Friday night I gathered with some friends and we went to some of the local haunts. Not the big half million dollar production haunts, but the smaller local ones in your community. First off, I think those really have an advantage, because they're not all about the money. They want to put something on, and most of the time they have a purpose for the money they make. Some big super attractions tend to forget what they're all about and over charge, then they have to bring in a lot of other things to help supplement the money to make up for the budget, blah blah blah.
Which brings to my first haunt. Insanitarium located in Pinson Alabama, just off Hwy 75.
We got there, and first off, it was FREE PARKING, which is always a plus in my book. The tickets were only 10 dollars, and I say it was well worth it. The parking attendants were cool folk, talked with us for a few minutes, and pointed us to where we needed to go for entrance. Now, this is put on at the Palmerdale Homestead Community Center, and all proceeds are going to help the PVHS Visual Arts Department. A very worthy cause.
I met the heads of this event, of whom is the Arts director at Pinson Valley High School, Chris, and Justin.
I won't give away what you'll find within the creepy and scary halls of this haunt, but I will say it was very good. It's a themed haunt, and you they stick with it from the very time you enter, till the time you leave. And it's ripping and ready to go from the instant you walk in the door!
In the waiting area, they have seating, and movies for you to watch and even refreshments. They have a small store where you can buy merchandise, again, to support the cause.
Now, the ratings. I use a ★ rating system. 1★ being not so good, 5★ being great!
The Atmosphere ★★★★
The atmosphere was good. From the time you walk in to the door of the Community Center, you know immediately it's going to be something good.
The Staff ★★★★★
The people who take the money and issue tickets were friendly and helpful, and directed me to management.
After speaking with Chris for a few minutes and introducing myself, he read us the standard warning labels that have to be read during haunts, made a few jokes with us, and sent us on our way. (I have to tell you, we had no waiting time because it was on a Friday night, and it's just down the road from the High School football games, which everyone seemed to be at, so we had CHOICE treatment!! This is definitely not meant to take away from the quality of a haunt, merely a suggestion of when you might want to go to beat the crowds!) After I went through, I came back and talked with both Chris and Justin, and they were happy to hear what I had to say, and happy to listen to suggestions. They really do care what someone has to say about their haunt.
The Trail ★★★★
From the entrance to the trail it was immediate action. They have done very well with the small budget and the time that was put in to this definitely reflects a good quality haunt as a pose to a half million dollar budget! Did I mention I like these kinds of haunts? Through many twists and turns you go, seeing all sorts of eery and creepy things, many different rooms you go through, and a few spots you can definitely get lost in. There are many actor pockets and hidden doors you won't see or notice, so you never know when a beastie is going to pop out and get you!
The Actors ★★★★★
Having worked haunted houses for 20+ years, and having been an Actor Coordinator and Actor Trainer for several of those years, this is a very detrimental thing to me if your haunt is going to succeed. You have to have a passion for doing this, and you have to have the heart to do this. It's not just jumping out and yelling boo at someone, there's a lot more to this.
These actors, all volunteers (meaning they do not get paid to do this) were great. They were all moving and doing their job. Having worked haunts so many years, I don't startle easy, and I do not scare easy. One of the best, easiest, and most effective ways to scare someone is a good startle. These folks were on top of their game. Those that were wearing makeup had very good makeup jobs, the few masks that I saw were very good, very fitting to the scenes they were in, and it all worked together very nicely. There were a few locations that had actors in them where the actors looked like dummies and props. Only to jump out at you or move at the last moment and scare the socks off the people I were with. Some of them I think were roaming actors, and moved from scene to scene behind the walls to work multiple spots. Very well done, and working the actor pockets well enough that you never know where someone is going to jump out of a wall or a door that you didn't realize was an opening!
The Props ★★★★★
The props were very well done, they didn't go crazy with buying a ton of expensive props. They made them. The creativity was great, and you could see that a lot of work and detail went in to doing these. Much more heart goes in to the work if you get someone local than having some team come in from somewhere else in my opinion, and I think it showed here. My hats off to the arts people.
OVERALL RATING
I think this is a great haunt. Again, keeping in mind that this is a small community run project and not something you're going to see all over the internet as a top billed place, nor do I think that is the route they are wanting to go. They would love to have people come see their haunt and go through, but don't expect a half million dollar haunt. This was a wonderful start to our evening of exploring, and I strongly recommend you check out The Insanitarium during your haunting season. To Chris and Justin and all the scary beasties there, a job well done folks. ★★★★½
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