Do you have a favorite haunt that didn’t make the list? E-mail Alexis Larsen at alexis.e.larsen@hotmail.com with the information and we will work to include it in future coverage.
Some things that will go bump in the night this fall will be significantly scarier than others.
Here are the attractions that will offer the scariest scares and the screechiest screams that the bravest in your group are searching for. Using the skull grading system on HauntWorld.com, the reviews on OhioValleyHaunts.com and several other haunted house sites, we have located the top 10 hot spots that you won’t want to miss if you are looking to find and harness your fear this fall.
Most of these operated from late September through the end of October. For more information on prices and times, go online to the web addresses mentioned in this article.
Happy haunting!
The Dent School House
www.frightsite.com
5963 Harrison Ave, Cincinnati
Listed as the No. 2 haunted attraction for several years by Top Haunts Magazine, Dent Schoolhouse was built in the 1894 and became a legendary haunt over 15 years ago. Eleven makeup artists use more than 300 prosthetics and six gallons of latex. Nearly 80 actors work between the two attractions, which include more than 40 scenes, as well as an outside playground and bus yard.
Foy’s Halloween Stores
www.foyshalloweenstore.com/home.html
18 E. Main St., Fairborn
Foy’s is a Fairborn mainstay and it’s getting ready for the busiest season of the year. Shop for a costume, but first be sure to take a tour through all of the scares and fun that each of the stores has to offer. This is the perfect start to an evening of scares and screams.
Haunted Wagon Rides at Young’s Dairy
youngsdairy.com/haunted
6880 Springfield-Xenia Road, just north of Yellow Springs
The Haunted Wagon Ride and Scary Stories at Young’s Dairy are designed for families with kids, but they promise it will still be plenty scary. The ride goes into a dark cornfield where monsters and goblins will pop out. Admission also includes a storytelling theatre, where professional storytellers will regale you with scary tales that will haunt you.
Horror Acres Haunted House
www.horroracres.com
6995 Springfield Jamestown Road, Springfield
Featuring a high voltage “Horrorvator”, a spinning tunnel, suffocation chamber and notorious horror film legends. Experience new demented and interactive SAW Scenes. Are you brave enough to play the game? Will you escape? This will be your final scream.
Kings Island’s Halloween Haunt
www.visitkingsisland.com/scream
6300 Kings Island Drive, Mason
With a plethora of indoor and outdoor mazes, spine-chilling scare zones, eerily entertaining shows and thrilling rides that will make you scream like a banshee, Kings Island offers something for everyone on a grand scale and they continue to perfect and enhance their frightening options year after year.
Land of Illusion
www.landofillusion.com
8762 Thomas Road, Middletown
This Middletown destination has continued to grow, adding the Zombie Sniper Patrol attraction in 2013. Visitors board an army transport vehicle and take out an undead pack of brain eaters with paintballs. There are also four haunted houses, a haunted trail and live entertainment on the “Stage of Rage.” Buy VIP Fast Pass tickets online and get to the scares quicker.
The Lewisburg Haunted Cave
www.hauntedcaveatlewisburg.com
4392 Swishers Mill Road, Lewisburg (Preble County)
Certified as the world’s longest walk-through horror house by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2010, the Lewisburg Haunted Cave is located 80 feet below the ground with live bats and some seriously scary characters.
Riverside Jaycees Haunted Castle of Carnage & Bloody Hollow
www.riverside-jaycees.com
1213 Old Harshman Road, Riverside
This all volunteer run attraction has been going strong since 1986. One of the coolest things families can participate in is an Oct. 18 Lights On Kids Matinee, which offers an opportunity for families with young children to come and see a behind the scenes tour as well as visiting other booths and activities. Food and money from this “Special Matinee” will go toward food for the needy and a Christmas shopping event.
Springboro Haunted Hayride and Black Bog
www.springborohauntedhayride.com
6070 Springboro Road, Lebanon
This attraction promises to scare the “yell” out of you. Ohio Valley Haunt says, “This tractor drawn terror is annually the best Hayride around!” Sounds good to us.
USS Nightmare
www.ussnightmare.com
101 Riverboat Row, Newport, Ky.
Located just across the river from downtown Cincinnati in Northern Kentucky on the Ohio River near Newport on the Levee, The USS Nightmare is billed as America’s Premier Haunted Steamboat. It’s one of the top Halloween tourist attractions in the tri-state and has been voted one of the best haunted houses in Cincinnati and one of America’s top 13 haunted houses by Haunt World Magazine. We’re not sure what’s worse, getting stuck in a haunted house or a haunted ship … you be the judge.
Wilmington Haunted Hollow Ride
www.wilmingtonhauntedhollowride.com
1261 W. Dalton Road, Wilmington
This creepy adventure through the fields of Clinton County takes place as Fire Breathing Semi’s chase unsuspecting victims on a Haunted Bus Ride through a forest filled with monsters, madness, and mayhem. Their description, not ours. Sounds terrifying, we just hope you get the right driver.
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