Summary:

The tour began with a nice intro scene. Sitting at a table, behind a draped red velvet curtain, a character dressed as the Phantom of the Opera read the rules of the haunted house. To enhance the atmosphere of the scene, there was a backlit stained glass window along one wall and a couple of candelabras with flicker bulbs. It was a nice presentation and it helped establish the proper mood for the rest of the attraction.

The Terror on Washington Street haunted house consisted of numerous scenes with assorted themes. A number of paths followed the perimeter of the building, and the real stone foundation & brick walls served to enhance the eerie feel of the attraction. The funeral scene featured an open casket behind a red velvet rope. Inside the casket was an actress in make-up and there were flowers draped across the bottom half of the casket. The library was one of the most detailed areas in the house, with bookcases lining the walls, vintage furniture throughout the scene and cobwebs everywhere. The scene was accented with spooky flicker lighting, to enhance the mood. In another area there was a witch sitting in a rocking chair on an old country porch. In front of her was a cauldron, with a glowing "fire" beneath it. In the Autopsy Room there was a body on a metal table, morgue drawers along the walls and a blood-filled IV bag hanging in the corner. Upon entering this area, an actor came out of a great hiding place. Another one of my favorite areas was the detailed graveyard. Patrons walked through the middle of the scene and there were tombstones behind wrought iron gates on both sides of the path, along with some realistic-looking trees. Since the top was covered with camouflage netting, this area had somewhat of a claustrophobic feel. There was one area that I found particularly creative, where they really played on people's fears of being separated. An actor was splitting up groups, making some people go through one door and the rest of the group to go through another. Unbeknownst to those in the group, both doors eventually led to the same path and everyone would be reunited in a short time, but you should have seen the initial reaction of some of the people who didn't want to be split from their group!

Throughout the attraction, all of the actors stayed in character. A lot of them were more passive, playing out their roles within the house, unaffected by patrons walking through. In fact, quite a few of them just stood there and didn't approach you. It did seem that the actors were a little more low-key than they had been in previous years, which made them more creepy than scary.

Well, it was another good performance by the Terror on Washington Street crew. Their yearly changes and unique ideas always make this a fun event to come back to, year after year. Since it wasn't an overly intense experience, this event would be appropriate for most audiences. With the modest admission price of only $7.50, it is definitely a bargain. Be sure to add this event to your list of Haunt visits.
 

Summary:

The Terror On Washington Street tour began with one of their characters telling you the rules of the house, with spooky music playing in the background.  From there, you made your way through several scenes of various themes, each separated by some very dark hallways.  The real brick walls of the structure were exposed in some areas, which enhanced the spooky "feel" of the attraction.  Some of the scenes were larger and more elaborate, while others were smaller.  The Terror on Washington Street group is very creative.  Even in the smaller scenes, they added a great deal of detail, making very efficient use of the space they had to work with.  

One scene featured a realistic-looking pier, with a pool of standing water. Just as the group reached the far end of the scene, an actor wearing a raincoat, boots and hat jumped out of a hiding place to scare you.  The scene reminded me of the movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer".  In another area, a number of hissing female vampires converged on the patrons.  There was another area with a zig-zag path and red lighting shining through a haze of fog.  Numerous actors stalked you and a creepy mental patient in a wheelchair followed close behind our group, until we exited the scene.  The scare in the open casket funeral scene was very creative.  Inside the casket was a "corpse" and flowers were draped across the lower half of the casket.  Just when you thought the occupant of the casket was going to jump out at you, something completely different happened that took me off guard.  Another area had a birthday party scene, set in a kitchen.  The actress in the scene asked us "Would you like some cake?  He'll cut it for you."  Just then, an actor with a large knife jumped out of a hiding place.  One of my favorite scenes was set up to look like a hotel reception desk.  It featured a large wooden desk, a key rack with skull tags on the keys, a telephone and a desk lamp.  As our group walked by, the desk clerk simply performed his duties by picking up the phone and taking a reservation.  At that point, I wasn't sure what was going to happen.  There really wasn't a scare in the scene, but it was still entertaining.  The actor really set the mood and made it more believable by staying in character.  Sometimes anticipation of a scare can be just as satisfying as the scare itself.  

The actors all seemed to be "into" the roles they were playing.  Some were very energetic and others were less intense, depending on their function inside the house.  Either way, their scares were on target and they all did a great job.  What really surprised me is that some of the actors actually reached out and tapped you on the shoulder or grabbed your ankles, which is something that you don't see happen at a lot of haunted houses these days.  

This was another great year for the Terror On Washington Street crew.  In the past, they had consistently put on a great show and this year was no exception.  This attraction is well worth the admission price, so be sure to add it to your list of haunted houses to visit in October. 

Summary:

Most of the scenes throughout the house were moderately detailed, while others were more highly detailed.  Crafting creative scenes and scares is something that the Terror on Washington Street crew has always been good at.  In one area, there was a pile of luggage.  As you walked by the pile of suitcases, an actor sprang out of a nearby trunk to scare you. In another area, I had to duck down and crawl through a tunnel to get through.  Another scene employed a divide and conquer strategy to gain a psychological advantage over the patrons walking through.  The actor in the scene split groups up, making one half go down one hallway and the other half go down a parallel path.  It was obvious that the group didn't want to be split up in this way, but eventually one group rejoined the other at the end of the hallway.  Other scenes seemed to build suspense, where you weren't sure what was going to happen.  For example, one girl was sitting in a living room scene, staring at the ceiling, with a glazed look in her eye.  Since she was a real actress and not a prop, we weren't sure what she was going to do. Everyone in my group kept a close watch as they slowly moved through the scene, to make sure she wasn't going to scare them from behind.    

There were also a number of the scenes that featured contemporary Horror legends like Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers. Most of the scenes inside the house had appropriate music soundtracks and sound effects, as well as eerie colored lighting.  

The actors, who were quite a mixed lot, did a good job too.  All of the pop-out scares were on target and effective.  Those actors were very enthusiastic and determined to scare you; however, some of the more visible characters, like the girl in the living room who was staring at the ceiling, Freddy Krueger & Michael Myers, seemed to be a bit more low-key and less intimidating.   

This was another great performance by the Terror on Washington Street crew.  I do have to say that the show seemed considerably shorter than it was last year.  Even so, patrons still spent a good amount of time inside the haunt for the money spent, so it is still a decent value.   Terror on Washington Street usually comes through with some really creative scenes & scares, and this season was no exception.  I have attended for years and have never been disappointed.  I highly recommend checking this one out.