The Haunted Graveyard at Lake Compounce [Review]

Lake Compounce, one of Connecticut’s few amusement parks, has a gem it brings out only when fun-size candy bars hit store shelves en masse. As one of the longest walk-through haunts in the state, Lake Compounce’s Haunted Graveyard is both a value and a wicked good time. The Haunted Graveyard offers over 20 different themes across a maze that’s about a mile-long. We were in there for more than hour and were treated to premium visual effects and tricked by playful scare actors the whole way.

The minds behind the Haunted Graveyard clearly did not cheap its way through the creativity or costs required to pull off their stellar haunt. Sets and scenes were immaculately constructed and the transitions between themes were wildly smooth, all of which were aided by a cohesive, overarching aesthetic. Despite struggling with cravings for coherent narrative arcs in my haunts these days, the Haunted Graveyard was an awesome throwback to more traditional mazes but with the added twist of high production value. Each and every actor was awesomely costumed and the massive crew of make-up artists employed by the attraction carried out their jobs with expert detail. The very first maze you enter, which throws you into a Catholic Church and catacomb scenario with maximum effect, is perhaps the Haunted Graveyard’s best because it marries all of this team’s best work with flawlessly executed timing. You’ll get a relatively independent experience in this first maze, but expect to encounter more of the haunt’s other guests as you roam into the Graveyard’s other areas.

Although Lake Compounce does not recommend the Haunted Graveyard for small children or those who are easily spooked, we felt that it was still rather family friendly. Of course, this is not to say that the Haunted Graveyard is without its terrors—because they’re ample and well-tooled—but everything felt sturdily constructed and safe. Moreover, not one of the themes is overwhelmingly mature in nature. You have your ghouls and your ghosts and your gremlins, but nothing ever crossed the line to the point where I wanted to say to the family behind us, “my word, shield that child’s eyes!” The Haunted Graveyard definitely draws its fair share of fresh blood and rabid youths, but, much to the credit of the attraction’s behind-the-scenes operations, the walk-through and queue never tipped the scales into having the same problems with rowdy, disrespectful teens that plague other amusement park haunts.

Housed in Lake Compounce, one of the oldest consistently operating amusement parks in the United States, the Haunted Graveyard is made all-the-better by the park in which it’s situated. Although Lake Compounce seems relatively small in scale for those of us who are used to monstrously large theme parks, it was still charming enough to catch the eye of a producer on STRANGER THINGS season one and is exactly the right size for a family to make the trip without it becoming a complete ordeal. The cost of a single combo ticket (meaning you’ll have access to both the rides and the Haunted Graveyard) is $36.99 and the price rapidly decreases if you are planning to visit with a group. The combo ticket is, by far, the direction you should take if you’re planning to add the Haunted Graveyard to your Halloween to-do list. We had more than our fair share of entertainment for one eveningbecause, in the off-season, it seems you can gets some very satisfying chills in the Graveyard and endless thrills with almost zero wait-time on Lake Compounce’s many coasters. Considering other haunted attractions can charge upwards of $50 for just one jaunt through a maze, the combo ticket is a steal with absolutely nothing to be lost in terms of scares and shocks where the Haunted Graveyard is concerned!