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<p>In its 17th season, Gravestone Manor is the very definition of a refined haunted house.</p><p>You get that feeling the second you walk in. The haunt may be inside a warehouse, but you don&#8217;t really get a sense of that at all. Even the ticket booth is tastefully decorated.</p><p>Gravestone Manor sets itself apart from the other haunts because it considers itself to be more theatrical presentation than shock-and-awe attraction. It&#8217;s more like a play than an actual haunted house.</p><p>Terrified of chainsaws? No worries. There&#8217;s not a single one used in this attraction.</p><p>Can&#8217;t stand loud noises? No air horns here.</p><p>Instead, they pride themselves on the quality of acting instead of the quantity of scares.</p><p>You start off in a seated area where they&#8217;re playing a movie while your group waits to go through. And it&#8217;s not a slasher flick, either. It&#8217;s more like an indie film where the scares are more mental than gory. It does a nice job setting the tone of what you&#8217;re about to experience. Before long, it&#8217;s your turn and you&#8217;re greeted by an actor who runs down the rules and regulations. Then you&#8217;re on your merry way.</p><p>This attraction follows a seemless storyline, narrated by actors who have obviously practiced their lines and delivery. Here, you&#8217;re inside your host&#8217;s dream and you follow her along for every weird twist and turn.</p><p>You start off outside a house and she eventually invites you in. Hanging on the middle of the wall is a photo of a very innocent-looking child. She explains that the child is rumored to be responsible for the deaths of quite a few people. But that&#8217;s just rumors, right? You begin to think not when the lights start to flicker and the photo of the child turns into something demonic.</p><p>The dream shifts and you end up in a bathroom where you meet the host&#8217;s alter ego, a movie director who&#8217;s actually aspired to become what the host wanted to be when she was a child. She mocked her for not growing up and starts directing a movie right in front of you. You&#8217;re concentrating so hard on the alter-ego taunting the host that you never see Norman Bates flying out of the shower until it&#8217;s too late. &#8220;A boy&#8217;s best friend is his mother!&#8221; Totally. Amazing.</p><p>The best part of this attraction is when you enter the REM sleep part of the dream where the dream gets very vivid. You&#8217;re locked inside a box that starts to violently shake and an insane clown appears and starts rolling all over the floor, then bounces up in your face. If you&#8217;re claustrophobic and deathly afraid of clowns, then you&#8217;ll beg you host to wake up very, very quickly from a nightmare. Though if you&#8217;re scared of spiders, you might want to hang back and stay with the clown</p><p>Because it&#8217;s all so well done, Gravestone Manor ends sooner than you&#8217;d like, but the 15 minutes are definitely worth the $10 ticket price. And profits from this attraction benefit United Way of Wyoming Valley.</p><p><strong>Rating: 4 Coffins out of 5</strong></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">There&#8217;s no place like Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_12.jpg</photo0><caption0>There&#8217;s no place like Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_22.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A guest at Gravestone Manor relaxes with an old friend </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_22.jpg</photo1><caption1>A guest at Gravestone Manor relaxes with an old friend </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_32.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Artwork graces the wall at the Gravestone Manor front desk. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_32.jpg</photo2><caption2>Artwork graces the wall at the Gravestone Manor front desk. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_42.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Freddy Krueger makes an appearance from Elm Street. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_42.jpg</photo3><caption3>Freddy Krueger makes an appearance from Elm Street. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_52.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Regan MacNeil from the Exorcist sits on her bed at Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_52.jpg</photo4><caption4>Regan MacNeil from the Exorcist sits on her bed at Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_62.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Norman Bates lunges from behind a shower curtain at Gravestone Manor. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_62.jpg</photo5><caption5>Norman Bates lunges from behind a shower curtain at Gravestone Manor. </caption5><photoCredit5>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_72.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Skeletons remain for an extended stay at Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_72.jpg</photo6><caption6>Skeletons remain for an extended stay at Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </caption6><photoCredit6>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit6></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_82.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Freddy Krueger makes an appearance at Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo7>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_82.jpg</photo7><caption7>Freddy Krueger makes an appearance at Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </caption7><photoCredit7>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit7></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_92.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A clown checks out the luxury accomodations at Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo8>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_92.jpg</photo8><caption8>A clown checks out the luxury accomodations at Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </caption8><photoCredit8>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit8></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_102.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A guest relaxes in the lobby of Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo9>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GravestoneManor_102.jpg</photo9><caption9>A guest relaxes in the lobby of Gravestone Manor in Plains Township. </caption9><photoCredit9>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit9></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Gravestone Manor</strong></p><p><strong>Address</strong>: 1095 Highway 315, Plains Township</p><p><strong>Details</strong>: <a href="http://www.gravestonemanor.com/" target="_blank">gravestonemanor.com</a> or 570-821-6500</p><p><strong>Attractions</strong>: Haunted House</p><p><strong>Review date</strong>: October 2, 2015 (opening day)</p><p><strong>Reviewers</strong>: Sandy Tomcho, George Spohr, Jeric Foulds</p></factboxMeta></div>

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Review: Gravestone Manor’s theatrical haunted house is a nightmare you won’t want to end