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The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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Ghostly guidance for navigating city’s top three haunts

Hey everyone, here are some haunted house reviews from in and around Madison just in time for Halloween.

The first haunted house reviewed was atScreamin’ Acresat Eugster’s Farm Market, 3865 Highway 138 in Stoughton. Arriving early I happened to be the first one there. The dark landscape illuminated by a fire pit paired with screamo music definitely created chills.

I decided to wait for a few more people to arrive and much to my relief a father showed up with his two young girls. I asked if they wanted to go in with me, basically so I could hide behind them, but unfortunately, when I arrived at the first attraction – Psycho Clowns in 3D – they left me to my own defenses. 

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At the door, I was greeted by a not-so-friendly-looking clown who made me a wiener dog balloon. I reached out to grab it, but to my pure horror and devastation he popped it with his jagged teeth.

The inside of the attraction had some nice aspects to it. For one, 3D glasses are worn so that the neon paint splattered in each room pops out. This is a really cool visual and gives the rooms some life.

The clown costumes and makeup are not your average happy circus attire. The faces are gruesome, menacing and very realistic. Picture the Joker, but much more evil and dead-like.

The only concern with this attraction is that between the rooms it was extremely dark. Running into walls is a frequent event, which may seem exciting for some, but could give others anxiety if they don’t know where to go. Secondly, the whole attraction is pretty short. Lastly, it wasn’t as scary as I anticipated, but clowns alone – happy or not – will freak most people out. Overall it is a well done haunted house.

The second haunted house is also at “Screamin’ Acres” and is called “Goffman Asylum.” This attraction is much better than the first one. The story behind this one is based on the disappearance of several psycho patients from Goffman Asylum who were found dead on the property. The visual aspects of this attraction are extremely well done, from the rooms themselves all the way down to simple props such as fog machines.

Each room is a different part of the asylum, featuring furniture, wall decoration and incredibly well done dead bodies. The bodies are bloody and many are dismembered, adding perfectly to the chilling vibe. The fog is done just right so as not to obstruct sight too much.

The actors do a great job in their roles; they are definitely frightening and come out of nowhere at just the right times. Sometimes, however, the actors linger a bit too long in front of the pathway, which tended to slow down the excitement and thrill.

Although the $15 cost, which includes both attractions, seems a bit pricey for college students, the effort and time that went into making the attractions justifies the price. “Screamin’ Acres” is a great place to go for some fun and fright, and is still going on this weekend. Check out http://www.hauntedwisconsin.com/events/shadow-manor/ for more information.

The third haunted house I chose to review was Hoofers Haunted House at Memorial Union. First off, there were a lot more people than expected, so the line was long. However, they let about 10 to 15 people in at a time, which made it go relatively quickly.

As for the actually haunted house, they did well with the space they had. While the decorations are a tad mediocre, the Memorial Union basement is creepy enough itself, which added some needed spookiness.

The acting is decent, and props have to go out to the girl in the surgery room strapped to the table and screaming her head off. Nicely done. Overall I’d say the scare factor is medium. Sometimes actors reveal themselves early which decreases the surprise value. Also, there are various times where nothing happens for a few minutes, which keeps anticipation high but at the same time feels a little too long and kills the hype. For a free event and the location they had to work with, it was definitely a good time.

Video coverage of haunted houses can be found at www.badgerherald.com.

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