Showing posts with label Haunted House. Show all posts

Thursday, September 26, 2013

REVIEW: The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride

The Bates Motel
1835 Middletown Road
Glen Mills, PA

Hauntsmith Randy Bates has been scaring area residents for over 20 years
with his top ranking haunted attraction, The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride. Located
just outside of Philadelphia, the Bates Motel, has drawn national attention
with several features on the Travel Channel and in USA Today. So, when I arrived
at Arasapha Farm in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, I had some understandably large
expectations, but I learned very quickly that Mr. Bates does not disappoint.

Visiting the
Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride is like experiencing the pivotal scene from
every horror movie on your Netflix queue back to back. Not only do they have a
haunted house inside a full size replica of Hitchcock’s famous “Psycho” mansion,
but Arasapha Farm is also home to an equally elaborate haunted corn maze, and
one of the most incredible haunted hayrides in the country.

What makes the Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride unique isn’t the incredible
Hollywood-quality sets and special effects, but a solid understanding of how sensory
details complete an environment and create tension and distraction for an
audience. For example, no horror movie is complete (or scary!) without a
soundtrack and Bates Motel incorporates detailed customized music and realistic
sound effects to set the tone for each section of every attraction.

Is It Scary?

According to their Official Website : "America's Most Horrifying Motel."

The Raven & Black Cat says: Imagine
being surrounded by a series of horror movie sets and special effects in the
middle of the woods. Then add monsters that can touch you.

What We Loved

A common problem with hayrides is that once the zombies and crazed
killers reach the side of the wagon, they have nowhere to go. This is not the
case at the Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride! When these monsters reach the wagon they launch themselves into it! Realizing
that the usual rules don’t apply creates the ultimate feeling of unease and adrenaline. We
also loved the hayride’s mine shaft section. The sound effects and downward
movement created a chilling claustrophobic feeling of being trapped. Other
highlights include the man-eating crows and gators in the corn maze and the Bates
Motel’s greenhouse and room of taxidermy.

What Could Be Better

The set design and special effects are so complex and detailed.
It would be incredible to see the same time and attention applied to the acting.
A complex character (with a back story) that reacts to their environment and
moves with intention is more real and infinitely scarier.

Final Thoughts

The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride is perfect Halloween entertainment that will scare most and captivate all. Even the most fearless will enjoy visiting the dark and imaginative
world of Randy Bates.

The Bates Motel 2012 Season

September 28 - November 4

Ticket Information

Haunted Hayride: $12 - $20
Bates Motel: $12 - $15
Corn Maze: $12 - $15
Combo Special (All 3): $25 - $40
VIP Pass (No Waiting): $60 - $75

Discount Tickets

13Haunts Coupon: $5 Off Combo Tickets (Sunday Thru Thursday) - Click Here!
Wed., October 17th is Military Appreciation Night: 50% Off w/ Military ID. (All Vets get group rate any night w/ ID.)
Wed., October 24th is Family Night: $10 Off the Combo Ticket when you Buy 4 or More.
Sign up to have Discount Coupons Emailed to you.

Age Requirements

Children ages 2 and under are free with a paid adult.

Additional Information

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The Bates Motel[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500.0"]

The Haunted Hayride[/caption]

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The Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride[/caption]

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Midwest Haunters Convention Photo Coverage

The 2013 Midwest Haunters Convention kicked off on June 7th in Columbus, Ohio and we were there to catch all the horror and mayhem of this gore-filled convention full of off-season haunts, bus tours, backstage tours, horror karaoke, a trade show, and a masquerade party.

Our adventure began on June 4th for the Pre-Convention Bus Tour. A 63-hour experience covering 20+ attractions at 8 haunted houses in 3 different states. (Coverage Coming Soon!!)

The convention officially kicked off on Friday, June 7th. An all day Paranormal Bus Tour was offered to tour the Ohio State Reformatory and the Bissman Building in Mansfield, OH, but we opted to catch up on our sleep after the epic pre-convention bus tour.

Friday Night Bus Tour

After catching up on our beauty sleep, we prepared ourselves for the Friday Night Bus Tour. The festivities kicked off at the Hyatt next to the convention center for "Scare You to Death: An Interactive Haunting Experience" presented by Shutter Productions.

This make-shift haunt assembled in one of the hotel's event rooms packed a surprising punch. The winding maze was filled with entertaining actors dying to make a personal connection. The mini haunt was delightful from beginning to end with one slight hiccup. An actor covered in heavy chains clipped one of his chains to a decorative chain on my handbag and tried to drag me away. It was funny until the decorative chain on my $200 bag broke, but I was still able to enjoy the rest of the haunt even after that accidental annoyance. Following the presentation from Shutter Productions we boarded the bus.

Unit 70 Studios

The first stop on the Friday Night Bus Tour was Unit 70 Studios, a huge warehouse/art studio where they design and construct terrifyingly realistic props for haunted attractions. We were given the opportunity to take a self-guided backstage tour of the studio and enjoy some light refreshments.

Artist (and model) Lea Gray was on hand to provide guests with some festive face painting. After chatting with us and taking our business card, she dreamed up this fabulous concept to turn our logo into body art. We swooned. Then re-boarded the bus.

Haunted Hoochie at Dead Acres

The night's main attraction came in the form of Haunted Hoochie. An extreme haunt with a reputation for playing rough. Haunted Hoochie/ Dead Acres will be covered in detail in its very own post/review. For now, I'll just say that it did not disappoint and it was a highlight of our trip.

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Haunted Hoochie / Dead Acres[/caption]

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Haunted Hoochie/ Dead Acres WARNING[/caption]

Scary-Oke

We returned back to the Hyatt in time to catch the end of Scary-Oke, which was essentially just costumed regular karaoke. We both signed up looking forward to showing off our hot new logo-inspired body paint, but they didn't have S's song, so I was the only one who got to sing.

Saturday Trade Show

Saturday morning we grabbed some coffee and headed over to the Convention Center for the 2013 Midwest Haunter's Convention Trade Show. It was an impressive display of horror makeup, sets, props, special fx, and more. Browse through our photo gallery to get a taste of the atmosphere.

2013 Trade Show Photo Gallery

Masquerade Party

Saturday wrapped up with a spectacular masquerade party where everyone dressed to impress. Click the link below to see the professional photo gallery of all the fabulous costumes.

2013 Masquerade Party Photo Album

We had a fabulous experience at the 2013 Midwest Haunter's Convention and we met a lot of great haunters and haunt enthusiasts. We look forward to returning again sometime in the future.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Merchant House Museum Off-Season Ghost Tours

The Merchant's House Museum recently announced that they will be holding their popular Candlelight Gost Tours the third Friday of every month. The tours, which were previously only available in October, are 50 minutes long and tickets are $20.00 each. We are thrilled that they will be celebrating their status as 'Manhattan's Most Haunted House' all year long,

Upcoming Dates

Candlelight Ghost Tours:

March 15, April 19, May 17, and June 21 at: 6pm, 6:30pm, 7pm, and 7:30pm

Lecture: Investigating 'Manhattan's Most Haunted House' with paranormal expert Dan Sturges on March 26th at 7pm.

In Other News

A second Landmarks Preservation Commision hearing was held today on the proposed 9-story hotel at 27 East 4th Street. We are thrilled that the LPC sent the developers back to the drawing board. For more information on the hearing -- click here.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Our 2012 Haunted House Tour

Dear Readers,

S & I visited 40 Haunted Houses in 8 different states in 2012. We had the opportunity to meet many haunt owners and get a special behind-the-scenes glimpse at some of the country's top haunted attractions.

What started as a joke of a challenge became an incredible journey into the haunt industry and how America celebrates Halloween.

In the coming weeks, we will be working hard to add all of our 2012 reviews to the site.

Check out the map of our 2012 haunted house tour below. Click on the markers for haunt information, when we visited, and links to posted reviews.

We met some amazing people and visited some brilliant and innovative haunted attractions. We can't wait to share our adventure with you.

Enjoy,

C

http://batchgeo.com/map/19d751018645cc212f22b765c0a467dd

View 2012 Haunted House Tour in a full screen map

Friday, January 25, 2013

Blackout Haunted House Takes NYC

We have our tickets. Were you lucky enough to snag one? There are only a few left so act quickly: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/920896

This freezing cold Winter Edition of Blackout will take place in the East Village at an undisclosed location from January 28 - February 2. The experience will last 45 min.

The $135 ticket includes: "one admission to the January NYC event, a Blackout t-shirt, and a special pre-sale ticket offer for the Halloween show."

We have no idea what to expect. Luckily, we don't have long to wait.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Two Haunted Houses in Times Square?

Times Scare's Hotel of Horrors is currently the only year-round haunted house in NYC, but according to the official website of the new Jekyll & Hyde Club in Times Square that won't be the case for much longer. A haunted attraction called Jekyll & Hyde's Chamber of Horrors is coming soon...

Can Times Square handle two year-round haunted houses?

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Christmas Haunted Houses!

Celebrate the season by dragging Halloween into December. The 13 Days of Creepmas are in full swing and there are two Christmas themed Haunts in the NY/NJ area to get you in the Creepmas spirit.

Nightmares Haunted Attraction in Passaic, New Jersey becomes Christmas Nightmares for 3 Saturdays on December 1st, 8th, and 15th from 8-10pm. Explore Santa's workshop and hope you get out alive. Tickets are $20.

Nightmare (Before Christmas): The Experiment returns for a second year! This new and expanded version of Nightmare: New York's audience participation haunt runs December 7th - 23rd at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center on the Lower East Side. Tickets are $30.