The Boneyard Tuesday night, 10/26/04

We went to The Boneyard on Tuesday, October 26th. We decided to go to some haunted houses the week before Halloween, because we aren't big fans of lines and knew we could avoid them this way. Sure enough, we walked straight in and up to the ticket counter. It was 2 for $20 night. Ticket prices are usually $15 each, but proceeds benefit Special Olympics of Texas, so you can feel all warm and fuzzy inside while you're getting the bejezus scared out of you. The house lasted approx 20 minutes, but it seemed like double that. At some points, I didn't think it was ever going to end.

When we first entered the The Boneyard, I was kind of skeptical. A woman was following us around talking on her headset telling the actors to scare the people behind us good because they were from another haunted house. The first few minutes consisted of some dark hallways and the same two actors scaring us and then running around the corner to try again. I was thinking this was going to be a waste of $10. However, I was wrong.

The Boneyard is scary. There are a lot of actors in there and most of them do a really good job. This is only the 3rd haunted house we've been in this year - well, it's our 9th if you count Dallas Scaregrounds as 3 and Screams as 5 - which I don't. The Boneyard was the best so far. There are several areas that truly had me scared. I started thinking stuff like - what if one of these actors isn't really an actor? What if that hillbilly with the chainsaw is really just a psycho hillbilly with a chainsaw, hiding out in a haunted house to get away with murder?

I'm really scared of the dark. For some reason, it's much scarier to me to not be able to see anything at all than to see some knife wielding maniac rushing towards me. Also, if you're anything like me (especially if you're a girl) the whole male growling and breathing and whispering on the back of your neck thing is so creepy and scary. The rooms really aren't decorated as much as you might expect, but the overall atmosphere is creepy and the actors make up what the decor lacks.

There was the overdone clown area. People lie about being that afraid of clowns. It's time to kill that one trick pony. There was a couple of times we caught some ghosts and goblins unprepared for our arrival. You know, just chatting it up. It seemed like we scared them more than they scared us. One last negative - noone in a haunted house should be without makeup or a mask. Just wearing a black robe does not make you scary. HOWEVER - like I said before, this was the best haunted house we've been to so far and I'd be impressed to find one better. Although Hangmans and Dungeon of Doom might give it a run for it's money if they're as good as years past. (look for those reviews in the next couple of nights).

There are some video games to play while you're waiting for your number to come up and the people running the joint seem friendly. Do me a favor. When the woman in the rule room tells you the rules and adds that you aren't allowed to scream inside, laugh. You will have read this 6 times by the time you get to the rule room, but I think she's supposed to say it and you should laugh not out of pity, but because she tried.

I definitely recommend going to The Boneyard. I'd go on a weeknight if possible. As I've said in other reviews, I don't like people in front of me ruining the surprise and I don't like people behind me stepping on my heels. If you are fortunate enough to avoid other groups inside, it will be a much better scare. The price is right on this one. Get down there this week and have fun.

- Kara