The Dent Schoolhouse – Review (Cincinnati, OH)

Overall Score – 4.6/5

(all ratings scored out of 5)

Curb Appeal – 5/5
Scare Factor – 4.3/5
Actor Enthusiasm – 4.3/5
Creativity – 4.8/5

Gus – The Dent Schoolhouse has long been a Cincinnati favorite and has consistently been recognized as a top haunt in the country. That sort of recognition doesn’t happen by accident. Every scene in the Dent Schoolhouse is highly detailed, which draws you into the illusion. While you are trying to take in the scene, the monsters have their chance to sneak up on you. So many times, I had already dismissed an actor as a prop or animatronic only to have them jump up and scare me.

This year, there is a pumpkin festival as you wait to enter with some great scares of their own. Also, the entire basement has been revamped and a lot of the animatronics have been replaced with in your face actors, which is great.

This haunt should definitely be on your list this year, and it should be at the top.

Todd – Anyone reading this likely already knows that The Dent Schoolhouse is widely ranked in the top 10 haunts in the country – and for good reason.

“Dent” is unquestionably the most themed and detailed haunted house  you’ll come across. Every single thing fits into the back story of Charlie, Dent’s central character who is supposedly responsible for missing school children on the grounds.

Much of the basement has been re-vamped this year, a lot of which contributes to explaining just where those children went. Although Dent’s actors do a fine job themselves, the building itself tells a tale; which why Dent is just so damn good.

Nothing is missed inside Dent. Nothing. Even though many of the scenes are brand new, they look as if they’ve sat there for 60 years. Every set is dirt-ridden, every pipe is rusted, every wall is damaged and it all looks spectacular. This is one of the few haunts you could feel uneasy walking through even if it was vacant. It projects a very sinister and authentic vibe.

A new outdoor area has been added as well this year. Think of a small town fall harvest fair with a dash of the twisted added. Each visiting group will have the opportunity to have their picture taken and may then circle the various booths before entering the main building. There’s not a lot of interaction offered, but it’s all still fun to look at. Scattered among each of the various outdoor attractions are ~150 uniquely carved pumpkins which display a light show.

Unfortunately we did not have time to go through the outside haunt, Queen City Slaughter due to a timing conflict.

Bottom line: Dent is damn creepy. As I mentioned before, the theme and detail are unparalleled. Those of us local to the area are very fortunate to have something so special and unique to the haunt community in out back yards.

Donna (The Frightmaster) – The Dent Haunted Schoolhouse has always been a very highly rated haunt, not just in the tri-state but in the country.  This year Bud and Chuck have gone where no haunt has gone before with it.  The scenes have changed, less animatronics, more actors/monsters, more dark areas, more fear, more dread, better acoustics and lighting, and I feel a visibly better haunt inside and out.

The curb appeal is off the charts with roaming monsters and weird little girls roaming around the waiting lines playing creepy music.  A TV showing horror movies entertains you while you wait in line.  The lines tend to get rather long as the evening gets later so it’s best to get there early.
The whole front of the haunt has a creepy carnival of evil vibe and that’s apparent even before you enter.  The outside area which used to be the abandoned playground has been transformed into a carn-evil side show with booths and side show characters.  You wind your way around them and towards the front door of the schoolhouse building excitement and at the same time dread of not knowing what scary creatures are waiting inside.  The rooms are meticulously decorated with so much attention to detail that I wanted to linger in each one to take it all in.  The actors are very enthusiastic without being annoying  – just convincing enough to make you fear going past them.  The acting was amazing!  These people are Hollywood caliber.  The make-up is incredibly realistic.  You see very few masks here.
The rooms each have their own “theme” but all are based on the haunted schoolhouse theme. It is a very long haunt and well worth the cost of the ticket.
All in all, I was happy to see all the haunt changes this year and felt that the Haunted Schoolhouse made a huge leap forward in both quality and fright potential.  This school went “old school” – back to their roots of the Frightmaster Award winner of the past and it worked!  If you haven’t been to the Dent Haunted Schoolhouse this year, you are missing out on one of the best haunts in the country!  Go!
Bravo!  Great job!

Teresa – I love the Dent! The wait to get in is always made more fun by the roaming actors. And they are different every year. If you don’t have skip-the-line passes, they still do a good job of entertaining (and scaring) you. They offer photos before you go in also, and I’d recommend them. Ours came out really good. The building is seriously creepy-looking (and really is an old school). They stick to the school house theme throughout which makes it easier to get immersed in the haunt. The decorations can’t be beat. Every room and scene is perfectly detailed. They changed it up this year too, so there were new scenes and props and one cool video effect. Look for it! The jump factor was really high. The characters don’t touch you, but they are great at jumping out of unexpected places. Between that and all the props, loud noises, and other startle-scares, you’re bound to be on edge. I’m not a jumpy person and they even got me a few times. You just never know when someone or something is going to pop out at you. I wish we could have stayed longer and gone through again. There’s so much to see!

Andy – The changes to the dent were awesome! Really enjoyed it. The animatronics were absolutely the best! Great jump factor, great make up and costumes, great setting! This was possibly one of my favorite haunts this year. We also got to attend the media night dinner/meet and greet and the folks from the dent school house really went above and beyond!! This is going to be a tough one to beat! Already can’t wait to go back next year!

Tammy – One of my favorite haunts!  An old school house and the setting is just perfect – new actors outside this year with great costumes.  We were here for media night and what an awesome time we had!  Great food, drinks and a behind the scenes peek- the owners really put together a great night and made our visit even more enjoyable.  The haunt had lots of changes this year – less animatronics and a lot of great jump scares!!  The outside carnival theme while waiting to go thriugh the schoolhouse is well done with lots of carved jack-o-lanterns -sets a great spooky and fun environment.  People were coming out of walls and ceilings and places I couldn’t even figure out where they came from.  The haunt is so detailed – the props and details are amazing and hard to take it all in on one walk through.  The Dent made a lot of improvements this year – great haunt – one of my favorites this year!