Scare Fair (Lima, OH)
“Blood in the Bayou “
By Noah Wullkotte: jollypumpkin@aol.com
Scare Fair in Lima, Ohio is one of Northwest, Ohio’s premier haunted events. It consists of 4 different attractions. They’re Harold’s Haunted Cornfield, Hatchet Creek, The Gauntlet and Toxic Trauma. Scare Fair can be summed up in one word and that’s “fun”.
Harold’s Haunted Cornfield consists of a dark and twisted cornfield. The only thing you can hear is the sound of crickets and various ghouls that will attack. You’ll be confronted by chainsaw maniacs, an actor that crawls backwards and some wicked characters that are hidden behind cornstalks. Harold’s Haunted Cornfield isn’t your usual cornfield maze since there aren’t any twists and turns that will confuse you. This is fine with us because we are notoriously bad at mazes. Additional actors would definitely make the cornfield more intense and unpredictable.
You’ll enter various spooky scenes while you tour Harold’s Haunted Cornfield and Hatchet Creek. A cabin holds a dark secret and one insane woman who loves her doll babies. Don’t wake the doll baby or you might become part of her collection. This is a pretty creepy scene where the actor uses an amplified voice that’s very unnerving.
Hatchet Creek is full of scary sights like a wooden maze with scarecrows, a gross toilet, a nursery, a tool shed and more. The dinning room is serving up some of the most disgusting dishes you’ve ever seen. It’s a delightful feast from Hell. The actors are intense. Before entering one of the buildings, I was confronted by a character who’s obsessed with eyeballs. He proceeded to lick my eyeball before he walked away laughing. A lunatic holding an ax wanted to scalp me and one actor even made sparks fly. We really liked the outside bridge that was illuminated by red lighting below. Music from haunt rocker Jerry Vayne’s album “Bodies in the Bayou can be heard playing in Hatchet Creek”. The total experience lasted 23 minutes.
Next, you’ll enter The Gauntlet.
The Gauntlet is a gothic style attraction with subtle lighting. It’s a dark haunt with actors hiding in the shadows. You’ll encounter vampires, possessed ghouls, a grave digger and some very unstable individuals. This is a haunt with a medieval flair. The Gauntlet is a haunted maze of sorts where you think you’re going the right way, but you might not be. Suddenly an actor emerges blocking your path and points you in the right direction.
The Gauntlet resembles a nightmare with medieval structures and some eye popping props. A massive winged serpent guards an entryway and a horned creature flies in the air. There are other impressive props like realistic static figures, caskets, pillars and more. The Gauntlet has a great design, but there could be more scenes. The Gauntlet mostly takes place inside with the exception of the outside graveyard. Since it’s a very dark haunt, it’s sometimes hard to tell what you’re looking at. The actors are good, but some lack dialogue. The total experience was around 12 minutes.
Last, but certainly not least is Toxic Trauma.
Toxic Trauma is a hectic maze where toxic gas has infected the locals and they’re now out to get you. This is a very disorienting haunt. The warehouse is full of fog, strobe lights, blaring sirens and plenty of infected ghouls. Body bags twitch, a fuze box pops, an air cannon explodes, and actors are hidden in thick fog. It’s pure chaos and there’s no law and order. Music by Rob Zombie and Disturbed played as we escaped the madness. Toxic Trauma isn’t a confusing maze, but it’s very nerve wrecking and can definitely get to you after a while. It’s one of the better chain mazes we’ve experienced. We were in and out in under 10 minutes.
When you’re done touring all the haunts, please don’t forget to check out the various concessions Scare Fair has to offer. They have reasonable food and refreshments. You can also pick up some Scare Fair apparel to remember the great times you had. T-Shirts are $15, shorts and hats are $10 and hoodies are $25. Tickets are $16 and this includes admission to all four haunts. If you’re not from the area, you might be a little confused as to where Scare Fair is. We used the address 5909 Waynesfield Rd. Lima, OH and didn’t have any problem finding it using our GPS. You’re going to experience about 45 minutes worth of haunted entertainment and $16 is an incredible deal for what you’re getting. You’ll be scared silly at Scare Fair.
Final Stab For Each Haunt
* The Gauntlet: Length-7 Design-9 Props/Animatronics-8 Acting-8 Scare Effect-9 Final Stab: 8.2
* Toxic Trauma: Length-6 Design-8 Props/Animatronics-Not Rated Acting-8 Scare Effect-8 Final Stab: 7.6
* Harold’s Haunted Cornfield & Hatchet Creek: Length-9 Design-8 Props/Animatronics-8 Acting-8 Scare Effect-8 Final Stab: 8.2
http://scarefair.entertainerohio.com/