Pennsylvania is a horror-fan haven from being known as one of the most haunted states in the country to housing several amazing, haunted maze attractions such as Jason’s Woods in Lancaster and Pennhurst Asylum in Spring City.
Since living on Wilkes campus, I have only heard of the iconic Scranton horror attraction, Reaper’s Revenge from passing conversations from students. This year during Homecoming and Family Weekend, my family and I decided to take the paranormal plunge and finally step into Reaper’s Revenge. Here is my guide and personal review of the attraction.
Before you enter the grounds of Reaper’s Revenge, you and your party must sign a waiver. This waiver is available to print online and sign ahead of time. I recommend doing this because you and your party must sign before entering the line to get in. This waiver is needed because it means that you are consenting to let the scare actors touch you during the duration of the event. They will touch your hair and face and there is a certain room where they will touch your ankles.
When finally entering the main section of Reaper’s Revenge, you are welcomed to a haunting yet cozy field area where there are food and merch vendors. Food is cash only, but merch vendors do accept cards. I’d recommend eating before getting in line for the events because once you get in line you do not want to get out because it is a long wait and once you start going through the houses, it will be a while until you make it back to the main area.
When you’re in line, the average wait to get into the hayride is 90 minutes. Entertaining yourself in line with a group of friends is recommended however there was a particular scare actor who dressed up similarly to Brandon Lee in The Crow, who would mess around and joke with patrons in line which did ease up the tension from the long wait.
After the wait, you and your party will be in a line to enter the hayride. Once you enter the hayride, not only is it comforting because you’ll finally be able to sit back and relax from waiting for 90 minutes (or more), but you’ll be strolling through the woods and taken on a thrilling ride in which I consider to be the best haunted hayride experience I’ve ever been had.
Each stop was different from the other and provided amazing production quality and acting from all of the scare actors. The first stop is a grisly castle you pass through with a large, skeleton king on top of the castle. With pyro sputtering from the castle’s sides and a skeletal dragon animatronic, he “reaps” the souls of the patrons, and we are taken to the next stop.
Soon, you will be taken out of the hayride and walking through the first two haunted houses, the Lost Carnival and Delirium. These two were my favorite houses.
I love scary clowns and the aesthetic of an abandoned freakshow with clowns wielding bloody hammers and chainsaws just fills me with so much joy. Reaper’s Revenge nails the concept of scary clowns without being too reliant on popular scary clown cliches. With original set pieces and creative clown actors contorting before your eyes, the Lost Carnival is an absolute treat to walk through. Some clown actors will touch you, one of the female clown actors played with my hair.
Delirium, which is similar to the Lost Carnival, features a 3-D element. Before entering, you grab a pair of glasses from a neon clown scare actor. With these 3-D shades, you see trippy images of neon skulls, screaming faces and clowns all over the walls. On the floor, you can also see 3-D neon blood splatters. This is probably the house where they will touch you the least, but there are moments where neon clowns could touch your hair and face.
The last round on the hayride takes you to the final houses, Pitch Black and Sector 13. Pitch Black is exactly what it says it is, you are walking through a haunted house in complete darkness.
Personally, I’m not a big fan of these kinds of haunted houses because my favorite part of haunted attractions is appreciating the aesthetics of the house I’m walking through. However, this blackout house still impressed me with how it took the concept. Pitch Black is a claustrophobic experience with its narrow walls and endless amount of scare actors in that house that touch your hair, face, arms and legs.
Sector 13 is the final house in which you and your group will get separated. Don’t worry, you’ll see your friends again, but you’ll have to work with other patrons to get your way out of the prison-like building and survive through the zombie and sci-fi creatures waiting for you.
Exiting Sector 13 brings you back to the main grounds of Reaper’s Revenge. This haunted house experience is the best local haunted attraction I have ever been to. All of the attractions are creative, original, scary and fun all around. Each segment is paced perfectly in which they are long but always leaving you wanting more with how fun the scare actors are and how creative each house is.
I highly recommend checking Reaper’s Revenge out if you and your friends are looking for somewhere to go during the Halloween season. It’s fun, it’s scary, and more importantly, it’s a convenient drive from Wilkes campus only being about 30-45 minutes away.
For more information go to: Reaper’s Revenge Haunted Hayride and Attractions Scranton
