Sneak Preview of The Haunt

I was lucky enough to get a private behind the scenes look at "The Haunt" Thursday and this year looks to be scarier than ever.

I have always been a huge fan of haunted houses. I have been going to them every since I was a kid but the scare parks of today are something else, but that being said, The Haunt is a next level haunted attraction.

Doug Sheldon the owner, designer and mastermind behind The Haunt was kind enough to walk me through this years attraction. Mind you, this tour was during the day time with the house lights on and it still looks terrifying.

Now probably the first question everyone has as I did myself, what safety measures have been put into place to keep patrons, actors and security safe? There are hand sanitizing stations right at the entrance plus a temperature check station as soon as you get inside. The staging area (where you wait to get in) is all socially distant marked with huge markers on the floor. All patrons must where a protective mask but there will also be some available if someone forgets theirs. There is a special crew that disinfects all areas of The Haunt every 30 minutes.

The crew at The Haunt began preparing safety measures back in March when the shut down of the state kicked in. They have followed the state guidelines to a "T" and even took safety measures even further anytime they could. Employees have all gone through special COVID-19 training and are screened every time they are on the premises.

To further keep people safe, The Haunt will be operating at only 25% capacity this year. Which means it is important for you to order your tickets online in advance just as if you were going to the movies. There is no walk up ticket window, you must go to The Haunt website to reserve your time and space. I highly recommend you get with your friends now and reserve your day and time slot. The Haunt will only sell a certain amount of tickets this year and once they are gone, you are out of luck. Here is how their ticket purchase system works:

• Pick your day (Get your tickets before they sell out)
• Choose a group leader (This will be the person the reservation falls under and gets your groups spot in their Queue Line.)
• Buy your tickets (Groups of 6 to 8 save $5 per ticket) Plus by getting tickets for a group, you are with the people in your own bubble which increases your safety.
• Show up 15 minutes before or no later than 15 minutes after your scheduled time.

In speaking with Doug and just looking with my own eyes, I was so impressed with the detail of all the attractions. Being able to see everything with the lights on really gave me a good look at the place, so I can say first hand these attractions will be awesome when the lights go down. Doug and his crew take a lot of pride in building these scenes that look like movie sets that you would see in a Rob Zombie film...and the caskets you will see in the photos below, uh yeah, they're real.

I'm not going to ruin the experience for you on what is actually going to happen at The Haunt this year. Here is a link to the attractions and the storylines for each. I highly recommend you check the link because it will make your visit even more intense, and you want the most intense experience right? Also you can go to The Haunt Facebook page to get COVID-19 info and more.

Something I learned that is really exciting about The Haunt, first the attractions are new this year or updated from last year. They also have more space to expand so don't be surprised if you hear about escape rooms in the future not to mention a 30,000 square foot basement. There are semi loads of attractions and costumes you haven't even seen yet. So plan on The Haunt being more intense and ever changing in the years to come.

Reserve your spot today...or Tinkles the Clown may come looking for you. Below are a few photos to give you a peak but I only scratched the surface.