OHIO VALLEY HAUNTS

- 2008 HAUNT AWARDS- TOP 2008 HAUNTED ATTRACTIONS The Best of 2008 (top 13) Best Animatronics 1.   Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY Land of Illusion - Middletown, OH 2.   Dead Acres - Columbus, OH . 3.   The Haunted Cave - Lewisburg, OH Best Timed Scares 4.   Fear Fair - Seymour, IN Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY 5.   Industrial Nightmare - Jeffersonville, IN . 6.   The  (WEBN) Haunted Schoolhouse - Dent, OH Best Single Scare (Scariest Scene) 7.   Ohio State Reformatory  - Mansfield, OH SAW Scene at Fear Fair - Seymour, IN 8.   The Haunted Schoolhouse & Laboratory - Akron, OH . 9.   Halloween Haunt - Mason, OH Most Horrific Scare 10.  USS NIghtmare - Newport, KY Induced Childbirth at Dead Acres - Pataskala, OH 11.  Baxter Avenue Morgue - Louisville, KY . 12.  Land of Illusion - Middletown, OH Most Impressive Scare 13.  Hustead House of Horror - Hustead, OH Swamp Scene at Industrial Nightmare - Jeffersonville, IN . . Halloween Event of the Year Most Climactic Finish Halloween Haunt at Kings Island- Mason, OH Devil Maze at The Haunted Cave - Lewisburg, OH . . Scariest (Spookiest) Attraction Most Aggressive Finish The Haunted Cave - Lewisburg, OH Multiple Leatherface Chase-out at Fear Fair - Seymour, IN . . Best Multi-Venue Haunt Loudest, Most Assaulting Soundtrack Industrial Nightmare Complex - Jeffersonville, IN Ohio State Reformatory (Prison) - Mansfield, OH . . Best Outdoor Haunt Best Actor Wilmington Haunted Hollow - Wilmington, OH Elevator Attendant at Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY . . Best Haunted Trail Best Actress Land of Illusion - Middletown, OH Dominatrix at Asylum House - Greenwood, IN . .  Best Haunted Hayride Most Aggressive Characters Bull Run Farm - Sringboro, OH Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY . . Most Unique Attraction Most Unique (Memorable) Character Hustead House of Horror - Hustead, OH Pongo at Baxter Avenue Morgue - Louisville, KY . . Most Intense (Extreme) Attraction Most Demented Character Dead Acres - Pataskala, OH Chainsaw Santa at Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY . Best New Attraction Best Make-up/Costumes Southport Sanitarium at Fright Manor - Southport, IN Baxter Avenue Morgue - Louisville, KY . Most Improved Attraction Best Theatrics Dark Pumpkin - Germantown, OH Terror Park - Columbus, OH . Best Themed Presentation Most Provocative Scare The Dent (WEBN) Schoolhouse - Cincinnati, OH Shower Scene at Haunted Hotel - Louisville, KY . . Most Authentic Setting Best Non-Scary Family Attraction Haunted Steamboat (U.S.S. Nightmare) - Cincinnati, OH Halloween Nights at Parky's Farm  (Winton Woods) - Cincy . . Biggest Seasonal Surprise Best Halloween Party Crawl Space Shock at Hustead House of Horror - Hustead, OH Hauntfest on 5th Street Party - Dayton, OH . . Best Kept Secret Biggest Seasonal Disappointment Fear Fair - Seymour, IN No Zombie Island - Monroe, OH . . Congratulations to all of this year's winners! * - Awards are based on REVIEWS and RANKINGS! 2008 HAUNT OF THE YEAR After years of top five, and even runner-up finishes, Haunted Hotel has finally and deservingly earned the elusive HAUNT OF THE YEAR Award!  The introduction of new scenes, combined with the most threatening cast in the business plays a big part in pushing them over the top, especially since group size is restricted no matter how late the show must go on in order to insure that everyone gets to enjoy the haunt's best performance.  A strong 2008 runner-up is '06 winner Dead Acres,  another annual contender for top honors.  An arguable case could easily be made in favor of The Haunted Hoochie, and it was a tightly contested race,.seeing the closest finish in years.  The Lewisburg Haunted Cave checked in third, also capturing the SCARIEST ATTRACTION and MOST CLIMACTIC FINISH categories with their.hour long-course.  Authenticity and two brand new, highly intense finishing scenes landed Fear Fair in the number four spot, while Industrial Nightmare Complex repeats in the MULTI-VENUE class bringing four outstanding attractions to the same location, and showcasing some of the most individualized scenes the industry has to offer.  The Dent Schoolhouse achieved its highest finish ever, and shows no signs of slowing down.  Last season's winner, The Ohio State Reformatory Haunted Prison Experience, slips a little this year through no fault of their own, just the competition taking their games to new, unheralded levels.  Other top 13 finishers include The Haunted School House & Laboratory in Akron, KINGS ISLAND's Halloween Haunt, USS Nightmare, 2005 Champ Baxter Avenue Morgue, Land of Illusion, and The Hustead House of Horror, one of the most unique haunts around today!  Conspicuous by their absence are Ghostly Manor and Terror Town that time and exhaustion prevented visiting, and Waverly Hills Sanitorium which will certainly be back in full force in 2009!  Thank you all for a fantastic season! back to reviews