It was a cold, fall night and we were visiting the first outdoor attraction of our Michigan haunt tour. Rotten Manor in Holly, MI features so many attractions, both outdoor and indoor, you could spend hours experiencing everything here!! They have The Rotten Hayride, The Rotten Forest, Rotten Paintball, Rotten Manor (are you noticing a theme here?), and the newly added Rotten Theater. In their newly added vintage-style theater, they feature a variety of horror-themed performances including the story of Mr. and Mrs. Rotten. There's also a sizable midway with carnival games, food, smaller attractions like a quick vortex tunnel and maze, and lots of vendors selling everything from candles to glass pipes. We didn't do everything, but we did do the hayride, forest, and manor!
The facade of Rotten Manor and surrounding midway grounds are SPECTACULAR! Rotten Manor felt less like a Hollywood set and more... REAL! There was definitely a more organic look than the other Michigan haunts we'd visited so far. Rotten Manor was gritty, grimy, and appeared to have naturally aged and become dilapidated.
First, was The Hayride. Fall temperatures in Georgia are nowhere near Michigan temps, so the small fire was very welcoming during our wait for the previous riders to return. The hayride was a nice, long tractor ride through the woods with several stops along the way. Chainsaw wielding hillbillies, aggressive fish mongers, and screaming villagers jumped on and off the tractor. The sets looked great, and the acting was decent - the interactions were fun but not really scary. Megan got “fish juice” in her eye and kissed a skunk!
Next up, The Forest. After the hayride, we did not have very high expectations; but this was our first trail experience in Michigan, so we were looking forward to it nonetheless. Plus, we love haunted trails!
Rotten Forest's trail was physically challenging and SOOO MUCH FUN! This didn’t feel like a relaxing evening stroll through the woods by any means! All of the structures we encountered were extremely interactive and different than anything we've ever experienced on a haunted trail! We went down into a swamp, snuck into then broke out of an insane asylum, escaped the witch from Hansel and Gretel, ran from a man-pig, crawled into a church... we were truly blown away by the level of immersion and interactiveness the sets in this forest provided. What a FREAKING ADVENTURE!!!
After The Rotten Forest, we were STOKED to check out The Manor! But when we got to the front things looked oddly… closed. They had shut down the house while we were on the trail!!! We were forced to have to come back to experience the house. UGHHHHHH!
When we made it back to Rotten Manor a couple days later, we headed directly to the house like junkies on a mission! Rotten Manor began with the telling of the house's story. Apparently, we had died and this house was like a way station for lost souls. Wonder if this ties into the Rotten Theater show? After the intro, one of the first things we heard was a snippet from a Twilight Zone episode and that pretty much set the tone for the entirety of Rotten Manor. There was this underlying surreal and bizarre feeling throughout.
The sets were just as organic and grimy feeling as the exterior facade we were greeted with upon entering the grounds. They featured some familiar movie themes mixed with original designs and were all incredibly detailed and immersive. We had to interact with scenes by opening doors, crawling, ducking, feeling or squeezing our way through, and escaping through some extremely unique tunnels!
Scare actors were actually few and far between in both the forest and the manor, but neither attraction seemed empty. We're not sure if this was on purpose or due to the times we went through, but it totally worked for us! We were so engulfed in these experiences that nothing felt missing! The actors we did experience were very theatrical and engaging instead of just being there to provide a jump scare.
One thing to note, with all of the attractions and the size of the midway, we would expect to have seen some actors roaming the grounds. We didn't see any, so again, not sure if this was due to the times we were there.
Costuming and makeup were minimal but always appropriate to their scene. During our adventures at Rotten Manor, we were met with hillbillies, storytellers, doctors, patients, preachers, and more! And despite that variety, it all actually made sense and flowed well together.
Based on some feedback we’ve hear about this haunt, we would recommend that you go during "off" times. It gets deservedly packed out there, and going through with too many people or being rushed through would definitely be a huge disservice to the experience.
Rotten Manor also hosts a Christmas event. This year A Rotten Christmas Nightmare will open Dec. 2-3, 9-10, and 16-17. With everything that Rotten Manor has to offer, the whole family can have a night out full of fall fun and with a Christmas Nightmare... a winter one too! Overall, Rotten Manor is an old-school haunt that's an all-out adventure! Be sure to check them out!
