Fan Review: Netherworld and Folklore Haunted Houses

The following is a review written by a haunted attractions fan, Matt Hiers.  When we sent out the call for your reviews Matt answered.  We're gladly going to publish his review here and hope to add more reviews from other fans of haunted attractions.  The more information that we can provide to people who are looking at attending haunts, the better we feel we have done what we set out to do.  Remember that we don't want to give away the whole haunt (as that ruins the experience) and that we want to strongly encourage people to attend ones in 2011 that were doing a great job in 2010.

"Below are some of my thoughts on the attractions I've been to this year:


NETHERWORLD:

I'm always impressed every year with the amount of time and energy that is obviously put into this Haunt. Netherworld is obviously hands down the best theming of any house anywhere. Every square inch there's something to see, hear, or even smell. The scares take somewhat of a back seat as to me Netherworld is more about the enjoinment surrounding you and less about scares. This year was the first time I will actually give Netherworld a less than stellar review. Reason being is the same reason you brought up in your poll question - pacing and lines. The spacing between us and the group ahead of us wasn't much to begin with and we quickly caught up with them in the house. This seemed to happen all the way through the haunt as we ended up being in one long slow moving line. At one point we came to a complete stop in a room for a good 3 minutes due to the line backing up. I thought this was ridiculous and seemed like Netherworld was just trying to pump as many people in and out as quickly as possible to keep the money flowing just a fast. I really think Netherworld should include a 5 minute pre-show to space out the groups a bit more. This way long trains of people can be avoided as it takes all the fun out it. Either way it's still fun to go through Netherworld no matter what the circumstances.

FOLKLORE HAUNTED HOUSE:

We went a few nights ago when all the rain had drove away the crowds. When we showed up we were the only guests there! It was absolutely awesome to have the exact opposite experience at Folklore and get all the scares directed only at us. Not sure if it would be different had it been a crowded night but I was really glad to see a new house with a lot of promise. I'm hoping these guys make enough money to return next year because I thought they did an amazing job! The sets were fun and very different. Some of it felt very familiar as it reminded me a lot of Creepers Haunted House which used to be in Smyrna. My favorite scene in the house was the green laser across the swamp where the zombie hand appears out of nowhere. What a great idea! You can tell they put a lot of thought into each and every detail and if they continue they could eventually reach Netherworld like attendance numbers.

I've got more reviews that I'll shoot you next week on Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights which I attended on opening weekend this September."

Matt Hiers