Brokenharts Asylum 2015 Review
Brokenharts Asylum (website)
Location: Luzerne County Fair Grounds – Route 118 in Dallas, PA
Web Page:http://www.brokenhartsasylum.com
Introduction
Three years ago across the radio airwaves an ominous radio commercial seemed to play on the hour challenging guests to visit “Victor” and enter into the Brokenharts Asylum at the Luzerne County Fairgrounds in Dallas, PA. The Brokenharts Asylum was one of the most popular and innovative haunted attractions at the time, utilizing theatrical set designs, mature themes, high-tech animatronics and talented scare actors to entertain and scare. Without warning the attraction closed after the 2012 haunt season, and became one of the legendary haunts of years past that we have tried to gather information on. Well what has happened this haunt season is something special, and perhaps this may come as a surprise to those who have not sought out information regarding this attraction. Brokenharts Asylum has returned for the 2015 haunt season, open every weekend for the rest of the October, and once again is located at the Luzerne County Fairgrounds. The attraction is old-school, it is designed as a funhouse that features mature scares and incredible effects that absolutely blew us away. Brokenharts Asylum has brought back “historical” set pieces from its past years, and has also incorporated sets from the defunct infamous Lehman Haunted Barn. We were pleasantly surprised to see how scary and entertain the attraction has once again become and after speaking with management are excited for their future plans. This attraction strips away the commercialized nature of so many haunted attractions and uses core elements of what generates fear, and Brokenharts Asylum is a must visit this Halloween season.
The Attraction
Brokenharts Asylum is located in an outdoor structure composed of multiple tents, and custom-built rooms each which features different horror themes. The attraction is highly interactive utilizing expensive animatronics to generate misdirection and startle scares. The hallways of the asylum are designed to generate a claustrophobic feeling, using tight spaces, blinding lights and fog to constantly build anticipation. Loud noises, air horns and sounds of chainsaws constantly add to the sensory attack which effectively hides scare actors and interactive props. The animatronic and prop designs are unique to this attraction as many are custom-built, or from historical haunted attractions. Brokenharts Asylum features a trip through an Egyptian Tomb which was once houses in the defunct infamous Lehman Haunted Barn, a psychedelic, and insane circus scene featuring effective scare-clowns and a massive chainsaw yielding monster in one of the most effective chainsaw scenes witnessed in any haunt this year. Every room features disturbing imagery, from bloody dolls, to hanging body parts, and this attraction caters constantly caters to mature haunt fans.
The scare actors in the attraction do a wonderful job at terrorizing guests as they walk through the attraction and several will continuously “stalk” guests until the end of the attraction. One imposing figure in a skeleton mask yielded an ax that came rather close to our face, and made his presence known several times throughout our visit to the asylum. Hopefully as the attraction continues is resonance, they begin to add more scare actors and allow for the actors to become even more interactive with guests. Overall the attraction is gritty, it is designed to constantly build anticipation and there is no downtime or dead areas within the attraction. Brokenharts Asylum as one of the few attractions this year that caused us to feel actual fear as we moved from room to room exploring the terrifying props and disturbing set designs. We only wish the Brokenharts Asylum is a memorable experience that is bound to expand as it continues its long-awaited return.
The Final Word
Brokenharts Asylum has returned for the 2015 haunt season in a big way and we suggest you visit this attraction over the last few weekends in October. They are one of the scariest haunted attractions, and successfully have created a classical funhouse atmosphere coupled with a more mature themed haunt. We cannot wait to see what they have in store for their future, as several plans are being put into motion to make the 2016 haunt season one to remember.
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