Hauntville-“Horror in Elyria”
Genre: Haunted House
Location: 1553 West River Rd
Elyria, OH 44035
Runtime: 20 min
Website: www.elyriahauntedhouse.com
Hauntville is a brand new haunt from the makers of Spooky Ranch in Columbia Station, OH. It’s a theme park style event that has great design and a great cast of actors. We were ready to experience this haunt for the very first time. Will we walk away in disgust or with a big grin on our faces?
This is City Blood’s 2010 review of Hauntville.
What’s Good About The Haunt?
For only $15 you are getting a lot for little. Hauntville consists of 3 different themed haunts rolled into one attraction. You’ll tour Psycho Manor, The Dark Abyss and Cellblock 13. The first haunt you’ll experience is Psycho Manor which is modeled after a delapidated house that’s been taken over by the dead and ghouls from another dimension. The Dark Abyss features dark and sinister hallways where the creepiest creatures of the night are lurking. The third haunt is Cellblock 13 which will having you praying to be realeased on good behavior.
Each haunt seamlessly blends together to form one quality attraction. You’ll experience a clown house, prisoners trapped in their cells, a mummy’s lair, a funeral layout, a forest with a man eating werewolf and many different themed rooms that make this haunt feel much longer than it actually is. Hauntville used to be located in Sandusky, Ohio under the same name, but this year it has moved across the street from the Midway Mall in Elyria, Ohio.
The characters are very intense with great makeup and costumes. Many of the actors you’ll see have been performing at haunts for over 20 years and it obviously shows. Without these dedicated performers, Hauntville would be just be a decent haunt.
What’s Bad About The Haunt?
Some scenes are just too similar. This is very apparent in Cellblock 13 where many rooms either have jailed prisoners or random props that deal with the prison theme like a dummy in an electric chair and props you would usually expect to see in a prison. The lighting could also be improved in some of the rooms if LED lighting was used effectively to illuminate scenes and props. There also seems to be a shortage on high end props that would go great in any of the 3 haunts. There are some eye catching props such as a moving bridge in the boiler room, but overall this haunt needs more eye candy. The addition of some Unit 70 Studios prisoners inside Cellblock 13 would be a great touch.
The actors at Hauntville are pretty incredible, but quite a few of them don’t know how to handle large groups. There were many instances where I walked in a room where an actor was scaring a large group of people and didn’t even realize I was behind them until the last second. By the time they decided to focus their time on me I was obvisouly ready to walk into the next scene and didn’t have the paitence for them to try and scare me. This was the opening weekend for Hauntville, so I’m sure the actors will be a little more prepared the next weekend.
Customer Service:
Hauntville is very easy to find since it’s right across from Midway Mall. There’s plenty of parking available as well. If the haunt had concessions, I didn’t notice and I apologize. Overall the customers service is great.
Hauntville is an incredible value. For only $15 you can tour 3 different themed haunts that form one large attraction.
Final Thoughts:
Hauntville is an incredible deal for $15 considering how entertaining all the haunts are. All 3 attractions are theme park quality with a very good cast of characters. If you enjoy Hauntville make sure to visit their other haunt Spooky Ranch in Columbia Station, OH. It’s less than 20 minutes away.
Length-9 Design-8 Props/Animatronics-8 Acting-9 Scare Effect-8
Official Score – 8.4
Fun Facts:
*Owner Derek Vitas passed out over 500,000 Hauntville flyers in Painsville, Sandusky and other areas of Ohio.