Ready to get scared? Haunted house season is upon us

They have seen firsthand the good and bad of running haunts amid a pandemic.

The uncertainty of last year is replaced with optimism going into this year.

And hopefully the only ones wearing masks will be the creeps and ghouls.

Many haunts did not even open in 2020.

Rodney and Melinda Geffert run a pair of haunted attractions in Northeast Ohio and also have a business that supplies spooky props and settings to other haunts. Rodney Geffert said it was pretty scary last year not knowing until the last minute whether they would be allowed by health officials to open and whether anyone would even show up.

But show up they did.

Geffert, who runs the day-to-day operations at the 7 Floors of Hell at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea, said so many people showed up on opening night last year they had to turn people away not only to ensure social distancing but because they were running out of parking spaces. The same was true, Geffertsaid, for the roughly 45% of haunts nationwide that did open in 2020.

"If you had a haunted house and you opened last year, you had an amazing year," he said.

That's not to say this year will not have challenges too.

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There's the delta variant to worry about, so hand-sanitizing stations will still be the norm, along with suggestions to remain at a safe social distance, and masks will be encouraged.

Like other businesses amid the pandemic, Geffert said, a big challenge is finding enough workers.

The so-called screamsters who work inside are not the problem, he said; it is filling the spots to do everything from selling tickets to emptying the trash and even helping to set up the haunts in the first place.

The 7 Floors of Hell with its five haunted houses will open Friday and Saturday nights Sept. 17 through Oct. 30.

The Forest of Screams, which is run by his wife, Melinda, with its haunted trail, hayride and haunted house will open weekends from Sept. 24 through Nov. 6. This attraction is in Medina County and is situated along state Route 18 between Medina and Fairlawn in Sharon Township.

Geffert said he's fairly confident this will be anything but a dead season for haunted houses.

He points to their Nightscream Studios, which creates spooky props and panels for haunted houses throughout the country, as the reason behind his optimism.

Typically business is rather slow to pick up early in the off-season.

That was not the case going into this year.

Geffert said they were forced to stop taking orders months ago for their panels that range from creepy castle walls to caskets in a mausoleum, because they simply ran out of raw materials and time to complete them in time for this Halloween.

More:Do you dare enter? See haunted house ads from Akron's spooky past

It won't be business as usual for a while until the pandemic ends, Geffert said, so don't expect actors right in your face at a haunt this year.

"They will still do the best they can to scare you," he said. "I think it will still be a good year for haunted houses. People want stuff to do, and I think they are thankful there are things to do."

Here are some of the more notable haunts in the Akron area or ones worth a drive to visit.

Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory

There's a reason the Akron Haunted Schoolhouse and Haunted Laboratory has been around for 48 seasons.

It offers some good, old-fashioned scares.

This haunt did change ownership a few years back so there have been some changes here and there, but the bones of the place are still familiar for the legions of fans that now stretch across generations.

For this fall the owners have spent part of the off-season working in the lab making up some new scares in the attraction, and they have expanded the midway where the ticket booth, bar and other amusements are situated.

Tickets are available online, but advance reservations are not required this year.

The season will run from Sept. 18 to Nov. 6. The haunt is at 1300 Triplett Blvd. in Akron.

Ticket prices are based on the day you tour but range from $20 for one haunt or up to $28 for both attractions.

For more information, visit https://www.hauntedschoolhouse.com/.

Hudson Haunted House

If there's a spooky grandparent of haunts, the Hudson Haunted House would win the prize.

This is one of the few remaining haunted houses that raises money solely for charity, in this case the Hudson Jaycees.

It is also one of the most inexpensive to visit. That means you won't see a lot of high-tech gadgetry here, as most of the scares are created by the actors.

There is just one house, but you certainly get your money's worth, as they make the most out of the space where it's likely your parents once went through as teens.

This is also a good first haunted house for adventurous youngsters. 

The season will run from Sept. 24 to Halloween night. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for kids.

The house is located at 2250 Barlow Road in Hudson.

For more, visit https://www.hudsonhauntedhouse.org/.

Ghoul Brothers

This Akron haunt was years in the making.

David Barton, who grew up in the Akron area, worked in Hollywood as a special effects makeup artist and prop maker and always dreamed of opening up his own haunt in Akron.

So it should come as no surprise that he was a bit picky and took his time before finally opening up his own house of horrors behind the Acme store in the Portage Lakes Plaza in 2017.

The fun thing about this particular haunt is that some of the props are from Hollywood movies. His most recent acquisition is from the movie "Pacific Rim" and is a large silicone Kaiju (monster) organ resting on an autopsy table.

It will begin its run Sept. 24 and continue through Halloween.

Tickets are $20 to get in the haunted house at 3235 Manchester Road.

For more, visit https://www.ghoulbrothers.com/.

The Slaughterhouse

The Slaughterhouse in Chippewa Lake is a bit like the "Walking Dead" TV series because you have to wait each year for another season.

This is the fifth year for the haunt by Vaughn Lekan that is located in a real-life old market where they used to slice and dice up meat.

The storyline is pretty simple: The place is run by the Karver family, who seem to be stuck in the 1940s and use some pretty sinister meat sources to sell in the shop.

The haunt begins in the market and then makes its way into the slaughterhouse and meat plant and ends with a scary walk in the woods.

They only let a few guests in at a time with timed entries, so it is best to buy tickets well in advance at https://slaughterhouseohio.com/. The season runs from Sept. 25 to Nov. 6.

Tickets are $30 per person. The slaughterhouse is at 5665 Chippewa Road in Chippewa Lake.

Carnival of Horrors

Like Jason from "Friday the 13th," the Carnival of Horrors lives again.

And this post-COVID sequel to the popular place that has called Blossom Music Center home for years will have a whole new location. Ryan Pluta is moving his collection of haunted houses and, of course, clowns to the Stark County Fairgrounds in Canton.

The constant changes in concert schedules, thanks to the virus, Pluta said, necessitated the move to a new location.

The scares will be familiar but Pluta promises the fairgrounds will offer space to expand in the future.

The site that features four haunted houses will open Oct. 1 and run through Halloween night.

Admission to all the haunts is $25. The fairgrounds is located at 305 Wertz Ave. NW in Canton.

For more, visit http://carnivalofhorrors.com/.

Factory of Terror

Canton may be home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But for fans of haunts, it is also home to the Factory of Terror that's billed as one of the world's largest indoor haunted attractions, encompassing some 160,000 square feet with five different themed areas.

Make sure you are well-hydrated (don't worry, there are three in-house bars and other refreshments along a midway), because those who are brave enough to venture inside have to walk a mile to see it all.

This also marks the Factory's 20th anniversary, and new this year (as if you didn't walk enough) will be the walk-through Screamshop gift shop.

The terrifying factory is located at 4125 Mahoning Road NE in Canton.

The season runs from Sept. 18 to Nov. 6, and tickets range from $25 to $28 depending on the night of your visit.

For complete details, visit https://fotohio.com/.

Blood Prison

The old Mansfield Reformatory can be a pretty bleak and scary place to tour in the daylight.

But throw in nightfall and some scary folks, and the former prison is perhaps the most unique haunt in the entire country.  

The Escape from Blood Prison takes place at the world-famous reformatory that was the setting for the film "The Shawshank Redemption" and will be open for scary night tours Fridays through Sundays in October.

Just for Halloween, the old prison will be full of deranged prisoners who have escaped from their cells.

Tickets are $25; for more information visit https://www.bloodprison.com/.

Haunted Hydro

For spooky ambiance, it is hard to beat the Haunted Hydro in Fremont, which has been around for 32 years.

The old hydroelectric plant that houses one of the haunts has been around a lot longer than that. Built in 1911, the plant produced electricity into the 1940s.

Now it, along with the land around the plant, becomes a Halloween destination with haunted houses, entertainment and other amusements.

The plant is at 1333 Tiffin St. and is open weekends from Oct. 1 through Halloween.

For more, visit http://www.thehauntedhydro.com/.

HalloWeekends

Cedar Point's HalloWeekends are back.

They took a year off for the pandemic in 2020, but the park will open this fall.

By day there will be fun activities for kids and the park will be decked out in spooky cobwebs and pumpkins.

But at night is when the real scary fun starts with haunted houses and mazes to explore along with Halloween shows, including a particularly spooky live music experience by the Midnight Syndicate.

Many of the rides are open too, along with special dining options and shows.

HalloWeekends is open on weekends and select Thursdays in October through Halloween.

Tickets are $80 for adults, but discounts, along with more information, can be found at https://www.cedarpoint.com/.

Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com.