| Ride Review - Latest Revision: December 2007 (WARNING! Will Spoil First Time Riders) | ||||
But such things cannot last it would seem. The ride did not have a storyline to follow as such, thus it relied completely on the effects to scare and entertain riders. The problem with building a ride that relies on effects is that if those effects are not working, the ride experience loses a lot of points. As Alton Towers installed new coasters and thrill rides around the park, the Haunted House started to lose it's edge. Anyone who visited the park on a regular basis will probably have the same feeling that every year it seems to get a little bit darker, and there is a little bit longer period of just moving around in pitch blackness with nothing happening. The ride didn't open like this though. Many people can remember effects in the house that by the end had all but vanished, or sat there redundant. These inlcuded tales of the grid above your head as your first enter the house dropping a way so that it felt it was about to spike your head. There are many other tales of such things...
The parts that were still working though gave a glimpse into why the ride was considered so top-notch in it's hey day. The models that jump out do a good job of scaring new riders. The ride was nice and varied, with "outdoor" sections and revolving tunnels and the like. The ride seemed to have a problem with Lights. For example, the ballroom near the start of the ride is themed gorgeusly, but you can rarely make any of it out in the later days. It would seem that as the ride lost its novelty, the lights were turned out to try and make it scarier. The animatronics were dated, and many parts of the ride were not maintained as much as many would like. Walls and moving creatures hissed as they moved (not intentional), and many had strobe lights and sound effects compeltely out of sinc with their movements. The queueline had many plus points. The indoor section particulalry excelled itself, but even there, such wonderful ideas as the head in the fire were left for the last few years in a state of disrepait - normally the inability to hear any audio. In 2001, the ride was ruined even more, with the addition of annoying and pointless voiceovers in the queueline and boarding station. "I am your host. Your Ghost Host. We are all DYING to meet you!" Indeed, these are puns that have been used in the Disney Haunted Mantion attraction for years. "Don't pull on the lap bars PLEASE, I will lower them for you." Ugh. What had started as Britain's most definative scare ride turned into an absolute joke. A ride with even casual family visitors most often descended into a competition of who remembers most old effects at various points. In 2003, the ride changed into Duel. Many of the old animatronics and animation effects were fixed, and Duel was a fantastic success. Some didn't make it through though. Lest we forget the Jellyfish who would jump up and down screeching as they did so. The on-ride photo, where a skeleton fell from the sky as your picture was taken. And lastly the erstwhile dragon at the end, who showed you what became of the riders in the car before yours. It's a real shame that the ride seems to be only remembered for it's sorry state near the end of it's life. Thankfully, the ride's present incarnation helps to reset the balance. The Haunted House showed the British public that scary rides didn't have to be cheap and tacky. And we are all thankful for it.
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The Haunted House
was built and advertised as cutting edge. And whilst such
rides existed around the globe using similar effects, the
ride was indeed something of a wonder. Many effects were
seen for the first time by the British Public, and along
with a moving soundtrack and some great theming, the ride
became established as Britain's best Ghost Train, the
British answer to Disney's Haunted Mansion. It was much
much grittier though with far more actual scares than the
Disney rides, which seemed watery in comparison.
One thing was certain though,
some parts of the ride embraced darkness in a style not
so different to X:\No Way Out. You felt the carriage
moving and twisting, but not a lot was happening around
you at all and there was nothing to look at. 
