The Haunted Laboratory-“An Experiment in Fear”
Genre: Haunted House
Location: 1300 Triplett Blvd
Akron, OH 44306
Runtime: 25 min
Website: www.hshlab.com
A large Tesla coil can be seen on top of Akron’s legendary haunt, The Haunted Laboratory. This building is intimidating and hopefully you’ll have the courage to enter it’s creepy doors.
This is City Blood’s 2010 review of The Haunted Laboratory.
What’s Good About The Haunt?
The Haunted Laboratory takes place in an actual laboratory where experiments were held and incredible things were witnessed. Since 1981 spirits of the past have been running rampant in the halls of the laboratory and the public has been allowed to experience the evil that has dwelled inside this God forsaken building.
The Haunted Laboratory is made up of 3 floors of fear and fun. Almost everything you’ll witness at this haunt is homemade and has stood the test of time. This timeless haunt features some amazing rooms and set pieces that you won’t see anywhere else in Ohio. There are few haunts that feature a Tesla coil in their arsenal of props and The Haunted Laboratory has one of the largest, producing over 1 million volts of electricity. But if one wasn’t enough, you’ll be pleased to find out that when the weather is nice, the second tesla coil is used on top of their building in all its glory.
The Haunted Laboratory is themed much differently than The Haunted Schoolhouse. The Haunted Schoolhouse centers around horror movies and classic themes like Dracula’s Castle and a haunted pumpkin patch. The Haunted Laboratory is an entirely different experience. There are many things The Haunted Laboratory is well known for such as its 4 story vertical wind tunnel and its amazing attention to detail in its sets. A new addition this year is the doctor’s room/morgue. It features real x-rays and materials that were bought from the county morgue.
The Haunted Laboratory looks like it was pulled straight out of the movie Aliens. This is a truly unique sci-fi experience with alien pods hanging from the ceiling, a creature busting out of an alien’s chest, a barell dropped by a nuclear zombie and everything else The Haunted Laboratory is well known for. Nearly every scene is seperated by a railing and it feels like you are watching a scene from a movie or a set that was built for a museum.
The actors wear elaborate masks and costumes and become cameleons as they camaflauge themselves in the over the top sets. These are well trained perfromers with a true skill in scaring and it doesn’t get much better than this.
What’s Bad About The Haunt?
The Haunted Laboratory needs to be completely themed after a laboratory instead of trying to please everyone with its variety of rooms. It just doesn’t make sense to have Leatherface in a laboratory and to make matters worse, He uses a fake chainsaw which has little effect. If everything else is going to be top notch, then why not use a real chainsaw that is loud and intimidating. Unless there’s a safety concern, there’s no excuse.
The outdoor section that was introduced last year doesn’t belong in this haunt. The majority of this area includes debris, various laboratory props and a haunted school bus. The school bus should be in front of the school instead of part of the outside portion of The Haunted Laboratory. You’ll be impressed throughout the entire haunt until you walk outside. A lot needs to be done with this area because the lighting is bad and there are very few actors you’ll encounter . Getting rid of this addition would make The Haunted Laboratory close to perfect.
Customer Service:
The Haunted Laboratory lets too many people in the haunt at once. There’s so much detail in this haunt, but it’s hard to focus on one thing when you are almost pressed up against the person in front of you. Please visit on one of their slower nights like a Thursday or Sunday when the crowds are much smaller. Sunday through Thursday the price of admission is only $12 or $22 to experience both haunts. The cost of admission is $15 and $27 for a combo ticket on Fridays and Saturdays. There are plenty of concessions available near the ticket area inside The Haunted Schoolhouse. So if you’re hungry or thirsty, there’s nothing to worry about.
Final Thoughts:
The Haunted Laboratory is in a league of its own when it comes to one of a kind sets and props. There are few haunts that focus so much time on making their scenes so realistic and downright awe inspiring. This is one of the best haunts Ohio has to offer and simply a legend when it comes to Halloween entertainment. This is The Haunted Laboratory, an experiment in fear.
Length-9 Design-9 Props/Animatronics-10 Acting-9 Scare Effect-8
Official Score – 9.0
Fun Facts:
* The Haunted Laboratory takes place inside the only building in Ohio to have 10 sides.