The Perfect Neohome Buyer's Guide: The Haunted Woods

     We have previously looked at Neohomes located in the gorgeous land of Tyrannia and the golden beaches of Mystery Island! Now let’s go and explore the beloved Haunted Woods and what the area has to offer its residents.

     So, as we always do first, let’s look at pros:

     The Haunted Woods is a very large area that offers a variety of places to live. The weather is always sort of cool, so you won’t be freezing like on Terror Mountain or sweating a lot like in the Lost Desert. It also has a lot of entertainment and shopping. You won’t have to leave the forest to have a good time! For starters, you can always visit the creepy fairground and play fun games such as Carnival of Terror, Cork Gun Gallery, Test Your Strength, and Carnival of Terror - especially if you’re in the mood for lots of pie. Once you’ve had your wits scared out of you from all of the creepy carnival games, you can take a break with some delicious food from the Spooky Food cart. There are quite a few delicacies, if I must say so myself. On the top of my list is the Chilled Eyeball Custard and a giant cup of Haunted Milk!

     After eating lunch, you should pop by Spooky Furniture for some spooky vibes to fill your house with, and then head over to Haunted Weaponry to browse. If gambling is more your style, then you’re in luck! (How you’ll have extra cash after buying a house is a good question…but alas, here’s a way to spend even more money…) There’s the Wheel of Misfortune where you can take your chance of landing amazing prizes, such as a Paintbrush if you’re lucky enough.

     Once you’re done exploring the creepy fairground, there’s another small area of the Haunted Woods that a lot of people overlook. It’s called Neovia and it’s a small town hidden deep within the scary trees past the wandering campsite. Buying a house in this area gives you a lot of seclusion and quiet, away from the loud excitement and bustling visitors at the carnival. Also, here lies the catacombs, where if you dare to send your Petpet in to explore, it might just find something completely amazing to bring back. But beware…

          Neovia also has an amazing bookstore called the Neovian Printing Press where you can stock up your library in your home. Here you can find amazing stories such as No Need To Be Rood, Standard Meridell Farmer’s Contract, and Why The Fairground Was Deserted. If you suddenly become hungry again, The Crumpetmonger offers some of Neopia’s FINEST desserts. I highly recommend the Fish Pie and Strawberry Grarrl Petit Fours, if you can find them before they sell out. There’s even more shopping available in this hidden gem of an area, so feel free to explore on your days off to see all of the sites. As you’re heading back out, make sure you take a walk through the Forgotten Graveyard. I don’t suggest living beside it though, because I personally don’t want any ghosts floating into my front yard. In the heart of the Haunted Woods, there are more fun things to keep you busy such as adopting Spooky Petpets and wishing for one of the haunted Paintbrush designs you have always wanted to have.

     Now, for the cons: And there’s not as many as you’d think even though the area is haunted.

     First off, if you’re located in the main area of the haunted woods, you’ll be forced to see the game graveyard on your daily commute, which will just be a sad reminder of the amazing games no longer available for Neopians to enjoy.

     And then, there’s the misunderstood Esophagor. He’s hungry, he’s scary, and he’s got a bad attitude. If your house is close by, you might wake up to him staring at you on your front porch. I’d say just keep your distance and live as far away as you can. And speaking of hunger, although the haunted wood’s Crumpetmonger has a lot of great food she offers, there’s a bunch of scary and not so tasty food too at the carnival. Be careful if you choose to fill your fridge with spooky dishes at the carnival, it might make the entire kitchen smell bad!

     Now if you’re going to get a Neohome, you’re going to want to get yourself a Petpet to live in to make it feel more cosy- and guess what? There’s an adoption centre for Spooky Petpets. Now why would this be a con, you ask? The Spooky Petpet centre is old and in need of a lot of repairs and sometimes the Pets will escape into the forest! Most petpets are very cute and friendly, but some of these Petpets from the Haunted Woods are just plain scary. Sure, you could try to adopt one running loose, but beware. If you choose a Sludgy, it will get slime all over your new clothes and ruin your brand new carpet and bedding too. Grobins are kind of friendly, but beware, their teeth are sharp as knives and when they get mad, they’ll shred everything in sight.

     Halloween is also a frightfully good time, but everyone in Neopia loves to go to the Haunted Woods for trick-or-treating and parties, so your candy bill is going to be OUTRAGEOUS! A Custard Gelert was interviewed last year and said that he had to hand out 4000 pieces of candy. That’s a LOT of candy! Better make sure you save up to buy enough pieces.

     But the worst thing of all, are the bats that constantly fly around the woods. If you aren’t a big fan of bats, then this place is NOT for you!

     So there ya go folks. Reasons to live and reasons to avoid the wonderful area of The Haunted Woods. See ya next time, where we explore the pros and cons of living on the Virtupets Space Station!