RECAP:  The experience begins up an old wooden staircase into the central, foyer-like guard room area of the prison for an immediate run-in with the Warden’s widow screaming at the top of her lungs that yields through an archway of giant pumpkins into a spooky-looking house identified as "Widow's Manor!"  Out of the darkness, our arrival is met by shrieks of, "Dinner's here," implications intended, as a chainsaw maniac pounces into action giving chase into a succession of rooms including a game room where the only escape is through a fireplace, and into a chimney; a corridor of mechanical startles that readily emerge through the walls; monsters grabbing at trespassers; a trophy room; a kitchen where a chef sticks her gooey fingers into visitors’ ears; a bedroom that witnesses a possessed, animated girl coming to life above a bed; and many hallways that find antagonists hanging and lunging down from overhead, and reaching through openings in adjacent walls!  Dimly-lit turns, flickering lights, and loud, thundering sounds compliment the journey that hides creeps around each and every corner, vaulting into action at just the right moment.

Descending an iron staircase and continuing through narrow, lightless passages discovers a series of tiny cells that once housed the most violent offenders in the entire state of Ohio.  Unseen entities claw and clutch at visitor's legs from within these confinements, while solitary criminals, armed with tasers terrorize advancement.

A brief pause in the action is accompanied by a hardened Blood Prison promo video playing on a big screen TV before entering a claustrophobic tunnel labeled Bunker 13 that’s guarded by a zombie devouring a human foot asking, "Want a bite?  Have a toe or two!"  From there, it’s onto an apocalyptic battlefield, where more walkers attack; an elevated sharpshooter takes dead aim and shoots at all who enter, aided by his bright, red, laser assist beam; and demented soldiers wearing gas masks lurk in the shadows! 

Searchlights scan the East Cell Block illuminating the war zone wreckage of a downed helicopter, as well as the cockpit and fuselage of a crashed plane that’s plowed through the side of the historic building!  The undead populate a tragic sector of piled-up cars, where a mysterious, undead girl whispers, "You're gonna stay with me forever!" and a large zombie convict carrying an axe forcefully drags victims into a nearby cell!  Also present are a wickedly laughing savage stacking barrels right in the way to block progression; a tank operator that turns the massive, cannon-like armament to fire at anything in his path; and scattered bodies littering a chained, charred grating where they’ve jumped or been pushed to their deaths from up to five floors above!

Other scenes include a jester-infested carnival featuring a red and white, claustrophobic squeeze, and the evil laughing "Hatchet the Clown" and her friend Eddie – a severed head attached to an elastic cord she repeatedly throws at passersby like a game of catch!  A Jack-in-the box, clown horde transgression, and other mechanical surprises pave the way for a “Carnevil” chainsaw pursuit into a morbid hospital that finds a sick and twisted patient offering to share the maggots she’s eating. 

From there, it’s into a church-like chapel where a judgmental minister briefly separates groups directing some to, "Follow the light,” while condemning less righteous souls to the dark side!  A chilling cemetery of eerie tombstones inhabited by a ram-horned, Baphomet-like demon compromises reunification, then it’s onward past CGI doors, a zombie horde invasion, a torturous jail cell, and into a laboratory housing diabolical experiments involving human capsules!

Still to come is a space-invading conflict with a gigantic, yellow-eyed monster (actortronic) bursting forth out a dark opening; an inmate inside a cell that’s suffered the fate of having his lips sewn shut; a treacherously laughing brute trying to throw the unsuspecting into a meat grinder that’s already captured a screaming girl in the process of being chopped up! 

Down a darkened aisleway waits a morbid, torture chamber-like zone of dismemberment and mutilation that gives rise to a bloody, headless torso grasping onto a meat cleaver that springs forth accompanied by an insane girl caressing its detached head and demanding to know, "Who's next?"  A lethal chainsaw chase-out serves as the dramatic climax and adventurous escape from Blood Prison!

ANALYSIS:   This annual “Haunt of the Year” contender is back with a vengeance in 2023 having captured top honors back in 2019!  The awe inspiring size and authenticity of the structure itself is a huge asset, and just stepping inside sends chills up your spine!  Inside the cell blocks, floor upon floor of dilapidated prison cells extend seemingly to infinity – just a spectacular sight!  The chambers themselves are equally disturbing in the sense that they're so small that picturing what it takes just to survive stretches the imagination, even though we know people were locked in these confinements for months and years at a time.

Set designs are fantastic and scenes are exquisitely detailed as well.  The course utilizes a number of staircases to explore multiple levels of The Prison.  Lighting throughout the attraction is outstanding, and the soundtrack always impresses, although it’s undergone some noticeable changes this season.  Sharpshooter’s laser assist beam and numerous tasers make triumphant returns in the prop department!  A pair of distinct claustrophobic passages, newly arrived helicopter, crashed Jet, tanks, zombie and clown horde doors, and yellow-eyed actortronic are likewise memorable.  Some new scenes make their debut as well with our favorite being the chapel’s light vs dark side group separation, which is excellently done, and cleverly reunites anxious segregates shortly after splitting them apart!  

Memorable actors include, barrel brute; Hatchet the Clown and Eddie; chainsaw fiends; orange, prison-suited inmates; meat grinder operator and his victim; taser villains; Warden's Widow; sharpshooter; gas-masked soldiers; axe con; maggot eater; minister; Baphomet; and prisoner with lips sewn shut.  German speaking doctor is missed.

The scope of the props plus the actors coming at you from all sides (and even grabbing you with the touch pass option) keeps the experience feeling all too real.  Encounters are legitimate, but not too rough.  Costuming is likewise appropriate, utilizing orange prison attire for many of the "inmates."  The course begins with a traditionally haunted house, transitions through the prison and clown sections, then ultimately climaxes in blood, guts, and gore prior to brilliantly exiting into the OSR museum and snack shop!  The only shortcoming arises from a second line that exists prior to entering Bunker 13.

Tickets MUST be purchased online and timed entrance has been implemented to reduce wait times, cut down on lines, and curtail traffic jams.  Price of admission remains unchanged for 2023, costing $40 for General Admission (includes $5 service charge) and $80 for their Ultra Lightning Pass (also includes $5 service fee).  Touch pass can be added for an additional $7.  Food vendors are available out front along the queue line, as is a new jailhouse that offers a number of photo ops from within its cells.  Parking is free.

Blood Prison is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through October 29^th!  Don’t miss this “Must See” attraction!