Now, first I must say, the drive there, the road leading in to this place was just as creepy as the haunt itself, which is a good mood setter. The aren't very much in the way of signs to Haunted Hollow due to people who want to take the signs I guess as souvenirs or something, so you'll definitely have to keep an eye out for what signs they do have.
We got here, not knowing what to expect, and I must say they did a good job. From the outside I was thinking it's not much to look at, let's hope the inside is much better. Parking is free, an open space directly across from the entrance, so you don't have a long walk. This is definitely an out int he woods experience, so your bathroom is the nearest tree. You best hope you go before you come here, or hope you can hold it through the twists and turns and scares. You won't find food here or a merchandise store, just a good hard walk through the woods and see how well you can brave the trail. They keep it simple, and as you'll see in my review, sometimes simple is good.
Now, a bit of History. While we were in cue for to enter, we spoke with the lady at the entrance, who turned out to be Barbara, one of the siblings of three who own and run Haunted Hollow. She tells me they've been doing this for 16 years, in the spirit of their father who loved the month of October and enjoyed haunts. So they've decided to keep on going for that. They money they make go to various charities such as Children's Hospital and other worthy causes. The staff are all family and volunteers.
We talked with Barbara for a few minutes, and discovered some interesting things, for instance, they only allow one group on the trail at all times. This gives the monsters the ability to focus on that one group instead of splitting their time, or having massive backups. A definitely luxury smaller haunts have and one I think is a good advantage (Thus one of the many reasons I prefer hometown and community haunts to the larger ones, NO MASSIVE CROWDS!). I don't want to give a lot away from their haunt, but this is one that goes to prove you don't need a half million dollar budget and some professional crew to put together a decent scary trail. A low budget, the ability to work with what you have, creativity, and the desire to have some fun are the necessary tools you need. You don't need a lot of props or animatronics, just the know how to make use of what you do have.
On to the ratings.
I've changed up a bit since my last ratings, but they're still easy to understand.
★ = bad ★★= needs to improve ★★★ = average ★★★★ = above average ★★★★★ = Excellent ★★★★★★ = Flawless
The Staff ★★★★★
The Trail ★★★
This trail has a lot of darkness. As in meaning, you're not gonna see jack. Many twists and turns, many mazes, many dead ends, many ways to get lost. They let you stew in a corner for a while, but there are folks to help you along the way in some of the harder areas. That being said, some of the areas are so dark, that when one of the actors are there to scare you, all you see is a silhouette of someone jumping out to get the scare. There's no way to tell what kind of costume they are wearing if you're one to stick around and see that sort of thing instead of running away. Many dark mazes await you on the trail and areas that will squeeze the claustrophobia out of you! One area was a little rough, and without giving too much away I'll just say a small enclosed area with a gas powered chainsaw in the room while you have to figure out how to get out may not be the best idea. The fumes will get to you.
The Actors ★★★★
Like I said in the previous section, areas of the trail are so dark, you will see the shadows and hear them scaring you but you won't see much of them. That works in their favor and sometimes it can be against them as well. Of the few that I did see, there were several movie horror characters, which seemed out of place to me in this trail. But you sometimes come to expect that with a community haunt. Sometimes their scare was lacking in that it was just a quick 'jump out quietly' kind of startle. There were a few actors in makeup I saw moving about, but mostly some of the younger children that were helping about.
All of the actors seemed to want to be there though and I felt they were enjoying what they were doing, and it added to the trail. Towards the end of the trail the actors kind of thinned out and seemed to be a bit out of place for what they were doing.
The Props ★★★★★
Again, this kind of haunt shows you that you don't have to have a half million dollar budget to know how to use props and how to scare people. I will say first off, I got my first true startle this season at this haunt, great job guys! Had I been close to speaking at that particular point I would have probably bitten my tongue off. I won't give away that particular spot, but even though sensing something was about to happen, it still got me.
They made use of cheap elements and did very well with them. There's definitely something to be said about walking through pitch dark and you turn a corner and have the creepy faint glow of something staring at you!
Overall
Haunted Hollow was definitely off the beaten path. It took us about an hour and 45 minutes to get there. These folks are doing a haunt for the right reasons, to have fun and scare some folks during the haunting season. I admire that above all else. Through some of the trials and tribulations Barbara shared with me, they've still managed to keep this place open and running. The price of admission is only $5 so I definitely say you get more than your money's worth on this haunt. I wouldn't recommend making a long drive just for this haunt, but there are a few in the area and if you're planning on making a night of hitting haunts, this one definitely needs to be on your list. ★★★★
Scurryface Approved!
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