Haunted house review: Reindeer Manor in Red Oak

by Alex Bentley

There are few things that could set the mood better for great haunted house experience than a dark, dank, rainy night. That's exactly what my wife and I experienced when we headed down -- way down -- to Reindeer Manor in Red Oak (just south of DeSoto/Lancaster -- in other words, on the very edge of what's considered to be the Dallas-Fort Worth area).

In addition to the weather, the location of Reindeer Manor helped to up the atmosphere. To get there, you have to travel down an unlit bumpy dirt road that takes you through trees and fields that could be hiding any number of ghouls and fiends themselves. Then, after you park, you wait for a tractor-pulled trailer to drive you down yet another bumpy dirt road to get to the actual haunted houses.

So, yes, Reindeer Manor does a great job at heightening expectations, but could it live up to them? Well, yes and no. Reindeer Manor actually consists of three separate haunted houses: 13th Street Morgue, Dungeon of Doom, and Reindeer Manor. For $35 ($30 if you have a coupon from the website or a can of food), you can visit all three.

We took on the 13th Street Morgue first, mostly because it was relatively close by and offered no line. It turned out to be the best experience of the night even though it held pretty much your standard scares. The trek through the house takes you on a winding path along the first floor, outside again past an old Ghostbusters-style ambulance, then a short trip upstairs before coming back almost to where you start. Most of the moments that got us involved people creeping up from behind, many of which were fond of banging whatever blunt instrument they possessed against the wall or floor. Several also seemed to relish stroking our arms and heads as we passed by, something that would have been creepier had it been a bit darker.

Up next was the Dungeon of Doom, a smaller and less elaborate set-up than the 13th Street Morgue. It rivaled the first house in fear factor, however, by employing several nice tricks, including a strobe light that made it look as if a wall were moving and a rotating platform that almost trips you up just as someone is chasing you. Though much shorter in length than 13th Street, Dungeon of Doom is nearly as effective, especially with an ending involving a chainsaw-wielding mad man.

After that build-up, we went into the main attraction of the Reindeer Manor expecting to be blown away. What we were given instead was a series of rooms where the actors were more interested in hearing themselves talk than doing what they're supposed to do, scare the patrons. Room after room contained elaborate set-ups that were fun to watch for about a minute, then grew tedious as the scenes continued well past their expiration date. One scene involving a group of clowns was especially excruciating, as a young boy, probably not more than 10 years old, was given free rein to improvise as he pleased, causing more confusion than anything else.

Reindeer Manor also took us outside, but it was much less organized than at 13th Street Morgue. The path was unclear, leading our group to go astray, and when we did find our way, the actors just milled about, not even bothering to try and interact with our group. The house ended decently well, with the path winding through small wooden and stone buildings that were not only dark but had multiple people grabbing at legs (leg grabbing is much more effective than any other scare method, in my opinion). However, it was too little, too late to save this house.

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