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HauntedHouseTour.com
Award Winners:
The annual "Frightmaster Award" is given to the
attraction chosen as the best from each year's tour. The haunted houses listed below were voted award winners by us at
Hauntedhousetour.com:
2011 Frightmaster (Best Indoor Haunt) Award: Cedar Point's GA
Boecklings Eerie Estate - Sandusky, OH
Tour Review:
This award winning haunt only gets better every year with the
addition of some new rooms, more creepy characters and more screams.
As a matter of fact, we think that the Eerie Estate has more
screams per square foot of haunt than any other haunted attraction in
the tri-state! Just try keeping your cool in here. The
rooms are meticulously decorated in late 1800's decor, dimly lit and
very quiet until BAM! The actors literally make you want to run
through the rooms! But don't run, you'll miss the best that they
saved for last.....
2011 Frightmaster (Best Outdoor Haunt) Award: Sandyland Acres -
Petersburg, KY
Tour Review:
This is the fifth year for Gene and Brenda Webb's excellent outdoor
haunted hayride and it just keeps getting better and better each year.
Located in the country on a lonely road in Petersburg, Ky, this
outdoor haunted hayride has the perfect setting and the perfect theme.
It's "Children of the Corn", "Jeepers
Creepers", and "Joyride" rolled into one terrifying trip.
We won't spoil it by giving away the details - just expect the
unexpected. No - seriously! If you have not been to this
haunt yet this year - GO! If you've already been - go again!!
It is worth the drive and the best outdoor haunt in the
tri-state!!!! Watch out for Freddy! He tends to appear
when you least expect it!!!!
2010 Frightmaster Award: Cedar Point "Halloweekends"
- Sandusky, OH
*First ever Back-To-Back Frightmaster
Award Winner!!! (2009, 2010)
Tour Review:
This year was a close race between Cedar Point and Land
of Illusions but in the overall evaluation of the most scares for the
for best value - it has to be Cedar Point for the 2nd year in a row!
Best, well designed haunts, great actors, high energy show that both
entertains and scares at the same time. We were blown away with
the amount of time and effort that just go into the nightly make-up
session and the dedication of the actors to their characters. Attending
the pre-show "Pep Rally" was the highlight of our
trip. Sandusky is still the reigning location for scares,
thrills, laughs and all around Halloween fun. Congratulations
once more go to Cedar Point Halloweekends - Frightmaster Award
Winner 2nd year in a row!!! More
info is available on the "Ratings" page of our site!
Visit their website at http://www.halloweekends.com/
2009 Frightmaster Award: Cedar Point "Halloweekends"
- Sandusky, OH
Tour Review:
It had been a few years since members of our group had
toured Halloweekend at Cedar Point, and actually a first time for myself, and we
could not have been happier with what we found! Halloweekend begins the
minute you step through the park gates and doesn't let up! No matter where
you roam in the park, once the sun goes down you are not safe from the ghosts
and demons that roam the grounds. Cedar Point is a great value since you
can pay admission to get into the park and that covers all of the haunted
attractions as well as the rides and roller coasters that remain open, so for
the money, you really can't beat it.
The actual haunted attractions are a mixture of indoor
haunts and outdoor walk through haunts. There was a good mixture of themes
ranging from pirates to clowns, to haunted mansions, and even an evil toy
factory. The level of detail and creativity that went into these haunts
impressed even our most veteran haunt reviewers! We always love creativity
and attention to detail and two haunts really stood out for our group. Happy
Jack's Toy Factory was a very unique concept that we have not really seen
before. It was so incredible with the level of detail in the costumes and
makeup, you can honestly not tell who is real and who is just a doll.
My personal favorite, G.A. Boeckling's Eerie Estate,
really raised the bar for a good old fashioned scary mansion. The scenery,
actors, and layout were all amazing! They took some serious time to
perfect the layout of the haunt and used space very creatively to create 360
degrees of scares! It has been a long time since I was truly scared and
creeped out by a haunt, but this one did it for me! The greatest thing
about this haunt and a lot of the haunts we toured here was that they don't rely
on all of the overdone blood, gore, and screaming to get a scare. You
really have a lot of stuff that is just down right creepy and not so much just
jumping out and yelling "boo." They went back to the basics of
what is scary and put on a really great experience. Personally, this may
be one of the best haunts I have been to in years. When you scare someone
who has been touring and rating haunts for 15 years now...you know you have
something great!
Halloweekend at Cedar Point is the ultimate haunt
experience for the casual haunt fan as well as the seasoned haunt veteran!
Bring your kids and enjoy the family-friendly daytime activities and rides, then
come back to the park at night with the adults for a truly frightening
experience! Halloweekend's overall score came back as one of only a very
few better-than-perfect scores we have ever given. Halloweekend earned a
score of 11 out of 10, earning extra credit points for scare factor and the
final rating of "FRIGHTMASTER!"
Great job on creating a top-notch experience! I
can't wait to visit again next season. Thanks again to Robin and John for
showing us around the park and being so helpful to our tour group! Cedar
Point's Halloweekend is definitely a MUST SEE! We would highly recommend
this attraction! It's well worth the drive!
Visit their website at http://www.halloweekends.com/
2008 Frightmaster Award: Kings Island "Halloween Haunt"
- Mason, OH
Tour Review: Kings Island: Halloween Haunt has
really developed into an amazing overall haunt experience.
They now boast 13 haunts as well as other roaming ghouls and
attractions. Realistically, you won't have time to visit
all 13 haunts in one night, so the best bet is to pick your
favorites and focus on seeing those. We visited Halloween
Haunt last year and thought it was a great show, and it was even
better this year! Halloween Haunt also added a new haunt
this year named "Urgent Scare." Scenery is
amazing, and they do such a great job transforming the whole
park into a creepy setting for a haunt enthusiast's wildest
dream. Halloween Haunt is reasonably priced based on the
amount of choices you have and the quality that they
present. My suggestion for serious haunt lovers is to
visit twice and try to see everything... it is well worth the
price of admission!
Halloween Haunt really raised the bar
for the overall haunt experience and is a definite "Must
see" for anyone who loves a great haunt! A very
unique experience and we hope you check out Halloween Haunt in
2008! Our final rating is rated for Halloween Haunt as an
overall experience. Halloween
Haunt earns a final rating of 9.5 out of 10, rating "Excellent"
for 2008 and wins the 2008 Frightmaster Award! This is Kings Island's
second Frightmaster Award, the first coming in 2001 for "Fearfest."
Congratulations on a great season, we are already looking forward to
2009!
Visit their website at http://haunt.visitkingsisland.com/
2007 Frightmaster Award: The Dent Schoolhouse - Cincinnati, OH
Tour Review: We have toured The Dent Schoolhouse for years
now, and each year they have gotten better. This year is definitely the
largest jump forward! They have dramatically improved the quality of the
haunt by adding new scenery, more length, and new ideas to the existing
haunt. The "Excellent" rating and Frightmaster Award is based on
the overall effect and feel of the haunt, but mainly the ability to stay true to
their schoolhouse theme without sacrificing quality. The actors are
extremely professional, and the best part about this haunt is the dark
"down time" between scares. So many haunts use constant scares
and startle effects to overwhelm you, but the best scare is the anticipation of
not knowing where the next ghost or monster lurks. The Dent Schoolhouse
has done such a great job this year, and we can't wait to see what is in store
for 2008! This haunt has established itself as a premiere haunt in
the area and is highly recommended by our tour members. Congratulations
for winning the 2007 Frightmaster Award from HauntedHouseTour.com! Visit
their website at www.frightsite.com.
Best Of 2006 Award (Top Rated Overall): USS Nightmare - Newport, KY
Tour Review: USS Nightmare has maintained its place among
the best haunts in the Tri-State, and maybe even the country with the
2006 tour season. USS Nightmare was voted the highest rated haunt
we toured in 2006 with the highest possible rating of "FRIGHTMASTER"!
This is only the second time such a rating has been given in
Hauntedhousetour.com history. The length of their tour was well
above average, and the quality of their haunt is hard to match!
The actors were VERY professional and the scenery was very detailed as
well. USS Nightmare also takes a great deal of time on make-up for
their actors, which helps add to the realism of their
haunt. The old riverboat is a perfect setting, but plenty of time
and effort made this an all-around great haunt! I would recommend
this attraction to any haunt enthusiast! Congratulations on the
winning the "Best of 2006 Award" From HauntedHouseTour.com!
Keep up the great work!
2006 Frightmaster Award (Indianapolis, IN Tour): Fright Manor -
Indianapolis, IN
Tour Review: Fright Manor continues to show us why they are
such a great haunt! We have toured this haunt in the past, but
they have really put a lot of time and effort into this year to make it
different, but still scary. The actors are very professional and
they know what it takes to get a good scare! Fright Manor was
rated "EXCELLENT" in 2006 and was our highest rated haunt in
Indy! Congratulations on the 2006 "Frightmaster Award"
and another great haunting season!
2005 Frightmaster Award - Baxter Ave. Morgue - Louisville, KY:
*First ever Two-Time Frightmaster
Award Winner!!! (2002, 2005)
Tour Review: The Baxter Ave. Morgue is the first attraction
to receive a rating of "Frightmaster" with a better than perfect score
of 11 out of 10! We had been to the Morgue in 2002, and loved
it! This was a large part of the reason we chose to come back to
Louisville this year. Honestly, we thought so much of our experience in
'02, that we didn't think there was any way to do any better... we were
wrong!
The Baxter Ave. Morgue managed to change the layout to make it new,
without changing their award-winning style. This is still the most unique
concept we have ever seen. The Morgue strays away from all of the
stereotypical haunted house ideas which have been overused in other attractions,
and it is extremely refreshing. They manage to come up with new and unique
ideas, and were able to scare even the most veteran haunted house tour members!
The decision to make the Baxter Ave.
Morgue the 2005 Frightmaster Award winner was an obvious choice, and we would
like to congratulate them on their second Frightmaster Award! They are the
only attraction ever to win 2 Frightmaster Awards, and they also won the 10th
Anniversary Award! If you have not been to the Morgue, you need to get
there! And if you've been there before...go back! It is well worth
the trip. We drove 2+ hours to visit the Morgue, and would love to do it
again! GREAT JOB on another great year for the Baxter Ave. Morgue!
Congratulations!
Don't forget to visit the Baxter Ave. Morgue website at www.baxtermorgue.com!
2004 Frightmaster Award - Dead Acres - Columbus, OH:
Tour Review: This attraction raises the bar for a "sensory overload" and "in your face" type of haunt.
You can tell right away that they put some SERIOUS money into this haunt. It was a great blend of animation
and live actors. From the time you walk in the door, until the time you run screaming out of the back, you are
being scared. They had things coming at your from 360 degrees, which is something I have been preaching for
years that most haunted houses do not use to their advantage. They also used some very unique scenes I have
not seen before, which for us, is saying quite a lot. This is one of those places that you just have to see for
yourself, it is that good. So take our advice, check this haunt out, it is well worth the trip! This haunt was
rated "Excellent" and won the Frightmaster Award for 2004 with a score of 10 out of 10! Congrats!
2003 Frightmaster Award - Fright Manor - Indianapolis, IN:
Tour Review: This house was the best of the '03 tour. The setting was great, and the scenery was very well
done. Obviously a lot of time was taken on the indoor scenery to make it extremely scary and realistic.
The house was very long, and took a while to go through. This house was rated the scariest of any house on
the '03 tour as well. We were very impressed with this house inside and out. Great job!
2002 Frightmaster Award - Baxter Ave. Morgue - Louisville, KY:
Tour Review: This house was rated EXCELLENT, the highest honor of the year! In years of haunted house tours,
and multiple cities, we haven't seen a more unique, and truly scary haunted house. The website was a great
way to tell the background story, and the staff was extremely professional. The best part about the house was
the eerie silence. Most attractions overuse loud noises for scare factor, but this house's mystique is a MUST
SEE for any true haunted house enthusiast! Great work on a truly frightening haunted attraction!
2001 Frightmaster Award - Kings Island "Fearfest" - Mason, OH:
Tour Review: This was a little different than the typical haunted house experience. Fearfest had multiple
haunted attractions inside. The award was decided based on an outdoor wooded trail, which was one of the scariest
walk through attractions we had been to. The woods were made to be so foggy, you couldn't see 5 feet in front of you.
They had actors coming at you from every angle, and the overall experience was very creepy, and was very scary! Congratulations!
2000 Frightmaster Award - USS Nightmare - Covington, KY:
Tour Review: We have been to the USS Nightmare many times on local tours. It has been changed in recent
years, and the updates have paid off! The setting of this attraction is located on an old riverboat.
The boat looks old and run down, and is a perfect setting for a haunted house! The scenery changes are great,
and the boat is well staffed as well. The best part of the house is the surprise twist that gets you just when
you feel safe... USS Nightmare is a great house to see on any tour!
1995-1999 Frightmaster Award - Nightmare on Glenway- Cincinnati, OH:
Tour Review: This house was the best house by far from our early years of touring.
It is no longer in operation, but in it's day, this was the scariest haunted house in
Cincinnati. It was well staffed, and the scenery inside was incredible. The extremely creepy scenery
included a walk through a full size bus full of demons, a wooded and overgrown graveyard scene, and
many rooms based on popular horror movies. It's just a shame its not around anymore, because it was truly a great attraction!
Special Haunted House Tour Awards:
10th Anniversary Award Winner (2004): Baxter Ave. Morgue - Louisville, KY:
Congratulations! We feel this is still the most unique haunt we have been to in 10 years of touring.
This was a difficult decision based on how many great haunts we have been to, but we were so impressed
with the Morgue, we had to make it our 10th Anniversary Award Winner! If you have
not been there, the trip is worth it, it will not disappoint! IT IS A MUST SEE!
10th Anniversary Award Runner-Up (2004): USS Nightmare - Newport, KY:
The USS Nightmare was a close second in this award. We have been touring this haunt for years,
and it seems to just get better and better! The great thing about this haunt is the detail they put
into every room, and it is probably the longest haunt we have toured in 10 years. It takes a good 20-25
minutes just to get through it! Even though the voting was close, USS Nightmare is still one of the best
haunts we have ever been to. It is a must see as well!
 
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Celebrating over 17
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