Summary:

My tour through Dream Reapers started out with a video being played on a wide-screen television, explaining the rules of the haunted house.  Continuing on through the attraction, there was a collection of scenes with varying themes.  The level of detail throughout this haunted house was amazing.  Creating a realistic atmosphere is something that Dream Reapers has traditionally done very well throughout the years.  One of the most detailed scenes was the bat cave.  This area had textured walls, hanging camo-netting, flickering lanterns, screeching bat sound effects, as well as a couple of creepy hooded creatures who stalked patrons as they walked through.  Another highly-detailed scene was the swamp.  Featuring textured trees, pools of standing water, animal sound effects and striking snakes, this scene really made you feel like you were in a real swamp.  Other scenes they had brought back from previous years included the clown room, the medical area and the "Hellavator".  

The Dream Reapers crew also made some great changes this year.  One of the new areas was made to look like a mine shaft that was illuminated by flickering lanterns.  Along the length of the hallway, the ceiling was braced with heavy wooden timbers, to prevent a cave-in.  There were also some nice changes made in the industrial area.  One of their biggest additions to the house was the new graveyard section.  Bordered with short brick walls on both sides of the twisting path, this area featured tombstones, coffins, trees and cobwebs.  Being built up higher than ground level, there were plenty of places for actors to hide and plan their sneak attacks.  There were definitely a couple of pop-out scares that took me by surprise.  After passing through the graveyard, patrons had to walk through a dimly-lit crypt, which was filled with animated, groaning skeletons.         

On the night that I attended, they were well-staffed with actors.  Most of their scares were right on target and everyone did a good job of staying in character.  A few of the actors inside the house were pretty short, which made them not as frightening; however, they were pretty creepy, nonetheless.   There was a high energy level throughout the entire attraction, with the exception of a couple of the newer actors (e.g. clown room), who were a little more passive than I would have liked.   Overall, though, most everyone did a great job.   

Kudos to the Dream Reapers crew for putting on another great show.  They effectively created a realistic atmosphere throughout the attraction by incorporating eerie lighting, custom music soundtracks, artificial scents and a high level of detail into their scenes.  That is something they have become known for over the years and this year was no exception.  Keep up the great work! 

Click here to find out more about this event.