Thursday, February 20, 2014

[Haunt Review] Castle Blood's Love & Death 3 - Valentine's Day Unlike Any Other

Haunt reviews in February, who would've thunk that one was gonna happen, eh? Well, to our delight there were several Haunted Attractions open all over the country this past weekend. While many phone it in with canned themes and no originality, Castle Blood doesn't and we love them for it!

This past weekend, Feb. 14th and 15th, Castle Blood celebrated Valentine's Day weekend with it's third annual Love and Death event. A fun and satirical look at our mortal obsession with finding, keeping and not prematurely burying that special someone in our lives. Needless to say the castle denizens were going to have quite a bit of fun with this one.

Not only that, but right next door at the Fire Department Ladies Auxilliary, there was a Valentine's Day dinner and masquerade as well for those who came out and braved the cold on Saturday night in Western PA.

So dressed as a pirate, Harley Quinn and Jayne Cobb; Carrie, Alex and myself (respectively no less) headed out into the chilled night for yet another adventure with Gravely and company. Again, this haunt isn't the kind that chases you around with chainsaws or is into torture porn. Castle Blood is a unique and wonderfully bizarre experience that fans of Clue, The Munsters and The Addams Family will eat up and keep coming back for more.
  • Date Visited: 2/15/14
  • Review Team: +Carrie H.C.+Alexandra F and +Kitsune Hazard 
  • Rating: Extremely Good!
  • Recommendation: There's a reason they won our Best Interactive Haunt Award last year and I'd say that you should definitely go, but sadly the event only ran on the 14th and 15th. So, you'll just have to hit them up next time!
  • Likes: The attention to detail is top notch and they love to play with the holidays throughout the year and it really shows.
  • Dislikes: Can't really think of any to be honest.
  • Pro-Tip: I can't stress this enough people, it's far more fun if you're playing with them and not just a bump on the log. Also, the Nightmare Pass is an awesome way to go with things. For only $10 more you get a pin (or DVD of Midnight Monster Hop)
Disclaimer: Like our trip to Castle Blood for Spooky Little Cryptmas, we paid fully for our tickets and got a deal that included a T-shirt, DVD and dinner afterwards at the masquerade. So, just like everyone else that visited this past weekend, we paid just like they did!

Now, let's get on with it!

Well, as I'm sure you noticed, we were in costume when we arrived at the castle. This might seem a little weird but unlike many haunts, this is very much enjoyed by the denizens. So, keep in mind that as long as you're not wearing a mask, you can do the same during any of their events! Always a fun thing to do in general but tonight had other reasons for that as well, more on that later.

Upon our arrival to pick up our tickets we were surprised to see Gravely himself manning the ticket booth. You never do know where he'll pop up next, was nice to catch up and hear Cedric a bit as well!

After a quick little chat we made our way up the ramp to meet the rest of our party who'd gotten there earlier and was a just a little impatient. They must've been dying to get in and since it was their first ever visit to the castle, we let them go in first. Of course, with more of the scares back in place for this one, it didn't take long before the first jump and scream after we were given the rundown of the rules and a little on the story for this one.

The ever lovely Vapor!
Our first stop as usual was the parlor, lovingly decked out for the holiday and this time around we were greeted not by Lady Die, but the ever so lovely, Vapor. She's been very busy in the love department over the years and with a sharp wit and an infectious laugh, we got the rundown on a few of her late lovers. I think she was a little too enthusiastic about them not being around and, of course, she was on the prowl for the next Ex Mrs Vapor as it were. 

Now, for those that don't know how this works, your group gets to pick the ones you'll be told about and that's how you learn what you're to be looking for on the rest of your tour. This is an interactive haunt, remember?

So, what did we end up being tasked to find? Glad you asked, for this night we were after the following; a fractured heart, fluffy and a flame. No doubt you can guess how those fellas died, eh? From here we were set off once more through the coffin door and sent our way. Only time would tell if we'd make it out alive, dead or something else all together.

A short trip and a couple of startle scares later, we found ourselves face to face with another denizen, this time it was Shard, and we were once again given the warning that protection might be wise to have. Of course, nothing comes cheap or easy around here and our very own Alex was tasked with giving her very best "Roses are Red" poem to someone special. After a quick little quip about flowers, bombs and man-eating plants to Carrie (what, we never said any of us were normal), she was given the beads of protection and then we were set on our way deeper into the castle once more.

After that, it didn't take us long to run into our guide for the rest of the trip, Sebastian. While not nearly as reluctant as Bram was in the past, he was quite the entertaining and informative fellow. We were glad to have him as he took us through the winding halls of the castle. 

From here we made our way to Crow Haven. Which, this time around was oddly devoid of any witches. So, a little magic improvisation later and we were rewarded with a burnt match, well lots of them but we only got one. Why so many in the box? Alex overdid her revenge thinking...

After a quick stop in the portrait gallery, we found ourselves up for the next challenge, as it were. It was time for a quick little tarot reading to find out if love was in the air. Interestingly enough, there was just enough in our group to produce a heart. Not a full one mind you but half was a good start. From here we made a quick trip through the "Experimentorium", complete with the hyper ball of energy, ZAP! and then onto the lab. Sadly though, it appears that even mad science can't do much in the way of figuring out love.

Our next stop was the crypt. Now, last time there was singing involved, so we had no idea of what to expect once we were confronted within the crypt's confines. Turns out, singing was back and the request from Talisyn was that someone sing a "sad love song" to their significant other was made. Interestingly enough, turns out that the singing ability and song was just that...sad. So, with that we got our reward, a small black and red pillow. Indeed, it was...fluffy and we were ushered on, much to the relief of the wizard, no reason for cruel and unusual punishment after all.

Onwards we went, deeper into the castle and just past some rather restless souls that may or may not have been buried alive, we found ourselves in Gravely's office. Here we learned that a little magic may once again save our collective asses and help with our quest. How you ask? Well, turns out that the match from earlier that Alex still had on her was needed and not long after, we had a candle. Ah ha! The flame had been acquired.

So, a quick quest check. Flame and fluffy were now in our possession. Just the fractured heart to go and we'd be set! Sadly though this meant that we were coming close to the end of our tour. Our last stop was in the conservatory where we were met by a rather dark and strange winged creature. Upon learning that he was a fallen cherub and didn't feel that matching mortals up all willy nillie was his thing, he offered to help. How? Well turns out the half of a heart we had was going to come in handy and in the blink of an eye, we had a full one. Ah ha! The fractured heart was now ours and we had all three pieces of the puzzle.

All that was left was for us to be judged and while Alex thought it meant on her costume, it's not quite like that. This judgement was on how successful we'd been in our quest and lucky for us we had been, otherwise you get to stay a while. Never failed so who knows what happens to those poor saps. Our reward for our troubles, a kiss. No, not that kind! Hershey Kisses, I mean who doesn't love a little chocolate, eh?

Overall, it was another great show and our whole group loved every minute of it. As usual the sets were a complete delight and the spin that the story had for Valentine's Day delivered on it's promise to be a satirical and macabre look at our notion of love and everything that goes along with it. Also, a few of our group were pleasantly surprised at learning that the items we collected on our trip were there's to keep! Yep, not only do get some satirical and bizarre fun with a few scares, but keepsakes to remember your time as well!

Vapor and her next victim?
However, that's not all! Yes, there's more and if you've stuck around this long, good on ya! After we were done, Carrie, Alex and myself headed over to the Fire Department Ladies Auxilliary hall. It being right next door, it wasn't such a bad walk. Why were we headed there? Well, as part of a promotion for Valentine's Day weekend, if you pre-ordered your tickets for Saturday night, you got dinner and the masquerade as well. Really not a bad deal and even more so if got in on the earlier deal that Carrie and I did, $40 for two which included the Castle Blood tour, dinner, two t-shirts and either a couple of copies of the dvd's or the pins for the year. 

The dinner was good and while a few questions arose at the choice of music, we were definitely amused by the drunk dancing that was happening to it at least. That said, we didn't have to wait too long before the cast of the castle came over to mingle with the crowd of about 75-80 people and then judge the masquerade. 

So, without further ado, here's the winners from the night. The awards went to Most Elegant Male, Most Elegant Female, Most Elegant Couple, Best Overall and then the "My Bloody Valentine Award" which was voted on by the cast as their favorite of the night. A few weren't a surprise at all, but the Bloody Valentine one definitely was!

Most Elegant Male - The Venetian

Most Elegant Female

Most Elegant Couple - Steampunk

Best Overall - Demon Lady

Bloody Valentine Award - Harley Quinn
Yes, our very own Alex won the cast favorite award! Even more cool? They had no idea who she was at all!

Carrie and Alex back the house!

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