Review: The Niles Haunted House Scream Park
Is The Niles Haunted House really one of the top haunted attractions in the country?
November 3, 2020
Recently I experienced one of the most unnerving haunted attractions — The Niles Haunted House Scream Park, which has been opened since 1974. Since then they have been scaring people for almost 50 years, with all of their different spooky attractions. In total they have five main attractions that one may visit, which change every year, with the help of volunteers who work there.
When people walk in they will be greeted by the Midway, a place that has the entrances toward many attractions, gift shops, food trucks, and the Monsters of the Midway, actors who dress up in their scariest outfits and interact with the guests.
The five main attractions are, The Haunted House which takes 20-30 minutes, The Basement, and The Cursed Crusade, each take about 15 minutes each. The Field of Screams can take 35 to 45 minutes depending on how one navigates the maze while The Haunted Hayride should roughly take around 20 minutes to go through. Now one may be asking, are all these attractions worth it? Well you’re in luck!
The Niles Haunted House
This attraction arguably had the longest line throughout the entire night. The attraction itself has hundreds of different routes that one can take within it and will force its hosts to travel on their own. For the most part, minus the chilling guides that point down a pathway, the scare factor this attraction holds is definitely a 9/10. Through the darkened long hallways, one has to feel their way along while volunteer actors may pop out of any crevice at any time. This house will for sure give you a scare.
The Haunted Hayride
Honesty is important here, and it may be said that this particular attraction lacked. It begins with a group of people packed onto some bleacher sized benches attached to a tractor that pulls its hosts along a trail. As it pulls along, it recounts a different story every year. This year hosts were watching “Television” as it pulled along and told a collection of different stories. Overall, what made this attraction fall short was the actors’ lack of enthusiasm. In the end, its scare factor would be a whopping 4/10.
The Cursed Crusade
This attraction was not as appealing as some; however, it kept one on edge for most of the night. Sadly, what was meant to be scary, frankly, was not, mainly because of the lack of live actors. The ratio of actors to animatronic figures was low. In the end, this display is a solid 6/10.
The Basement
The Basement was a moderately scary attraction, located in the same building as The Cursed Crusade, and was about 15 minutes long. This particular attraction scored a higher rating than the Cursed Crusade because there were more live actors in The Basement, instead of pop up animatronics that are not all that terrifying. The highlight has to be toward the end, when an actor, who was a part of the midway, made his way into the attraction, pretending to be a statue in a corner. The scare factor for this attraction is an easy 7/10.
The Field of Screams
The Field of Screams was the most terrifying and time-consuming attraction in the park. From the moment one enters, they are greeted with frights and scares. The actors were all very enthusiastic about being there and in character, and they all managed to interact with the guests perfectly. The rooms this attraction had were simply the best including, the foggy strobe lights room to the boathouse that looked to be actually in the water. This attraction, without a doubt, earned a perfect 10/10.
In the end, The Niles Haunted House Scream Park can claim the title of one of the top haunted attractions in the country. Despite some areas that were lacking in thrills, and that may be due to the current concerns with COVID-19, it has everything one could desire in a Scream Park, including the screams.
