The Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory (Akron, OH)
“A True Playground of Fear”
By Noah Wullkotte: Jollypumpkin@aol.com
The Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory are back with new surprises and some startling scares. It’s a full moon and the monsters are hiding in the shadows. Are you ready for some of the best haunts around? This is City Blood’s review of The Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory. School is in session!
Someone has robbed a grave and they’ve come home with a casket in the back of their truck. They’ve pulled into a garage that’s decorated with hub caps and more. The Haunted Schoolhouse is a very detailed attraction. The graveyard features lots of dirt and real trees. The set design is off the charts. Dracula’s Castle is one of the most over the top scenes I’ve seen. It took almost an entire year to build this two story masterpiece and the lighting gives it a nightmarish glow. There are little details that you might not notice. An hour glass made out of two glass jugs sits on the table. Watch out for the blood thirsty vampires. One likes to smash in the lid of a casket and the other will soon come out of hiding.
The Haunted Schoolhouse has some great scenes that will definitely get your attention. A room resembles a country cabin. It shifts as if there’s been a violent earthquake causing the building to tear away from its foundation. The basement/dungeon is home to some incredible sights. One of my favorite props at The Haunted Schoolhouse is the mutant worm. He hides in the water before rising up to snack on a corpse. Water pours out from the mouth of a stone grim reaper head. A steel gate mysteriously opens as you explore the dungeon.
The Haunted Schoolhouse cuts no corners. Some of the sets are works of art. A violent storm has caused a tree to fall and come crashing through a creepy attic. Look out for the crazed demon that’s sitting in the tree. There are very few haunts with the level of detail that can be seen at The Haunted Schoolhouse. A classroom is full of church pews, a chalk board and a crazy headmaster. He doesn’t look too pleased.
The Haunted Schoolhouse has some scary scenes, but this is a haunt that also knows how to make you laugh. The bathroom scene features a skeleton sitting on a toilet. He’s relentless as he makes fun of people walking by and he cracks jokes. You never know what’s going to come out of his mouth. Almost every prop at The Haunted Schoolhouse has been built from the ground up. The massive giant is intimidating as he towers over customers. Look for the booger that hangs out of his nose. The Haunted Schoolhouse features some horror movie characters such as Freddy Krueger, Frankenstein and more. Many of the actors are well hidden and pop out when you least expect it. This year’s Haunted Schoolhouse is more intense. Many characters use more dialogue instead of just grunting or growling.
The Haunted Laboratory is the polar opposite of The Haunted Schoolhouse. Put on your 3D Glasses and get ready to enter a world full of aliens and creatures that you’ve never seen before. The glasses are now plastic and much higher quality. Alien pods hang from ceiling and there’s some impressive 3D effects. Blood drips from walls and one area is painted with flames. The Haunted Laboratory features many scenes and effects that you would see in a science fiction movie. The vortex tunnel uses the theme from the Twilight Zone and its unique lighting makes it look like stars are spinning around and around.
The Haunted Laboratory is world famous for their massive 1.5 million volt Tesla Coils. One is inside the laboratory surrounded by a steel cage. The other is on the roof and is activated when the humidity is just right. The Haunted Laboratory features the world’s first vertical wind tunnel. If you’re afraid of heights then don’t look down. Plenty of fog has been added to the wind tunnel and it creates a neat effect when paired with laser lights. There are a lot of neat effects at The Haunted Laboratory.
The library scene is supposedly haunted and it’s also one of my favorite areas of the haunt. The Haunted Laboratory has some crazy characters. The dentist with vampire fangs was very convincing as he tried to operate on my mouth. The school bus driver was insane as he licked his lips and terrorized people inside of the school bus. Leatherface went absolutely mad as he chased us with his chainsaw.
The Haunted Laboratory is a very detailed haunt with old antiques and real medical equipment. The morgue uses an actual embalming table which is quite disgusting when I think about it. The Haunted Schoolhouse is a three story house of horrors with a tour time of around 20 minutes. The Haunted Laboratory is a 3 story Sci-Fi haunted adventure that lasts around 16 minutes. These are haunts that have earned legendary status and they have some of the most beautiful and horrifying sets that I’ve ever seen.
Tickets are $13 for each haunt on Thursday and Sunday. Tickets are $17 on Friday and Saturday. Combo tickets are $22 on Thursday and Sunday. They’re $26 for Friday and Saturday. A VIP ticket to skip the line is $20 per haunt. There are various concessions available such as T-Shirts, beanies, Midnight Syndicate CDs, food, refreshments and more. A small school bus served tasty treats like hot dogs, brownies and more. The Western Dog looked pretty appetizing. Many of the T-Shirts use old designs that were used for the haunts many years ago. They’re pretty cool.
The Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory are classics in every sense of the word. The sets are meticulously detailed and many of the characters are quite unique. There’s a reason why both haunts have been around for decades. They’ve truly stood the test of time and are some of the best haunts around.
Final Stab For Each Haunt
The Haunted Schoolhouse: Length-9 Design-10 Props/Animatronics-9 Acting-9 Scare Effect-9 Final Stab: 9.2
The Haunted Laboratory: Length-8 Design-9 Props/Animatronics-10 Acting-9 Scare Effect-9 Final Stab: 9.0
www.hshlab.com