Summary:
The Trail of Screams is
a combination indoor/outdoor event held at the YMCA Camp
Winnebago in Rockford, Illinois. Most of the scenes were inside buildings, which were separated by lengths of
spooky nature trails. In previous years, this attraction
had been very theatrical. They still maintained their
theatrical flair, but this year they really
increased the scare factor. Throughout the
attraction, there were
various vignettes performed as you walked through. A lot of
these were very high-energy scenes and many were highly
detailed.
In one
of the first scenes, you entered through a coffin-shaped opening,
to see a vampire in a casket. As the vampire lunged at the
audience, a priest tried to hold him back, but failed and became
a victim of the vampire's bite. I also enjoyed their
"Prison of the Dead" and torture chamber. In the
prison, the Warden barked at you like you were one of his
prisoners and he actually separated one of the girls from the
group to be "put to death". Later in the scene,
she rejoined all the other patrons in time for a "prison
break". This scene was well crafted with great sound
effects (like the escape siren) and sweeping search
lights. The torture chamber was another intense
scene. To get there, you had to walk through a 10 foot
deep trench that had been cut into the ground. Not many
people saw the actor hiding in a recessed area of the trench
until it was too late. When you got to the building, the
entrance was boarded up and was just wide enough for you to get
through. Just when you thought nothing was going to
happen, a man ran into the room, carrying a girl over his
shoulder. He threw her down to the ground and attacked her
with a power saw.
The most intense portion
of the entire tour had to be the van ride. The tour guide
led all of the patrons out into an open area, where they were loaded
into the back of a van.
Then the driver took off, weaving
around
curves at high speeds, until finally screeching to a halt when
he reached his destination. Let me tell you, it was VERY
intense. So intense, in fact, that some of the
patrons in the van were speaking like it was their last day on
earth. I actually overheard one girl say to her friends
"I love you guys". It was so wild, it was... dare I
say "dangerous"? But it was a thrill nonetheless and
everyone made it out alive.
Being a
theatrical production, most of the actors in the scenes were
wearing great costumes and make-up. Those who
had speaking parts seemed to know their lines very well and
performed their routines smoothly. But not everyone was in
a costume. There were a few actors wearing
dark clothing, who were hiding along the trail, ready to
jump out and scare you. The only real actor-related problem that I
encountered was with the tour guide. She seemed to know her lines;
however, since she was facing away from you while she was
speaking, sometimes it was difficult to hear what she was saying.
This was a little frustrating, considering that it was the tour guide's
job to describe key points of the storyline and explain where you were
headed next.
The Trail of Screams did
a great job this season, enhancing various portions of their
show and turning up the scare factor. I also liked the
interactive nature of this event. That made the it more
interesting and seemed to "draw you in" to certain
scenes. Keep in mind that you will spend a considerable
amount of time outdoors, so make sure that you dress
appropriately and wear comfortable walking shoes. This event is a great
value. For only ten dollars, you get over a half hour of
entertainment. Great job guys!
Click
here to find out more about this event. |