The drive to Joppa, Alabama, was perfect. Tonight’s nearly full moon, partially obscured by drifting clouds, combined with a hint of autumn in the air to set the stage for the short trip to Sweet DreamZ 2025 fourth season of scares.

I arrived in between rushes and spent a few minutes chatting with the friendly Fortune Teller who was taking admissions, telling fortunes, and announcing new guests to the creatures waiting within the haunt.

When a group of nine young men and women arrived, I opted for the glow stick add on, allowing the scare actors to touch customers. The group of nine was split up, and I was kindly allowed to join the group of four. The other members of the group all opted for a glow stick as well, guaranteeing that our tour would be lively.

Fortune Teller Teri really shined during the run up to actually entering the haunt. As she collected ticket fees and told fortunes, she also kept up a gentle, almost motherly, running description of the haunt and what glow stick carriers could expect, whipping up the nerves of those nine young folks with tales of woe ranging from wet pants to just what those creatures might do with their volunteer victims.

She had the two groups halfway to terrified, warming them up nicely for the first scare actor!

We were guided into the haunt with a megaphone announcement of “Fresh meat!” and ushered into a room with the Master, a scene better experienced than described, who explained the rules of the haunt. The final rule still echoed in the small room as we were not-so-gently chivied into the haunt proper.

The path twisted through about 25 contacts with scare actors, some in settings and others mobile. Costumes ranged from bloodied faces and clothes to elaborate make up and full body outfits. The general tenor of the haunt is dim to dark, with a few surprise lighting features that made the rest of the black walled trail all the darker. The scenes are actor driven, and light or noise effects were an accompaniment to the efforts of the haunt’s inhabitants.

My group was so tightly wound that the first scare actor sent them racing down the trail, leaving me in the dust. This situation was quickly remedied by a number of actors whose frightening demeanor and positioning stopped the group in its tracks, trapping us in a switchback.

At this crowded bend in the path, one of the features added since my last visit appeared, descending from above in well done costume and make up. When you visit, don’t bother searching for him. You might miss one of the other excellent actors and you still won’t find him.

The addition of two aerialists, both with distinct costumes, good character interaction, and menacing portrayal of their roles was a wonderful, scary surprise. This feature also made good use of the building’s volume to break attendees out of the usual 2D perception of their space. Dead ends and confusing path choices, with not so helpful guidance from the scare actors, added to the confusion and heightened anxiety of my group.

The finale of the haunt trail includes a couple of stairways and a padded tunnel to crawl through, all staffed with well put together actors doing their level best to scare you. Customers have the option to skip the crawl path if their joints or muscles are not up for such adventure.

Guess what waits to chase visitors out the exit door?

I thought the level of touch for the glowstick add-on was just right. The actors ranged from softly coaxing to aggressively grabbing and prodding, but restricted their contact to arms, shoulders, and backs, except in the crawl tunnel where ankles were also fair game. I would have asked my group if their experience was similar, but they were too busy signing up to go through the haunt again!

As I watched my group race back to Fortune Teller Teri for another go, I ran into Gregg Wright, the owner and brains behind Sweet DreamZ 2025. Saturday nights in October are busy times for haunted houses, but he generously spent some time telling me about some of the new features of Sweet DreamZ 2025. He is particularly happy about the impact of the two aerial actors and the opportunity to use the skills and techniques he has acquired during his own career in acting and stunt work.

Before work called him back into the haunt, we had a moment to talk about the upcoming blackout dates and another idea, monster repellant, that is being considered to make Sweet DreamZ 2025 more kid friendly.

Sweet DreamZ 2025 has two price points, $18 for general admission and $25 for the optional ‘touch me’ glow stick. There are coupons available for discounts, and a discount is offered for donating canned food for charity. Before opening night, a BOGO promotional was offered for online ticket purchases. Take advantage of the three remaining weekends to get your scare on at Sweet DreamZ 2025.

Night night…

For more info, schedules, photos, and backstory, check out the SweelDeamsZ facebook or webpage.

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