The Dent Haunted School House 2014 Review

Ratings Legend

(1 skull) – Poor
(2 skulls) – Average
(3 skulls) – Good
(4 skulls) – Excellent
(5 skulls) – Best of the best!

The Dent Haunted School House: Cincinnati, OH (Dent)

Todd
School is back in session! The Dent Schoolhouse made a more lasting impression this year. For regular attendees, you will not be disappointed. A number of changes have been made to keep your experience from feeling stale or repetitive.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – Dent is the Disney of haunts. The theme and attention to detail is top-notch. Nothing is half-assed. The schoolhouse theme and sadistic “history” are maintained from beginning to end.

On the way home from this most recent visit, it dawned on me what makes Dent so different from other haunts – your immersion in the environments. Most haunts tend to feel like everything is on display. There’s a distinct pathway you travel on while observing what’s on either side of you, usually out of reach. Dent on the other hand has many rooms in which there is no set path. Take the classroom, for example. You can walk in between either chair of your choosing. Does it make a difference? Not really, but that small level of freedom adds another dimension to your experience.

Everything in Dent feels more real than other haunts and that’s likely because most of it is (sans monsters, tortures, cadavers, etc.). Not only is the building an actual historic school house, but many of the furnishings are authentic. If they aren’t they are treated with the utmost detail adding that look of dust, fade, wear and tear, grime etc that makes them that much more tangible. There isn’t much that feels “plastic” or artificial. There are limitless items which appear as if you could interact with them (if they were not glued or nailed down). For me, that’s what makes Dent stand out.

I’d by lying if Dent is the scariest haunt around. However. the actors do a great job and the original character creation is as good as it gets. By no means am I indicating that it’s not worth your time. It’s one of the best haunts ever for a variety of reasons, some of which I’ve outlined above. It’s hard to adequately describe the superior qualities this haunt consistently carries; all the more reason for you to see it yourself.

Tammy
One of my favorite haunts of the season. Lots of changes to the haunt have been made and are great! I love just hanging outside watching all the characters scare others and interact. The inside props are so detailed and there is so much inside – going thru multiple times would be beneficial. I was there for Media night – which was awesome – food, drinks, meeting actors from the haunt and hanging out with some fun people. Lots of great animatronics. Like the ‘scare face’ room – a huge animatronic rat jumps out which is timed perfectly to snap everyone’s scare face on camera -.who doesn’t like seeing their pic!! Actors did a great job of interacting. The length of the haunt is good – the outdoor area seemed as though there should be more actors. Overall one of my favorites!!

Overall score: 4.50 Skulls (Excellent)

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