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Author Eastern State Penitentiary, Philly, 10-7-05
erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005

Rank: Bronze Critic
10/8/2005 12:32:56 AM
Terror Behind The Walls
2004 “9th Best Haunted House in the United States” by HauntWorld Magazine
2005 “6th Best Haunted House in the United States” by AOL Digital City
Supposedly really haunted and covered on shows like
Sci-Fi's Ghost Hunters
TLC's America’s Ghost Hunters
MTV's FEAR
Fox Family Channel's "World's Scariest Places"

Took just under an hour. I got five genuine shrieks out of it, and a few more startles. My husband behind me says he got more than 5 including unavoidable profanity, and hurt his neck from ducking at one point. It was good. I'm pleased with the visit and happy I went.

The problem: We were behind 4 screeching teenage girls. The actors basically, well, shot their loads at the front of the group. No matter how much the 'guards' (it was a prison after all) held us up and hollered ahead to watch out for the one in red (cause I'm a tough scare & they were all head-phoned and connected up) and we s-l-o-w-l-y strolled through, the shrieking dawdlers clung to, grabbed, and ran around each other for so long we were always on their footsteps. At one point in fairly bright light while waiting in line, one of the young women backed up in circles clutching herself and grimacing just because a college kid in makeup was in her face. So they went through, the actors did their thing and for the most part we got sloppy seconds after at minimum hearing the first go-round, but many of them were just re-positioning themselves for the next group. I'm all for being scared, but I'm not handing it to them on a silver platter. A few actors had their timing down and did a really great job, and the blinding strobes were very effective.

In comparison, SFGAdv's FF Hayride was more "oh, here's a piece of this movie, here's a piece of that movie, oh here's somebody from another movie running towards us."

So go. Half your ticket price is tax deductible because it helps support an historic site. Keep some distance between yourself and anyone who looks likely to engage in gratuitous histrionics. They re-use the paper 3-D glasses, so make sure you get a rigid pair that haven't been twisted and bent out of shape by the previous wearer. They only use porta-potties which might be a terror in itself. I'll be back next year, watching closely who I'm standing near.

(Re-worked after sleep due to an overly harsh criticism of the other event)
Message updated 10/8/2005 10:18:33 AM by erinys
darkridrMD
Posts: 720
Registered: 7/12/2004

Rank: Gold Critic
10/8/2005 9:24:46 AM
Great review!!! I am so there next week.
adriahna
Posts: 4692
Registered: 6/4/2003

Rank: Site Moderator
Skooter Junkie
10/12/2005 12:25:22 AM
Great review, Erin - sounds like a good time.
erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005

Rank: Bronze Critic
10/12/2005 7:50:56 AM
Thanks adriahna! We went to SFA Sunday. Haunts there were much better than SFGAdv. Brutal Planet was well worth the extra $5. His response leads me to believe that someone we know who loves dark rides is going to enjoy ESP quite a bit. I wish I could do ESP again this year since it was a long enough event I don't remember all the specifics, but almost certainly won't happen.
erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005

Rank: Bronze Critic
10/17/2005 1:31:20 PM
Just an add-on for anyone in the region. Scareworld off I-95 at the Delaware state line was pretty good. 13 Floors and Amityville Nightmares were the best, Catacombs was ok but to me Toxic Terror (3D chemical spill) and Insanity chain-linked fog) were more repetitious than scary.
Hercules
Posts: 4037
Registered: 10/13/2004

Rank: Platinum Critic
10/17/2005 2:57:02 PM
13 Floors... is that the one where you pay $13 and for every floor you complete you get a dollar back because each floor gets worse and worse?
erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005

Rank: Bronze Critic
10/17/2005 3:29:21 PM
Oh, you've been there! It is $13 for just one, $20 for 3, and $25 for all 5, but no refunds. It wasn't that bad! I screetched quite a bit at 13 Floors & Amityville and the management of the groups going in was really good in maximizing the effect.
primogen18
Posts: 2983
Registered: 2/19/2001

Rank: Mansion Welcomer
10/18/2005 1:31:20 PM
Sounds cool, I was at Field Of Screams somewhere in lancaster this weekend, they have 3 attractions for 17 bucks (We had coupons) and it was pretty good. Its normally 22 or so, but theres 2 walk throughs (one is 3-D) and a hayride. Only thing is the lines were rough and we missed one walk through attraction due to time. But the rest I thought were worth it. I might make it somehow to ESP.
darkridrMD
Posts: 720
Registered: 7/12/2004

Rank: Gold Critic
10/21/2005 11:26:01 AM
I will second erinys suggestion of ScareWorld. I probably enjoyed all of the houses total more than she did, although the constant strobing effect in Insanity started giving me a headache. I actually enjoyed Toxic Terror. Got some serious genuine scares in most of them, but particularly 13 Floors. It was so good, that I'm tempted to go back again this year. I highly recommend it. The only thing I've found close to this in the area is the hayride at the Bates Motel in terms of special effects and good acting.
erinys
Posts: 230
Registered: 9/28/2005

Rank: Bronze Critic
10/23/2005 11:03:57 AM
I wouldn't really recommend FrightFactory.tv in Philly. If you're nearby & there's no line, then maybe. They've got guestbook comments on their site if you have any inclination.
Message updated 10/23/2005 4:30:07 PM by erinys
darkridrMD
Posts: 720
Registered: 7/12/2004

Rank: Gold Critic
10/28/2005 3:58:44 PM
My partner and I checked out Terror Behind the Walls last night in Philly at Eastern State Penitentiary. I won't go into too much detail here as to not give anything away. We had a fantastic time! Definitely worth the extra 5 bucks a piece for the speedpass to get inside quicker. The prison makes a fantastic backdrop for a haunted house, especially considering it's supposed to be really haunted. The actors were pretty much all wonderful and into their parts. The length of the walkthrough was really good; easily worth the money. I've been to plenty of Halloween attractions this year, and this one by far has the best 3-D room I've ever been in. Parking is kind of a b*&tch, but there is a lot next door which runs 10 bucks for the stay. A must-see for anyone in the local Philly area who likes haunted attractions!

--------------------

"Grim, grinning ghosts come out to socialize!"
*FreeBird*
Posts: 8264
Registered: 8/29/2003

Rank: Platinum Critic
10/28/2005 5:13:36 PM
I was just at Shoctoberfest yesterday. The hayride was a let down, they didn't have near as many chainsaws as they did two years ago when I went. I also think it was shorter too, and no new effects. However, the 3d toxic assylum was really good (we got the combo pass). I think it was worth the money more then the hayride. I think the did a great job with acting.
Message updated 10/28/2005 5:14:30 PM by *FreeBird*
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