Fright Manor (Indianapolis, IN)
“40 Years of Fright”
By Noah Wulllkotte: jollypumpkin@aol.com
Fright Manor in Indianapolis, IN celebrates its 40th anniversary. In 1982, ET was the highest grossing film and Physical by Olivia Newton-John was Billboard’s number one song. The First Commercial use of Genetic Engineering is launched when human insulin produced by bacteria is marketed. The first episode of Late Night with David Letterman debuts. It was an eventful year and the beginning of Fright Manor. It was originally called The Haunted Gym and it was located inside a Lutheran High School at 4100 South Post Road in Wanamaker, Indiana. Tickets were just $2. It was a creepy school with a scary basement.
The theme from 1978’s Halloween played as we waited in line. Fright Manor is an old school haunt where acting and creepy atmosphere are at the forefront. That doesn’t mean that you’re not going to find some entertaining props and scenes. That’s far from the case. Fright Manor consists of 3 attractions. These are The Undead, Scream at South Hollow and Slice and Dice. We consider these three sections that create one large continuous haunt. Fright Manor is a 20 minute haunt full of any type of room you can think of.
You’ll experience a makeshift hospital. Watch out as the doctor throws blood at you. It’s actually water. The living dead will take a bite of your tasty flesh if you’re not careful. Meet Satan and bow down to your master. The local playground is full of killer clowns. You better hide or you’ll be dead meat. The bathroom is disgusting and features a ghoul peeing in the toilet. The butcher shop is grotesque and your leg would be a great addition.
Fright Manor has some scenes that you’re not going to see at many haunts. The dark room full of glow in the dark Jason masks is a classic that I don’t see at other haunts. But it will definitely surprise you depending on how good the actor is blending in with his surroundings. You’ll meet Jason Voorhees in the living flesh as he stands near a cabin and tries to kill you.
Fright Manor features many frightening props. This includes multiple claustrophobia tunnels. One you have to walk through, another you need to duck under and another that simulates a swamp. You’ll witness a ghoul that shakes a cage, a clown animatronic that is up above you, animated ghosts, a mad doctor that drinks a green concoction and much more. It’s crazy how many new props Fright Manor has added this season and it’s truly appreciated.
For the most part, the acting is good. The chainsaw maniacs are intimidating and most of the characters don’t resort to lines like “Get Out” or What are you doing here?”. They actually use meaningful dialogue. This is a physical haunt in a sense. You’ll need to bend over and even crawl. The lighting could definitely be improved in scenes. It was sometimes hard to tell what I was looking at. There are also a lot of scenes that don’t include sound effects or music. Including additional scary music would make an already scary haunt even scarier.
General admission is $25 and a you can skip the regular line with a Speed Pass which is $35. A Season Pass is $65 and FFA members get in for only $15 with ID. There are concessions available including candy, hotdogs, cheeseburgers, soda and more. Fright Manor is an exciting haunt because of how much variety they offer. It’s one of our favorites. We definitely recommend that you visit them this haunt season.
Length-9 Design-7 Props/Animatronics-8 Acting-8 Scare Effect-8
Final Stab: 8.0
www.frightmanor.com