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RECAP: Groups gather in a frightening cemetery outside the Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall that’s stalked by an enormously tall (stilted) scarecrow. Bloody Mary guards the entrance, shrieking the arrival new “victims” as they make their way into this year’s presentation themed, “Grim Acres is the place to SCREAM!”
Beginning up a flight of stairs finds an unhinged attendant ranting about late arrival and quickly points the way into an adjacent elevator that vibrates and shakes its way to a fog-filled graveyard. Passing beneath an outhouse discovers a girl in some sort of digestive distress, so we wouldn’t advise looking up, and be sure to watch your step!
Terrors continue with a shrinking hallway, hands reaching and grabbing from crates, through an upright casket, and into a room full of crawling insects, home to the haunt’s infamous “Bug Boy” character. Other sights find a Little Red Riding Hood-like scare featuring a werewolf in a bed; the ghostly chamber of a frightening phantom; and a bloody dining room where a gory chef serves up freshly cooked human remains, and offering, “Come on, try it! They’re so good!”
Outside, the route winds past a horn-honking surprise, a pig-faced butcher slamming a cleaver, a path of body bags, and even a rare Bigfoot sighting before progressing to “The Devil Went Down to Mt. Healthy Hall” hoedown challenging guests to a fiddle-of-gold contest for their souls that comes with a wicked twist! Scarecrows and howling werewolf attack are still to come, as is a run-in with Kürbis, a jack-o’-lantern-headed creature eager to add you to his seasonal pumpkin patch! The farmer’s market continues with a human vegetable stand, then bends past a coffin-lined burial grounds and across a tilting bridge to an undead zombie assault and into a spinning vortex skirmish with a chainsaw-wielding lunatic charging head-on down the path from the opposite end!
Projected skulls direct the way to “Pull and Slay,” occupied by a deranged man searching for his lost dog he fails to recall eating, and a human barbecue roasting a body on a coffin-shaped grill! Declining an invitation to stay for dinner escorts the path over an overgrown ramp inciting a chainsaw chase into the award-winning Dan M. Maze, a tricky, pitch-black entanglement with only one way out that serves as the annual, much anticipated conclusion to The Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall!
ANALYSIS: Now celebrating its 35th season, The Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall remains one of our favorite stops on the list of seasonal Halloween attractions! From the cemetery-lined queue to the disorienting final maze, the event continues to deliver creativity, energy, and value in every scare. A different and unique theme is presented each Fall, but they still find a way to include trademark characters and scenes into their annual classic, exemplified by the presence of Bug Boy, the “Hellevator,” and, of course, the beloved dark maze that’s always a show stopper!
Stand out performers include the bloody chef, fiddle-playing Devil, and the craized chainsaw assailant. Stilted scarecrow does a great job chasing customers around the waiting and ticketing areas as well. Outhouse scare is likewise memorable. Lighting and sounds combine to complement the experience. A lot of younger actors are present this year, and long-time favorite Count Dracula is missed.
The Haunted Hall is open Fridays and Saturdays from 8 – 11 PM and on Sundays from – 9 PM. Price of admission is $12, but is discounted to only $10 with a canned good donation. Sunday admission is only $6 if you donate 2 cans of soup! Their non-scary, lights on, Trick-or-Treat night for kids is scheduled for October 19th from 6 – 6:45 PM costing $5 per child, and accompanying adults are admitted free!
OVH never misses The Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall and neither should you! Proceeds benefit the Madonna Council Knights of Columbus, youth groups, and other local charities.
The Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall is a proud member of The Ohio Valley Haunts Passport of Terror Tour!
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