No one tells you this before you go in or on one of the three incredibly creepy attractions that comprise the Scaregrounds. The well-done website hints at it but you find out soon enough that this haunted attraction has it's own rules. What that means for visitors is one terrific evening of terror and great fun.
Just a word about the website, it is a fine piece of work. Understated and promising fright. The clown video was creepy enough to keep Dolores at home, and it was probably for the best as this place is scary!
What sets the Scaregrounds apart are the actors. Everyone my friend MaryAnne and I encountered gave it their all. You could tell that they love what they do. We attended CSG on a Sunday evening when the crowd was a bit sparse. Sometimes a small crowd will cause the actors to tone it down a bit. Let's face it, it is harder to get ramped up for smaller crowds, whether you're doing storytime, singing or chasing people with chainsaws. This was NOT the case at CSG. Everyone was excited and 100% professional.
The make up was excellent, the timing of the scares was perfect. There was no need to rely on fancy and expensive animatronics in the haunted house or on the hayride. The actors did all the work. That made for the best scares as they were relentless. Jumping out, in-your-face, excellent.
I don't want to give too much away, but you must be brave and go to CSG. I won't even try to describe the Mist- but DO IT! Same for the ride on the tractor. And of course, the haunted house. All three parts individually were scarier and more worth the money than the ridiculous rip-off of say, a Scarehouse or Phantom Frightnight.
The total experience was without fault. Excellent food, friendly non-monsters who were quick to engage in conversation and make you feel welcome. Restrooms were clean and plentiful. I hope to make this an annual tradition.
Excellent. A place where those who run haunted attractions should come and learn. An industry standard.
Wow the first weekend in October, we have visited 4 haunted houses so far and this weekend we are only visiting one. Ingrid had a wedding service to officiate and I had a wedding to attend. This was a long week for both of us with a very tiring weekend but we headed to Canfield Ohio to check out the Canfield Scare grounds. This haunted attraction has three parts, a haunted house, mist attraction and a haunted hayride.
ReplyDeleteWe started with the haunted house first, and from the moment we bought our tickets till we left you had monsters, chainsaws and creatures of the dark creeping up on you and scaring you. At the door to the haunted house we talked with several of the workers, who where nice enough to announce over their PA system that we were from Pittsburgh. As we stood in line the scares where plentiful as monsters came from all around you.
This haunted house boasts it’s the scariest and has 120 live actors inside waiting to scare you. By far this has been the best-haunted house we have visited so far. Very little emphasis is placed on animatronics. You want an old fashion scare this is the place to go. It goes to show you don’t need fancy props to scare people. I really enjoyed the simplicity of the haunted house and using the darkness to create a horrifying experience. Unlike other haunted houses we have visited in the past, the actors where allowed to touch you, and a few times you felt a hand grabbing your ankle or leg here and there.
The actors are plentiful here, 120 very energetic people who truly love their job and have a real passion for scaring people. This haunted house won’t disappoint you. The creativity and overall esthetics of the house is awesome, great deal of time went into creating all the scenes but the people truly make it amazing.
Couple of things I would like to point out, the use of padding around the corners. As I moved along and bumped into a few walls I did notice no exposed corners, but padding. This is a great safety feature and even though this is a seasonal event you still want to make sure your patrons are safe. I also enjoyed the bare minimum use of strobe lights. Suffering from vertigo, strobe lights make me very ill and I have to close my eyes and hold on to Ingrid. This house didn’t blind you with strobe lights.
There are so many great themes throughout the house; I loved the area with the green/yellow glow paint on the walls and the actors in this area totally rocked. The ending was so different too… but alas I won’t give away anymore.
We moved onto the mist, this attraction is a large tent with mist just pouring out of it. We went in and within a few minutes I realized this wasn’t for me, I found it difficult to breath, I pulled my hoodie up over my mouth and hung onto Ingrid as she navigated her way through it. You couldn’t see your hand in front of your face that is how thick and eerie the mist is. After being in side for a few minutes you exit outside for a quick breath of fresh air and then back in to finish the maze. At this point I opted out and Ingrid went at it alone. There were plenty of actors inside the mist to scare you and keep you on your toes.
After the mist we boarded a comfy tractor with benches to sit on. Off into the darkened fairgrounds we went. As we traveled many monsters and creatures throughout the fairgrounds greeted us. The tractor took us into buildings, and between buildings as different scenes played out along side us and often carried over onto the tractor as well. The hayride was a nice ride, very family friendly.
Overall this experience to Canfield scare grounds was awesome, I definitely feel the haunted house is one of the best around and the mist tent is a great add on attraction along with the hayride. Overall I give the haunted scare grounds 9 skulls for scariness and 9 pumpkins for atmosphere. They have several concession stands open with just enough variety of food to satisfy anyone’s appetite.