Statesville Haunted Prison Summary:

From the time you enter the “holding cell”, you are treated like their prisoner. Before bringing the kids, be advised that this show is adult themed. As they arrange you in single file lines, the “prison guards” use mild foul language as you are presented with the rules of the attraction (i.e. "Let’s go maggots", "Get you’re a-- up here", etc.). In the opening scene, you are given an introduction by the "Warden", which was outstanding as usual, with its trademark finale. From that point on, a prison theme is maintained throughout the attraction with the use of rows of bars, crazed prisoners, an insane asylum and other related scenes. Overall, the actors were outstanding. They stayed in character and most of their attacks were on target. Unfortunately, the abundance of strobe lights and loud banging sounds masked some of their great performances.

City of the Dead Summary:

The City of the Dead is themed as the name implies. While they used many of the same set elements as Statesville, like multiple strobe lights and a lot of fog, a more "corpse-like" theme followed throughout the attraction. The various scenes focused around body parts and graveyard-type sets. One of my favorites was the raised graveyard with the zig-zag path. It had headstones, monuments and other related props, which really set the mood quite well. I also enjoyed their swamp area, where you had to cross a bridge, over a pond of green glowing water. The actors in this house were intense also, but not quite as maniacal as in the Statesville attraction. Actually some of them, like the girl at the end who was eating the liver (or whatever it was), were more creepy than anything else. 

For the most part, both Statesville Haunted Prison and the City of the Dead were very entertaining. Although crowd control seemed to be an issue the night I attended, their scenes were well crafted and the actors performed very well. Unfortunately, regardless of their stellar performance, I still think their admission price too high, for what they have to offer. $25 is just too much to pay for any haunted house.

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