Haunted Attraction Reviewed: Legend’s of the Fog
Website: www.legendsofthefog.com
Location of Attraction: Aberdeen Maryland
Date of Review: Sunday October 21st 2018
Total Number of Attractions Available: FOUR
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating: 7/10
Entertainment and Food Rating: 8/10
Atmosphere Rating: 8/10
Overall Costume and Make Up Rating: 7/10
Overall Cast and Crew Rating: 7/10
Overall Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 8/10
Overall Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 6.5/10
Overall Feedback: On a near freezing Sunday evening we attended Legends of the Fog in Aberdeen Maryland. We last visited in 2016 and felt they had some solid pieces in place but just didn’t quite meet expectations. We gave them two offseasons to revamp and elected to pay them another visit. As we approached the midway area the haunt had a pretty flat atmosphere. A very small crowd was on hand and not much buzz was in the air. A decent midway/entertainment area is available for guests; featuring live entertainment, delicious concessions, bonfire, carnival games and more. Definitely take some time to enjoy the midway area before and/or after your experience. At Legends of the Fog once guests enter the line for The Farewell Hotel you will experience all four attractions back to back; providing close to an hours worth of spooky fun. First up was The Farewell Hotel, by far our favorite attraction from the 2016 season. The facade truly sets the tone of a eerie abandoned hotel. Within seconds of entering The Farewell Hotel we knew we were in for a special treat. The first actor encountered reviewed the rules of the hotel and wished us some much needed luck. Guests then board the run down looking elevator and go for a wild ride. From that point forward all hell broke loose. Perfectly crafted set design was noted scene after scene. They nailed the hotel theme and stuck with it the entirety of the attraction. Two separate times we encountered rooms with 6-8 doors that had our squad feeling disoriented and lost. Once we picked the correct door we continued forward. Scenes like the laundry room, kitchen, living quarters and more were encountered. The actors encountered all possessed costuming and makeup that correlated perfectly with the scene. The actors were energized and put forth great skits. The only downfall was a significant shortage in actors. Scare factor wise, we felt the Farewell Hotel had some good startles but was overall of the family friendly variety. As you exit the Farewell Hotel guests will stumble upon the Cornstalkers Maze. This maze takes place in a quiet, eerie and moonlit cornfield. Carved into the cornfield are maze like paths that ultimately lead guests to the exit, no real dead ends will be encountered. Not much set design to talk about besides a few scarecrows scattered throughout the cornfield. Although we’d love to see more props throughout the cornfield, the atmosphere itself was spooky and thrilling enough. Actors dressed as crows, pumpkin creatures, scarecrows and more will be encountered on your journey. Although there weren’t many actors to speak of, maybe half a dozen, they did well stalking their prey and providing a few startles. We would love to see an increase in actors throughout the Cornstalkers Maze which would ultimately improve the scare/thrill factor and overall rating. Once departing the maze guests jump right into line for the Haunted Hayride. Once aboard the hay wagon guests should prepare for a solid 15-20 minute hayride experience. As the hay wagon departs the boarding station guests set off for the dark woods. Once inside these dark and eerie woods guests will encounter a bit of everything. Hillbillies, swamp creatures, mad scientists, zombies and much more. We were pleased with the unique touches noted in each of the set design; a lot of features and scenes in general that we’ve never seen before! Beware the bear as that thing is vicious! The final scene on the hayride was by far the best part; incredible set design, great acting and a spine-tingling scare! Unfortunately one major flaw put a huge damper on the entire hayride experience… significant shortage of actors. Several scenes were encountered with only one actor, leaving very little interactivity to the experience. The actors encountered for the most part were all passionate and certainly did not lack energy, but unfortunately just one actor in a scene didn’t cut it. With such a shortage in scare actors there was very little scare/thrill factor on the hayride. Although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing it was just unfortunate as they definitely have the pieces in place to make for a far more thrilling/scary hayride experience. But for now, the Haunted Hayride will go down as a family friendly experience. As guests depart the hay wagon you will hop in line for the final attraction, Sinister Circus. Step right up for the freakiest sideshow/circus in town. Sinister Circus is just like it sounds, thrilling and frightening. As guests venture through the Sinister Circus you’ll encounter all aspects of a circus; crazed clowns, spooktacular sideshow freaks, concession area and more. The set design stuck perfectly to the theme and never strayed away from it. We truly felt immersed in a circus environment except we didn’t want to stay for the show. The actors were crazed and ready to torment their audience. We did feel that the actors lacked improv as when we hung around in their scene for a bit they felt panicked in how to interact. But this was of little concern as most guests will go running right through this circus. Towards the end of the attraction guests enter a fog filled room with chain fencing making maze like pathways. As if this isn’t disorienting enough try making your way through with strobe lights on top of it all. We felt disoriented and very out of sorts which left us vulnerable and ultimately leaving us to be a rather easy scare. Of course to top it all off a crazed chainsaw wielding actor comes out of nowhere to send guests running back into the midway area. At the conclusion of our experience our squad members hung around for a bit to enjoy the bonfire, food and games. On a quiet night we were easily onsite for a solid 2 hours, so throw in a larger crowd and Legends of the Fog quickly becomes an evenings worth of entertainment. We feel Legends of the Fog has two solid attractions in the Haunted Farewell Hotel and Sinister Circus. But Cornstalkers Maze and the Haunted Hayride each need their own adjustments to become better overall attraction. We’d love to see an increase in the amount of scare actors in all of the attractions, especially Cornstalkers Maze and the Haunted Hayride. We truly feel an increase in actors could make a huge difference in the experience Legends of the Fog provides. Costuming and makeup was consistently good throughout all four attractions, no issues in this department. Set design was for the most part of no issue, quality work was noted in all the attractions with a large amount of hand crafted props. We would love to see a bit more of the “wow” factor in terms of animatronics thrown in, just something to help fill in dead space where actors were lacking. In conclusion we felt Legends of the Fog put forth a great experience, one that would be fun and enjoyable for the entire family. If you and the family are looking for an affordable and fun haunt experience then Legends of the Fog is the place to visit. When you visit we hope you have a spooktacular time like we did!
Individual Attraction Review:
Overall Attraction Rating: 8/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 8.5/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 8.5/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8/10
Attraction Name: Cornstalkers Maze
Overall Attraction Rating: 6/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 6/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 7/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 6/10
Attraction Name: Haunted Hayride
Overall Attraction Rating: 7/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 6/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 8/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 4/10
Attraction Name: Sinister Circus
Overall Attraction Rating: 8/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 8/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 8/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8/10