Seasonal Highlights
ALL POSTS
2016 Haunt Schedule: End of the Line
It’s been a number of years since I approached the haunt season armed with the knowledge that I’d be visiting less haunted attractions than the previous year, but such is the case in 2016. I’m at peace with that. The decision to tour less haunted attractions in 2016 was made for two reasons — the most prominent being my involvement…
A Plague of Vermin
I’ve toured and reviewed haunted attractions for a decade now and the desire to cross the veil and become part of a haunted attraction is something that was always there just beneath the surface. I first felt the pull in earnest back in 2010 while working on a promotional video for the Woods of Darkness. I knew that my path…
2015 Haunt Season Rewind
Late September has crept up awfully quickly and many haunted attractions have already opened their doors to customers. 2016 is going to be a pivotal season here at Horrorlust for several reasons, but before any of that fun can begin we must pause and peer into the rear view mirror for a glimpse of the year that was — submitted…
Haunting By Numbers: 2015 Haunt Season
2015 offered a haunt season not soon to be forgotten. Let us now ponder some pertinent numbers. 31: Number of attractions at 21 unique locations visited in 2015 — this total topped the previous record of 24 attractions set in 2014. 10: Glorious fright-filled nights spent touring Michigan’s scariest places, a total that matches the all-time high established in 2011.…
2015 Horrorlust Haunt Awards
Rotten Pumpkin – The Rotten Pumpkin award is given to the haunt considered to be the most disappointing of the season. Disappointment may be the result of an over hyped marketing campaign or the failure of the haunt to live up to expectations set forth in previous seasons. Whatever the case may be let there be no doubt that the…
Brotherly Brainmuncher
While on vacation with my family last month we visited Castle Farms in Charlevoix which turned out to be a pretty neat place to poke around. One of the main attractions there is something called the Enchanted Forest which possessed a mild creep factor. There was a cool entrance that looked like something out of the Blair Witch Project; once…
2015 Star Ratings
This list is not meant to compare one haunted attraction to another. The star system (1 – 5 stars) is merely meant to reflect how well I felt each individual haunt executed their particular show. Haunted attractions are a unique breed of entertainment and the quality of a show can vary from night to night, hour to hour and guest…
Abandon All Hope, Old School is Back
The Halloween moon reflected off of the wet pavement, the midnight hour approached, Abandon of Melvindale was poised to be the last hurrah of the 2015 haunt season. We parked and walked around to the opposite side of the building where things were quiet, too quiet. Despite the lack of a crowd, an energy was in the air. John and…
Rotten Manor Howls at Halloween Moon
John and I arrived at Rotten Manor last year at the end of a very long and exhausting season. It was Halloween and although the weather mocked us with rain and chill, Rotten Manor stood tall and undaunted. The enormous facade erupted from the landscape like a nightmare mansion from a classic horror flick. It was hands down the most…
Mass Exodus
While the cover art of the 2016 edition of the Fear Finder dazzled, the content inside the treasured seasonal publication left me yearning for more. Very few new haunts were featured, in fact, if you exclude the returning Scream Machine, there was just one new entry — Haunting in the Hills. Haunting in the Hills will include an outdoor trail…
2016 Fear Finder Cover Art Released
Another fall season is rapidly approaching and with it comes the latest edition of the Fear Finder! The digital version will be released this weekend and distribution of hard copies will begin next week, as for now, we can enjoy the beautiful cover art of Steve Shipp. Our unnamed hero is front and center trying to enjoy some fall fare.…
The Haunt Guide: 2016 Edition
The 2016 version of The Haunt Guide is now available to view and download at the Michigan Haunters Association website. Long time readers may notice that the cover art has changed, gone is the self-reflexive skeleton who was pictured reading a copy of The Haunt Guide. As you can see above, the cover page now features a cemetery scene set…
Dark Legacy Pens Another Grave Chapter
Dark Legacy burst onto the scene during the 2014 haunt season with a blend of actors, animatronics and intricately detailed scenes. It would go on to win the 2014 Horrorlust Killer Automatons Award and earned an Honorable Mention in two other categories as well. In 2015 we discovered that Dark Legacy had added some new wrinkles, most notably a completely…
Hush End Game Anything but Silent on Devil’s Night
It was set to be a late night for the folks at Hush when we visited last year on Devil’s Night; already a line snaked through the entire parking lot. John and I soaked in the impressive scene, a little more than two years prior nobody had even heard the name Hush — this crowd was a testament to the…
Wyandotte Jaycees Celebrates 40 Years of Haunting
Founded in 1976, the Wyandotte Jaycees jumped right into the then nebulous phenomenon that would mutate into what we now know as the haunted attraction industry. Countless chapters across the state and country have since abandoned the haunted house project but the Wyandotte chapter has survived not only an ever-evolving and competitive market but also weathered the storm of internal…
Terror on the Boulevard A Textbook of Home Haunting
Terror on the Boulevard is a home haunt located in Lincoln Park, Michigan that has been in existence for a decade; it’s a labor of love for Adam Grignon. Like many home haunts, Terror on the Boulevard is open to the public free of admission, but is only operational a couple of nights each October. I first learned of Terror…
Dreadlands Haunt of Davison Serves Up Triple Shot of Terror
If you make a habit of chasing the high that only haunting can provide, you’re sure to often find yourself in a race against the clock. Such was the case last October when we rolled into the Dreadlands Haunt of Davison. We turned onto a narrow wooded trail that didn’t seem fit to accommodate more than a single vehicle, we…
Horrorlust on YouTube
As the title implies, Horrorlust now has a YouTube channel! In the months and years to come you can expect to see interviews with horror personalities, mini-documentaries and on-site clips from haunted attractions. In addition, haunters and horror fanatics can use Horrorlust on YouTube as a portal to other creepy content through ‘liked’ videos, saved playlists and featured channels. Do…
Sponsorships, Notes and Other Fine Morsels
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! It’s late July and haunts are gearing up for fall — if you own or operate a haunted attraction and desire alternative or addition means of advertising, consider the offerings here at Horrorlust. One method of promotion is Horrorlust Radio which is in need of sponsors for the 2016 season. For pricing, details and…
Exit 13 a Livewire of Horror
It isn’t easy for a haunted attraction to continually improve from season to season, in fact, it’s hard. John and I have found that repeated trips to the same attraction year after year without a break can render even our favorite places a bit stale. 2015 marked the fourth consecutive year that John and I had visited Exit 13 but…
