RECAP:  HANNA HAUNTED HAYRIDE:  The main event consists of non-stop scares from the start to finish, featuring numerous animatronic monsters, falling billboard signs, and actors climbing onto the hayride terrorizing riders!  Highlights include a frightening cemetery that brings forth a tall, gory undertaker that's looking for his next victim, ghouls flying by overhead, witches, chainsaw ambushes, a huge spider descending into the wagon, and even a gator attack!   One of the most memorable scenes witnesses a huge, winged, red-eyed, bat-like creature flapping its majestic wings as a hellish demoness climbs aboard the hayride, bending over backwards and asserting, "All  of you are damned to stay here with me!"

Another favorite consists of enormous, 20-foot tall mechanical beasts rising up from ground level, while trees topple down bilaterally towards the hay wagon!  Additional animated creatures challenge entrance into an old barn, a rabid dog barks and lunges forward out of a wrecked van while protecting an unoccupied junkyard, and a pack of carnivorous hillbillies surround the tractor-drawn cart, one of whom revs a chainsaw up against the side of the wagon, sending shock waves vibrating throughout while deciding which passenger he's going to cut up and serve for dinner!  Simultaneous assaults from even more colossal, animatronic monsters continue, leading to a horn-blasting, near-miss, broadside collision with an oncoming train when the hayride suddenly stalls astraddle the tracks of an ungated railroad crossing!  Still to come, a swinging pendulum blade lowers itself dangerously close overhead, narrowly missing those onboard, then more mammoth creatures rise up, as the tractor drives beneath an elevated scaffold, where flames burst into the air lighting the way for The Headless Horseman to ride again!  Escaping around the bend attracts the attention of a maniac driving a combine that comes charging out of hiding having human body parts hanging off its blades, and chases the hay wagon out of the woods, thus bringing to a close The Hanna Haunted Hayride!

BLOOD BARN:  A ringing cowbell sounds entrance into the old barn, where panels fall enabling sudden attacks, and a Mongo springs forward out of an adjacent wall.  Journeying through the tool shed section discovers humongous guard dogs aggressively advancing toward passersby, then bloody, knife-carrying residents are encountered, eager to slice and dice up trespassers!  Dismembered body parts are scattered about the course that eventually stumbles upon screaming, caged captives in the presence of irate fiends pounding relentlessly on walls and floors with blood-stained sledgehammers near the escape from Blood Barn!

FREAKSHOW:  Obviously, this attraction is NOT for anyone that fears certain carnival entertainers, if you get what we mean!   An immediate surprise courtesy of a mechanical clown popping up out of a Jack-in-the-Box gets the attraction off to a high-impact beginning.  Venturing onward through the "Midway of Games" exposes a variety of scares including more animated clown startles, a 3 -D walkway across a treacherous bridge, bones of dead animals, falling barrels, air guns, static circus animals, and a disorienting, spinning vortex!  Regaining one's balance brings about dubious conflicts with wickedly-laughing, killer clowns armed with sledgehammers blocking the one and only escape route from Freakshow!

DESCENSION:  Excursion into an isolated cave immediately angers the wrath of a giant, red-eyed monster residing within, summoning the interest of strange cavern dwellers that attack from all sides approaching a green, murky swamp!  Skeletal remains of previous explorers are piled high, apparently a consequence that befell those that came before who failed to find their way out!   A spooky, dark passageway connects to a tilting bridge, guarded by a masked, long-nosed Troglodyte, and where a mysterious ghoul whispers, "Time is now!  Your flesh, I will rend!  Your journey through here will never end!  Your souls are now trapped in darkness and fear for all eternity!  You'll stay with me right... here!"  Eluding her spellbinding encounter unearths a claustrophobic transition to freedom from Descension!

OUTBREAK:  A zombie apocalypse has taken place resulting in roaming members of the undead taking over the premises, reaching down from an overhead catwalk, and snorting, moaning, and clawing out from cracks, crevices, and just about every direction imaginable!  Car horns honk, and lights flash off and back on as these soulless walkers pound on doors, walls, and windows desperately trying to get at you!  A mad zombie doctor rips the intestines out of a corpse, while elderly patients in transition from their former human states rise up out of wheelchairs to join in the feast!  Navigation through an abandoned ambulance exits into an all-out baseball bat ambush, then mechanical incursions emanate from within slide-down panels in advance of a captivating run-in with a head-tilted, growling girl rotter, followed by a zombie horde, chainsaw chase-out of Outbreak.

PANDEMIC:  Not your ordinary corn maze, Pandemic navigates among grotesque-looking creatures running rampant through winding loops and dead ends of seemingly endless cornstalks.  Uncertainty abounds as explorers ponder the correct path at forks in the road; fear builds as adventurers wonder if they're just aimlessly going around in circles; and panic sets in the longer it takes to find the way out of Pandemic!

ANALYSIS:  Hanna Haunted Acres annually showcases one of the best Hayrides in the Ohio Valley!  It's by far the most active, with an astonishing number of animatronic monsters delivering scares along the route while paving the way for various actor assaults, a near-fatal train crash, and the deadly combine chase-out!  "Dead spots" are nonexistent at the site's signature event outside of the approach to, and departure from the haunted woods itself.  Secondary attractions are much improved in comparison to years past, and while they're still brief from a duration standpoint, detailing is enhanced making for a more appreciative contribution to the overall experience.  Descension's cave is outstandingly well done, and Outbreak Zombies all did a fabulous job of providing the best scares possible!  Bridge girl in Descension and Hayride Demoness provided the most dramatic engagements, while Troglodyte (also in Descension) and tilted-head Walker in Outbreak are also among the most memorable.  Attractions are accessed from a centralized gathering area that features a cozy bonfire and readily available refreshments and concessions.

OVH had a blast at Hanna Haunted Acres, with The Hayride being our favorite, followed by Descensions, Outbreak, Blood Barn, Pandemic, then Freakshow.  Plan on spending an entire evening at the facility this Halloween season and enjoy 6 haunted attractions, the best, most fun-filled, action-packed hayride around, and all the festivities Indianapolis' Haunted Theme Park has to offer!  Don't miss out on Hanna's strongest performance to date!