Scaredown 2012 Review

Scaredown (Waynesville, OH)
“Farm Raised Fear”
By Noah Wullkotte: Jollypumpkin@aol.com

Southwest, Ohio’s newest haunt is Scaredown in Waynesville, OH. Last year we were invited to a preview event in West Chester, but since then the haunt has moved locations and is bigger and better than ever. We decide to visit Scaredown on a Sunday night since there would be fewer crowds and we would have more time to talk with the owner. The actors would also have a better time focusing on us instead of dealing with large groups of people going through the haunt.

It took us around 40 minutes to make it to Scaredown from Cincinnati, Ohio. When you park your vehicle, you’ll notice a small pumpkin patch. Prices range from $1-$4 depending on the size of the pumpkin. Scaredown is on a beautiful farm and it’s a great place to bring your entire family to. If you get cold, you can snuggle up near the bond fire or watch a movie on the large projector screen that’s attached to the ticket building. There’s even a designated smoking area for those who need to light up.

Scaredown has plenty of concessions like hot dogs ($3), nachos ($2), candy ($1), soda ($2) and more. Off to the side is a stage where special acts will be performing this Halloween season. Scaredown offers two attractions. They’re Hellbilly Workshop and Devil House. Devil House is an 1800’s farm house that has a history of murder, torture and ghosts. Devil House is a spooky ghost tour where you might come face to face with actual spirits. The house is creepy beyond belief. White paint is peeling off the walls and some of its original decor is still inside the house and has been left untouched.

Now I would love to go into detail about the grim history of the house, but I feel that it would ruin the attraction for many people. It’s currently closed because of extreme paranormal activity and in the coming weeks, a paranormal group will be touring the house to determine if it’s haunted or not. I personally believe it’s haunted just based on the uneasy feeling I got walking through the different rooms.

After we were done touring Devil House, we entered Hellbilly Workshop. Hellbilly Workshop plays off the history of Devil House. I was pleasantly surprised at how intense this attraction was considering it’s the first year. The actors are in your face and the scenes are realistic. Inside the haunted barn, you’ll meet some crazy characters like Daddy, Momma, Bubba, Diesel and others. The rooms aren’t heavily decorated, but they’re full of decor you would see in an actual farm house. This includes an old tub, various antiques, an old fashioned bed, church pews, a sewing machine and more. You’ll also enter a tight claustrophobia tunnel and see a victim hanging from a church ceiling near the end of the haunt. There are plenty of scenes, but I’m not going to ruin the experience for you.

This is a very dark haunt with lights that flash on and off to add to the intensity of the scene. After you exit the barn, you’ll enter a cornfield that has some crazy madmen hiding in the corn stalks. The total tour time is just shy of 10 minutes for Hellbilly Workshop, but there are very few dead spots. It’s impossible to determine the length of Devil House since it’s not open to the public and we received a special tour of the attraction. The Devil House has not been scored, but it’s talked about in the review.

Overall we were quite impressed with Scaredown. The actors are superb and it’s one of those haunts that embodies the Halloween spirit. We highly recommend that you visit Scaredown and bring your entire family. It’s fun and frightening. Tickets for Hellbilly Workshop are $15 a person and are $10 a person for Devil House. A combo ticket for boths haunts is $20. Click here to print out a $2 off coupon for Hellbilly Workshop. Scaredown opens at 11:00am, Thursday through Sunday and offers activities for all ages, including a pumpkin patch, hay ride, corn maze and more. Haunts open at 7:30 pm on Fri-Sun. Please visit www.scaredown.com for all the scary details.