Seymour Indiana is home to John Mellencamp and of course Fear Fair. Fear Fair is much different from your usual haunted house. While there are many haunts out there that have horror movie scenes, Fear Fair creates some that are so realistic that you feel like you are part of a real life slasher flick. The night we visited the line just for tickets was at least a half an hour wait and once we stepped inside we were pretty surprised by how large the crowd was. You have to remember that Seymour Indiana isn’t that large of a city and for a haunt to get that large of a crowd, they must be doing something right. This is the review of Fear Fair.
Length-9: Your adventure through Fear Fair will take around 20 minutes. There are very few dead spots with the exception of a few outside areas. But in the end this is a very action packed haunt that doesn’t pull any punches in adding length. Each scene is of high quality and is worth the time going through.
Design-9: Whenever a haunt incorporates horror movies into its scenes there are a few reasons they do this. It could either be that they ran out of original ideas or they feel that they can easily create a scene by throwing an actor into a cheap costume and make a room that a 10 year old could put together in a matter of minutes. This is far from the case with the variety of horror movie scenes Fear Fair implements into its haunt. These rooms are as realistic as possible while having some original elements thrown into the mix. Movies include Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday The 13th, Hellraiser, Jeepers Creepers, Saw, Scream and many more famous horror films.
Many of the scenes will have you opening real doors to add to the realism and before you enter a room there is a small sign with information on the movie. This is great for people who aren’t horror movie buffs, but would like to know what movie they are about to experience. Now I’m not going to give away many of the scenes because if I did that your experience wouldn’t be as fun or surprising. Most of the areas are great, but the Scream scene just doesn’t seem to be as effective as the other horror movies portrayed. Even though Scream was the one and only horror movie that is responsible for how many teen style horror movies are today, the scene itself is just boring. But thankfully this is only the case with one scene.
Now even though the majority of scenes at Fear Fair are taken straight from classic horror movies there are some creative western style rooms that are great opening scenes before entering the Fear Fair Film Fest. Unfortunately there is an area in between these scenes were you are able to see out into the crowd of people waiting in line. This totally ruins the realism of the haunt and takes you out of the action for a small amount of time. Putting a black cloth over that area would really help in the long run.
Props/Animatronics-9: Fear Fair is one of those rare haunts that tries to be as authentic as possible with the various horror movie scenes it creates. And in order for it to do this, it can’t use the latest animatronics in its scenes. It just wouldn’t make to much sense to have a rising corpse inside a cabin at Camp Crysal Lake or a 13 foot Impaler inside Freddy’s Boiler Room. But just because Fear Fair doesn’t rely on the use of animatronics doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have eye catching eye candy. You will experience an amazing Tesla Coil in the mad scientist’s laboratory. You will walk through an old fashioned movie theater complete with theater seats, pop corn bags and more. The entire haunt is full of realistic wood to create huts, cabins and more.
The props are impressive, but there were a few instances where things weren’t working 100%. This is the case with the claustrophobia tunnel that changes from white to black. The prop was nice looking, but once you entered you would end up stepping on the air bag material to the point where you could almost trip and get hurt. The tunell was either too tight or too lose. I’m not really sure.
The outside area with the open grave is just crying out for a huge prop to be used. A massive creature prop from Scare Factory would really enhance this rather bare area. Freddy’s Boiler Room could also be enhanced if the cloth used for fire was replaced with CGI fire as well as a little fog and the scent of smoke. Many of the scenes would benefit greatly if Sinister Scents were added. If all of someone’s senses are involved the rooms will then become that more frightening and realistic.
Acting-9: I can’t say enough about the actors. The costumes they wear are elaborate, grotesque, realistic and they are relentless in trying to scare the ba jeebers out of you. Most of the the actors have something to do with the horror movie scenes they are in. They’re either the horror movie villans or victims. You will notice that when you walk through these various scenes that the actors are very intense in nature. Leather Face will rub his chainsaw up against your leg, Michael Myers will come out of nowhere with an intimidating knife, Pinhead holds sharp knives that are inches from your face and various characters will grab and pull at you.
The only disappointing character we encountered was the cowboy who blew his brains out against the wall. This scene is intense, but it doesn’t make any sense that the actor got up right away after killing himself. Even though that particular scene didn’t make much sense, most of the actors you’ll encounter do a great job portraying their character.
Scare Effect-9: This can be a quite startling haunt. When we first arrived to purchase our tickets one of the actors who was dressed as Leather Face was roaming around looking for an unsuspecting victim to scare. Luckily He was able to target a young girl who was petrified as He attacked her with his chainsaw. After He was done with her He approached another girl right next to me who looked like She was about to cry herself to death as He revved up his chainsaw. It was quite amusing and we knew we were in for something special once we were able to enter the actual haunt. Once you are done waiting in line you are about to begin your journey through fear inside Fear Fair.
The actors are relentless, the rooms are intense and the way the haunt is designed has you wondering if the various movie scenes are real or not. The only reason this haunt isn’t scoring a perfect 10 in terms of scares is because of the large amount of steps you must walk up and down and the area that has you venturing outside. While it’s most likely impossible to cut out the steps it still takes you out of the action and brings you back to reality instead of thinking Fear Fair is a real haunted location taken over by ghouls and horror movie villains.
Customer Service: The staff at Fear Fair is very nice and you can tell from the start that they love working at a haunted house of this quality. The parking is free, but could be better organized if there were parking attendants present. There aren’t many concessions available with the exception of a snack trailer you’ll walk past in the ticket line. They only thing I noticed them selling was pizza. More concessions would really enhance the experience because when people’s appetites are satisfied they’re satisfied.
Fright Value: Fear Fair used to be priced at $10 with a $1 off coupon available on their website. But unfortunately the price for the 2009 season has been increased by $5. This is a quality attraction, but that is a huge increase over a year’s period. A coupon on the website should be available to print out, but there isn’t one to be found. If you are 12 or under you can purchase a ticket for $10, or if you have a student ID with you, you can get in for the same price.
Final Stab-9.0: Fear Fair is an amazing haunt that you don’t come by everyday. The people of Seymour Indiana need to realize that this is a very professionally designed haunt in every aspect and one of the best in the country. If you are a huge fan of frightening horror movies and want to relive them, then drive down to Seymour Indiana to experience the one and only Fear Fair. It’s a one of a kind attraction.