Danger Zone One

An excerpt taken from Theme Park World: A Guide to the Best and Worst Attractions Around.

Fantasy’s Funland’s Fright Manor may not be the best haunted house attraction we’ve seen, but there’s a certain unique quaintness about it, which adds to its charm. Most of the new horror-themed attractions rely on augmented reality effects, holographic simulations, and often require passengers to sit in guided vehicles that move through a designated track.

Fright Manor strips down the costly theatrics and opts for an old-fashioned approach, where patrons are required to walk through the attraction while various monstrosities leap out of the darkness. The dilapidated mansion employs many of the simpler haunt tactics of yesteryear, relying on a healthy dose of eerie ambiance—achieved through liberal use of lighting (strobe/black lights), fog machines, scent dispensers, air blasters, and creepy décor. Visual “scenes” of unfolding horror are used as well, such as a torture chamber in the manor’s basement, a cannibalistic madman’s leftovers in the kitchen, and the playroom of a demonic toddler in the attic.

The attraction isn’t completely antiquated, either. While there are no actual humans providing the jump scares, all of the ghouls, vampires, mummies, and assorted beasties are brought to life by top-quality animatronics.

Fright Manor certainly won’t “wow” park-goers looking for the next big innovation in the haunt attraction business, but what they will find is a fun call back to simpler attractions, which—even after all these years—can still get the heart pounding!

Danger Zone One. Story by Midnight. Art by Salaiix.