The Dent Schoolhouse (Cincinnati, OH)
“School’s In Session”
By Noah Wullkotte: jollypumpkin@aol.com
A schoolhouse from 1894 beckons you to enter. Red lights illuminate the brick building that has a haunted past. Will you become one of Charlie’s many victims or will you survive to tell the tale of the one and only Dent Schoolhouse? School’s in session!
After you’ve waited in line and watched some videos on the projector screen, you’ll enter the Fall Festival. This elaborate queue line is fantastic. Get your picture taken and you’re off. You’ll walk past various booths such as Dracula’s Revenge, Costume Contest, Witch’s Brew, Bone Throw, Boo Blasters and more. There are hundreds of carved pumpkins that use LED Pixels. They flash to music and lights. It’s very cool. After you exit the Fall Festival, it’s time to enter The Dent Schoolhouse.
Many of the rooms are themed after a dilapidated schoolhouse. You’ll begin your journey into fear by walking past a school bus before entering a memorial for students. This scene features Projection Mapping that makes portraits come alive. Watch in disbelief as a statue attacks. This is a very elaborate haunt that features scenes centered around the schoolhouse and a mixture of rooms that don’t. It’s a very unpredictable haunt to say the least. A maze of school desks are stacked on top of each other. You’ll enter the kitchen, science room, library, the freezer and more. Don’t let Charlie get you.
A ghoul flies above your head as she screams out for help. The Dent Schoolhouse features a lot of aerial scares. A nun stands above coffins before she leans over to grab you. My favorite is the woman being pulled up into the ceiling by a massive python as she’s lifted up in the air. The mental patient in the padded room who moves above you in 360 degrees was awesome.
The Dent Schoolhouse is state of the art with some of the best props around. A poor boy is being paddled by his teacher while the students stare and point. Charlie’s basement features a student at a school desk who rams a pencil through his skull. Severed heads have been carved like jack-o’-lanterns. The Dent Schoolhouse is doing evil experiments on monkeys that scream out loud. The body dump has its own unique version of a claustrophobia tunnel. It features bloody body parts on both sides as you squeeze on through to the other side. The woman hanging in the hallway was great as well. Her spirit can be seen projected onto the wall. The killer cockroaches will have you calling the Orkin Man.
Our favorite new scene is the church. It features CGI stained glass windows, an animated corpse, an angel statue, church pews with ghostly parishioners and more. The nuns did a great job as they wanted us to repent. The church is a great addition to an incredible haunt. Zobo’s Circus is pretty intense as well. Watch out for the chainsaw wielding clown. The Dent Schoolhouse features many crazy characters. Dr. Dent wants to show you his latest experiment that he calls Experiment DS6. DS5 was a failure. Your body would be perfect for his twisted creation. The actor who was cut in half and part of a bed was very convincing as he told us that he wouldn’t ever sleep in class again.
The amount of detail inside the Dent Schoolhouse is awe inspiring. The catacombs are decorated with 8,000 skulls and one angry vampire bat that jumps down from its alter. This haunt is a true spectacle that you have to experience at least once. The sewer has running water and there are tons of antiques that decorate many of the scenes that are quite dusty. The missing children posters were very creepy and so were the haunted dolls. We have few complaints when it comes to The Dent Schoolhouse. The timing was off for a few of the actors and the outside section near the end could be improved. The bubble maze was something else. Those who don’t want to get wet can bypass this section.
Total tour time is 23 minutes, but this depends on how fast you walk and your interaction with the various characters. After you exit the haunt, you’ll enter the Monster Midway. There you’ll find photo op stations such as A Christmas Nightmare, Dent Daycare and more. There are plenty of eye catching props and a skeleton DJ. On the weekends they have a real DJ. Don’t forget to take a seat in their Electric Chair Simulator. It’s electrifying. Dent has 3 mini escape rooms, axe throwing, a Cincinnati Haunted House Museum, jack- o’-lantern showcase, mini donuts, fudge, the Spooky Shop and more. The Cincinnati Haunted House Museum is dedicated to Randy Schadel of The House of Doom. You can also purchase your photo that was taken in the Fall Festival.
The Dent Schoolhouse also has a concession stand near the ticket booth. You can get yourself hot dogs, pizza, nachos, pretzels, a pumpkin cookie, hot chocolate and more. General admission is $25 for Thursday and Sunday. It’s $30 for Friday and $35 for Saturday. You can upgrade to Fast Pass admission for an additional $20 or Front of the Line for $40 extra. It’s timed ticketing, but you can still purchase tickets onsite. On Thursdays, Military, first responders and healthcare workers can buy one ticket and get one free. Tickets must be purchased onsite and you need to show ID.
We recommend that you purchase your tickets on Thursday or Sunday where it’s cheaper and you’re less likely to run into a group of people. The only downside is that there might be less queue line characters. Dent has special events such as Lights On, Ghost Tours, Lights Out, A Christmas Nightmare and Behind the Scenes. Visit www.thedentschoolhouse.com for details. If you enjoyed the jack-o’-lantern showcase then be sure to visit the Cincinnati Zoo this Halloween season for their Jack O’ Lantern Glow which features over 5,000 carved pumpkins.
The Dent Schoolhouse has once again delivered incredibly detailed scenes, amazing props and scary characters. It’s a world class haunt that you don’t want to miss out on.
Length-9 Design-10 Props-10 Acting-8 Scare Effect-8
Final Stab: 9.0
www.thedentschoolhouse.com