“Late that night, in a blinding rage of madness, he took his ax from its place in the shed and attacked his dear Greta, chopping her body into pieces until his frenzy had abated. The next morning, realizing what horror he had done, he carefully placed his wife’s remains in a shallow grave in the front yard of her beloved manor, ” — www.mysterymanoromaha.org

A whole lot of talk and not a lot of show. Though Mystery Manor was decently scary and worth $6 for opening night ($12 regular admission), we were unsure if it was worth the hour and a half wait and having to park five blocks away. Not only should the haunted house be frightening, but so should the line.

We would have liked to have seen a few more scary characters outside. Sure, there was a bloody postman and Jason from “Friday the 13th” wandering around, but they didn’t do much other than wander. The clown that walked around the entrance was creepy with jagged teeth and dark makeup, but his attitude did not match his costume. Rather than scaring people, he made conversation.

It was disappointing that the scariest aspect in line was the movie “Halloween” playing inside a truck. Perhaps they should consider throwing a chainsaw into the mix, because in our opinion, you haven’t been scared until someone runs toward you with a blade of death.

Thankfully the house was slightly better than the wait. There were two slides, but those too terrified to slide down had the option of stairs. The slides went fast, maybe a little too fast because at the end we felt like we had bruises covering our arms. Though it was painful, it was one of the scariest aspects of the house because we didn’t know what awaited us at the bottom.

Part of the house was set up like a pitch black maze, making it dangerous and confusing to walk through. Occasional strobe lights created a cool effect, making us dizzy while allowing us to get through without breaking a limb (but it did come close). Sharp turns made attempting to hold on to people a painful experience.

More than anything, though, we were scared we were going to run into a wall. At first the dark maze was scary, but not long after it became annoying. It wasted too much time.

The maze lead us to a spinning starry sky under a bridge. Walking straight — even with holding on to the handlebars — was the most challenging yet fun part of the haunted house. Though it was amusing and made us disoriented, it didn’t add anything to the scare-factor.

While Mystery Manor might not have been the scariest experience of our lives, it was definitely worth the money. Shorter lines, better parking and a longer presentation would have made this experience even better, however the effort put into making each room as frightening as can be with decorations is what made it worth it in the end. A Friday night well spent.

Costumes/Makeup: 7 out of 10
Decor: 9 out of 10
Scare Factor: 7 out of 10
Overall Experience: 8 out of 10

The Scream Team
(Ashley Quintela, Hailey Stolze and Sophia Vanfosson)