The Backwoods (Harrison, OH)
“Nature Trail to Hell”
By Noah Wullkotte: jollypumpkin@aol.com
The Backwoods is an old school type of haunted trail. It takes place at the M.V.P Sportspark in Harrison, OH. This 10 minute excursion into the wilderness is pretty spooky. It reminded me of how some haunts used to be when I was a young child. There aren’t any fancy sets or high tech props. It’s a simple haunted trail that relies on atmosphere.
You’ll explore areas such as the spider’s lair. It features body bags that resemble cocoons. There are a variety of characters like Harold the scarecrow from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and an evil clown. The clown can be seen holding a snake as he hides in the darkness. Other characters include a pig faced killer, various screaming victims and more. We expected to see more crazy hillbillies since it’s called The Backwoods.
There aren’t too many scenes since most of the haunt consists of random props such as a crazed mental patient, a coffin, a body ripped in half, a car horn and more. There are some issues with The Backwoods. The screaming from the female victims is overdone and can be a little annoying at times. The generator that’s used for power is distracting because of how loud it is. A few of the scenes could be improved. One of the actresses has been hanged and it’s obvious that she’s attached to a harness. This haunt needs more direction. It’s reasonable at only $7 and there’s so much potential. This could be a very special haunt.
We enjoyed the creepy music and we thought it was cool how we needed to hold a lantern to light our way. The standout star of The Backwoods is an actor named Dylan. He’s small in stature, but he’s incredible. He hides in the darkness and appears in multiple spots throughout the haunted trail. He wears a ghillie suit and a zombie mask. Dylan doesn’t have any lines and he isn’t intimidating, but he knows how to jump out at just the right moment. It was one of the few times I was caught off guard this season. I give Dylan a around of applause because he knows this haunted trail like the back of his hand. This attraction has a small cast and Dylan makes it seem like there are more characters. He only uses a small horn to scare people and without him The Backwoods wouldn’t be nearly as good. If there were more actors like Dylan then the score for acting would be much higher.
There’s a variety of concessions available including homemade Halloween treats, soft pretzels, hot dogs, candy, soda and much more. Halloween music plays while you wait and you can warm your bones at the bonfire. The Backwoods is in its third year or operation and we hope to see it improve over time. There’s so much land at the M.V.P Sportspark. It includes 5 baseball fields and a clubhouse. It’s a great setting for a haunted trail.
Length-6 Design-4 Props/Animatronics-4 Acting-6 Scare Effect-6
Final Stab: 5.2
www.facebook.com/TheBackwoods