Grim Trails is a ¾ mile haunted trail that explores everyone’s favorite fairy tales and folklore, but with a twist. They REALLY know how to set the stage! The banners on the light posts in the parking lot made us feel like we just arrived at the theme park of haunts! We’re so accustomed to driving on dirt roads and parking in fields; although, those have a special quality all their own too. The music being pumped through the speakers made it sound as if we were about to embark on an epic fantasy quest. When we reached ye olde ticket booth, we were super excited to hear that they had had a record-breaking night and were ready to venture in ourselves.
Walking down the paved pathway to the queue, the epic quest music slowly began to fade away and was replaced by a chorus of creepy whispers coming from the woods surrounding us. It was dark, scary dark, and the whispers continued incessantly as we anxiously waited in line. And then things took a turn for the worst, at no real fault of the haunt’s...
It was the end of night and there were 5 other people in line behind our 4. Instead of taking the 9 of us in two separate groups, we were all grouped together to go through. While the others in our group were super cool people, they talked to each other… they talked to us… and talked some more… through every single scene. UGHHH!!! And then the sin of all haunt sins was committed... when walking through a terrifying pitch black corridor, a cell phone was pulled out for light. NOOOOOOOOO!!! We quickly squashed that but still... come on.
PSA - Please for the love of all things unholy and scary, treat haunted attractions as you would going to the movies. Silence your phones and no talking!!! Especially when you are placed in a group with people you do not know. Appropriate scared outbursts, expletives, and screams are acceptable going through the haunt but, other than that, we have all the time in the world to talk after we get out. Now back to your regularly scheduled review.
Because this haunt is all about twisted fairy tales and scary folklore, the scenes and sets varied widely. Grim Trails had everything from pirates to snakes to creepy dolls to Alice in Wonderland., but they all looked equally amazing! This set up works best with haunted trails because there’s usually dead spaces in between scenes that give your brain a chance to reset, making a completely new theme not seem entirely random.
Every new tale was incredibly detailed and themed to an absolute T! Lighting, sound, and set design were all ON POINT! Although most scenes were appropriately themed, distressed, and lighted, there were a few that confused us. Like the peaceful waterfall with a tiki mask and Buddha statue; we’re still not sure what exactly was happening there, but it looked like a great place to meditate. Some scenes were set up to seamlessly blend with the wooded environment, using the dark forest and trees as the backdrop, while others had their own dedicated house. The indoor/outdoor combination was well thought out and placed strategically among the timbers that we could hardly ever see the next scene ahead of us making each new scene like it’s own hidden secret and our own private discovery.
The characters here were super creative, creeped-out versions of some of your favorite childhood fictional characters. Every character was easily recognizable because the costuming and make-up was so perfect, and a lot of quality masks and full heads were used. The Alice in Wonderland theme was madly maniacal! That Mad Hatter though!
While the make-up and costuming were all amazing, unfortunately most of the actors really didn’t do their respective characters justice. A large portion of them just tried to scream us to death and that gets old, fast. When it is necessary, scream, but not just for no apparent reason Especially when the scenes and woods set more of a menacing, dark undertone. Screaming is not scary… unless you’re a victim.
We really wish we could have gotten the full experience here, but can definitely see the potential for scares. We would totally recommend that some of their more seasoned haunters take the newbies under their wing to teach them the art of the scare. But the ambiance, setting, and scenes alone make this haunt a very worthwhile trip. Come take a trip down the rabbit hole at Grim Trails!
