Boo! The haunted house, a staple of the Halloween season, has rooted itself in American culture as something kids, teens, and adults enjoy every year. So, what goes into the making of a truly scary haunted house?
The Haunted Forest of Maple Valley isn’t your traditional haunted house, for one; it’s in the woods! Instead of going into a large manor or old building, they take you into a dark woodland, where the low light and ghostly sets are responsible for a spooky scene.
Located just 30 minutes away from Skyline, the premise of the Haunted Forest is, obviously, to scare, but also to give customers a memorable time. While waiting in line, numerous creepy clowns, zombies, and other eerie characters come to frighten you before you enter. They all have excellent makeup and costumes done by the wardrobe team, which adds to the realism of the venue.
Once you enter the Haunted Forest, every new twist, turn, and bend seems to have actors ready to jump out and give you a fright. Each new stop on the Haunted Forest trail has a horror theme, like war, graveyards, or even movies like IT. Every actor stationed at that stop has a costume and makeup to match the theme.
It’s not just the actors who contribute to the experience of the Haunted Forest; it’s those who worked on the sets as well. With each stop needing a variety of decorations, hours of work went into making each one look like the intended theme. Paintwork, woodworking, and scenic design all play a part in creating such a chilling set. One impressive installation in the Haunted Forest is a giant mechanical hand attached to a wooden platform above. When you walked underneath it, the hand starts to move down as if it were about to crush you, with a smoke machine and loud mechanical sound to accompany it.
Sophomore Calleigh Tassani-Krell visited the Haunted Mansion this year. She said, “I had a fun experience, and anyone interested in it next year should definitely check it out!” Whether you went to the Haunted Forest at Maple Valley this year, go next year, or never go at all, there is no denying the hard artistic work that goes into creating the memorable, entertaining, and haunting experience.
