Saturday, November 8, 2014

[Haunt Review] Lights Out at Pittsburgh's Hundred Acres Manor - Not Afraid of the Dark, Are You?

It's rare that I end up doing two reviews for the same haunt in a single year. However, this is a little bit an exception to the rule. You see, Hundred Acres Manor decided to do a special event this year for their last two nights....and that meant, turning out the lights.

Yep, that's right, all of the lights were out and given just a glow stick, you were let loose into the insanity that Hundred Acres already was with the lights on. Gotta say, this one was definitely an experience and one of things you really just have to experience to understand. That said, I'll do my best.

  • Date Visited: 11/8/14
  • Review Team: +Kitsune Hazard 
  • Rating: Excellent
  • Recommendation: Don't even question the thing, just get out there and go!
  • Likes: The new opening and a whole new way to see (or not see as the case may be) everything that Hundred Acres has to offer.
  • Dislikes: Can't think of a damn one that's actually haunt related.
  • Pro-Tip: Dress for the weather and be prepared to be touched and probably run into things, it's gonna happen so just know that upfront. 
Disclaimer: As usual, I was invited down to check this one out and that means getting in for free. That hasn't and never will influence our opinions or views on any attraction that we go to, just makes it possible for us to see them all!

Let's get to it!

From the moment you pull up, you'll notice that something is different...off even, about the familiar Hundred Acres Manor. The music blasting out from the facade has a darker tone and there's no line for zombie paintball. The entire tone is just different, darker and more sinister in nature.

Something is definitely afoot at the Circle K.


After a quick signature to sign your life away, I mean, say that you understand that you may be touched and other such things, you're taken into the first room. Those familiar with Hundreds Acres will definitely notice that things have changed and you're not greeted by deranged creature of the night either...this time it's by someone from the staff, maybe even Creative Director, Ethan Turon (who may or may not be a creature of the night).

It's here where you get the lay of the land, your glow stick a few other rules. Once through? That's when the place takes on a whole other form. Yes, the elevators are still "running" (and where I got serenaded to a delightfully twisted rendition of "Do You Wanna Hide a Body") and you'll be going down once more but this time it's just...darker and a little more twisted. I can't stop thinking about how different everything felt, it's dark and the faint orange light from the glow stick was enough to see, but also enough to blind you if you're not careful.

It's all here, Dead Lift, Damnation, Torture Tank, The Family, everyone's favorite Maze and of course the Brine Slaughterhouse. The only difference is no lights of course and no clue what's going to happen or where. The zombies and maniacs are loose and you'll never see them coming...literally. That and I don't know what happened, but the actors? Holy crap, they were going all out tonight...I wonder if they spiked the water or something because damn.

The journey that you end up taking through the twisted labyrinth that is Hundred Acres Manor this time is just so strange and alien. It doesn't matter how well you think you know the place, or where the scares are coming from, just toss all that out the door right now. None of it matters, they're in control and you can only hope that you'll survive the night.

Sure, one of the biggest things that I love is all the detail at Hundred Acres Manor, and with the lights off you lose that, but you can still see it if you move your hand about a bit and you get the feeling that you shouldn't be here. It's like sneaking in after hours and not knowing what you've bargained for. The best part? You may be separated forcefully from the light and plunged into darkness completely (this happened to me...a lot), not knowing if you'll get it back or not. This just makes things even more insane.

Thankfully, the clouds and moon were on our side tonight, but that just provided an even weirder juxtaposition of light and darkness as you moved from the inside and outside areas. Though, I will say that a few people still got tripped up...whether from losing their lights or just being too afraid to keep going..and that did bring up a couple of "conga line" moments, but even then it's dark enough that you may not see who's only a couple of feet in front of you.

I'm not going to give much away here, and I've already covered quite a bit of this year's Hundred Acres Manor before, so I'm going to cut this short. The bottom line is, this is a great event and sheds a whole new light on what's going on...or what isn't. The only thing different? This time you have no clue where you're going let alone where the scares are going to come from. Might not seem like much, but you've gotta experience it to understand the madness of it all!

So, there's still one more night and you're reading this after November 8th, sorry...but you've missed it. If you're not? Get tickets early online at the Hundred Acres Manor website and get out there, you won't be disappointed!

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