OHIO VALLEY HAUNTS

- 2009 HAUNT AWARDS- TOP 2009 HAUNTED ATTRACTIONS - (compiled from the list of attractions visited this season ONLY!) The Best of 2009 (top 13) Halloween Event of the Year 1.  Dead Acres - Columbus, OH Halloween Haunt at Kings Island- Mason, OH 2.  The Haunted Cave - Lewisburg, OH . 3.  Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY Best of Ohio 4.  The  Dent Schoolhouse - Dent, OH Dead Acres - Pataskala, OH 5.  Ohio State Reformatory  - Mansfield, OH . 6.  Industrial Nightmare - Jeffersonville, IN Best of Kentucky 7.  Fear Fair - Seymour, IN Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY 8.   Necropolis - Indianapolis, IN . 9.   Haunted Trail at Land of Illusion - Middletown, OH Best of Indiana 10. USS NIghtmare - Newport, KY Industrial Nightmare/Dementions - Jeffersonville, IN 11.  Hustead House of Horror - Hustead, OH . 12.  Haunted Hollow Ride - Wilmington, OH Ohio Valley's Best Hometown Haunt (Cincinnati) 13.  House of The Dead at Terror Town - Toledo, OH The Dent Schoolhouse - Cincinnati, OH . . Best Actor  Best Multi-Venue Haunt Dustan the Clown at Hustead House of Horror - Hustead, OH Industrial Nightmare Complex - Jeffersonville, IN . . Best Actress Best Haunted Trail Ring Girl at Southside Massacre - Indianapolis, IN Land of Illusion - Middletown, OH . . Most Unique (Memorable) Character Best Haunted Hayride Vampire at Dungeons of Delhi - Cincinnati, OH Bull Run Farm - Sringboro, OH . . Most Demented Character Best Outdoor Attraction Spark Fiend at Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY Haunted Hollow Ride - Wilmington, OH . . Most Aggressive Characters Best New Attraction Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY Scare-A-Torium - Columbus, OH . . Best Theatrics Spookiest Attraction Scare-A-Torium - Columbus, OH The Haunted Cave - Lewisburg, OH . . Best Make-up/Costumes Most Intense (Extreme) Attraction Asylum House - Indianapolis, IN Dead Acres - Pataskala, OH . . Best Scare Most Unique Attraction Fire Breathing Semis at Haunted Hollow Ride - Wilmington, OH Hustead House of Horror - Hustead, OH . . Most Impressive Scare Most Improved Attraction Dr. Apparition/Chase at Nightmare Haunted House - Lexington  Dungeons of Delhi - Cincinnati, OH . . Most Horrific Scare Most Authentic Setting Leg Amputation at Dead Acres - Pataskala, OH Haunted Steamboat (U.S.S. Nightmare) - Cincinnati, OH . . Most Twisted Scare Best Themed Presentation Bloody Christmas at Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY The Dent Schoolhouse - Cincinnati, OH . . Most Provocative Scare Best Animatronics Shower Scene at Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY Dead Acres - Pataskala, OH . . Best Opening Scare Loudest, Most Assaulting Soundtrack Elevator at Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY Ohio State Reformatory (Prison) - Mansfield, OH . . Most Unique Scare Best Timed Scares Failing Flashlights at Dark Terrors (Necropolis) - Indianapolis, IN Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY . . Best  Entrapment Best Kept Secret SAW Group Seperation at Fear Fair - Seymour, IN Slaughter House - New Paris, OH . . Best Maze Biggest Seasonal Disappointment Devil's Domain at The Haunted Cave - Lewisburg , OH Loss of Ghost Apparition at Baxter Ave. Morgue - Louisville . . Most Climactic Finish Best Non-Scary Family Attraction Multiple Leatherface Chase-out at Fear Fair - Seymour, IN Halloween Nights at Parky's Farm  (Winton Woods) - Cincy . . Most Aggressive Finish Best Halloween Party Chainsaw Maze at Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY Hauntfest on 5th Street Party - Dayton, OH . . Biggest Seasonal Surprise Best Seasonal AMBUSH! Truck Ride at Slaughter House - New Paris, OH Mt. Healthy Haunted Hall - Cincinnati, OH . . Congratulations to all of this year's winners! * - Awards are based on REVIEWS and RANKINGS! 2009 HAUNT OF THE YEAR Staffed with nearly 100 of the most extreme characters in the business, and complimented by some of the most horrific scenes (shotgun suicide, demonic childbirth, leg amputation, drill sodomization, diabolical dentist etc.), Dead Acres (a.k.a. The Haunted Hoochie) reclaims HAUNT OF THE YEAR honors for the first time since 2006!  This season's runner-up spot witnesses The Lewisburg Haunted Cave scoring its highest finish ever with it's authenticity, hour long course, reasonable cost of admission, and the addition of new props like the CGI Asylum Door. Haunted Hotel, last season's Champ checks in a strong third also showcasing several new scenes, and the most threatening cast in the business!  Right on their heels is The Dent Schoolhouse continuing to get better every year, and also enjoying their highest ever finish in 2009!  These top 4 attractions were involved in the closest competition to date, and strong cases could be made for any one them!  2007 winner, The Ohio State Reformatory Haunted Prison Experience claims the number 5 spot with this year's Hell on Earth theme.  Industrial Nightmare takes home sixth as the headliner in the multi-venue class.  Combined with with Dementions and Pitch Black, the facility captures that category for the third consecutive year, with Land of Illusion hot on their trail!  Fear Fair made major improvements, but their rating was compromised by the decision to raise their formerly bargain ticket prices to levels more equal to those charged by their competition. Necroolis crashes onto the list this season with their impressively spooky decor, and The Middle- town Haunted Trail finishes off the top 10, along with USS Nightmare. Other top 13 attractions include The Final Chapter of The Hustead House of Horror which will be donated to the local fire department and sadly burnt to the ground, Wilmington's Haunted Hollow Ride, and House of the Dead at Terror Town in Toledo. Annually ranked favorite and 2005 winner Baxter Avenue Morgue continued to slip a bit this year.  Akron's Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory held down a top 10 spot a season ago, but were not visited this year, and are conducted as walk-throughs.  Kings Island's Halloween Haunt is considered more of an event, than an individual haunted house.  Congratulations to all of this year's winners, and thank you all for a fabulous Halloween season!  See you in 2010! back to reviews