By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
from 7 to 11pm daily
continues to Oct 31st
10375 Wilson Rd.
North Saanich, B.C.
In the month of October, some residents of Victoria, BC make a ritual out of going to Evil Acres, a haunted attraction located near Victoria Airport. Part of the joy is in entering the Slaughter House. This spooky abode has changed from what I remember last year. There’s a room that is truly dark, and you have to feel around to find the way out. There’s no joy in going through this home alone (although you’ll get the best experience out of the ‘solitude’ of the situation; some of the best horror stories involve divide and conquer) and I had to wait until two buddies of mine had time so we can go to this spookfest together.
I’m rarely disappointed, even though my stoicness is tough to break. When my writing partner James Shaw is tough to entertain in a concert, I’m harder to freak out when it comes to these walk-through tours. Yes, I can be startled but to get that creeped out feeling, it better be 100% real. That’s just one of the many reasons why I became a paranormal investigator. Although I know most ghosts can not harm you, the feelings you get when something happens and your logical mind can’t figure out, the spine-chilling feeling will just not go away!
What’s offered here is about 80% effective. The makeup designs are great, the set designs are cool and the scares — that’s in the willing suspension of disbelief. I enjoyed the Slaughter House Extreme a lot more especially near the end when there are more killer clowns and demons challenging people to pass, if they dare. The strobe lights add to a vertigo when navigating a certain space and, as I recall from last year, they were repurposed from the Darkness Maze and put here instead as folks attempt to escape the house of murder. I like the story behind this concept. From their website:
For generations, the Carnell family owned and operated the first commercial meat processing plant on Vancouver Island. In the beginning business was growing and employed many locals.
But as time went on and the Great Depression hit, the once thriving family business was now in a state of disrepair and ordered to close their doors. The Carnells moved to the mainland and left their heritage and legacy behind in search of new opportunities. However, for many of the employees this was all they had and ever knew. Many without skill or the ability to adapt and move on….
Now almost 100 years later, it is said that there are some descendants of the original employees still inhabiting the abandoned plant and residing in the Old Carnell farm-house. Rumors that the slaughterhouse is still open raises great concern as there are no signs of livestock anywhere, just abandoned derelict vehicles.
This will be the final year for the Slaughter House! Many changes and surprises are in store, as in 2016 will be a completely new theme and renovated Haunted Attraction! Make sure you find out if you can survive, before it is gone!
That said, I wonder what kind of story will be developed for next year? Will there be fresh new ghoulish designs for the house that visitors have to walk into? Could the house become the home of Wilbur Whateley from H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror? Copyright aside, I would love to experience cosmic horror here at this farm. I have fond memories of the Darkness Maze that had small patches of open roof which held a starry night in thrall. It gave people a bit of light to navigate. Well, only on a moonlit night that can help. This year’s version was darker, and the maze was changed around. The criticisms I had from last year still remains. The walls should get textured so what’s being felt is gooey or strange. The punch bags could benefit from being less obvious in what they are. In what’s improved is the addition of actors to make the experience not so much of a solitary one. I never got the feeling of any in the maze, so ….
But elsewhere, they will emerge to taunt you and when I came in feeling like Egon from Ghostbusters (complete with the glow in the dark shirt). Well, I wanted to be part of this monster club than consumed by them.
I like your review style, Ed. Very authentic :). Would love to feature your reviews in our weekly curated email digest that goes out to thousands of people.