El Artista: A Spanish HauntingHalloween Horror NightsHauntHaunted houseThis house was elegant and awesome with so many elaborate and interesting details. I felt it also had the clearest storyline of all of the haunted houses. This was a huge hit for me.
TerrifierHalloween Horror NightsHauntHaunted houseI enjoy Art the Clown more than I do the actual Terrifier movies, and I liked the free roaming / queue line actors who seemed to really get his spirit. The cut out sideshow style entrance to this haunt is excellent. I would have made some different story telling choices inside, but I like that this was clearly made with affection for the source material.
Cinema SlasherKnott’s Scary FarmHauntHaunted houseThis was one of my top 2 haunts at Knott's this year. I thought the storyline and sets were super coherent and filled the space well.
Mesmer: Sideshow Of The MindKnott’s Scary FarmHauntHaunted houseThis is one of the first haunts I've encountered where standard elements like the dot room or a terror tunnel flow naturally into one overall theme. This was one of my top two haunts at Knott's this year -- it was visually interesting, it made me rethink elements I have seen before, and the storyline made sense.
Gàlkn: Monsters of the NorthHalloween Horror NightsHauntHaunted houseI liked the set detail and characters of this original haunt. It echoed general folk horror tropes (e.g. Wicker Man burning creature, Midsommar vibes) but with a more interesting ending.
Jason Un1v3rseHalloween Horror NightsHauntHaunted houseFans of the franchise will probably like this one. I thought there were some great set pieces / character choices, but overall my "issue" with this haunt is the same as with the series -- slashers often tend to be kinda one note jump scare fests and that doesn't connect as well with me as atmospheric horror or elaborate creatures do.
WidowsKnott’s Scary FarmHauntHaunted houseThe concept and exterior were better than most of the execution on my opinion. I thought they could have done a lot more with small realistic spiders or projections, rather than really fake looking super spiders. I liked a few of the elements -- actors bent at odd angles blended nicely with people cocooned in the walls -- a pulsing egg -- a spidora like figure -- but overall it felt really hokey to me instead of either campy or scary.
Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty HuntersHalloween Horror NightsHauntHaunted houseThe inside of this haunt did not stick with me, but I loved the actress on the front porch who mimicked an animetronic.
The Horrors of the Wyatt SicksHalloween Horror NightsHauntHaunted houseNon-WWE fan but I could still connect to the overall vibe and set detail. Felt a bit like Rob Zombie presents the WWE.
Wax WorksKnott’s Scary FarmHauntHaunted houseI had high hopes for this and was baffled by the choices. There was a cool scare early on involving a half person and another involving the hall of presidents, but then it devolved into the torture chamber segment of Tussauds in a way that probably wouldn't make sense to anyone who didn't know that wax museums often have these sections. There was so much they could have done with melted celebrity figures and masks and etc that they seemed to suggest would be the case from the outside patter, and I couldn't comprehend the lack of these things on the inside.
