RECAP & ANALYSIS:   LOI showcases an unmatched atmosphere that now features 7 haunted attractions including the new “Big Mama’s Revenge” and “The Mystery Mansion” - A classic, historic, 1960’s “Dark Ride!” 

MIDDLETOWN HAUNTED TRAIL:  Entrance into this legendary attraction begins across a green, toxic stream that’s shadowed by a man-eating creature, along with a contaminated, bright-eyed monster guarding access to a high-impact, multi-attack zone better known as Area 49!  This year’s trail witnesses a number of horrific victimizations, including that of a girl cowering at the presence of Michael Myers, and terrified that the knife-wielding slasher is determined to, “Get us all!” From there it’s onto the exploration of an infested, underground quagmire that finds an irate Doctor, his bloody nurses, and rabid, overwrought patients crawling on the floor, unleashing attacks, and ready to keep you restrained within old jailhouse-like holding cells, then into the clutches of a crazed cat lady in the Pet Sematary seeking assistance in burying her deceased feline!  Viciously relentless chainsaw onslaughts are on the horizon in Hillbilly Heaven, where a multitude of ill-tempered rednecks surge onto the scene, hell-bent on destruction; some even jumping forth out of foul-smelling port-a-potties! These in-breds wildly sling their chainsaws over their heads and through their legs, blocking advancement, and defying progression down the forbidden pathway!  Traversing an old, creepy covered bridge leads into an oversized pumpkin patch, where many more frantic fiends continue harassment of intruders, utilizing chainsaws and other deadly weapons to their fullest extent!  Blood-spattered buildings house victims restrained by chains and cages amid herds of crazed monsters promising, “We’re going to kill them all!” Some flee their confinements only to be savagely accosted, and forcefully thrown back inside their entrapments! An orange-faced creature attacks from behind, while other devilishly-laughing assailants spring into action seizing screaming victims and dragging them along the ground to some obviously abhorrent fate! Up ahead, a spook-filled cemetery ushers in a nocturnal run-in with The Headless Horseman, and a deadly conflict with a frenzied vixen lighting up the night with the burning flames of a murderous blowtorch! Spiked walls slam inwardly, nearly piercing whatever flesh is unfortunate enough to find itself in its way, while up ahead, zombie-like beings trapped behind a chain-link enclosure, brutally engulf another poor soul (another strong scene)!  Flashing lights illuminate the course as it winds past inverted school buses that have somehow been fatally driven directly into the ground in advance of a treacherous encounter with the infamous, undead “Bone Collector,” Samuel Hane! Witches brew half-dead bodies in bubbling cauldrons, a multi-faced ghoul stalks continuance, and another scornful villain threatens, “I want to drink your blood!” Still to come is a 3-D room featuring a double spinning vortex rotating in opposite directions that’s inhabited by a crazed clown, jumping around, blocking the path, and extending insincere invitations to, “Stay and party!”  A genocide of repulsive bugs escort the route into Buddy’s Butcher Shop, where intensity ramps up even more, as the pig-faced Buddy and company go completely berserk chasing you out of their  blood-soaked kitchen, and to the end of the Middletown Haunted Trail.

No dead spots exist anywhere along the trail.  It's jam-packed with action and top-notch acting from start to finish.  Intensity mounts and amplifies, getting better and stronger the further along you go creating a pleasurably scary experience!  Each and every actor did an outstanding job to deliver the best possible scares, while the witnessing of a multitude of well-executed victimizations strengthen their performances to levels never before achieved!  Dialogue, interaction, and the overall quality of acting were impressive throughout, and combine with extensively detailed scenes and impressive props to make this attraction the best outdoor haunt in the Ohio Valley! This year’s scare crew did the best job ever! OVH has been visiting the Middletown Haunted Trail annually since 1997, dating back to when it was presented at its original location and this is an absolutely PHENOMENAL SHOW!!

DR PSYCHO’S HAUNTED ESTATE:  This haunt features non-stop action!  A campground and graveyard initiate the journey into an onslaught of chainsaw assaults, and encounters with Dr. Psycho's crazed creations. A frightening cemetery and a walking dead zombie attack give rise to several mechanical startles, such as a giant wolf-like creature, vibrating caskets, and much, much more!  “Bubba,” a pig-faced brute screams, “Do you hear the little piggies?” as he fires up a chainsaw and jumps over a fence!  Wallowing through the mud and the muck, he attacks with his buzzing saw trying to chop off your fleeing legs!  Escape through a long-abandoned playground of slides, a see-saw, and an old merry-go-round discovers a desolate girl desperately seeking playmates for a game of “I’ll bury you!” A Second attack by “Bubba” encourages progression into the “Estate,” where a giant table saw is busy slicing and dicing up victims. Amputated human appendages are seen dangling from hooks rotating on an overhead butcher's conveyor in advance of the diabolical, bloody meat-chopper springing forward out of an old freezer! Dr. Psycho himself is next on the agenda, bragging about the release of his greatest creations ever that reside upstairs, where an intimidating, path-blocking encounter awaits, courtesy of a dark-clad antagonist lurking at the top of the steps! Multiple blood-drenched rooms are on the horizon hiding a variety of horrifying surprises. Grisly dolls hang from the ceiling leading to a mysterious girl having a pentagram painted on her forehead, and standing in front of a Ouija board summoning passersby to place their fingers on the “Cursor Ring” as it begins to move to lethal letters warning of your own demise!  Fleeing arouses the wrath of crawling gal that comes out of a hidden doorway grasping at your legs, and demanding to know if you’re, “Ready to die?”  Escape leads down a ramp-like passageway to a surprise “Mongo” confrontation in advance of a flaming crematorium worked by a pair of cantankerous savages brutally announcing, “It’s time for you to burn!”  Hissing snakes and coffins guard advancement into a treacherous torture chamber that witnesses the remains of many of the Doctor’s mutilated souls before the adventure exits through the Oakley Cemetery to safety outside Dr. Psycho’s Haunted Estate!

Bubba’s chainsaw attacks were relentless beginning upon entrance into the cemetery and persisting all the way into the house!  The attacker energetically jumped off a fence and leaped out from the dark in multiple locations!  Inside the estate, actors were equally ferocious, especially from the antagonist wanting to, "Put your body in a deep-freeze freezer!" and the psychopathic "doctor" warning of all his soon to be encountered creations!  New Ouija room and torture chamber perfectly compliment the experience. Replacement of toxic waste cistern with aforementioned torture chamber better fits the theme. A few memorable characters are conspicuous by their absence, including last season’s outside grave robber digging up bodies and repeatedly throwing them at passersby, and the possessed, bloody boy slamming his chain on the wall! Good to see Grave Digger/ Cemetery caretaker back in the inside camping/graveyard. He did a good job of setting the stage for what was about to come outside!  Overall, a phenomenal effort by the entire crew!  Cast did such an outstanding job that it would be next to impossible to select which one was best!  As a whole, they gave arguably the best performance ever at Dr. Psycho’s! (The last 2 years, the cast has been magnificent!)  

TEMPLE OF TERROR:  The experience commences within a vibrating elevator that dives deep into the depths of the mineshaft-like Temple, where moving floors, animatronic monsters, a falling ceiling, and even a fountain of blood highlight the adventure throughout the dimly-lit chambers. Eerie whispers of, “We’ve been waiting for you” are softly spoken, but no one is seen, as one of the spookiest soundtracks around guides the mystical journey as it winds its way beyond skeletonized captives, an irate Impaler, and other bloody animatronics that terrify these light-limited chambers!  Beware of a hair-raising, near decapitation that whizzes by overhead while navigating across an unstable rope bridge that traverses a watery abyss being guarded by a camouflaged Ghillie monster in advance of a dangerous, gunshot-like blast-out of Temple of Terror.

Many impressive props compliment the event including the aforementioned animatronic monsters and falling ceiling, which remains a classic, and the best of its kind!

KILLER KLOWNS:    Colorful paintings comprise wall décor, while a pair of spinning vortexes, a sinking room, and a slew of freakish klowns, armed with an assortment of weapons torment the excursion. “Craze” aggressively ascends to the top of a chain-link entrapment, laughing wickedly, screaming misdirection like, “Wrong way,” and disorienting all who try navigating this puzzling entanglement!  Progression leads across floors that move on their own, and through a bowling pin maze as the course immerses itself in a life-size pinball machine complete with bumpers, flippers and lights (don’t “tilt” it), then a walkway overtop a bottomless pit!  A bloody “Harley Quinn” blocks the path with her oversized sledgehammer, while another klown rips the bone right out of her severed leg in a desperate attempt to free her captured appendage from a huge bear trap (great, gory scene!), as “Corn Flake” swings an aluminum baseball bat protecting the escape from Killer Klowns! 

PHOBIA:  This is a face-your-fears attraction designed to exploit various personal anxieties and aversions.  This haunt contains lots of darkness, 2 treacherous actortronics, frightening noises, and previously unseen ghouls occasionally illuminating light "zappers!"  The phobias include: electrocution; walking under ladders; gun shots; spiders; snakes; cocoons; bugs; a giant, dejected pig; and a huge, flesh-eating crocodile!  Random monsters pop out of the darkness, and navigation is challenged, as it's very difficult to see while maneuvering from scene to scene.  Other conflicts emerge from a big, scary, backwoods, gibberish-mumbling Voodoo Priest that’s anxious to put a curse on anyone and everyone; a hidden, ambushing truck surprise; and a fog-filled maze, all of which must be successfully avoided to find your way out of “Phobia!”  

Fantastic soundtrack accompanies the experience throughout.  Phobia creates a uniquely scary experience.  Missing was the very well-done claustrophobic tunnel, obviously removed due to Covid-19 concerns. Hopefully it’ll be back next season!

BIG MAMA’S REVENGE: (NEW 2020)

This haunted attraction consists mostly of a big, dark maze that finds navigation complicated by an assortment of large tires and hidden, pick-a-door passages.  Persistence eventually leads to freedom, but confusion and Big Mama may keep you trapped inside for longer than you expect! Can last anywhere from about 8 minutes to nearly an hour depending if you get lost or confused by the pick-a-door segment.

MYSTERY MANSION: (NEW 2020)

This historic amusement ride from the 1960’s really brings back memories.  It’s fun to see how far the scares of haunted attractions have come in the last half-century. Sit down and enjoy a nostalgic, 2-minute ride back to the haunted houses of yesterday!

ZOMBIE SNIPER PATROL is not available in 2020 due to safety concerns stemming from the Covid -19 pandemic.

OVERALL:  The park also offers a variety of food including Cassano’s pizza, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, funnel cakes, Creepy Café hot dogs, etc., and The Voodoo Lounge is serving up adult beverages from 7 to 10 PM (must be 21).  There’s also The Ghostly Gift Shop stocked full of souvenirs, Halloween themed T-shirts, and accessories!

Fire pits take the chill out of the air, and surround the centralized gathering area, where nightly entertainment ranging from popular bands to micro wrestling takes center stage.

As for the haunts, The Trail and Dr. Psycho's continue their friendly rivalry striving to out-do each other!  As previously mentioned, Land of Illusion now features 7 PROFESSIONAL  haunted attractions, and boasts a vast assortment of animatronics and actortronics complimented by theatrical lighting, sound, and costuming, in addition to highly-skilled, talkative actors.  General admission costs $50 this year, but still only amounts to about $7 per haunt, and guests receive UNLIMITED ACCESS to each and every attraction making this an unmatched deal that not only can't be beat, but remains the best bargain in the haunt industry by far, and it's all contained at a festively spacious sight like unto no other!  Park opens at 7 PM this year and stays open until 1 AM, which equates to 6 hours of Halloween-themed fun and scares!  Why pay $25 or more elsewhere for just one haunt when you can enjoy 7 top-rated attractions as many times as you like at LOI?  Ohio Valley Haunts highly recommends visiting Land of Illusion Haunted Scream Park!  No other haunt even comes close to matching the atmosphere created at Land of Illusion!

NOTE:  Season's Passes are available for $99.99 and provide 2-months worth of UNLIMITED seasonal entertainment!

EXTRAS:  Bartenders provide friendly service, and the visible presence of their Security staff insures the safety of everyone in attendance.

COVID-19:  Social distancing is encouraged, and claustrophobic air bags as well as other touchable props have been removed for 2020.