Trail of Fears-“The Legend of Mary Wilson”
Genre: Haunted Trail
Location: 1859 Walker Road
Hilliard, Ohio 43026
Runtime: 20-25 min (includes hayride portion)
Website: www.trailoffears.com
Trail of Fears in Hilliard, Ohio is one of the more unique haunted trails I’ve encountered. It combines elements of a haunted hayride and trail into one. The weather was perfect the night we visited and the crowd was obviously in the mood to have some haunting fun.
This is City Blood’s 2010 review of Trail of Fears.
What’s Good About The Haunt?
Trail of Fears has improved greatly since the last time I visited in 2008. There are more creative scenes, better actors and it’s just more intense than it has ever been. Scenes you’ll experience include a Spider’s Lair with a large animated tarantuala, a biohazard toxic wasteland with a killer mutant, a large graveyard with moving body bags, Satan’s Fortress, a Hillbilly Shack with a chained up victim, crazed chainsaw lunatics and more.
My favorite scene at Trail of Fears has got to be the King Kong confrontation. You’ll come across an area of the trail when suddenly a loud growl can be heard as strobes flash on and off. King Kong breaks his chains and suddenly you’ll come face to face with the massive gorilla himself. The homemade costume the actor wears is pretty impressive and the entire scene is very memorable and unique.It’s great!
This year the actors are better hidden. One second they’ll be inside a building or scene and then out of nowhere they’ll cross paths with you. There are hidden paths and shortcuts the actors are able to take so they can scare people in different areas of the haunt. One of the best actors Trail of Fears has is the screaming witch in the haunted catacombs/chambers building. She wickedly screams as she gets in your face and appears from nowhere while you walk the trail. On top of that, her makeup/prosthetic is very creepy and resembles an old decrepit witch. You’ll notice that Trail of Fears uses this actress in their homepage website graphic.
What’s Bad About The Haunt?
When you arrive at Trail of Fears you’ll wait in line to get your tickets inside their ticket barn. Unless you purchase a VIP ticket, you’ll need to wait in another line to get on the haywagon. When the tractor drops you off, you’ll walk through a cornfield that eventually leads to another line you’ll need to wait in before entering the actual haunted trail. There’s a lot of waiting.
The first five minutes on the haywagon is very uneventful and is dying for some scary scenes and more actors hiding in the woods. After waiting this long without anything happening, customers begin to get a little frustrated. Then when they realize that they have to wait in an additional line, the haunt starts to lose its value.
$14 is a little high for a haunted trail that doesn’t feature high end animatronics or incredibly detailed scenes. Trail of Fears does have a few nice props like an animated spider and a corpse popping out of a barell, but the majority of the decor is standard. A haunt doesn’t have to have a massive budget, but when the ticket price is high so are the expectations. After you exit Trail of Fears you will walk back onto the wagon. It would be smart for the makers of this haunt to include something spectacular on the way back that’s unexpected. This could include a spooky shack with fire shooting out of its top or possibly a headless horseman galloping along side the wagon. This would give the haunt much more value.
Customer Service:
After waiting in the ticket line you’ll be able to check out all of the goodies Trail of fears has inside their concession barn. This includes freshly made jam, sausage, hot dogs, drinks and more. Unfortunately after you wait in one line to get on the wagon, you’ll have to wait in another before walking through the haunted trail. So if you are planning on visiting a couple of haunts in one night, please make sure to purchase a VIP ticket for $20. You’ll be able to skip the line and sit in front of a warm bon fire before it’s your turn to enter Trail of Fears.
As discussed earlier, the ticket price for Trail of Fears is too high. $10-$12 would be a more reasonable price for what you’re getting. Don’t forget to print out City Blood’s Killer Coupon or Haunted Ohio’s coupon for $2 off to go through once and $4 off to go through twice.
Final Thoughts:
I had a very good time at Trail of Fears and I think most people will walk away satisfied with their experience. This haunted trail has some unique scenes and some very enthusiastic actors. If you are in Central Ohio this season and are looking for a creepy good time then check out Trail of Fears. Watch out for big ole King Kong though.
Length-8 Design-8 Props/Animatronics-7 Acting-7 Scare Effect-8
Official Score – 7.6
Fun Facts:
*Trail of Fears’ mascot Mary Wilson can be seen inside the chambers scene. She wears a green prosthetic to make herself look like a witch.