OVERALL RATING :

Scare Factor

Actors

Set Design

Length

RAW SCORE : 7.969

RATING

REVIEW

For a haunt located in the back of an adorable Disney-esque main street, called “Spider Mansion” I have to say I was expecting more of a façade outside. I anticipated some giant Victorian house, covered in old wood shingles and teetering on a foundation that is far too small. However, what it lacked in external eeriness, it made up inside. Narrow, winding halls and strobe lights dominate the theme, but it’s a great effect. Spider Mansion capitalizes on the natural fear of being caught up in a winding maze in the dark. Of course, this also makes the pop out and say boo scares all the more effective. But that wasn’t all they relied on. For example, I loved the pigs. Pigs are gross, and though it doesn’t make sense that they’re in this house, it does make sense why they’re scary in this haunt. Being this haunt is more halls and less rooms, an interesting effect was I almost always felt on the verge of losing my group. Every corner I turned I felt like they were just turning another. The downside of this of course is that not all scares can be timed for all people and I definitely missed some of the better ones. That said, as far as traditional haunts go, this one is right up there.

PROS

Tight, pitch-black spaces and strobe lights will forever be terrifying

CONS

While scary, it felt a little short

RATING

REVIEW

Spider Mansion at Heritage Square is a classic haunted house. It's in an actual house that, while it might not actually be that old, smells old and musty...which always adds to the atmosphere. I also think that climbing to the top of the "old-time" streets at Heritage Square adds to the effect: sort of the old "house on the hill" scenario.

What they cram in this small space always amazes me. My favorite section is the rickety old wood bridge. They also use quick access slide down panels in a lot of places, where people stick their heads or hands out at just the right moment for a quick scare. I never want to get too close to any of the walls here, which is difficult to do! There was a lot of fog in this haunt, which was awesome. The fog really added to the atmosphere and made it difficult to see exactly where we were going and gave me an uneasy feeling. The girl from the Ring is always frightening, but my favorite part was two of my fellow critics freaking out at her!

I felt like there weren't many actors and several places where there wasn't much action. Even though it seemed a bit slow, the atmosphere that Spider Mansion creates is enough to satisfy, especially someone looking for a classic haunt!

PROS

New scenes, classic haunt

CONS

A little short, space with nothing happening

RATING

REVIEW

The first year I went and saw Spider Mansion, I really enjoyed it. It was dark, suspenseful, and creepy, just how I like it. Fast forward a couple of years later and they haven’t changed much. Which is both good and bad. This year, not too much of the set design, flow, or scare tactics has changed. This doesn’t mean it isn’t an enjoyable experience to walk through, I just wish they would totally re-arrange this haunt and change it around a lot more. To their benefit, they did add a big change at the end. The pig-face costume and the demented prison are rather disturbing and effective, but I wish the Texas chainsaw, run-through-the-white-sheets moment was better executed. The guy with the chainsaw sounded like it didn’t start right or that it was electric. Can’t someone change this scenario up and at least use a circular saw or something?

Besides that, the best classic scare inside – the Ring girl – is still prevalent and effective. Some of the actors, like her, are worth their weight in gold and really put forth the energy. Costumes, makeup, and set design are all really good, just static – Spider Mansion needs to tear everything down and start fresh. First timers will really enjoy this haunt, but if you have been here before, I suggest spending your money on another haunt that puts forth the energy to change their scenes every year.

PROS

Capitalizes on really dark themes

CONS

Haven’t I seen this somewhere before?

RATING

REVIEW

Let’s start with a few thoughts on design; I don’t know how they did it, but this place wound their maze of halls and rooms in such a way that every corner turned left me feeling as if I was about to be plunged into total darkness and the danger of losing my group! Some corners did just that, and some led to new rooms filled with great props. The overall effect was one of constant peaks with very little valley in which to come down from the last rush.

The textures were rich and varied, all the staples of a good haunt were represented; creepy crawlies, bones and bodies, monsters, ghouls, and clowns; oh yes, we must have our clowns! I particularly enjoyed the textures on the walls, there were some materials used that I had not blindly groped my way along in other Haunts. That in combination with a floor that always seemed slightly askew keeping me off balance made for a great time.

It seems par this early in the season that some actors need a few more runs to polish it up a bit, but I really have no complaints here. The lighting was well balanced and the sounds were great; no dead spaces and the noises really flowed nicely from one space to the next, building suspense just as they should.

PROS

Well designed, great textures and sounds

CONS

Not much to speak of

RATING

REVIEW

Spider Mansion is one of the haunts that found its way into my heart years ago. It is reminiscent of haunts from days past, when eerie was the rule. This haunt has not changed much in recent years, but still manages to get a jolt out of me every time I go there.

There is a distinct authenticity to this haunt that is enhanced by the smells, the lighting, the darkness and the constant feeling that you are not alone in the dark. There are many areas that are my favorite in this haunt. Among those that I enjoy seeing every year are the clown room, the dark pillar area, the crawl space and my favorite is the dark hall with the very creepy girl in it. She gets to me every year, even when I’m expecting her.

There’s a new ending to the haunt this year that was a pretty big change from previous years. While it was interesting, I didn’t get the real big jolt at the end like I usually do.

Actors and costumes were good, and there were enough scare points to make me want to go back and see it all again.

If you’re afraid of the dark, and terrified of creepy little girls, this haunt needs to be added to your must see list!

PROS

Lots of dark areas, authentic sets, good scares

CONS

Not many changes, ending lacking good scares

RATING

REVIEW

All I can say is this haunt was crazy. I think it was put together very well and you even got to say hello to the Ring girl wile you there! She has a very good act that left me puzzled.

Some of the rooms were so great, very dark and I couldn’t really see what was going on. But then the end of the haunt looked a little slapped together. Other than that I think it was a great haunt, because there were some very well put together scares and some were outright sweet. There were things coming from all sides.

You will walk across creaky bridges and be led into tight spaces. I loved how it was placed in the heritage square I think that help bring the haunt together. I must say that some of the actor we a little off cue and that made me feel confused. The makeup was well done and some costumes were really cool. This haunt held the theme, but kind of strayed toward the end.  Defiantly one of them down home family haunts that did a grate job and I hope to see more of them next year.

Pros Cons:

PROS

Theme was a good idea and the ring girl was well executed

CONS

The last room was a little slapped together

RATING

REVIEW

I love/hate this haunt!  I love the fact that it's so creepy it makes me hate it!  The single scariest thing you could do to me is put me in a room with the girl from "The Ring," and that's what happened.  She is so freaking scary...I pooped my pants again this year, even though I was expecting her again.  This haunt has a lot of great scare tactics.  They really utilize darkness, strobe lights, and fog, which are all great features when done well, and they did an excellent job.  They also made a few changes this year, which I imagine, is hard to do in such a small space, but overall the changes worked out really well for them.  A little more attention to detail and it would have been perfect, but it works excellent as is.

PROS

Creepy!

CONS

Not much

RATING

REVIEW

On a beautiful fall night with the mountains and the moon in the background Heritage Square is an awesome atmosphere for the Spider Mansion Haunt. Set high atop the hill at the end of this Victorian village is the entrance to Spider Mansion. Nearby heavy tree branches and a strange structure that remind me of gallows loom ominously.

The first set of rooms in the Mansion are overflowing with fog and while it ads a nice eerie effect it also made me feel like I was suffocating, which depending upon how you look at it might be a positive addition to the scare factor. This room turned out to be some sort of bog or swamp as I wound my way over bridges and around sounds of water, bugs, and I think frogs. I love when I haunt makes you feel like you're outside, even when that's not the case at all and I enjoyed the realistic effects and sets including actual moving water.

Moving through the haunt reveals the many faceted rooms of a haunted house, tight spaces, some need for crawling and a couple creepy actors. Overall this house is very much as it has been in years past. But the interesting passages, cool rooms and musty smell make it feel authentic. I don't feel that there were a ton of actors and the few I did see weren't very committed to getting under our nerves. On the whole there were a lot of surprising scares, but the effect dissipated quickly without any follow up from the actors. Spider Mansion has some cool uses of space and neat sets, but also dead spots I expected more from.

PROS

Cool atmosphere, neat sets

CONS

Pretty similar to years prior, not a lot of acting