RECAP:  Located at Kirkwood Camp & Adventure Park, Twisted Trails is made up of three different attractions secluded in the dark woods – a pair of haunted trails and Muck Manor, the latter of which is first on the agenda.

MUCK MANOR:  A creepy, bellhop invites guests inside the estate where it’s explained that Baylor Von Muck built his Manor on, “sacred, witch burial grounds,” which angered the resident spell casters resulting in them cursing the land.  During the introduction, framed portraits of the Muck family are seen transforming into skeletal-faced beings right before your very eyes!  The adventure continues down a dimly-lit, spider web infested hallway into an old elevator that drops to a surprise-containing, “white room,” then through a treacherous zone of toxic contamination highlighted by falling barrels and sparking, short-circuiting electrical boxes, and out into the foggy, murky, swamp-like bayou.  Sandwiched in between is a projection reminiscent of “The Ring” witnessing Samara and others emerging from an adjacent well, before navigation guides the course out into the lengthy, aforementioned, green, laser-lit bog that hides a number of unusual, long-nosed creatures, snakes, and an enormous, oversized rat!  Floating out of the quagmire comes a mysterious boat, whose captain delivers a watery, mist-spraying blast out of Muck Manor.

- 8 minutes, 6 actors

UPPER TRAIL:  The Upper Trail is the second leg of the Twisted Trails experience entered along “Witching Way,” where a brief corn maze discovers a hooded individual waving a lantern who blames the Mucks and witches for his ill-fated appearance exclaiming, “The Mucks did this to me because they built their manor and now the witches are mad and torturing everyone they come in contact with!”

Traversing a rickety, wooden bridge crosses a bottomless pit as mechanical monsters attack deeper advancement into the eerily-lit forest.  Cauldrons line the route giving rise to the appearance of wicked witches from out of the shadows levying more curses on passersby as the path comes under the attack of giant-handed, actortronic beast having its face and cranium within its chest that invades from out of nowhere!

Persistence through an isolated cornfield eventually passes through a parked motorhome upsetting its owner who angrily orders, “Get out of my house!”  Following his advice provokes the wrath of a 12-foot tall, scythe-carrying, red-eyed Grim Reaper harvesting the dead in the midst of revisiting the growing corn that conceals a sudden scarecrow surprise!

The Bad Seed Pumpkin Patch is up next, where advancement is compromised by a large, actortronic, green-eyed Jack-o-lantern and a Kürbis-headed adversary in advance of a dark cave that contains a tight, claustrophobic escape into the waiting arms of another oversized, pneumatic, this one having majestic horns and 6 peering eyes perched in the vicinity of a spooky-looking graveyard that’s been overrun with spiders and webs!  A human-like, arachnoid crawler scampers onto the scene leading the way to a horn-honking surprise conclusion of The Upper Trail.

- 13 minutes, 13 actors

LOWER TRAIL:  The third and final attraction known as The Lower Trail gets underway in a spooky graveyard, where caskets shake and vibrate on their own and The Crypt Keeper resides.  Owner of the property until 1816 when, “The witches came and cursed the land rendering it no longer safe!” he warns to avoid them at all costs or we’d be joining his “family!”

Low ceilings and dark walkways release into the woods to the accompaniment of thunder and lightning and skirmishes with an enormously tall pumpkin-headed behemoth; and an animated, half man-half bat entity sporting an impressive wingspan and warning, “Your time has come!  Your soul is mine!  There is no escape!”

A waist-high, surprise-containing claustrophobic corridor connects through a rabid pack of attacking werewolves and more hidden monsters to “Granny’s Grim Pies,” where you’re about to become the main baked goods ingredient upon becoming trapped over hot coals inside her murderous oven!

Still to come is “The Carny of Souls,” a traveling circus of laughing jesters offering free hugs and puppies, then a maze of protruding hands dumps into the clutches of deranged clowns pointing the way through a claustrophobic squeeze and demanding, “Don’t come back!”   The tunnel returns the excursion to a haunted cornfield that’s inhabited by a hooded, caped, scarecrow soul taker, and houses an isolated building occupied by an agitated monkey responsible for a fast-paced chase-out of The Lower Trail!

A tractor-pulled “hay ride” waits to transport customers back up to the attraction’s main staging area.

- 18 minutes, 21 actors

ANALYSIS:  The Kirkwood Camp & Adventure Park creates a wonderful atmosphere for great Halloween fun anchored by 3 haunted attractions.  Additional activities compliment the overall experience along Bayou Boulevard including Bayou Blasters, a glow-in-the-dark shooting gallery, Ghastly Greens mini golf, seasonally decorated selfie stations, a gift shop, drinks, snacks, and more.

Lighting is impressively good, especially on The Upper Trail where it contributes to a spooky environment, however, some trip hazards exist throughout that should be better illuminated.  Soundtrack provides excellent background effects.  Performer interaction is good, although dialogue is weak outside the initial characters in each attraction.  Bellhop and Crypt Keeper are favorites.  Lantern waver, witches, and spider walker are visually impressive.  Werewolf abducting a live victim is missed from last year.  Additional cast members would prove beneficial and raise the score!

A large variety of actortronic props are appreciated as are the site’s big, mechanical monsters that likewise supplement scares.  Use of fog, lasers, claustrophobia, sparking fuse box, bottomless pit, and chained caskets are memorable.  Elevator wasn’t working properly on the night of our visit (no creaking or screeching, and it hardly vibrated).

Price of general admission is $28 which represents a $5 increase in comparison to 2023.  Fast Pass has been raised to $43, $10 more than it was a season ago. FREE Admission is offered on Fridays for all active police, fire, EMT, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals with valid photo ID, badge, or government issued ID.  Members of the military and veterans are admitted free of charge on both Fridays and Saturdays with presentation of proper ID stating specific duty.

Fun-filled seasonal scares are waiting for you at Twisted Trails!