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Shocktoberfest 94 Park Ave. Sinking Spring, PA 19608
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I was recently at a friend's house and was flipping through the stations when I came across a news report with Pat from Shocktoberfest talking about having an option at his haunted house to go through naked. This caused a huge commotion in his community and it was eventually vetoed but it sure as hell got him a lot of press. I have been wanting to go to this haunt for a long time, ever since I heard they had a dance floor area. I drove up to Berks county with some co-workers and we arrived at the Haunt on the later side but it was well before the full swing of the season and it was not too crowded.
We got the full combo tickets and headed into the first attraction which was a walk through 3D type deal that included what they call a pre-show. While we were in line they had this strange facade made of giant crates which I thought was an odd entrance but either way we headed into a building with a giant screen and began to watch a video of a girl dressed some kind of steam punk fashion where she was talking about a monster or something, I really had a hard time paying attention or seeing through the 3D glasses but either way next thing we knew a monster came running out at us and we were then instructed to leave that area.
We made our way into this other house where the first room was a total steam punk room with flashing lights and controls and crates. We then were going through this tight dark maze into this haunted house with twists and turns and various rooms that felt like a closet or attic with clothes. Actors would pop out of drop down doors and such and one scene in particular was pretty good where they forced you to go right up to an actors window. They had the inflatable blatter you walk through which is now a haunted house staple. They also had a tiny carnival scene with, of course, a creepy clown. Most of this place was in total darkness and half the time I was unsure of which way to go. This section was fun but pretty short and a less then average walk through haunted house.
We then made our way to the hayride and were guided to a building where another video comes on and tells us about a story with zombies attacking or something. We then load up on a hay wagon being pulled by a truck which is fine but the truck is so quite compared to the tractor it kind of ruined the ambiance of the tractor hayride. The first scene was coinciding with the plot from the video that I zoned out on and it was saying zombies were loose but they would be held back by an electronic fence. There was a zombie roaming around in the barn while a scientist guy was trying to keep him back. The wagon then proceeded into the night but the sounds when we first arrived like the crickets faded away and it was unnaturally quiet for most of the hayride with no running soundtrack. We came upon some hillbilly scenes where they had those puffs of propane fire and a toxic waste lake. We were also attacked by giant worms in one barn but the stand out scene was the ambitious actor with chainsaw jumping around on wires and pretending to throw a barrel onto the wagon.
Once the hayride was complete we took the prison bus to the penitentiary which is actually fashioned after Eastern State Penitentiary as far as concept but it's hard to get the same facade with corrugated steel, which is the front of the fake Penitentiary. Once inside we are allowed to put on flag football flags and we are explained that they represent your heart, brain and blood and we need to keep them away from the undead to stay alive. This sounded like fun so we put them on and made our way into this attraction . This was by far the best thing at Shocktoberfest. It was a giant steel maze of craziness. The actors were amazing in terms of their parts. There was this small black actor wearing just underwear in one scene who was completely believable. They used this great effect of timed lights that would go on and off in a rhythm and actors would appear and disappear and get close or far. It was an amazing scare tactic that truly puts you on edge. They also had these amazing giant sewer pipe tunnels you go through while actors chase you. They have prison cells fashioned after prison cells from Eastern State Penitentiary that are fun with insane actor criminals. Then you are somehow outside going through these other strange mazes while actors are chasing you out. This was a lot of fun and can only be described as a mad cap marathon, all while trying to protect your flags. This was a lot of good fun and I would definitely recommend this section above all. I don't think we made it out with any flags but there is always next time.
