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Sunday, May 16, 2010

Best Backyard Haunt of 2009!

Jailbreak Haunt, just outside of Charlotte, NC
October, 2009

This haunt is a backyard haunt that was better than several of the professional haunts we attended.  They understood how to time their scares very well.  The most unique facts about this haunt is that it is family run and essential designed by two teenagers.  Their mother was extremely proud when we talked to her after we went through their maze.  One of the neighborhood girls was a character within the maze and that girl had a scream that could land her as a horror queen in Hollywood if she gets discovered.  We've been through quite a few haunts and it takes a lot to scare us, but we both were disoriented and fell pray to jump scares more than once.  If you're in the area near Halloween see if you can find this location.  I hope that they keep this up and running for years to come.  Maybe they will someday take it pro!  They would be a great investment in that area.

Year Round Doesn't Equal Great

The lovely vacation spot of Helen, Georgia boasts that it has a year round haunted house.  This seems like a wonderful idea, so we had to check it out.  The outside appearance gives you a lot of hope for what you will find inside.  Appearances can be deceptive.  Let's be honest by pointing out that we went during the off season, but really you shouldn't claim to be "year round" if you aren't able to maintain the cast and capabilities during that off season.  The scares were minimal, at best.  Some of the theming was worth it, but without the characters being present where they should have been the atmosphere wasn't as unnerving as it could have been.  Transitions from one area to another within the haunt left us wondering how we managed to go from one space to another reasonably.  The theme in one area didn't always tranfer well to the upcoming area.  The lesson we learned here was that if you are going to visit a haunt do more research than just one website and the impressions you get from the exterior.  This one wasn't worth the trip or the cost.