Haunted Attraction Reviewed: Terror Manor
Website: www.terrormanor.com
Location of Attraction: Roanoke Virginia
Date of Review: 10/6/2022
Total Number of Attractions Available: 1
Overall Haunted Attraction Rating: 8.5/10
Entertainment & Food Rating: 8.5/10
Atmosphere Rating: 9/10
Overall Costume & Makeup Rating: 8/10
Overall Cast & Crew Rating: 9.5/10
Overall Set Design & Special Effects Rating: 8/10
Overall Scare/Thrill Factor Rating: 8/10
Overall Feedback: What we thought would be a casual evening in Roanoke, Virginia turned out to be one of the highlights of our 2022 Haunt Tour thus far! Situated just on the outskirts of downtown Roanoke is Terror Manor, a haunted attraction in their 4th year of operation. Some may know this haunt previously as Meek’s Manor, which changed hands in ownership a few years back, resulting in the inception of Terror Manor. We were going into our visit to Terror Manor rather blind, as we hadn’t heard much about the attraction, both good nor bad, beforehand. Hence the theory that we were going to have a casual Thursday night prior to venturing to South & North Carolina for the remainder of the weekend. Well boy were we wrong… as Terror Manor packs a nightmarishly-fun punch that truly blew us away!
As we rolled into the surrounding neighborhood around dusk, we turned onto a dimly lit alley & eventually stumbled upon the Terror Manor grounds. From what we could tell, the only parking available here was via street parking. Terror Manor itself is housed in an old government building from the World War II era, which was later utilized as a clothing factory of sorts. It’s external appearance is a bit nondescript except for a lone overhang signaling “Terror Manor” on it. Just moments into the midway area we were greeted by an extroverted & comical fellow, who ended up being The BeetleJuice Impersonator! We easily spent 30 minutes chatting with this fellow about all things haunt related, while checking out his spooky hearse & handling his pet snake Ringo. Eventually us Chatty-Cathy(s) parted ways & we ventured for the ticket booth.
Terror Manor is open Thursdays-Saturdays from now until the end of October, including 10/31, 11/4, & 11/5. These folks are fully wheelchair accessible, which is hard to come by in the haunt industry. Tickets are a very reasonable $25 for general admission, with a “line jump” pass only costing an additional $10. For those seeking a more extreme haunt experience, consider upgrading to the “VIP Experience” ($50), which grants you a more intimate, nerve-racking, & R-Rated experience. But be forewarned, the VIP Experience is not for the faint of heart, as it grants the characters permission to be hands on & you’ll come out covered in all sorts of gunk (food, blood, glitter, etc). With dinner plans for after our Terror Manor experience, we kept it “safe” and pursued the general admission experience. After snagging tickets we were directed towards the queue line area.
For being a Thursday evening we were quite surprised with the amount of fellow spooky lovers on-hand to experience Terror Manor. There was certainly no shortage of entertainment in the midway/queue line areas. BeetleJuice made his rounds with Ringo the snake and boy did he go ballistic when his theme song was blaring from the nearby DJ booth. Several other roaming characters were also making their rounds, including “Nobody The Clown” & “Reckless The Clown”, entertaining guests & getting them amped up for the experience. We also witnessed by far one of the coolest fire performances we’ve ever seen! Several folks were fire-breathing & twirling all sorts of flaming instruments, making for a very intriguing show. We honestly wanted to hold off on entering the attraction so we could finish watching the fire performances. And apparently on select nights Terror Manor also has artistic dancers that do stunt-like aerial dancing.
Terror Manor kicks off your experience with a quick 3-5 minute maze. Nothing elaborate encountered in this maze, but the use of darkness, disorienting passageways, & a few energized spooks certainly made for a blood-pumping start. As we exited the maze we were directed across the street & into the main attraction, Terror Manor! As we ascended up the stairs we eventually stumbled into a small backlit queue area. An old shack facade possessed a small room where Eve, a 5 year old 19’ Columbian Boa is housed, boy does she have hardcore RBF - we wouldn’t want to mess with her! After gazing at Eve for a few moments we were sent forth to test our fate in the madness of Terror Manor!
Within a few scenes we quickly came to realize that the cast & crew of Terror Manor drives the show! These characters were absolutely relentless in their engagements with our squad. Many of them possessed unique skits and superb improv dialogue that made for a personalized experience. These folks certainly weren’t of the pop scare & hide again variety, as they often lingered around & followed our squad continuing to torment us again & again. Some were deranged, some were manic, some were exuberant, and others absolutely sinister, but they all were fully immersed into their roles which truly helped to bring the scenes to life! A pumpkin scarecrow of sorts perfectly manipulated himself around as if he was an animatronic, but at just the right moment he sprung forward providing a starting scare. Buttons provided an excellent engagement with us as he haphazardly thrashed throughout his scene. The ice cream parlor character was very witty, as he tried to serve us some “magnum loade vanilla” & “double dump chocolate” ice cream. There were countless memorable actor encounters throughout our journey through Terror Manor. Major kudos to the Terror Manor cast & crew, who provided countless bone-chilling startles & a truly terrifyingly entertaining show!
In regards to the scenes themselves, be prepared to witness a wide array of eerie horror as you traverse through easily 30+ different rooms/scenes. There wasn’t really any consistent theming throughout the attraction, but the wide variety certainly kept things interesting! One moment you’re in a ritual/voodoo-esque room & next you stumble into a vibrant 3D fun-house. One of the most unique scenes that we’ve never encountered before was a shark tank scene, which possessed CGI animations of sharks swimming around you & when the “tank” cracks be prepared to be blasted with water! We ventured through countless scenes including an ice cream parlor, doll room, biohazard facility, raunchy bathroom, insane asylum, and many others! The scenes themselves were thoroughly decorated with all sorts of trinkets & handmade props. We felt as though we were traversing through an old school style haunt of sorts with modern twists thrown in. There was clear attention to detail & passion in the creation of the scenes & imagery throughout Terror Manor! Throwing in some audio & visual special effects only helped to further immerse us into the various scenes & certainly helped to heighten the scare/thrill. The horrifying fun continued scene after scene & seemingly felt like it was never going to end!
As we descended down the staircase and out the exit we were thoroughly impressed with the overall Terror Manor experience. From the outside looking in, we certainly didn’t expect such a lengthy (~20 minutes) & nerve-racking experience! From the detailed scenes to the passionate cast, they were truly firing on all cylinders & provided a frightfully fun experience. We had the pleasure of chatting with Rob, owner of the haunt, who was able to share some insight on the backstory of the haunt & his plans moving forward. One things for sure, Terror Manor has a horrifyingly bright future & is a true force to be reckoned with amongst Virginia Haunted Attractions! Prior to venturing off for the evening we snagged some Terror Manor shirts to commemorate our visit & shared a few parting words with Nobody the Clown & BeetleJuice.
If you’re looking for a unique haunted attraction experience that’s sure to provide an equal mix of comedy & pure terror, then Terror Manor is the haunt for you! If you’re looking for a Rated-R and more extreme haunted attraction experience, then Terror Manor is also for you (VIP experience)! Their exceptional cast & crew would be delighted to entertain you if you’re willing to test your fate! If you survive Terror Manor, be sure to visit Benny Marconi’s in downtown Roanoke for the most absurdly large but delicious pizza you’ll ever devour! Thank you Terror Manor for blowing us away & truly providing a memorable haunt experience that we’ll surely rave about for years to come. We certainly look forward to visiting again, hopefully in the near future - maybe for the upcoming Christmas or Valentine’s Day events!
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