If you're looking for a good scare this Halloween season, you'll have to go to Stoufville, Ontario!
The Magic Hill Haunted Adventure is a family-owned farm on 9th Line, just north of Bloomington Side Road. The rest of the year they make the property available for company picnics and other functions, but every October evil mists creep out of the earth and transform the farm into a place of death, and also one of Ontario's finest haunted attractions.
They offer four deliciously frightening rides; The Terror Trail Trek, Black Cavern, Howling Hayride, and the most excellent Haunted Barn. The scariness includes a running "storyline" (a must for any good haunted attraction) about a monster family member raised in secret on the farm.
The closer it is to Halloween the busier it gets. The first time I went to Magic Hill (read the review) was the weekend before Halloween (2000) and the line ups were so long we only got to see two of the attractions. This time we went the first weekend of October and decided to see three things. We were pleasently surprised to find almost no waiting at all!
We started with the Howling Hayride at the behest of a group of children waiting for enough people to get on so the covered wagon could leave. With hot-chocolate in hand we boarded the wagon and took our seats. One side of the wagon has a railing and a bench, the other side is open so you can see the scares. My friends chose to sit along the bench away from the opening (the wimps!) I, however, was much braver.
I don't really want to give anything away with this review, but I will say that the ride consists of scary tableaus and live actors in costume who lunge out of the tall grass and trees along the route. Some of the tableaus were quite creative and spooky, while a few were less so. The scares were excellent though, and some of the tableaus are meant to lull you into a false sense of security. Why? You'll have to find out!
The ride itself is a good length, not too long, not too short, and included a couple of nerve-wracking stops along the way. My only complaint was that not all of the actors seemed in the spirit of the thing. While most of them tried their darndest to scare us by yelling, screaming and lunging with gusto, there were a few who made only feeble, half-hearted attempts with poor shouts and by giving up too soon and walking away. I'm sure sitting out in the bush and the cold can be trying, but if you're going to do this job you should make people scream, not laugh.
Next up was the Black Cavern, which is located near the "Munch House" where they sell food and drinks next to a picnic area with a fire pit. The "cavern" itself is built inside a corugated steel building, and is laid out as a maze with live actors, mechanized scares, and a few tableaus. With tight, confining hallways you will feel a little claustraphobic as you are herded along.
One of the best scares came near the end of a narrow hallway that opened into a small room full of hanging "person-sized" white sacks covered in blood. One sack, inconveniently hanging right in the opening to the room, has a face peeking out of it with eyes closed. One of my friends, who was right at the front, was so afraid of what might happen that she refused to push past it! One of the employees had to hold it aside for her before she would continue.
The Black Cavern is a great attraction, but I wish it had been longer, and maybe darker in some places to add to the feeling of desperation and anxiety as you try to find your way along. It is definately worth the cost of a ticket.
Finally we visited my favourite part of the Haunted Adventure, the Haunted Barn! By this point my friends were so creeped out that two of them didn't want to go in. We had to... persuade them. ;-) I really wish they'd let you go through this one again and again. With two whole floors of scares laid out in a sometimes confusing and scary maze this ride alone makes the drive to Stoufville worth it!
It is a mixture of live actors and large-scale tableaus that are horribly grotesque. They also use a bit of stage magic to entertain you in a wicked way. The live actors do more than just jump out. Here they follow along menacingly, breathing down your neck when you least expect it. I think they must let only the best, most enthusiastic employees work in the barn. Hell, I wish I could work there! If you can afford to see only one attraction at the Haunted Adventure, make it this one.
In the end I had such incredible fun that I didn't want to leave. Unfortunately they close up around 11:00pm but kindly invited us to return the following weekend. While I don't scare easily, these attractions really got my adrenaline pumping, and listening to my friends scream all night put a big smile on my face. I must have been grinning like a schoolboy the whole time.
If you're looking for somewhere to go to get you in the mood for Halloween, don't miss The Haunted Adventure. The drive and the cost are both worth it. Go early in the season if you want to avoid long waits and you want to see more than two attractions. I loved this place, and I only wish they had more attractions!
