13th Street Manor

OVERALL RATING :

Scare Factor

Actors

Set Design

Length

RAW SCORE : 8.31

RATING

REVIEW

The 13th street manor is one of a pair of fun haunts at Hauntplex. The theme of this haunt as the name suggests is that of an old abandoned house (filled with creatures of course). Walking up to the haunt has a façade, which looks like the front of a long forgotten mansion. After entering the porch, you are greeted by the "Host". He gives you the standard rules of the haunt and invites you into the home.

Inside of the Manor looks the part to be haunted. The props in this haunt fit the part quite well. I love the long glass hall. Seeing people on the other side really gives a great unsettling feeling. The décor around the building is quite good as well. I recommend looking at the family portraits. Other props were very interesting as well. In certain places, they make you believe that people are trapped into the walls. Secret passages in this house open and close on you to keep the flow going or to give a scare. There was even a use of a passage to separate our party from one another. There are other really interesting props where even the environment attempts to attack. There are walls and ceilings ready to crush as you pass through.

There are some really good environments with this haunt. You will need to go practically through every room you would imagine should be in a large old home. There is a kitchen, living room, entryway, bedroom, and the list goes on. You are also required to walk behind the walls and into the attic. There are even rooms that are dangerous without there even being any monsters. Walls and ceilings attempt to block your way. If that does not work, they’ll sometimes even attempt to crush you. There are also areas that try to disorient you by making you walk through in a very uncomfortable sort of way.

Actors in this haunt did have some really great setups. There are actors in the walls as though they’re trapped behind it. In other areas, it’s quite nerve wracking when you’re have to fend off one monster when another starts to crawl out from under some furniture. I was startled a few times when someone would burst through when I least expected it.

I was overall happy with my short vacation to the 13th Street manor. I do think that this is a fun haunt that has a lot of elements that I did not find in any of the other haunts around Denver. Other bonuses are that the haunts at Hauntplex are indoors and not where it would get muddy when it rains or snows. This is a very creative and fun haunt that is great on it’s own. The other available haunt on the same grounds is a very nice bonus that makes this a very great place to get scared.

PROS

Nice props. Creative use of the environment for scares.

CONS

Not especially long. Could use some way to disguise the exposed warehouse ceiling above.

RATING

REVIEW

13th Street Manor is all an illusion of passageways and old dilapidated rooms that is frightfully fun. This haunt is probably the most engaging haunt in Denver as there are many areas that have moving furniture, walls, ceilings, chairs, cabinets, you name it. Their actors/actresses often hide in EVERYTHING, so be on the look out. I half expected one to pop out of a kitchen drawer. The theme of this haunt is classic and very consistent with a traditional haunted house. You explore rooms in an old manor, everything from the den to the kitchen/bathroom, to even the backyard and garage. Often times you find your self feeling through the dark only to hear someone sniffing you. This haunt is not for the claustrophobic either, as there are parts where you have to shimmy through crawlspaces in absolute darkness. Most of the scare tactics in this haunt are very effective, getting a jolt or surprise in most rooms. Keep in mind that the most obvious way out of a room may not be, the true way out. There is one section of the haunt that is new that is just a confusing mess of doors and hallways with surprises behind some doors. You're group can become easily separated and it becomes funny when you suddenly realize that you are in a scene from a Scooby Doo episode. Trick doors with actors working to separate you from the rest of the group are also a highlight. In sum, this haunt is simply just FUN to walk through. But don't worry, while fun is what you're thinking afterwards, fear is still what you'll be feeling inside of the haunt.

PROS

Imaginative set design with great scare points

CONS

Would have liked to see more use of strobes and fog

RATING

REVIEW

13th Street manor is exactly what you expect a "Haunt" to be; an old scary mansion with moving furniture, secret passage ways and hallways of doors leading you right back to where you started with no way out! It really does have a sense of mystery to it. At one point, this attraction actually had the guts to separate me from my group and leave me stuck in a ghoulish room alone for a minute or so. All I could do was stand there and look around for another way out, but there wasn’t one until the secret passage decided to magically open up for a short time again. I just barely made it before it closed again! So that isolation trick I thought was gutsy and innovative and I hadn’t seen it before. I think that happened twice actually. My group looked slightly concerned ahead of me the second time because they didn’t know where I went!

The acting was decent as well, but admittedly I wasn't fond of the makeup. It mostly was all the same theme with a painted skeleton face that was getting a little runny by the end of the night. So there is room for improvement there. With that aside, I really loved everything else. This Haunt makes you think just a little in order to find your way out! Out of all the attractions I have been to so far, this one is the only one that felt like a "Haunted House".

PROS

Actual Haunted House theme, lot's interaction, and some good acting

CONS

Some low energy acting, runny makeup and could be scarier

RATING

REVIEW

This is a haunt that has grown on me in years past simply because of the layout and theme. I really enjoy the feel of this house and the secret passageways that are located throughout that give it a "Scooby Doo" feel that's fun. Sliding walls, ceilings that come down on you and bookcases that tip really add a lot of character. Some of the scares that happen within these walls were downright hair raising and I found myself jumping which rarely happens to me, as I am very hard to scare. I really like the endless hallway illusion, as well as the lighting in the halls that sets the mood. Plaster and lathe walls really give authenticity to certain areas, although there are some areas that lack the kind of detail I would like to see. The narrow spaces that we had to squeeze through are good, especially the one that it pitch black, there's always a surprise in there. The way that the haunt shifts from inside to outside is a nice touch and lends authenticity and realism that goes a long way. There were some changes this year that were assets and they stayed consistent with the overall theme. Actors were enthusiastic and engaged but some costumes lacked detail.

PROS

Better lighting, new details, actors

CONS

Some areas lacked detail, costumes could be improved

RATING

REVIEW

Cool!!! This haunt sets itself apart because it offers illusions with the rooms themselves that leave you constantly on edge of what will happen next. As I went through, rooms moved, and an endless hallway illusion beckoned me to step into it (I'm glad I didn't because I think I may have hurt myself!). One of my favorite rooms was the one that has so many doors and you have to pick the right one. I was opening doors and finding no way out, which made me a little panicked. You have to keep track of the doors you open so you can get out eventually. Great way to make people feel trapped! Another cool room was the kitchen. It had weird things happening (you'll have to see for yourself) and people calling out for the butcher—watch out for him, though, because he might get you! I felt like I could get cut and served on a platter. Not a pleasant feeling.

The rooms opened into other rooms, and I got separated from my friends—great touch to freak me out. I kept on going, but I have to admit that I got scared. Weird monsters came after me; I felt better when I got my group of friends back.

I loved the bathroom scene. They put a lot of work into it, but I think they could have done a little more to it—like a bad smell so it would have been more believable. Smells add a lot to a room to make it more realistic. Some walls were covered with portraits, but I wished the lighting had been better so I could have appreciated the portraits more. Overall, it was fun to go through. Lots of work put into it. I loved the shifting rooms.

PROS

Creative set ups, nice props

CONS

Could use more scare tactics

RATING

REVIEW

The 13th St. Manor was an exciting indoor haunt that is high on my list of must see haunted houses of this season. The differently themed rooms kept you on your toes and wondering what awaited you around the next corner.

I liked that 13th St. Manor is a true "haunted house". The differently themed rooms keep you in the "haunted house" mood, and in some rooms the walls and or ceilings would move and trap you in forcing you to duck, squirm, or crawl your way through to continue on. Definitely an interactive haunted experience. In one room you had to walk into a freezer to get to the next room, which gave me a really uneasy feeling. The actors on this haunt do their best to make everything very believable and scary.

Although you go through all the major rooms that you may find in a haunted house, the length of this haunt was a little to short for my liking. The scare factor was also a little weak and could use some improvement. However, because of its creativity, I believe that this is a must see haunt of the 2008 Halloween season.

PROS

The acting was good, really liked the props, sets, and creativity

CONS

I felt the length was short

RATING

REVIEW

13th Manor was a fun time it puts you into rooms that were very interactive and creepy. It leaves you with an uneasy eerie feeling, like you just discovered a haunted house in your neighborhood and snuck in. You face some of people's biggest fears such as walking through dead bodies, and being trapped in a freezer as you just waited to see what was going to chase you down in to the next room.

As you walk through there are some good startles as you are surprised when people come out at you from underneath things. In some spots you have to go through tunnels to get out. I thought another great touch was you feel as though the house is crumbling and it's feels as if something might just come down on your head. The acting was great in the red room; it could make you have nightmares. This haunt had such amazing props but could use some more scares. I would like to see more characters and having them utilize more lines and sounds for their scares.

All in all, a fun interactive haunted house has some creative things you don't see elsewhere.

PROS

Awesome setup, some good scares, good length

CONS

Could have used more characters

RATING

REVIEW

This is a fun haunt. I really like that this haunt takes place in a house, or at least what looks like a house. They take the ordinary things in a home, and transform them the way my imagination used to when I was a kid. I really enjoyed the moving fireplace, bathroom, and bookshelf. One of my favorite features about this haunt was the Plexiglas walls. They kind of throw you off…I wasn't quite sure if there was more walkways on the other side, or if my eyes were playing tricks on me. I also really like the group of doors in the middle of the haunt where you have to find the right one to continue on. This was fun and interactive, but it would have been cool to see some monsters in the closet.

There was one stand out actor that I must acknowledge. She was in the room with the Grimm reaper. He was sitting on the bunk bed, and she was across the room. Just when you were going to walk through the door, she came right up in your face and acted like she was going to bite you! I could actually hear her teeth clamp down! She looked so innocent too! A few other actors in this haunt were really exercising their vocal cords. There were some great screams in this haunt. Also, the guy that was in the wall with the opening bookshelf was awesome! What a great idea!

Overall, this was a fun haunt. With a little work on acting and concentrating on making bigger scares, this haunt would really rock. However, I did still really enjoy it as is.

PROS

Fun!

CONS

Needs a little work on acting and scares, but not much.