Rot N Rusty 2012

                Time to travel to a haunt with some new ideas.  On Saturday, September 29, 2012 we traveled through space and time to land in an alternate universe created by Rot N Rusty Haunted House in Dahlonega, Georgia.  The worlds of Nazi Germany, Tesla, and the now popular steampunk concept intertwined within Rot N Rusty.  If you are a geek, then you totally understood that entire sentence and will have an extra appreciation for this haunted attraction.  In case you aren't geeky we can assure you that you will still have a frightfully good time.

                This isn't a big monster type of haunt, but rather one that focuses on environment and characters to bring you into their world.  Though you arrive tucked into the mountains of beautiful North Georgia you will soon be transported to Nazi Germany where you are asked to help find Tesla.  Some of your adventures will have you scratching your head about how you will proceed from rooms without exits, but the members of the Resistance who lurk around will find creative ways to help you get closer to safety and home. 

                Rot N Rusty does a very creative job with bringing together their sets so that you become turned around and almost feel as though you are really running from the evil that lurks within.  Their staff is on target and prepared to answer your every question, including the one which we threw out to a random member of the Resistance.  As we were fleeing a dangerous location we asked the rebel woman what year it was, to which she very quickly replied 1920.  She didn't even hesitate, which shows that she has taken her role seriously and is there to give the guests the best possible experience.  This is exactly the type of acting which we love to see within haunts.

                The only drawback which we found at this location was the size of our group.  We ended up in a group of eight guests, which was continuously in flux as we moved from front to middle to back.  There were a couple of spaces in which we couldn't fit, so we missed the scenes.  The sets were perfectly proportioned for a group of six, which we did discuss with management afterwards.  We hope that they are considering the experiences of the guests and trying to solve this situation.  They wouldn't absolutely have to lower the number of people in a group from eight if they found a way to use their acting staff to make certain that everyone was within the scene before they kicked it into high gear, while making sure that they aren't just funneling them into a room and having them stand there waiting until the last person is in the space.  Solutions for situations such as this are possible, and resolving them for the betterment of the group experiences is something that great haunts do.

                Though the outside of Rot N Rusty does more to match its name than to inspire confidence in a haunted house it is great to run into places where looks are deceptive.  We witnessed several groups run screaming from the attraction while we were speaking with their management and even though we felt somewhat rushed on our progress through time it didn't seem to effect anyone else.  On our scale of one to five severed heads we rate Rot N Rusty Haunted House with a solid three and a half severed heads.  They are definitely a step above the average haunt and are heading in the right direction, with time and money, to become one of the best haunts in Georgia.