Here is a guide to the best haunted attractions across the region:
👻🦇Brimstone Haunt
Credit: JRDEE2
Credit: JRDEE2
Location: 472 Brimstone Road, Wilmington
Hours: Open from 7-11:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through Oct. 31.
Why it rates: Put on by the producers of the Ohio Renaissance Festival and Celtic Fest Ohio, the Brimstone Haunt in Wilmington boasts a varied roster of haunted attractions that vary in intensity. If you’re looking to bring the entire family to the Brimstone Haunt, you might want to keep the scares a bit more tame with the Haunted Hayride. However, for those who want to experience the full terror of the season, a trek through the Forgotten Forest or walk through the haunted house, Psychosis, or Zombie Assault, which takes place on an old school bus.
Cost: Ticket prices for the 2020 season are as follows:
- Haunted Hayride: $15 per person
- Forgotten Forest: $15 per person
- Psychosis: $8 per person
- Zombie Assault: $5 per person
- Haunted Hayride and Forgotten Forest combination ticket: $27 per person
- Haunted Hayride, Forgotten Forest and Fast Pass combination ticket: $47 per person
Parking is $3 and will be collected at the entrance.
Coronavirus procedures: All guests will be required to wear masks whenever inside a structure or in any situation where social distancing is not possible. Hand sanitizers will be placed at multiple convenient locations throughout. Queue lines will be socially distanced. There will be ground markings for this purpose as well. There will also be increased times between groups entering each attraction.
More info: brimstonehaunt.com | Facebook.com/BrimstoneHaunt
👻🦇Riverside Jaycees Haunted Castle of Carnage
Credit:
Credit:
Location: 1213 Old Harshman Road, Riverside
Hours: Open through Oct. 31 from dusk to midnight Fridays and Saturdays and dusk to 10 p.m. Sundays
Why it rates: This haunted attraction may offer the most “boo” for your buck, with two attractions available for one reasonable price, including the Haunted Castle of Carnage and the Trail of Terror.
Need another reason, beyond the scares, to pay a visit to the Riverside Jaycees Haunted Castle of Carnage? The Riverside Jaycees use this haunted attraction to give back to the community by helping young adults gain leadership skills.
Cost: Guests will be able to enjoy the Haunted House and Trail for only $15 per person. If you’d like to skip to the front of the line, you can purchase a VIP pass for $25 per person.
Coronavirus procedures: People will be asked to socially distance while in line, though plastic sheeting is installed in queues to prevent side-to-side exposure. People can only go through the haunt with the people they came with, no mixed groups, and no more than six people will be in any room in the haunted house at the same time. The rooms in the house have been rearranged for more space. There will be temperature checks and health questions for visitors.
More info: www.riverside-jaycees.com | Facebook.com/RiversideJayceesHauntedCastleofCarnage
👻🦇Dayton Scream Park
Location: 4355 Valley St., Dayton
Hours: Every Friday and Saturday through Oct. 31 from 8 p.m. to midnight
Why it rates: Dayton Scream Park lives up to its name with countless opportunities for terror along its haunted trails, Rat Trap Haunted House, Hollywood attraction with monsters from the silver screen and the Trail Trap Maze. Each attraction features more than 30 terrorizing scenes and 60 live monsters.
Cost: $20 (regular admission), $40 (VIP)
Coronavirus procedures: All haunts take place outside, and face masks are recommended. Hand-sanitizing stations will be found at the ticket booth, the concession stand, and the restrooms. Lines will be socially distanced.
More info: www.daytonscreampark.com | Facebook.com/daytonscreampark
👻🦇The Dent Schoolhouse in Cincinnati
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Location: 5963 Harrison Ave., Cincinnati
Hours: Thursday and Sunday from 7:30-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 7:30 p.m. to midnight through Oct. 31
Why it rates: This one is worth the drive. The Dent Schoolhouse in Cincinnati is widely considered to be one of the top haunted attractions in Ohio, receiving national attention from Fangoria, Haunted Attraction magazine and America Haunts.
Built in 1884, the Dent Schoolhouse has a backstory that in itself might scare away the most timid customers. Beginning in 1942, students began disappearing from the schoolhouse until people began noticing a foul smell emanating from the basement. Then, in 1955, after an angry mob demanded justice for their missing sons and daughters, it was discovered that the school’s janitor had killed the children and let their bodies rot in the basement. Unfortunately, though, the janitor got away (or did he), but the spirits of the dead children haunt the place, still seeking revenge.
Customers are led through the schoolhouse that boasts grizzly scenes, like a lifelike memorial to the murdered children, an upgraded kitchen with a meat saw, conveyor belt and trash dump, a ghost dance in the auditorium and man-sized spiders in the basement. More than 50 actors appear in this chilling haunted attraction.
Cost: General admission tickets are $20 on Thursdays and Sundays, $22 on Fridays and $25 on Saturdays. A Fast Pass is $20 and Front of the Line pass is $30.
Coronavirus procedures:
- Masks are required by all customers
- Ticket attendance is capped by 50 percent each night
- Social distancing measures will be enacted
- Hand sanitizing stations will be available throughout the attraction
- Enhanced cleaning measures of all high-touch surfaces will be put into effect
More info: https://frightsite.com | Facebook.com/thedentschoolhouse
👻🦇Land of Illusion
Location: 8762 Thomas Road, Middletown
Hours: Through Nov. 7, 7 p.m.-1 a.m.
Why it rates: One of the Dayton area’s most popular haunted attractions offers more than just terrifying haunts. Land of Illusion’s Haunted Scream Park also offers guests a chance to enjoy food, drink, live entertainment and places to sit down to “let your heart recover.”
The following opportunities exist for sheer terror at Land of Illusion’s Haunted Scream Park:
- Temple of Terror: Unless you’re Indiana Jones, your chances of surviving this temple of doom are pretty slim.
- Phobia: Total darkness and a phobia around every door.
- Killer Klowns Haunted Maze: How about an entire haunt dedicated to the irrational fear of clowns?
- Dr. Psycho’s Haunted Hospital: Enter this haunted hospital where the mutilated victims of Dr. Psycho’s experimental sadism await to take revenge.
- Big Mama’s Revenge: A Dr. Pyscho spinoff, if you will. Big Mama was originally imprisoned in the Haunted Hospital for torturing people. Now, she’s escaped and formed a haunted labyrinth all her own.
- The Historical Mystery Mansion: Built in 1960, this old-school ride takes you through cobwebs, dust, bad smells, and vintage ghosts.
- The Middletown Haunted Trail: Come back to where it all started. Land of Illusion’s very first haunt is a one-mile trail through 40 scenes, featuring sickos armed with blades, chainsaws, and blowtorches, as well as creatures who enjoy the taste of human flesh.
Cost: General admission for one attraction is $20 and weekend passes cost $50. A weekend pass plus VIP admission is $75, a Haunt Family of 4 Season Pass is $299, a Haunt General Admission Season Pass is $99 and a Haunt VIP Season Pass is $199.
Coronavirus procedures: Masks are required for guests inside and recommended outside. Employees will be wearing masks if serving food and drink or working within eight feet of the guests. Employees will have their temperatures taken daily and asked to stay home if they’re feeling sick. There will be social distancing signage throughout the park and in lines. Groups entering attractions will be timed to prevent overcrowding. Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the park. High-touch services will be sanitized regularly, and tables will be socially distanced.
More info: www.landofillusion.com/haunt | Facebook.com/LandofIllusion
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
👻🦇Terror Maze in Springfield
Location: 6988 Springfield Jamestown Road, Springfield
Hours: Open on Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 31 from 8 p.m. and midnight
Why it rates: This haunted terror maze features dozens of scares and actors sure to chill you to the bone.
Cost: $13 per haunt.
More info: www.terrormaze.com | Facebook.com/TerrorMaze.net
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
👻🦇Face Your Fears: Hotel of Terror
Location: 1291 Cold Spring Road, Springfield
Hours: Open every Friday and Saturday through Oct. 31 from 8 p.m. to midnight
Why it rates: This is the hotel stay of your worst nightmare. This is a 4-story haunted house built in 1858, with each room in the house having a hotel theme. In 2018, the Hotel of Terror was voted the #1 Scariest Haunt in Ohio out of 160 haunted attractions by Scare Factor.
Cost: General admission tickets are $20. A fast pass is $30 and VIP tickets are $40
More info: www.faceyourfearshaunt.com | Facebook.com/FaceYourFearsHotelofTerror/
👻🦇Sidney Haunted Woods
Location: 2232 W. Russell Road, Sidney
Hours: Open through Oct. 31 on every Saturday night from dark until the “crowds die down”
Why it rates: Located approximately 30 minutes north of Dayton, the Sidney Haunted Woods features a half-mile track of terror with beloved Halloween characters like evil clowns, zombies, “Silent Hill” burn victims, Jeepers Creepers, Jason, Freddy, scarecrows and more.
Cost: General admission is $12 per adult, $9 per child 12 or under and $9 for military personnel and first responders. A special group rate is available for groups of 10 or more — find out more about these rates at the ticket booth.
More info: Facebook.com/SidneyHauntedWoods/
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Credit: Marshall Gorby
👻🦇Hell’s Dungeon
Location: 3866 Linden Ave. in Dayton
Hours: Open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 8 from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Why it rates: Hell’s Dungeon is Dayton Ohio’s newest haunted attraction and is located indoors. This means no waiting in line outside in the cold unless the attraction is over its 750-person capacity. The attraction is best suited for guests ages 12 and up.
“Where else can you go for an evening and go through a portal into a different realm to where you see a walking, talking scarecrow, a 6-foot pumpkin head, (then) walk through a swamp, have voodoo curse put on you, go to an asylum, go through a sewer, and then you get into the 3D area (and) you’ve got a 7-foot clown head chasing you on a tricycle — where else can you go and get all that in 30 to 45 minutes? It’s called Hell’s Dungeon,” owner Fred Hearn said.
Cost: General admission $23 (plus processing fees) and $10 fast pass. Tickets can be purchased online. On Fridays if guests bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to Hell’s Dungeon toy drive to benefit local non-profit, Touching Moments, they will receive $2 off the price of admission.
Coronavirus procedures: Actors in the haunt are not allowed to touch or grab guests. Groups will wait in a 10-foot-by-10-foot cue until it’s their turn, then navigate through the attraction only with their group. Properly worn masks will be required of all guests before entering and throughout the visit.
More info: www.survivehellsdungeon.com | Facebook.com/hellsdungeondayton
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