Twisted Trails Haunted Attraction (Wilmington, OH)
“Paradise Lost”
By Noah Wullkotte: jollypumpkin@aol.com
Twisted Trails at Kirkwood Camp & Adventure Park is comprised of an Upper Trail and a Lower Trail. But in this review, we’re going to treat it as one haunted trail with 2 sections that feature multiple themes. Clown Paradise features you guessed it, clowns. Unfortunately the clown maze was dark. It seemed like it should have been illuminated with black light. There weren’t many actors at all which was disappointing. You’ll experience an ice cream truck with a killer clown and even be attacked by animatronic clowns that bust out of the wall.
Other scenes include an invasion of witches. The massive smoking cauldron was very cool and the actors portraying the witches did a convincing job. There’s a lot of variety at Twisted Trails. You never know what’s lurking in the cornfield. The scarecrows are waiting. Did one just come alive? Twisted Trails features traditional themes and creatures. The doll house includes massive dolls that are life sized to say the least.
There’s plenty of tasty eye candy at Twisted Trails. Get attacked by a massive killer pumpkin that wants you dead. One of the most unique scenes around can be found at Twisted Trails. Walk inside a giant carved pumpkin as seeds fall on your head. This was a really impressive scene that had us smiling from ear to ear.
There are plenty of blood thirsty creatures at Twisted Trails. The werewolves are hungry and they just want a little taste of your flesh. The spiders are the size of large dogs and one human like spider creature features sharp fangs that are ready to pierce your skin. The spider’s lair is very spooky. Total tour time was 8 minutes for the Upper Trail and 13 minutes for the Lower Trail. The lighting needs to be improved. There are some great looking props such as an animated angel of death, but it’s sometimes hard to make out what they are because of poor lighting. Then there are some very cool animated images that are projected into the air. My favorite was the little girl rising from the well. After you’re done with the lower level, you’ll be transported on a wagon near where you first started.
(Fog pours out of the building that houses Muck Manor.)
Muck Manor is Twisted Trails’ indoor haunt. Much of this attraction is made up of green laser swamps with scenes here and there thrown in to the mix. Muck Manor is short at only 6 minutes in length. There just aren’t enough actors for it to be very scary. There are some cool special effects including one fake out scare that I won’t ruin for you. The various swamps were eye catching, but there needs to be more scenes. It gets a little monotonous after a while. General admission for Twisted Trails is $5 on Fridays and a Fast Pass is $10. First Responders get in for free with valid ID. On Saturday, tickets are $22 and Fast Pass is $30. Eaglewood Mini Golf and a round of Alien Gel Soft Blasting game is included in any admission that you choose. Group rates are available and there are concessions such as T-Shirts, hoodies and more.
Twisted Trails is an incredible deal when you visit on a Friday night. You can’t beat the $5 price tag. Yes, the acting could be better, the lighting is sub par and Muck Manor is somewhat forgettable. But Twisted Trails has a lot of variety when it comes to various scenes and you’ll experience some interactive props that might catch you off guard. We definitely recommend Twisted Trails if you visit on a Friday night or get a group of 10 or more for $5 a piece.
Length-9 Design-7 Props/Animatronics-7 Acting-6 Scare Effect-7
Final Stab: 7.4
www.twistedtrailshaunt.com