Every Long Islander has seen or heard commercials for the Darkside
haunted house in Wading River, and almost everyone feels that urge to
walk through this indoor/outdoor haunted attraction. However, is it all
that it is cracked up to be?
Last year I got sucked into the commercials, I was seeing them either
on TV, or hearing them on my radio, it only took about 2 weeks of
hearing the advertisements, to finally say...'OK, you win Darkside, I
want to come! But damn you better be worth my time!'
I called up my sister and her husband to join me and my boyfriend as
we walked through. We were all truly hoping that once we arrived, lines
would be decent, and that it was not filled with 8 year old kids.
We discovered that the tickets could cost anywhere from $5.00 to
$16.00 depending on what day and what time you go. Turns out weekends
after 6pm are the most expensive. Sure enough, it was Sunday when we
went, so for $16.00 each this better damn well be worth it.
When we first arrived we were directed on where to park by some guy
with a flashlight. After that we took a peek at the line. It was bad,
but not horrible. From where we stood we assumed we had at least a 40
minute wait until we got admitted into the outside part of the haunted
house. You see, the haunts begin outside as you follow a path, you are
then brought into the actual haunted house.
The gate keeper allowed us in, in groups of 6. So it was all of us,
and 2 younger girls who went ahead of us running. Good, more time for us
to take in the scenery and watch out for ghouls popping out from behind
tombstones.
On the path employees dressed in gruesome axe murderer costumes, and
scary masks would dodge at you out of nowhere which would give you a
good jump if you were not prepared for it. Some of these scarily dressed
up ghouls would block your path and try to intimidate you by staring at
you or cornering you.
It was an uncomfortable feeling only because these folks got too close
for comfort, and you don't know whether or not you can trust them
standing so closely to you while they hold up fake knives and chainsaws.
Inside of the haunted house you are greeted by an illusion of a girls
head sitting on a table. When you study it closely though, the illusion
is obvious. Next you are taken through a series of hallways where they
have set up scary scenes. If you didn't keep your eyes peeled though,
sometimes a person that you thought was a prop will spring to life
causing your heart to skip a beat.
In other rooms fog machines spray fog down at your feet so you really
can't see all to well at what may be hidden up ahead, and sure enough,
there is always something hidden up ahead.
As you walk out of nowhere employees dressed like the dead will come
out screaming in your face for no reason, some will follow you, and
others will just stare you down.
In another room strobe lights are used to screw with your senses, as
employees dressed as skeletons walk back and forth. Another room
everything is lit with black lights, and fluorescent clowns roam the
room, or hide in positions that make it easy to miss them as they blend
in with walls and jump out at you screaming as you walk by.
My heart was skipping beats here and there, and momentarily I must say
I felt like I was in a crazy house, and I did not like the feeling.
Thus making the Darkside an excellent haunted house. It freaked me out
enough for me to want to be out of it, not many haunted houses have such
an effect.
Just when you see the exit door and you think things are safe, a
chainsaw yielding maniac gives you one last heart blowing scare as you
run past him. Its seriously an explosion of scary, and at the very end
it goes BOOM! There was nothing worse than being greeted at the exit by
this psycho with a chainsaw who would hold the chainsaw right above my
head.
After breathing a sigh of relief, I laughed it off, and tried to act
like I was cool. It takes a lot to shake my bones, but The Darkside
Haunted House was able to, for just a moment, make me feel as if I was
in real danger. I have to say bravo for that.
Age Recommendation:
I honestly would not bring kids under 8 or 9 years old into this one. It's meant for adults and teens. Keep the youngins home.
Rules:
On the website at http://www.darksideproductions.com/frame.html
you can read the list of rules. But the most important rule is to NEVER
EVER touch an employee. They are not going to hurt you, they are just
there for fun. Never ever lay a hand on one of them. A lawsuit may
follow.
Don't break anything. Keep your dang hands to yourself.
Rules are simple and easy to follow, just follow them. One rule
breaker could ruin ALL of the fun for EVERYONE. If you see someone
breaking any rules alert them first, and if they continue alert the
gatekeeper.
I will rate each of the following in a 1-10 grading criteria. 1 being the lowest, 10 the highest
Fun-9
Line wait- 4
Decorations- 10
Scare Factor-9
Staff Costumes- 9
Time spent in haunted house-7
Overall- 8
All in all, I must say that I cannot wait to go and do it again this
year. I am sure that this year will include even more frightening
scares. Can't frigging wait!
The Darkside Haunted House is well worth the $16.00 admission. I
recommend everyone who has the chance go and walk through it, at least
once.
The Darkside Haunted House opens up this year on September 29th, at
6pm. It is my opinion that this is the absolute best night to go seeing
how the lines will be horrendous as Halloween draws near. For more
information visit the web link I have already provided, or call
631-369-SCARE.
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