be coming from, such as an odd door place or gap between two items for someone to be hiding behind. On the other hand, there were certain areas that got us good from a few drop-down picture frames. These types of scares are always good to incorporate but could also benefit from a few other tactics, such as a double-door pop-out to be able to pop out and lunge more at guests than a picture drop can not. WHA offered a good variety of scares as well. We encountered a lot of dialogue from the actors with even a few scenes where they put on a short skit. Our most memorable was down in the creepy basement when Makayla sat down in the electric chair only to get buzzed and “pop her brain.” A good addition WHA could make is to have a few more scares come from above you to really catch you off guard, as we did not see much, if any, of this.

Spoiler: Something we look forward to in each haunt we attend is the finale. WHA delivered a nice finale from doing a typical chainsaw scene. This type of finale is found in a lot of haunts we attend and seems to be overplayed. However, the actor that played this role did a very good job getting in our faces and extremely close, giving us an eerie fright and was done much better than another typical chainsaw scene. The added spark effect off the chain fence also enhanced this scene, making it stick out to the others we see.

As this was our first time visiting this haunt, we were decently happy with the overall entertainment provided by the main attraction. It took our team 15 minutes and 30 seconds to complete the haunt from start to finish. The amount of time can always vary depending on how fast/slow your pace is through the haunt. This gives WHA a $0.78-minute dollar per rating. This is not the best rating, but definitely not the worst. We typically want to see a $1 minute per rating to get that bang for your buck but when looking at the ticket price, it was still a good value when considering that.

Speaking of ticket prices, it is $20 to enter the haunt. This price point is good, considering most haunts are typically $30 or higher. $20 for some solid entertainment is hard to come by nowadays. WHA does not offer any fast pass options. This is something we typically find at other haunted attractions to help numb some of the waiting for those who want to jump right into the scares. However, if the frights are not your thing, WHA offers a few Family Days where there are no actors. During this time, you can walk at your own pace to look at all the decor and admire the work put into the haunt. These are very limited dates during the haunt season and only cost a total of $5 per person. If you like to attend haunts earlier in the season, be sure to check out next year’s schedule when you can find some cheaper event days at the beginning of the season.

When looking for other entertainment at WHA, there is not much to offer. After completing the main haunt, you are greeted by a welcoming staff member who explains what there is to offer now that your frights have ended. Here, you can find a bonfire to warm up around, a small gift shop with snacks, or even a few photo opportunities. This area could be improved in order to keep guests around and prolong their stay.

In conclusion, WHA is a good haunt across the board. They do things here that other attractions do not offer while they can improve in areas. The team behind this attraction is very passionate and they do it because they love haunts and can truly be seen. With improving and changing areas each year, we are excited to see what the future holds with WHA. On that note, be sure to check them out and give it a go for yourself, and add it to your list of haunts to check out in Wisconsin!