HAUNTED SCHOOLHOUSE & LABORATORY, AKRON OH
Opened in 1974 with only a month to set up, Haunted Schoolhouse & Laboratory has become a classic Halloween staple of NE OH for all fifty years. With amazing scenes and costumes and a crazy cool setting, you're sure to find something to love about this haunt.
SECTIONS
RECOMMENDED ONE-WAY DRIVE RANGE
Customer Service and Navigation
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Box Office Manager Tonia
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General Manager Dave
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Assistant Production Manager Matt
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+ All three are fantastic and were eager to meet us
+ They shared the stories of the past quite nicely
Atmosphere and Lobby/Midway
Key Lobby and Midway Amenities
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Concessions
+ A delicious Food Truck
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Merch
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Video
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Music
+ Hot Jams from last decade
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Seating
+ Many picnic tables
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Bathrooms
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Games
+ One of the locations of All American Axe Throwing
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Stage
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Photo Ops
+ The front sign has a bunch of Haybales to sit on for a picture
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Queue Line Actors
Bonus:
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Metaphysical
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Pyrotechnics
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At least one HUGE set piece
+ The place is FULL of huge monsters, skeletons and a whole ass bus
Facade Quality
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Both houses have two queue lines
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+/- You can consider the outside of the building to
be the facade, the second queue going up a
flight of stairs to be a walkthrough facade or
that there is no facade
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Use of Existing/Surrounding Environment
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Previous Elementary School
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Guggenheim Airship Institute
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+ All floors used wonderfully
+ Wind tunnel used spectacularly
Actors and Acting
Energy
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Somewhere in the 60 actor range that night
Haunted Schoolhouse
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Many actors
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+ Some actors going off the walls
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Haunted Laboratory
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Fewer actors
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+/- Slower but, more menacing
- Mad Scientist with the Tesla Coil didn't really do
anything, UNLESS he is a prop then disregard
the minus
Costuming and Makeup
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Every actor has a definite costume
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+ Theme approrpriate
+ Hollywood, baby!
+ Any masks are good looking, too
Lines and Vocalizations
Haunted Schoolhouse
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Almost everyone has a line
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If it's not a line, it's a Boo Pedal
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+ No real cliche lines
+ Some great personalities
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Haunted Laboratory
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Not many lines
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- Not much of anything beyond growls
Theming and Design
Lighting
Haunted Schoolhouse
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A full color pallette
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+ Hidden LEDs
+ Glowing Brimstone Walls
+ Moonlight effects
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Haunted Laboratory
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Cold colors
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+ Hidden LEDs
+ Feels cold and damp
+ Electical effects
Sound
Haunted Schoolhouse
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Didn't really notice a soundscape on the first two floors
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+ All Boo Pedals have a distinct sound
corresponding to the theme
+ Great sounding acute sound effects
+ Basement has an adventure-y Soundscape
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Haunted Laboratory
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Didn't really notice here either
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+ Also great sounding acute sound effects
Set Dressing
Haunted Schoolhouse
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Floor to ceiling props, animatronics and detail pieces
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+ Actual themed ceilings
+ In some scenes, multiple layers of dressing from
the wall
+ Mixture of Painting, Vacuform and Carved walls
and giant set pieces
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Haunted Laboratory
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Floor to ceiling props and detail pieces
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+ Every conceivable detail piece you can imagine
for mad science/experiments
+ Mutants, Monstrocities and Aliens everywhere
Special Rooms
Haunted Schoolhouse
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Shifting Swamp House
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Spinning Tunnel
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Church
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Multiple Torture Chambers
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Giant Vampire Room
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Haunted Laboratory
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3 Story Hole with Catwalk
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Tesla Coil Room
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Giant Frankenstein's Monster Room
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Ape Research Room
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Surgery Gallery
Entertainment Value
Fun
Haunted Schoolhouse
+ The varied, immersive environments are exciting
to walkthrough
+ Some of the actors are funny
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Haunted Laboratory
+ So consistent in theme over three whole floors,
you'll wonder how they did it!
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Scares
Haunted Schoolhouse
+ Good hiding spots built into the detail
+ Got me more than most haunts
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+/- The Boo Pedals aren't as loud as other places
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Haunted Laboratory
+ If you're afraid of heights, this place will kill ya!
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