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Entertainment
Paul - Dent is just so much fun. I love all of it- the queue, the fall festival, the haunt, and the midway. All of it works together to give an a fantastic experience. Teresa - If you want the most intense scare you can get without being touched, this is your place. The whole thing is next-level from the scenes to the props, to character placement, lighting, effects, all the attention to detail...it's perfection. The new midway is a nice place to hang out, with souvenirs, refreshments, music, games, photo ops, and lots to see. The Dent gives me my Halloween fix like no other haunt. Todd - You'll scream. You'll jump. You'll laugh. You'll repeat. While the visual experience is consistently a dark and eerie one, the actors will offer a variety of interaction. While some got us good from behind a drop panel, another had us laughing out loud screaming about an extended car warranty. I have to say my favorite was the legless guy hung up on a mattress calling himself Lt. Dan. There's an immense amount of detail to take in, all while trying to navigate the haunt and keep your guard up. You'll be a lot of things but bored isn't one of them. Emily - Again with the actor placement, bubble tunnels, and the breezeway with all the escape rooms, Dent offers a good amount of entertainment that you don't find many other places. Donna - This is a true, old-school haunted house that overflows with detail and amazing animatronics and actors that all come together in a nice package. It was longer than ever this year (30 minutes, total to walk-through) darker, scarier and more blood and guts than we remember from past visits. This haunt is one of the best of the best and is a former Frightmaster Award winner. Highly recommend. |
Scare Factor
Paul - This is likely the scariest Dent I've experienced yet! Teresa - The Dent Schoolhouse doesn't need to touch you to be scary. It's so full of creepy scenes filled with jump scares that are just non-stop. You walk into a room, look around in awe, and while you're doing that, someone jumps out or a giant prop goes off and you're just constantly on edge and jumping. There is so much in here that you have no way to see most of them coming. Plus, some of the scenes are scary without actors or props. Just the teacher hanging, with dim light backlighting her, swinging over the staircase is enough to make most people stare in horror. Todd - The Dent Schoolhouse's builds are easily the most contributing factor to the overall scare level. Whether it be the dilapidated halls of the school, the dingy basement or within the asylum's padded walls, everything is dark, invading your personal space and guaranteed to have you on edge over what lurks around the corner. Emily - Dent is one of the only haunts that is actually visually frightening to me. Something about the place just makes me uncomfortable all over. I would never want to walk through that alone. Donna - The Dent Schoolhouse sets the mood before you enter the house itself with a walk-through maze of elaborate, carnival scenes, including nerve rattling animatronics. a wall of pumpkins, (SO many pumpkins!)a projector showing an old horror movie and, if you’re lucky, a meeting with ZoBo The clown. Once you enter the old and dilapidated school house, the mood changes from fun, carnival atmosphere to dark, creepy, and moreover, intimidating as you move from one elaborate scene to the next. Because this particular haunt has been in this location for so many years, The owners are constantly adding on to their props and are boasting some of the best, well laid out and intricate scenes of any haunted attraction in the tri-state area. The animatronics are so believable that I had to stop and look, several times to make sure it wasn’t a real person. They added new scenes this year, including an old church and a creepy nun from the conjuring more chainsaws than I remember in the past and darker areas that amp up the scares. I could describe and details some of the scares, but then it would ruin the fun, wouldn’t it? Actors Paul - The actor score is tough here because there just isn't a ton of interaction- but that's how the haunt is supposed to be in order to keep things moving. That said, everyone we encountered was performing their role just as I'd hope. Teresa - There are tons of actors, with my favorites being the queue actors outside. They do a great job of keeping the crowd entertained and excited. Charlie, Pumpkin-Smasher, and Zobo have reached legendary status. There are also some fantastic characters inside. Most don't have much time to interact, as this pace is pretty quick (at least if feels quick, maybe because it's such an onslaught), but the ones who do are engaging. The others relish surprising you from overhead, or popping out of unexpected spot. They are all giving it 100 percent and the number of times you jump is proof of that. Todd - While Dent's high throughput doesn't allow for longer, more personal interactions with the characters inside, clever placement and a sense of identity still make for a rewarding experience with the actors. The costuming for each actor stays in context of their placement. The Dent Schoolhouse is also widely known for its ever-growing cast of staple characters like Charlie the Janitor, Zobo the Clown or social media's favorite - Pumpkin Smasher. While you don't typically find these guys inside the haunt, you're sure to run into one or more while waiting outside. This is very akin to finding Micky Mouse or Goofy at Disneyworld - but better! Emily - The actors are well placed and there were plenty when we visited. Constant interaction and jumping. The bat guy is great and definitely loves it. There are so many unique places you'll find the actors in Dent, that not many other haunts have. Donna - As usual, The Dent Schoolhouse Has some of the best actors year after year. There were several that stood out to us this Time: The girl sliding along the top of our heads, screaming for help, The girl being lifted up in the mouth of the giant python, the woman hanging in the hallway, whose spirit was seen projected onto the wall, the evil nun in the church and Dr. Dent, who wanted to show us his latest experiment. There was an actor this year who played a nerd with taped glasses and another actor who was cut in half who said it was because he fell asleep in class. From our experience, these actors really get into their parts and they play it very well. Immersion Paul - Just a masterpiece of a haunt. Really one of the best I've ever encountered. And this year it was even longer! Teresa - Great theme, chock-full of realistic details, and so much going on that it keeps you fully immersed from the carnival outside that I so wish was real, and all the way through the creepiest schoolhouse you've ever seen. Todd - The Dent Schoolhouse exemplifies the level of construction and attention to detail that most haunts strive for. Everything has the appearance of an original, aged, permanent fixture. The lighting is thoughtfully focused and not over-the-top; it's almost natural in an eerie kind of way. Nothing looks like a set. It's as real and tangible as a fabricated environment can get. Emily - I'm definitely in a haunted school house and it's the creepiest place. I can't wait to go back! Donna - This is not an extreme haunt, so it’s more walking through an observing the many remarkable scenes and crazy characters that make up the theme of the children disappearing, and the school house actually being haunted. The running water through the sewer that you had to cross over the bridge made you really feel as if you were in a dank and dirty sewer underground, the catacombs with all the skulls and the vampire bat give you the feeling you are in a true catacomb, and the bubble maze at the end was a real experience, even though we did wind up getting wet |
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What Makes This Haunt Special
Paul - The quality of the haunt, the scares used, and the overall creepy feeling as you walk through. I honestly tend to forget just how nearly perfect the Dent Schoolhouse is until I walk through again.
Teresa - Every single aspect of this haunt is fantastic. It's creative, hand-made, detailed, and pro-level in every way. The scenes, the actors, the lighting and effects, the scares, the surprises, and everything in between is memorable. My favorite scene is so simple, but it is done so well. You're just walking down a dark hallway with human heads carved like jack-o-lanterns hanging from the ceiling to light your way. Everything here just makes my Halloween heart geek out in the best way. Todd - The high level of presentation is unmatched by most haunts. This combined with their easily recognizable characters and overall brand make the The Dent Schoolhouse a premier haunt experience. Emily - Many things, but mainly it's heckin spooky. Donna - This haunt is very special because of the amount of detail that goes into the different scenes, the actors who are some of the best we encountered, the animatronics and the venue of the old school house itself makes this a true world class experience that we are so fortunate to have in our local area. |
What Can Be Worked On
Paul - I guess if I had to pick something- maybe try to darken up the ending portion a bit?
Teresa - There are a few scenes that could use a refresh, and I'd like to see the outside portion be a little more awe-inspiring like the inside and carnival and midway. It feels a little plain. Todd - The outdoor lattice maze feels like a significant downturn to end with. There's not a whole lot going on in there. It's better than the schoolbuses were (at least for a non-touch night), but it feels like that area could be repurposed to match the energy in the rest of the haunt. Emily - It's pretty great how it is. Operations went well, other than a little bit of conga line. It was busy, so that was expected. Donna - Honestly, it’s hard to find anything to be critical about in this haunt. The one thing I did notice was as you exited the haunt the area where the guy was standing with the chainsaw was small and enclosed, and the fumes from the gasoline were so bad. My eyes immediately began to water, and I found it hard to breathe, it also would seem that this would be dangerous having strong gas fumes. If anyone was smoking nearby that would be the only thing I would suggest maybe get some better ventilation in that area with the chainsaw. |
In Summary
Paul - As soon as you set foot on the property you'd better start keeping an eye out for Charlie's wrench or Pumpkin Smasher's mallet. Then once you're inside, you never know where a scare is going to come from. In front of you, behind you, to the side, or even from above. An evening at Dent is one of the best ways I can think of to celebrate the Halloween (or Christmas) season.
Teresa - This is a must-see if you love Halloween, want to be scared, and just want to have an entertaining evening as the days grow short and the nights turn cold. This ticks ALL the boxes. Just go! Every year!
Todd - This is easily the best show Dent has offered in a good 4-5 years, in my opinion. The changes and expansion implemented this year all worked great. It offered what felt like, and likely is, a longer walk time and with the many themes throughout, it never got stale.
Emily - Dent is scary and one of the best haunts in the area. I love it.
Donna - This is indeed, one of the best haunted attractions, not in the tri-state area, but in the nation. There is a reason why repeatedly is selected as one of the top five haunts in the country every year it changes enough to keep you from getting too comfortable, no matter how many times you go through it. This year with the whole new addition on the back of the school house it is even longer and it adds a whole new element with the haunted church and the scary nun. This place definitely has its own vibes apart from the schoolhouse, but it is a fun addition and some of the actors actually startled us and caught us off guard. Whatever it is that the owners are doing every year with their creativity and knowledge of the haunt industry, they need to keep it up because this place just keeps getting better and better every year!
Teresa - This is a must-see if you love Halloween, want to be scared, and just want to have an entertaining evening as the days grow short and the nights turn cold. This ticks ALL the boxes. Just go! Every year!
Todd - This is easily the best show Dent has offered in a good 4-5 years, in my opinion. The changes and expansion implemented this year all worked great. It offered what felt like, and likely is, a longer walk time and with the many themes throughout, it never got stale.
Emily - Dent is scary and one of the best haunts in the area. I love it.
Donna - This is indeed, one of the best haunted attractions, not in the tri-state area, but in the nation. There is a reason why repeatedly is selected as one of the top five haunts in the country every year it changes enough to keep you from getting too comfortable, no matter how many times you go through it. This year with the whole new addition on the back of the school house it is even longer and it adds a whole new element with the haunted church and the scary nun. This place definitely has its own vibes apart from the schoolhouse, but it is a fun addition and some of the actors actually startled us and caught us off guard. Whatever it is that the owners are doing every year with their creativity and knowledge of the haunt industry, they need to keep it up because this place just keeps getting better and better every year!