Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall (Cincinnati, OH)
“35 Years and Counting”
By Noah Wullkotte: jollypumpkin@aol.com
A spooky graveyard leads to a haunted building illuminated by red and blue lights. A scarecrow on stilts stalks the crowd as they wait to enter the Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall. People of all ages were waiting with some that had handfuls of popcorn to snack on. A clown took our tickets as he asked us where we were from. This haunt uses a different theme every season. Last year it was Mt. Healthy General Hospital and this year it’s Grim Acres.
Most of the cast is young, but the various characters can be quite effective at times. The older actors are more convincing since they are larger and more intimidating. Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall features some iconic characters and scenes that people expect to see year after year. Bug Boy can be seen inside a living room infested with insects. An elevator ride operator takes you straight down to hell in his hellevator. Meet the devil himself and you better bow down.
Other characters include a chainsaw maniac, a pumpkin monster, zombies and so fourth. Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall might leave you believing in Bigfoot. The big hairy beast makes a brief appearance. Dracula was unfortunately absent from this year’s haunt. He always does a great job portraying a creature of the night. There were a few actors here and there that resorted to growling or grunting.
This year the theme is Grim Acres. It’s a take on Green Acres. You’ll explore scenes such as a scarecrow infested cornfield, pumpkin patch, a grotesque dinning room, a graveyard and so much more. Walk underneath an outhouse where a man cries out in pain. One of the first haunts in the area to feature a Vortex Tunnel was Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall. There’s is pretty unique because it’s large and homemade. It’s one of the better homemade vortex tunnels you’ll see. It’s decorated with stars and it spins around and around. Make sure to hold on for your sweet life and don’t throw up. It can be quite the dizzying experience.
Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall is a low budget haunt, but they do a decent job with their props. Each scene is appropriately decorated and it doesn’t look like it was put together at the last second. Props include body bags, a crate with a loud horn, farmer’s market stands, the aforementioned vortex tunnel and more. The Hellevator is of course homemade and didn’t seem as intense as in years past.
It took us 9 minutes to explore all the scenes before it was time to enter the Dark Maze. Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall is known for its Dark Maze which can be quite confusing. The secret to finding your way out is, you didn’t think I would actually tell you did you? You might be stuck in the maze for quite some time, but remember that there are no actors inside to scare you. Some people have been known to be stuck in there all night long. We are notoriously bad at mazes and we made it in 6 minutes. If you’ve been to Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall before then you know the trick to escaping in one piece. Unfortunately the person working at the entrance gave away the secret to escaping.
General admission is $12 per person and a $2 discount is applied with a canned good donation. Fast passes are also available for $18 (no discounts.). It’s cash only. Bring 2 cans of soup on Soupy Sundays for $6 off admission. That makes the cost only $6 which is unheard of today. Lights Up takes place from from 6:00PM – 6:45PM on October 19th. The haunt is lit up and the little monsters will collect some delightfully spooky trinkets. This is great for the kids who don’t want to get scared. There’s a photo op area at the exit as well as concessions. This includes candy, chips, popcorn, pop, Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall T-Shirts and more. Parking is free.The Haunted Hall is sponsored by the Madonna Council Knights of Columbus and assisted by youth organizations. The Haunted Hall benefits these groups and other charities.
It’s simply amazing that Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall has been around for 35 years. We’ve been visiting the haunt since the 90’s and it’s become a tradition for us and many others. It doesn’t quite feel like the haunt season is complete without planning a visit to the classic known as Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall. It’s fun, spooky and a good scare for people of all ages. Yes, there are areas that need work like the acting and set design. But they have improved their audio, the lighting is decent and it’s quite entertaining. So, head on down to Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall with your family and friends. Don’t let the darkness drown you with fear!
Length-8 Design-7 Acting-7 Props-7 Scare Effect-7
Final Stab: 7.2
www.hauntedhallinfo.com