 THE
HAUNTED CAVE: Mortician Lewis
DeBurg measures visitors for their burial clothes, while fortune teller
Madam
Macabre offers imaginary predictions of gloom regarding customers'
imminent fate, as the descent 80 feet beneath the ground into Lewisburg's
Haunted
Cave begins. Buried in an abandoned old limestone mine in the
bowels of the Earth lies one of the most impressively authentic haunts
in existence! Warnings about endangered bats that call this place
home are interrupted by an apparent electrical failure that deprives
the queue line of lights, and leaves scare seekers hopelessly stranded
in total darkness! Restoration of power initiates the actual exploration,
where spooky music plays, thunder clashes, and occasional flashes of
lightening serves as the only illumination to the welcoming trek across
a lengthy, wooden plank-like walkway.
Sudden surprises emerge from surrounding waters courtesy
of previously unseen, amphibious ghouls splashing about, madly growling
and snarling, and reaching out to touch and grab at passersby! Simultaneously,
the unstable catwalk begins to sway beneath your feet leaving one to wonder
just what you've gotten yourself into! The lightless assaults eventually
deliver the course through an area overgrown with tree limbs and other
brush, then onto more vicious monsters, a blood-splattering CGI surprise,
and into the clutches of glowing, red-faced living walls! Incinerating
flames await, inviting the path into a eerily lit swamp, subjecting visitors
to multi-sided attacks out of the surrounding murk, as the drudge forward
continues through the quagmire-like wetlands, and exits into a spider web
infested zone inhabited by bats! Chained, rattling caskets vibrate
of their own accord, as hands reach down from above, and a talking
skull welcomes guests into a sacrificial ceremony; then into a bone-chilling,
candle lit cemetery, that gives rise to a number of unrighteous events
including a vicious chainsaw initiation; zombie pursuits; more coffins;
skeletons and bones strewn about; confrontations with a trio of forsaken
gravediggers; an overhead zip-line surprise; hissing snakes; and a multitude
of mechanical surprises all accompanied by some of the most ungodly music
known to man! On the horizon is a wicked lab occupied by a deranged
scientist who's robbed graves of their corpses, and strapped them down
to gurneys in anticipation of utilizing them in a variety of ghastly experiments.
An unexpected startle waits in the wings as a skull is suddenly propelled
forward, and the sound of a beating heart fills the air! Escape brings
about a lengthy prison experience, which begins by being searched and frisked
for weapons, then progresses through a torture chamber-like wing of cell
blocks incarcerating distraught criminals, and ultimately into a voice
enhanced, face to face run-in with underworld warden
Jebeneezer Law,
restraining a rabid, overgrown police dog! Breaking the Law results
in the chastising of offenders, and the summoning of Officer Bad
to escort us from the premises, through a demented rock-n-roll surgery,
and across a bridge containing an embedded CGI sewer escape-like
presentation that engulfs the surroundings in smoke! A blackened
maze soon follows highlighted by more grabbing; a vehicle screeching up
out of the shadows, releasing its occupants to open fire upon us with rifles
and shotguns; and a spark emitting broken down car saga that witnesses
panic-stricken daughters screaming at some rope climbing gargoyle/bat-like
creature with a death grip on their father! A naughty school bus
encounter is still to come with a group of seductively dressed field trippers
that exits alongside a skeleton/corpse-like piggy back ride commemorating
a memorable tumble! Remnants of fur from a previous capture lead
the way onto a bridge that's guarded by an elaborate serpent/bug-like monster,
a huge mechanical bat sporting an enormous wing span, and a treacherous
stalk-about that springs to life out of the shadows blocking the path!
Floors vibrate and move, poppers impressively spark to compliment the movement
of a ghillie monster, barrels thrash about, deafening horns sound, and
an axe toting girl unleashes a murderous attack to the accompaniment of
another CGI surprise as darkness yields to a foggy fence maze entrapment
illuminated by flickering strobes. Characterized by dead ends, and
limited visibility, the labyrinth gives residence to a fiend with red,
laser-like projections emitting from his fingertips, as well as a street
vagrant pushing a shopping cart and begging for money to finance a future
OVH
post season celebration! Wandering about aimlessly for what seems
like forever eventually uncovers the exit, and a brief question and answer
session that dumps you into the depths of Hell, and another voice
enhanced confrontation, this one with
Satan himself! Flanked
by a flaming-handed Soulburner who enforces his proxy, and a scantily
clad Hellcat, The Devil taunts threats of eternal damnation,
releases repeated blasts of everlasting fire, and orders us to investigate
various tormenting paths of dead ends and claustrophobic loops that result
in multiple returns to additional suffering encounters with The Prince
of Darkness and his band of demonic supporters in search of a lone
escape route. Darkness, flashing lights, a sparking chainsaw, a crazed
miner, ghostly apparition, spongy floors, etc. disorient and confuse inhibiting
the way through Anguish,
Diabolical, and other hopeless exercises
in futility until the eventual passage to freedom is finally uncovered.
A squeeze wall, another entrapment, a demented scene that witnesses some
poor, unfortunate victim being chainsaawed in two, and a spinning vortex
are still to come just prior to the abominating conclusion of TheLewisburg
Haunted Cave!
Analysis:
LENGTH - 10, Well in excess of an hour! (Officially,
our time was 1:35!)
ACTORS - 9, Cast size is unmatched! Much better
acting and dialogue from Devil and SoulBurner this season,
but many others remain extremely weak. For example, ghillie monster
asked us, "Wassup?" Standouts include Scientist,
Law,
Officer
Bad, Prison Guards, Naughty Schoolgirls, and conductor
of Sacrifice Ceremony.
Water Monster engagements are unseen,
intimidating and threatening as well. Better conversational interactions
from rest of cast would be beneficial, as would more elaborate costuming,
along the lines of Jebeneezer Law's exposed heart. Axe girl
wears a black dress, but CGI counterpart is clad in white. Actually
touching customers legitimizes the experience making it that much more
realistic. Total Characters = 111!
SCARINESS - 10, Arguably, the most legitimately spooky
environment in the industry! The authenticity of the setting is second
to none! Music is creepy, and sets an appropriate mood. Touching
unsuspecting customers is the ultimate element of invasion, and coming
face to face with The Devil himself is an unsurpassable scare.
DESIGN - 9+, Genuinely scary and intense, and length
is second to none. Cemeteries are exquisite, jail is much more active
than it was last season, and Devil and his Demonic Soulburner
are much better versed in their vocabulary and interaction, however the
devil maze itself features more dead ends and fewer loops which is a mistake
because it creates a sense of immediate disappointment, as opposed to dashed
hopes of achieving success. Visibility in fence maze is practically
nonexistent due to fog density and strobes which is a good thing, but there's
no soundtrack to speak of.. Environment would significantly benefit from
some type of frenzied, alarm-like audio enhancement. In addition,
that maze itself is too futile in nature this year because an actor must
be involved in actually letting groups out, otherwise, an exit doesn't
exist. While this aids in group spacing into the devil maze, it's
an unfair aspect of the course, and thus lessens the overall impression
of the attraction when customers wear out their welcome. There needs
to be an escape built in to the maze (even if it's first shut off), and
characters should be strategically located to misdirect customers away
from the proper path permitting them to experience the various dead ends
and loops, but eventually allowing them to discover the exit on their own.
We were actually permitted to leave the area entirely and return all the
way back to the previous CGI scene, which should never happen. Frightening
theme is interrupted on occasion by Naughty school bus, and fence
maze beggar who is in the way, and doesn't belong. Infirmary needs
to do away with rock-n-roll angle, as it is foolishly out of place as well.
Music along the initial path needs to be much louder, as does Asylum
door CGI, and sound enhancement from jail is audible between that particular
CGI and entrance to fence maze. The attraction continues to begin
in subtle darkness, and climax in utter chaos!
PROPS - 10, Latest technological advances and scares
are always on display in The Cave. 2 new CGI startles have
been installed, additional animatronic surprises have arrived, and "poppers"
(electrical firecrackers and boomsticks) are seemingly everywhere!
Their presence is especially appreciated contributing to the legitimacy
of the supposed electrical malfunction exposed at the beginning.
A real school bus, and several cars are made use of to deliver various
scares. Fire is also used effectively, and is realistically impressive.
VALUE - 10, No price increase for the 2011 season.
Admission remains only $12 with their website coupon, and grants access
to 60+ minute excursion through one of the region's best haunted
attractions!
RATING: 9½, Last year's Haunt
of the Year returns to defend its crown with a course recently recognized
by Guinness as the "Longest walk-through horror house" in existence.
While others falsely lay claim to the title, or futilely attempt to mislead
the public by advertising and SELLING multiple attractions as a money maker,
but defining them as ONE for comparison's sake, this is the real deal -
a simply must see attraction! Legitimacy and authenticity are unmatched.
When visiting, don't forget to stop by and pick up some inexpensive snacks
from "Mama Cat" at the concession stand before leaving The Haunted Cave,
where getting in is easy, but getting out may KILL you! |
