Summary:

The Terror On Washington Street tour began with one of their characters telling you the rules of the house, with spooky music playing in the background.  From there, you made your way through several scenes of various themes, each separated by some very dark hallways.  The real brick walls of the structure were exposed in some areas, which enhanced the spooky "feel" of the attraction.  Some of the scenes were larger and more elaborate, while others were smaller.  The Terror on Washington Street group is very creative.  Even in the smaller scenes, they added a great deal of detail, making very efficient use of the space they had to work with.  

One scene featured a realistic-looking pier, with a pool of standing water. Just as the group reached the far end of the scene, an actor wearing a raincoat, boots and hat jumped out of a hiding place to scare you.  The scene reminded me of the movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer".  In another area, a number of hissing female vampires converged on the patrons.  There was another area with a zig-zag path and red lighting shining through a haze of fog.  Numerous actors stalked you and a creepy mental patient in a wheelchair followed close behind our group, until we exited the scene.  The scare in the open casket funeral scene was very creative.  Inside the casket was a "corpse" and flowers were draped across the lower half of the casket.  Just when you thought the occupant of the casket was going to jump out at you, something completely different happened that took me off guard.  Another area had a birthday party scene, set in a kitchen.  The actress in the scene asked us "Would you like some cake?  He'll cut it for you."  Just then, an actor with a large knife jumped out of a hiding place.  One of my favorite scenes was set up to look like a hotel reception desk.  It featured a large wooden desk, a key rack with skull tags on the keys, a telephone and a desk lamp.  As our group walked by, the desk clerk simply performed his duties by picking up the phone and taking a reservation.  At that point, I wasn't sure what was going to happen.  There really wasn't a scare in the scene, but it was still entertaining.  The actor really set the mood and made it more believable by staying in character.  Sometimes anticipation of a scare can be just as satisfying as the scare itself.  

The actors all seemed to be "into" the roles they were playing.  Some were very energetic and others were less intense, depending on their function inside the house.  Either way, their scares were on target and they all did a great job.  What really surprised me is that some of the actors actually reached out and tapped you on the shoulder or grabbed your ankles, which is something that you don't see happen at a lot of haunted houses these days.  

This was another great year for the Terror On Washington Street crew.  In the past, they had consistently put on a great show and this year was no exception.  This attraction is well worth the admission price, so be sure to add it to your list of haunted houses to visit in October.   

Click here to find out more about this event.