Summary:

Haunted Manor:

At the entrance of the house, an enthusiastic Dracula character read off the rules and helped set the mood for the rest of the attraction.  The Haunted Manor was made up of an eclectic group of scenes, most of which were well crafted and moderately detailed.  Some of the area themes included a clown room, pirate scene, mad doctor scene and more.  One thing that I really enjoyed were the hidden exits.  Throughout the attraction, there were a few rooms where the exits were not obvious, so you had to look around a bit to find your way into the next area. For example, I opened one door, revealing a scene of bones and other props behind plexiglass, while the real exit was a plain black panel right next to the door.  That was pretty creative.  Near the end of the house, they had a metal cage maze. The way it was laid out, it was difficult to tell where you needed to go in order to get out.  The actors in the Haunted Manor were very low-key.  Most of them just stood in place and didn't approach you.  In fact, in one room, one of the actresses just stood there and smiled.  Because it registered so low on the intensity meter, this attraction would be appropriate for patrons of all ages. 

Evil Intentions:

Evil Intentions was a very innovative haunted house and not at all what I expected it to be.  Before I entered, the ticket-taker told me that there were no props inside.  A haunted house with no props?  How is that possible?  Well, he was right..  Instead of using a lot of props, Evil Intentions relied on fog, simple sound & lighting effects, along with actor performance, to set the mood of the attraction.  One of the scenes was a fog-filled room with white walls and a strobe light. With all of the patrons disoriented by the strobes and fog, it was easy for the actor dressed in white to plan his attack.  In another section of the house, there was a long dark hallway with a strobe light at the end.  Being blinded by the strobe light, you couldn't see the actor dressed in black, hiding in the corner.  One of the rooms had chain link fencing attached to the walls.  The actor ran around, literally bouncing off the walls and hanging from the fencing.  That is something I have never seen done before.  The scare tactics employed throughout the house were very simple, yet they were fairly effective.  The actors in Evil Intentions were very enthusiastic and energetic, compared to the ones in the Haunted Manor.  Some of them were moderately active, but the majority of them stalked you relentlessly.  Their timing was pretty good and most of their scares were on target.   

Even though my trip through the Haunted Manor and Evil Intentions was entertaining, I still felt the admission price was quite high, for what both events had to offer. They also didn't give you the option of buying a ticket for each individual haunted attraction.  Only the $15 combo ticket was available.  That is unfortunate, considering the big difference in intensity between the two haunted houses.  Evil Intentions may be too intense for younger patrons and the Haunted Manor may be too tame for older patrons, so it would have been be a good idea for them to give you more ticketing options.  Overall, though, it was a positive experience and I had a good time.     

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