REVIEWS

2005

Article taken from http://www.goblinhaus.com/halloween/05/reviews/13thstreetmorgue.htm

By Kara

13th Street Morgue is my OFFICIAL pick for 2005's Best Haunted House in the metroplexish!

13th Street is one of two haunted houses located on the property of Reindeer Manor in Red Oak, TX. It's about a 30 minute drive from Arlington, and well worth the gas money and time. While I thoroughly enjoyed Reindeer Manor at one end of the property with its huge pyro, creepy facade and theater-like spooks, the highlight of the evening was the smaller house located in the barn called 13th Street Morgue. The house is shaped like a U. In the middle, they have set up a movie theater showing some black and white classics - including the not so old, Young Frankenstein.

We visited Reindeer Manor back in mid-September for an actor workshop with Chuck Williams (see the article section for that story). At that time, we were allowed access to both haunts on the property for a lights on tour. That was only a little over a month ago. Alex, the mastermind behind the haunt, was trying to give us a vision of things to come by the haunting season. I've got to tell you, I had my doubts. He had so much to do in so little time. He basically had the walls up and a few props inside at that point. We'd heard good things through the grapevine about his previous haunts and I was wondering if maybe he'd lost his touch or something. When we returned in October, I was very happy to find he had surpassed any expectations I'd had.

When you first enter the haunt, you'll hear a story about the previous owners and their misfortunes told by a slinky goth chick. Once she lets you by, the real fun begins. The 13th street scares are so well thought out. The decorations are so creepy. The weird thing is, most of them are things that if you saw them at a flea market or garage sale, you would never think, " I'm going to put that in my haunted house and scare the crap out of people." But there it is, some yesteryear common object and you're looking at it and you're kind of nervous. You try looking away from it, but you can't for too long, because in the back of your mind you're kind of thinking, "That radio might kill me."

The actors didn't really try to jump out and scare us too much. Just a few times. But most of the time, they just fit in with the scenery to produce a chilling, nightmare of a sight. It was kind of like you were walking into their twisted world and you really shouldn't be there. You know it and they know it and you better get lost, bub. After going through several haunts throughout the month of October, I kind of grow immune to the 'jump out and say boo' scares, so this was a lovely change of pace. I had butterflies in my stomach when I arrived at the last room of the house. When I emerged out of the other side I kept saying, "That was so good! That was so much fun!", over and over again.

You know, I'm actually kind of thinking this haunt may be too sophisticated for haunted house rookies. I think some people, who have come to expect a certain mold for haunted houses, may not "get" what the 13th Street Morgue is trying, with great success, to do. All I can say is, open yourself up for something a little different, a jumbly classic, and you'll have a blast at 13th Street Morgue. Go there. You know you wanna. All the cool ghouls are doing it.

Note to 13th Street Morgue: The bar has officially been set. Can't wait till next year!

Article Take from www.dfwhauntedhouses.com

Review Date: Saturday, Oct 8 @ 8:30pm

Last year the 13th Street Morgue was located in Phantasm’s Scream Park in Alvarado, Texas, but due to the land being sold they had to move for 2005. 13th Street Morgue is now located in the old barn where James Sharp hung himself on the grounds of Reindeer Manor. This is the first year that Reindeer Manor has ever used the barn near their haunt and there is no better way to put it to use then to have the 13th Street Morgue move in.

Scare Factor:7 out of 10
While not being terribly scary the 13th Street Morgue is one of the only haunted houses to make one of our reviewers jump and scream out loud. This deserves a special note because it is very hard to make our review staff scream. The average patron will definitely jump and scream several times through this haunt.

Set design / Props / FX: 8.5 out of 10
The set design in the 13th Street Morgue is done very well. From the use of the original barn to the grave yard out back the 13th Street Morgue has paid a great deal of attention to detail. The use of wood from an old torn down house adds to the detail and really makes it feel like you were walking through someone’s home… during Christmas(?). The snow machine was definitely one of my favorite special effects used in this haunted house and gives a slight twist to the classic haunted house.

Live Actors: 8.5 out of 10
The actors through out the 13th Street Morgue were very enthusiastic and enjoyed what they were doing. The actors were very convincing and did a great job in playing their roles. The costumes were high quality and had some nice detail.

Animatronics:
There are no animatronics in the 13th Street Morgue. The only thing that even looks like an animatronic isn’t animatronic and actually made one of our reviewers jump and scream out loud.

Length:
The 13th Street Morgue takes approximately 10 minutes to walk through and is well worth the wait in line.

Summary:
The 13th Street Morgue is a great addition to the already unique Reindeer Manor. The addition of this haunt really makes the drive out to Red Oak well worth it. Expect to see the unexpected, something that you never thought you’d see in a haunted house…

Ho Ho Ho!

Overall, the 13th Street Morgue is definitely worth the purchase of the combo ticket with Reindeer Manor. Check out the online printable coupon and make a night of it.

OVERALL SCORE:

September 2004

DFWHaunts.com:

Phantasms Nightmare Studios (13th Street Morgue, Nightmare in the Wax Museum & Circus of the Dead)

Below are the score ratings average of each haunt at the theme park. All reviewers rated this haunt, on a scale of 1-10 and the scores were averaged, and then rounded to the nearest 10th.

Nightmare in the House of Wax
Actors/Costumes 8.7
Props/Decoration 9.1
Lighting 8.6
Sound Effects 8.7
Scare 9.3
Price vs Experience Overall Value 9.7
Length of Scare Time 8.5
Overall outside/inside Atmosphere 8.9
Total Score Average 8.9

13th Street Morgue
Actors/Costumes 8.9
Props/Decoration 8.2
Lighting 9.3
Sound Effects 9.1
Scare 8.8
Price vs Experience Overall Value 8.3
Length of Scare Time 8.4
Overall outside/inside Atmosphere 8.4
Total Score Average 8.7

Circus of the Dead
Actors/Costumes 8.5
Props/Decoration 8.7
Lighting 9.4
Sound Effects 9.0
Scare 8.0
Price vs Experience Overall Value 8.4
Length of Scare Time 7.9
Overall outside/inside Atmosphere 8.6
Total Score Average 8.6

Phantasms Nightmare Studios is a haunt park with three main attractions plus concessions. Nightmare in the House of Wax, Circus of the Dead, and 13th Street Morgue form the attractions. Access is easy from I-35W and the park has plenty of parking. The park is well lit and the atmosphere stays true to Halloween, nothing cheesy here. The three houses take upwards of 40 minutes to go through so you get plenty of scares for your money.
Nightmare in the House of Wax comes with a guide and has energetic actors and creative props. Circus of the Dead is especially good for people who dread clowns. 13th Street Morgue has a creepy exterior and is complete with authentic caskets. Overall Phantasms has good actors, detailed props, and a creepy, old-fashioned Halloween atmosphere. Given the quality and length of the houses the price is right. If you want to be scared for a good value we recommend Phantasms

October 9, 2004

DFWHAUNTEDHOUSES.COM

13th Street Morgue

13th Street Morgue started out 5 years ago as a “Yard Haunt” in the yards of a Sachse, Texas house. Over the past few years they outgrew the yard and decided to go professional with 2004 being the first year. They have teamed up this year with Nightmare in the House of Wax to create Phantasm’s Scream Park located right off of I-35W and 917 (exit 30) in Alvarado, Texas.

Getting to the haunt can be a pretty daunting task in its own. The signs are very difficult to see and if you aren’t paying attention you could be headed out on a 30-45 minute detour before hitting civilization again. Take heed of these directions if you do not want to get lost! If you are traveling from South on I-35W, exit at FM 917 (exit 30) and take a left over the highway. At the stop sign after the bridge, immediately take a RIGHT onto the 2 way service road. Follow the service road for about 3 miles and you will see the entrance on the left hand side of the street. Phantasm’s Scream Park can be seen from I-35W traveling north from Antioch, so don’t venture too far off the highway before you turn around.

The grounds outside the morgue are pretty well decorated including real horse skeleton and carriage that are carrying a poor cadaver to the morgue and the ghost that haunts the bell tower. One thing about 13th Street Morgue is that almost everything in the house is authentic. Most of the items have a real story behind them and many have been used in a real morgue like the coffins, body bags, embalming equipment, fluids and index bottles. The house is made up of mostly scrap lumber from old houses that have been demolished and salvaged from their previous yard haunt. The antique pictures come from an old house that once stood on the property where the haunt stands today. Inside the house you will find narrow passageways that wind their way through the different areas of the morgue. Areas include the foyer, kitchen, embalming room and many more with a slight twist on the ending.

The morgue is a fairly small haunt and takes roughly 15 minutes to complete, but during time your senses are tingled and tortured in many ways. While the 13th Street Morgue is not a major production, this does not knock it off our list. It’s not very scary, it will make the novice patrons jump quite a bit, but seasoned haunt goers may be a little disappointed. I personally think that the detail and the work that has gone into this haunt really shows and is enough alone to warrant a visit. Priced with the purchase of a combo ticket to Phantasm’s Scream Park make this a very reasonable place to visit.

This haunt has definitely come along way from the small yard production that it started out as, but it has the potential to become a great haunt in the future. I really can’t wait to see what they will have in store for the upcoming years!

Actors/Costumes: 6
Scene Detail: 10
Sound Effects: 6
Special Effects: 7
Fright: 6
Gore: 6
Entertainment Value: 6

Overall Score:

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