Review: Kersey Valley Spookywoods 2018

Deep in the woods, the creatures come out to give you a scary good time.

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Touted as North Carolina’s premier haunted attraction since 1985 and with 33 years under their belt, it’s no surprise that Kersey Valley Spookywoods is a favorite among haunt fans. In fact, is was voted #1 Fan Favorite Haunted Attraction in North Carolina in 2018.

It’s not just the locals who love this fright-filled attraction. Featured on the Travel Channel and in USA Today, their popularity only seems to grow each year. Maybe it’s the fact that they also offer plenty of other activities, such as laser tag, escape games, corn mazes, and zipline tours. In addition, they’ve built quite the little town to entertain and feed guests, complete with apple cider donuts, state-of-the-art concessions, games, photo ops, a gift shop, and more. This means that visitors can arrive during daylight hours and make a full, fun day of it.

After dark, around 100 professionally created and incredibly costumed characters come out to mingle, stalk and scare those who have dared ventured onto the Spookywoods property.

Enter our attraction along a dark, winding, dirt road, surrounded by haunted woods. If you are brave, roll down your windows to take in the night’s stale air… but Beware! From the moment you arrive on Kersey Valley property you are fair game to each and every haunted creature residing here. You will encounter special effects of light, sound, smell, dense atmosphere, air pressure and may come in contact with liquid substances. Leave your best pair of sneaks at home, but bring an extra pair of undies!

While there are different sections along the Spookywoods haunt trail, it essentially is one long, exciting, and frightful journey through structures, a cornfield, a haunted manor, and, of course, the woods. The experience begins at the original home place, continues by tram ride into the wooded area, through the cornfield, and wraps up with the finale through the Haunted Manor section.

While the mode of transportation varies while visitors snake through this spooky expedition, the final destination takes them on a wildly entertaining and haunting adventure. The true story is that of a haunted attraction that has had many years to learn how to get it right – and they do.

The owner of Spookywoods has been honing his craft for over three decades. His creative genius and overseeing of the masterful execution of the attraction’s many scenic elements and scareactors draws thousands of loyal and new fans each year.

In everything from the props, to actor makeup and prosthetic applications, to interior and exterior settings – Kersey Valley is extremely good at it all. Whether it’s gory or goofy, nostalgic or nightmarish, they have proven themselves to be able to tackle and excel at any style. The scrareactors look amazing and the set designs are so authentic, it is easy to feel completely transported into the frightening storyworld in an instant. Kersey Valley Spooky Woods

One of our personal and absolute favorite sights to see at Kersey Valley Spookywoods is the 100% in-house designed, hand-carved, hand-painted signage seen throughout the attraction. With many of them sporting full three-dimensional components and plenty of color and character, they are absolutely phenomenal. Now, imagine that level of detail and craftsmanship implemented throughout the entire haunt. Dazzling.

The scares at Kersey Valley Spookywoods are what keep us coming back time and time again. Each year, we look forward to seeing how much more the venue will push the envelope, how much more creative they will get, how much more they will layer on to entertain guests.

While we definitely look forward to seeing our favorite scareactors each year, we also look forward to meeting the new, mangled and frightening faces of the new characters added to the docket. Last year, our favorite was the introduction of a maniac who would rip off his own face, then staple it back on again – that is just brilliant.

It goes without saying that this haunted attraction is meant to be terrifying and is aimed at age-appropriate guests. Patrons come here to be scared again and again over the course of the night and to see some of the most original characters, make-up, and effects available during the Halloween season.

While we personally gauge “scariness” more on a cool-factor scale, if we find ourselves surprised and delighted by interactions with the scareactors, encounter new and exciting set pieces and gags, and also get to witness others being frightened out of their minds, then we deem it a truly successful haunt experience.

Of the 33 years that Kersey Valley Spookywoods has been operating, we’ve gone to each and every one for the past 19 years. What brings us back annually is not that it is just an hour drive away. What brings us back is the entire, cumulative experience that we’ve come to expect – and has been delivered each year thus far – from this haunted attraction.

If you’re looking for a professionally-executed Halloween attraction ranked consistently as one of nation’s top-rated haunted houses that delivers a predictably excellent and gratifying experience, then consider plotting a path to visit Kersey Valley Spookywoods this season.