Scream Acres Ct (Covington, KY)
“Survive If You Dare”
By Noah Wullkotte: Jollypumpkin@aol.com
Scream Acres Ct in Covington, KY is the newest haunt in Greater Cincinnati. For nearly 10 years they were an elaborate home haunt. Last year they were part of Scallywag Tag, but this season they’re on their own. They’re located inside an abandoned Johnny’s Toys. A large mural on a red background reads “Scream Acres Ct”.
Years ago, we toured their home haunt in Cincinnati, OH and we were quite impressed. Elements of the home haunt can be seen in their pro haunt. We arrived on a Thursday night and the crowd was small. This is understandable since Thursday is typically a slow night for haunts. Many people have work the next day and kids have school. After you purchase your ticket, you’ll enter a small room where your picture is taken.
Stand in front of the green screen and let the photographer turn you into a ghost. Scream Acres Ct has unique concessions thanks to Kimmie’s Clay Creations. Kimmie has a real talent in creating colorful characters with Polymer Clay. You have your choice of aliens, monsters and more. Voodoo dolls, Can-o-Lanterns and Sugar Skulls are also available to purchase. Many of the items in the gift shop were created by local artists. Haunt T-Shirts are $15 a piece and you can purchase 3 voodoo dolls for only $9. Prices vary on the concessions.
After you exit the gift shop, you’ll enter the queue line. Midnight Syndicate’s Monsters of Legend plays in the background. A man with a sack over his head and a rope around his neck hangs from the ceiling as he violently twitches. You’ll notice a large funeral home facade. The windows have been boarded up except for one. Spirits can be seen through the open window and lights slowly flash on and off above you. We waited just a few minutes before we were allowed to enter.
Scream Acres Ct Consists of 3 themed areas. We consider Buried Alive a seperate side attraction since it’s optional and not included in the regular admission price. Some may consider it another themed area. The themed areas includes Castle Hill Funeral Home, The Funhouse in 3D and Blackout. You’ll first enter Castle Hill Funeral Home. A funeral home worker played by Lucas Clark tells you the rules and explains the back story of the haunt.
“Greetings and welcome to Castle Hill Funeral Home”, he says in an aggressive voice. Castle Hill gained its fame when Doctor Boron killed 40 men and women. Their bodies were found in the basement of this mansion. Their bodies were horribly mutilated and their faces were carved into the shape of a smile. The Doctor was never found, but some say that he still roams these halls this very day.
Sit down and take a load off as you wait to meet the doctor. Castle Hill features a variety of rooms including a gory kitchen, an incinerator, a tool shed/garage, a little girl’s room and more. We really enjoyed the little girl’s room. We weren’t expecting a large bunny rabbit to grab the girl and reappear a minute later.
The Castle Hill section of the haunt lasts close to 4 minutes before you enter The Funhouse in 3D. The Funhouse is a colorful haunt that is brought to life when you put on your 3-D Glasses. Crazy clowns roam its halls as you try to escape within an inch of your life. 3-D images look so real that you might want to reach out and touch them. You’ll be inside the funhouse for close to 4 minutes, but it depends on how fast a person walks.
The last themed area you’ll experience is Blackout. It’s a dark maze where various actors will try to point you in the wrong direction. It can be a little confusing, but there’s not much going on. It’s a bit uneventful. There’s a chainsaw chase when you exit the building and a few actors inside the maze, but nothing really stands out. You’ll be out of the maze in about 4 minutes, but it depends on how good you are at mazes. Total tour time for Scream Acres Ct is around 11 minutes.
Tickets for the haunt are $16 a piece. This is a little high for a debut attraction. $12 would be more appropriate. Experience Buried Alive for $6 a person. It’s a coffin ride simulator with intense motion and some surprises along the way. A combo ticket for Buried Alive and the walk through haunt is $20. Please don’t forget to check out the different games you can play and buy some toys from The Original Glow Machine.
Scream Acres Ct has the potential to become one of Greater Cincinnati’s best attractions. It has a spooky atmosphere and some talented people behind the scenes. The major issues we had were its length and the actors’ dialogue. There weren’t enough characters that made a lasting impression. Scenes could also benefit from more impressive props and enhanced detail. Even with our few complaints, Scream Acres Ct is still a quality attraction and it will be interesting to see how it grows.
Length-7 Design-7 Props/Animatronics-7 Acting-7 Scare Effect-7
Final Stab: 7.0
www.cincyscreams.com