There it was, we spotted a giant orange pumpkin high in the sky. As we pulled into a nearly full parking lot on Halloween night, we knew we were in for a good fright! Wicked World ScareGrounds in Nicholasville, Kentucky, delivers three uniquely terrifying experiences, each one bringing its own brand of chaos.
Before you even step foot inside, the scares begin. This place has some of the best queue-line actors we’ve seen anywhere – we watched several sliding clowns zip across the pavement, one wielding a chainsaw and another using a walker! Between their antics, you can enjoy the midway with DJ Crankenstein, tasty eats, and plenty of photo ops.
Then came the real terror. We kissed our good dreams goodbye inside Nightmare Haunted House, took aim at the undead in The Hunted (thankfully, they couldn’t shoot back!), and faced demons, sadistic scarecrows, and all manner of deadly beings in Valley of the Dead. Each attraction delivered its own variety of screams and scares, making Wicked World one wild ride from start to finish!
Will you make it out before they catch you? Once you cross to the other side… there’s no turning back.
Overall Score Per Attraction:
Nightmare Haunted House: 8.83
The Hunted: 8.73
Valley of the Dead: 8.35
Upon entering Wicked World, we were immediately showered with sparks from the various sliders roaming the midway. Creepish happy clowns and freaky-looking characters roamed the entire grounds, both in and outside the three main haunts. Some characters were making a substantial impact on the crowd and queue area, such as Slyce, Noodles, Blueberry, Lilith, and the shadowy fella. A couple of our group members got “Slyced” as soon as they were spotted and had to wear dark muck on their faces throughout the night, lol. All of these creepers, eerily stalked in and out of waiting lines and provided shrieks and scares to EVERYONE, including WW staff members!
We were met at the entrance to Nightmare Haunted House by Dr. Drizz. He was all too happy to send us inside (watch out, there are some “Temu” versions running amok, which were quite amusing!). The darkness inside engulfed and surrounded our group, leaving us fearful that we would be kept longer than our intended visit time. We were met by the grave-keeper just inside the cemetery gates; she was eager to help us choose our plot. From the gates into the darkness, more fiendish characters came to life throughout, and some very unexpectedly. All of the inhabitants of the house used their own means of persuasion to try to convince us to stay, and they covered the haunt well. The man in the boiler room made a good point in the fact that it was way warmer inside the boiler than outside! He *almost had us convinced…
In the Hunted, this military-style haunt offered an entire squad that is now the undead due to contracting the Z virus. Do you have the antidote? The idea here is to get them before they get you. If you do not want to come down with the virus, make sure your aim is on point and bring your survival instincts to the surface. The military officer at the entrance prepared us for the hunt awaiting us (while strikingly resembling Dr. Drizz… hmmm). It is survival of the fittest once you enter the bunker, and the only shot to take these things out is a kill shot to the head, so as difficult as it is, concentrate on the task at hand, aim straight, and clear the area! These zombies were relentless, and we never knew where they were coming from next!
The bellhop, Cornelius, waiting to lead us into the Valley of the Dead, was a very inviting, seemingly warm character – emphasis on seemingly. His hollow, monotonous voice calmed some while stirring others’ senses to the brink of anxious quivering. Be sure to watch your back, too; you never know who may sneak up behind you! We’re looking at you, eerily beautiful lady with the mirror.
Once inside the hotel, we met the hostess. She informed us that the last guests had been around a little longer than they planned and invited us to stay as long as we would like, while wishing us the best of stays. Too bad our room was already occupied! As we continued, a variety of characters were in and out of the dark of the valley, and made us think they were up to way more than the obvious. Eerie looks, stalking glances, glides above us, and spooky jump shocks were abundant in the valley. Additional stand-out characters on the trail included a prisoner who gave us money (we are NOT guilty!), all of the clowns, the scarecrow, and Earl, who didn’t seem to have any gas when we needed it the most.
One thing all three haunts at Wicked World have in common is excellent costuming, and the scores reflect that. Whether it was Father Time in the clock room of Nightmare, the zombie soldiers in Hunted, or the demonic Lucy near the end of Valley of the Dead, there were detailed, realistic costumes throughout that made every scene feel real. We were impressed in nearly every scene by the level of detail in these characters’ looks, and it was one of our favorite features of the night!
Not to be outdone by the costumes, the makeup was seriously impressive! When we weren’t screaming our lungs out and could actually get a good look, we were blown away by the airbrushing skills and applications. It’s hard to find this many monsters and ghouls looking ready for a photoshoot! Even the actors in the midway were expertly kitted out. If you can catch a glimpse of them behind all the sparks from the sliding, that is!
Attire showed thoughtful layering, with looks that blended into the sets and matched each zone they were in. Colored contacts, sharp teeth, and varied hairdos kept faces striking, and no two characters looked the same. The clowns at Wicked World were a blast – each one wildly different from the next.
Wicked World was easy to find by GPS, with a super-bright sign marking the entrance. Their lot was nearly full on the night of our visit, but their friendly parking staff did an excellent job directing traffic and even walking us to an open spot!
Navigating the park was smoother than ever this year. All lines were clearly marked, and each one naturally flowed to the next haunt, eliminating any confusion between attractions. Important note: Once you enter the main house, you’ll need to complete all three haunts before being spat back out into the midway, but don’t worry, there are portable restrooms along the way for convenience.
All staff members we encountered were friendly, helpful, and genuinely seemed happy to be there. This is one of the most welcoming haunts we visit each year. Their positive energy added to the fun atmosphere.
Before our visit, we found plenty of helpful information on their website, including details about each haunt, an FAQ section that answered common questions, online ticketing, and more!
The fog on the fields, the rumbling from the bass of the music can be heard over the hills, and screams came from every direction of darkness…From the minute you enter the gates of Wicked World, the experience begins. The sliders shower visitors with sparky slides and stunts to provide a jumpy start right off the bat. These creepy clowns and other fiendish characters continuously make you aware of their presence in the midway activities, stalking victims, and lurking in and out of the darkness, and occasionally may mark someone for keeps. (Two of our group members were greeted and marked by Slyce.) They really make the pre-haunt atmosphere come to life!
New display monitors in the midway area near the ticket booth and gift shop familiarize visitors with many of the staple characters seen on the grounds, which was a very welcome feature. Variously placed props and animatronics playing creepy sounds and music in the midway invade the senses and support the eerie aura floating around. DJ Crankenstein kept the bass pumping and the intensity high. While warming up at the fire pit, characters easily spooked people as they warmed their fingers and toes. All of the food and drink vendors were in position for the actors to visit the lines and seating area, and they took full advantage of this!
Each haunt entrance gave us some insight as to what we were getting into, particularly the house with the eerie facade, complete with smoke billowing out of the chimney!
Overall, we did see some construction and items here and there that didn’t belong, as well as some undecorated walls near the end of the house, but Wicked World is definitely a fully immersive haunt, where the creepers would love nothing more than to keep you as fuel for their fires!
Nightmare Haunted House rendered some of our worst nightmares live and in color, much to our horror. Nightmare takes you through many different scenes, from a cemetery into a morgue equipped with a butcher shop in the back, and on into a psych hospital and other scenes that left us screaming for mercy. Some stand-out effects included a swinging cabin that made us sway, taking our balance, detailed facades, lots of clocks, and very detailed walls and rooms, particularly in the house. We appreciate all of the layers that have been added in recent years, and the first room inside the house got a great makeover! Or… something recently possessed it… Either way, it works!
It was with wide-eyed wonder that we accepted a gun (an obviously fake gun, but thrilling nonetheless) and were given orders to kill as many zombies as we could when entering The Hunted. Our intrepid group set off into the bowels of this ravaged military control center with a determination to survive and ensure the zombies died (again). Every simulated muzzle flash dropped a zombie, allowing our group to press ahead. As we were runnin’ and gunnin’ our way through, we couldn’t help but notice all the scene building that went into the rooms. It really felt like we were in an abandoned control center that had been overrun at points. Clever placement and use of animatronics that became bullet sponges for our group were sprinkled throughout. Word to the wise, though, be judicious in your ammunition use; mag dumping into a fake zombie will leave you temporarily without any bullets left for the real ones!
The Valley of the Dead had some trick details of its own. We were wowed when a ghost came flying out of a building above us. We quickly ran into the demented funhouse clowns out there, though that started with us navigating our way through slanted and rising hallways that felt narrower the further we went, which had us trying to keep our balance. The balance tests weren’t over, though we discovered as we stepped onto a clown’s spinning platform! Dear reader, we are proud to tell you that none of us face-planted on this spinning floor of doom. We did come close to biting the clown-flavored dust, though!
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 8.13
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 7.92
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 8.06
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 7.98
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 7.85
On Halloween Night, some people go trick-or-treating. But we decided to challenge fate and the Halloween Gods, or maybe demons, and took on the frights at Wicked World. Here, even the midway gets some scares! The loud music and flashing lights seemed festive, but were misleading. This wasn’t just a party; creatures inside were lying in wait. It felt as if we were the treat! The midway was filled with many creepy clowns and others who caught us off guard so many times! Sparks flying everywhere, clowns sliding with chainsaws, stalkers, and even an elderly clown with a walker!! At first, we thought, “How sweet, they still let him participate.” But then he zoomed past us, and sparks shot from his walker! This was no ordinary grandpa; we had been tricked by Elderberry!
We saw Nightmare House looming in the distance. Two stories high and weathered, screams and shrieks could be heard from inside. If that wasn’t bad enough, it looked like the place had a spider problem, too. As we entered the doors, our nightmares began. Common fears, sudden loud noises, cannibals, evil dolls, and a host of nightmarish creatures terrified us at every turn. No, we definitely needed our arms and legs; they cannot be taken! Each twist in the path brought a new fear; we got disoriented in a shaking cabin, they threatened us, we were left feeling our way through the darkness, jumping away from sparks, creatures came at us from behind the walls, they menacingly stared at us, and a bushman quickly sprang to life! Finally, we neared the end and thought we could smell the fresh Halloween air. Wait… Was that gasoline? Suddenly, the roar of a chainsaw snapped us out of our nightmare into a chainsaw-chasing finale out the exit!
Then in The Hunted, we were given guns and told, “Best of luck!” That made us feel so much better about entering! Zombies inside came at us from all angles. Some even came through holes in the walls! All with the goal to infect all of us. The fear of not knowing when they would be lurking around us was intense. This military-style experience had us shooting zombies before they could get us! Luckily, we all made it out uninfected. Be on your best lookout, some of those zombies look fake until it’s almost too late! At the exit, we had several of them all coming at us at once!
Valley of the Dead was our last stop on this Halloween night. We could tell by his devilish grin that Cornelius, the bellhop, had many things in store for us. As he eerily rang his bell, it was time for us to face whatever he had just awakened. We encountered some larger spaces that felt empty along the trail, which lowered its Scare Factor score, but we still got scared very well throughout our journey. The trail did a great job at hitting on arachnophobia and coulrophobia, for sure. There were also several instances where they lured us in for a great scare, including the scarecrow scene and the zipline! At the end, we thought we had found a car to drive ourselves back to safety, only to find out that they had siphoned all of the gas out of it for a chainsaw instead!
After escaping all three haunted attractions, our journey took 32.25 minutes, bringing the MPD (minutes per dollar) to 0.95, which is almost a dollar per minute. General admission tickets on the night of our visit were $33.92 online, and we feel the entertainment and scares we experienced were totally worth it!
In addition to the haunts, there’s a lot going on in the midway included with the ticket price: there were photo ops, they had turned Rage into an animatronic, the roaming characters are tons of entertainment alone, and you get to listen to some upbeat tunes. For additional fees, they had a very good food truck (OMG the deep-fried Oreos and chocolate dip!), Dr. Drizz’s Elixirs, freshly popped popcorn, and more!
Wicked World ScareGrounds and all of its scares are well worth the price of admission, and we can’t wait to return next year to take it all in again!
5817 Tates Creek Road, Nicholasville, Kentucky 40356
