This will be the second year of operation for PsychoMania. While the crowds weren’t huge that night the people who showed up for this haunt were ready to get scared out of their wits. We were ready to enter the old theater, but will we walk away impressed or depressed from what we see inside?
Length-8: Your journey though the old haunted theater will take around 15 minutes to complete. There are few dead spots and always something frightfully entertaining to catch your interest as you go through the haunt.
Design-8: Once you step foot inside PsychoMania you will be able to tell that this building was in fact a movie theater. You will see the concession stand off to the side as well as the ticket booth where people would pay for their movie tickets. New this year is a section that has palm readings for anyone who wants to know their future. As I said in last year’s review, PsychoMania has one of the most detailed and authentic looking queue lines in the haunt industry today. You will swear that you are looking at a real dilapidated haunted mansion instead of a detailed facade. It’s something you just have to see to believe.
Once entering PsychoMania you will experience a variety of themed rooms. These include a padded insane asylum, a mad clown’s fun room, choose your path room, a haunted living room and much more. This haunt would be much more realistic if it followed a consistent theme throughout instead of having rooms that don’t make sense inside a haunted mansion. Now if the facade you entered didn’t resemble a haunted mansion/house then the themes the rooms use wouldn’t matter, but since you are entering a haunted mansion the rooms should revolve around that.
Props/Animatronics-8: PsychoMania is full of realistic set pieces in rooms that involve the haunted mansion theme, but the rest of the props you’ll encounter are nice, but there needs to be some improvement in this area. This year PsychoMania has made some of its animatronics including a brand new electric chair. The prop itself did resemble your classic electric chair animatronic, but because of the force it was using the head had fallen off. Most people might not notice this, but it should be fixed so this doesn’t happen again. There are some eye catching props, but a few that just seemed out of place. One scene had an animated dragon’s head which looked a bit cheap and just didn’t move right. Even though this haunt doesn’t use the latest in haunt technology most of the decorations go great with the rooms they decorate.
Acting-8: PsychoMania has a great group of actors. This includes an insane asylum patient, a ring master, crazed creatures, monsters and much more. This haunt would score higher in this category if a few of the actors didn’t overact and if there were some queue line actors to interact with customers. Either way there are some great actors who roam this haunt.
Scare Effect-8: The fact that this haunt takes place in an old theater gives you a really creepy feeling and is a perfect atmosphere for a haunted attraction. The queue line facade that resembles a haunted mansion is very bone chilling and really sets you up for what lies ahead inside PsychoMania. There are some startling moments inside PsychoMania, but if a consistent theme was followed it would be much scarier.
Customer Service: The staff is very friendly, but seemed a little unorganized the night we visited. We were pointed in the wrong direction as to where to go and had to wait for the actors to get ready because they were on break. I’m sure this isn’t a common occurrence though. The parking is completely free and there are concessions inside as well as palm readings.
Fright Value: $15 seems to be about the average ticket price for haunts in the area. While there is a coupon available, you have to send an email in order to get it. An easier way to print out a discount coupon would help bring in a larger crowd especially those that are looking for cheap entertainment. For $25 you can tour PsychoMania and Quarantine and for $5 additional for each haunt you can skip the lines. Please make sure and purchase a ticket for the one and only Buried Alive coffin ride simulator. It’s a one of a kind attraction that has you feeling like you are being buried alive.
Final Stab-8.0: PsychoMania is a very unique haunt because of the setting it takes place in. There are very few haunts in the United States that reside inside an actual old theater that feels haunted. But once you step foot inside the haunt you are going to have a real good time rather you get scared or not. Make sure and check out PsychoMania and Quarantine at The Theater of Terror in Clarksville , IN.