Haunted Attraction Reviewed: Ravenseye Manor
Website: www.facebook.com/ravenseyemanor
Location of Attraction: Fairplay Maryland
Date of Review: Friday October 4th 2019
Total Number of Attractions Available: FOUR
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating: 4.5/10
Entertainment and Food Rating: 3/10
Atmosphere Rating: 4/10
Overall Costume and Make Up Rating: 5/10
Overall Cast and Crew Rating: 5/10
Overall Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 5/10
Overall Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 4/10
Overall Feedback: On Friday October 4th our squad ventured out to Ravenseye Manor in Fairplay Maryland for our first ever review of this haunted attraction. We had heard some mixed reviews regarding the experience at Ravenseye Manor so we figured it’s best we find out for ourselves. As we drove down the dark whindy roads we finally stumbled upon a small sign that was very dimly lit and difficult to read. Most of our crew drove right past as the signage into the haunt was poor. The drive leading up to the haunt definitely gets you in the spooky mindset.
Our group of 10 arrived at the haunt around 8pm and a very small crowd was on hand. At this point in time it was only the second weekend of their haunt season. From the parking lot guests can see the entire Ravenseye Manor midway area, which didn’t feature very much. Essentially the midway area possessed the queue line entrances to the attractions, the ticket booth and one food vendor. Definitely not much to see or do when outside of the attractions. After swinging by the bathroom (porta potties) we made our way over to the ticket booth to snag our tickets. The lady in the ticket booth was extremely friendly and gave us a quick rundown on the haunt and what to expect. She had shared that Ravenseye Manor is a family friendly old school haunt, which we’d agree with!
Ravenseye Manor has four attractions; Dark Corn Maze, Haunted Hayride, Carnival of Souls and The Manor House. There is only one ticket option as far as we could see, which was $30 for the four attractions. To kick off our evening we elected to start with the Dark Corn Maze.
The Dark Corn Maze at Ravenseye Manor couldn’t have a more fitting name! It was surely dark and possessed maze like paths. From the exterior of the attraction it was hard to tell how big in size the attraction was. Well the answer to that question is… LARGE! The attraction itself possessed ZERO scenes or props and was solely a dark corn maze. The only source of light we had was the moon, and thank goodness the moon was shining bright the evening we attended. They must inject their corn stalks with steroids because they were damn near 10’ tall! On the night we attended it was cool and breezy, which gave this attraction an extremely EERIE vibe! The breeze had the corn stalks swaying back and forth, creating a creepy background noise. Besides the overall eeriness of the attraction, the only other scare/thrill factor came from the handful of actors roaming about. Unfortunately, most of our crew only encountered the scare actors during the very beginning and end of the attraction. We walked a solid 5-10 minute stretch without encountering a single scare actor. We would definitely like to see a significant increase in the amount of scare actors in the Dark Corn Maze. Although due to the attractions size even if twice as many actors were in the attraction there would still be significant amounts of dead space. Our suggestion would be to shorten up the pathways of the Dark Corn Maze and toss in a few more scare actors to give the attraction a fuller appearance. Despite the shortage of engagement with the scare actors in this attraction we still enjoyed the overall eeriness of it!
Next up we elected to hit the Haunted Hayride! We boarded the hay wagon which possessed a cage all the way around the wagon and featured hay bales for seating. After a brief wait the hay wagon was full so we set off on our journey. Within seconds of departing the load up station we were deep into the dark woods of the property. Ravenseye Manor certainly possesses a TON of property, property which is dark and creepy as heck! Unfortunately Ravenseye Manor failed to utilize the darkness and creepiness to their advantage as they delivered a rather lackluster hayride experience. Each scene we stumbled upon had very little decor and props, the low budget nature of the haunt definitely showed in this attraction. With such small scale scenes it was up to the scare actors to deliver the startles and “wow” factor. But unfortunately, they too would leave us disappointed. Too many of the scare actors possessed little to no energy and unfortunately those that did possess energy didn’t have the talent or training to entertain or scare patrons. We recall several scenes where scare actors had no skit and literally just climbed up the wagon cage and stared down at us. Those that did possess “skits” were often just yelling “what are you doing here?” or “get out”, no creativity whatsoever. Even without revamping and adding more scenes, Ravenseye Manor could extremely enhance the experience if the scare actors put forth a more thrilling and entertaining performance. If we are to be completely honest we felt as if Ravenseye Manor possessed a Hayride attraction just to have one, as there was no apparent benefit to having this attraction. The time and energy put into the Hayride could be utilized elsewhere to enhance the attractions and the scare actors in the hayride could be utilized to fill out the dead spaces in the other attractions.
After our unimpressive experience on the Haunted Hayride we ventured to the Carnival of Chaos. At this point in the evening, after our hayride experience, we were hoping the Carnival of Chaos could get Ravenseye Manor back on track. The Carnival of Chaos is a 3-D themed attraction. After receiving our 3-D glasses we were sent on our way. We have to say, we were pleased with the set design in this attraction. The 3-D work was very effective and extremely trippy to look at. They incorporated uneven floor surfaces in several areas which was extremely effective in messing with our minds. Multiple scenes possessed probs dangling from the ceiling, with one of our favorite areas being the cotton candy tunnel! In one section the scare actors have the ability to re-route guests and essentially send them in a circle. They did this to our group and boy did it take us awhile to figure out how they were doing it. The few scare actors we encountered in this attraction were sneaky in their attack, often popping out to deliver pop scares. There were three “senses” that we felt the Carnival of Chaos missed out on, and all of which would really enhance the experience. The sense of sound, sense of sight and sense of smell. We’d love to see them blast upbeat carnival music which would easily disorient guests while also helping to enhance the atmosphere. Adding in carnival themed smells, especially in the cotton candy scene, would really create a more immersive experience. Tossing in more disorienting lighting would also help enhance the overall experience; can’t go wrong with a classic strobe light tunnel! Overall, each of our members enjoyed the Carnival of Chaos, we all felt it was the top attraction of the night.
To finish out the evening we ventured over to The Manor House. The facade to this attraction is extremely well done! It has the look of an old abandoned manor in the middle of nowhere. At the front gates of The Manor House a scare actor would tell us the horrific history of the house. The brief history this actor would share with us tied into the first scene of the attraction. As we entered the front doors we entered what appeared to be a small living room area. The scare actor asked if any of us were brave enough to “call out to the spirits”. One of our brave souls would eventually call out to the spirits and right on cue the lights flickered, the organ began playing music and a nearby hall light turned on guiding us where to venture too next. We felt this scene was really well executed and were then extremely eager to experience the rest of the attraction. Unfortunately, that thrill and excitement quickly ended. After the initial scene we encountered maybe 5-6 more small scenes and completed the entire attraction within 2 minutes! As we exited the doors we all questioned if we missed a turn, as the attraction was WAY too short. On the bright side, the set design throughout this attraction was well done. We encountered a bedroom, bathroom, dining room, kitchen, etc., all the typical rooms you’d encounter in a manor. Unfortunately we only recall encountering 2-3 scare actors throughout this attraction, so the attraction possessed very little to no thrill/scare factor! With such quality set design, The Manor House has the backbones to be a successful attraction. If Ravenseye Manor is unable to add more scenes and expand the attractions size, then we strongly recommend having a scare actor in each and every scene. The scare actors would need to be given a skit to perform, one that engages the patrons, and in return would add length to the attraction. Don’t get us wrong, we’ve encountered quick/short haunted attractions, but the 2 minutes max that it took to complete The Manor House was certainly a record in our books. The Manor House certainly has the potential to be the top attraction at Ravenseye Manor but it fell short for us the evening we attended.
Overall at Ravenseye Manor we had a rather rollercoaster ride of an experience. The highlights of the night were definitely the Dark Corn Maze and Carnival of Chaos, while The Manor House and Haunted Hayride were unable to provide the experience we had hoped for. But don’t get us wrong, all four attractions have enhancements that need to be made. It’s definitely clear that Ravenseye Manor is a family friendly haunt for the local community. If they ever wish to become more than that, then they definitely have their work cut out for themselves! A few days after our experience we were able to chat briefly with the owner to share our feedback. He had shared that they were having an extreme off night the evening we attended and were also extremely short on scare actors. Hopefully this was the case and we just caught them on a true off night. If you’re in the Fairplay Maryland area and looking for a family friendly haunt experience then Ravenseye Manor may be for you. Pay them a visit and let us know your thoughts on the experience! Happy Hauntings Everyone!
Individual Attraction Review:
Attraction Name: Dark Corn Maze
Overall Attraction Rating: 5/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 6/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 4/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 5/10
Attraction Name: Haunted Hayride
Overall Attraction Rating: 3/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 3/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 4/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 3/10
Attraction Name: Carnival of Souls
Overall Attraction Rating: 6/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 6/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 6/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 5/10
Attraction Name: The Manor House
Overall Attraction Rating: 4/10
Cast and Crew Rating: 4/10
Props, Animatronics and Set Design Rating: 6/10
Attraction Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 3/10