Brimstone Haunt Review (2026)

Getting to Brimstone Haunt was easy. Located at Renaissance Park, home of the Ohio Renaissance Festival, the property offered free parking in a large, grassy, lit lot. Plenty of flaggers guided vehicles as we arrived. Once inside, navigating the grounds was simple, and each attraction was clearly marked.

Finding pertinent information online before our visit was relatively easy. However, we would like to see their important info section expanded with more details about each attraction.

Overall, the property was well-organized, well-maintained, and the staff members we encountered were helpful and friendly.

During our visit, several roaming actors interacted with guests waiting in line for The Boogeyman, while others wandered throughout the midway. Music also played for those standing in line, adding some extra entertainment between the scares.

Each attraction featured a decorated entrance and facade that gave us a taste of what waited beyond. The Boogeyman set the tone best, with several characters roaming the queue and a boarded-up house emitting some crazy-ass sounds from within. Whatever was happening in there, it certainly didn’t make us want to go inside! We also appreciated the updated decor near the hayride entrance!

The Boogeyman also delivered the strongest overall theme, taking us through different manifestations of a nightmare before eventually landing us in Burlington Asylum. We would have liked to see more characters reinforce the story by warning us about the Boogeyman, hiding from him, or insisting he was real. However, the audio did an amazing job of pulling us into the story!

Being brand-new this season, The Boogeyman was still a work in progress. The open-air construction occasionally made its nightmarish world feel even more surreal, though the attraction is planned to receive a roof next season. Its ADA-accessible hallways and rooms were also very large and sometimes felt sparse. Additional wall detailing and decor, along with better disguising of visible speakers, would go a long way toward filling those spaces and completing the illusion. We cannot wait to see where this attraction goes, especially since they built this from the ground up in a limited amount of time!

The Black Bog had its own distinct identity, taking us through various areas of a town overtaken by the Bog. Where we were was visually clear as the scenes changed, but more dialogue referencing the town, the Bog, or warning us not to trust what lurked within it could strengthen the story even further.

The Hayride and Black Bog kept us immersed well, with very little that noticeably felt out of place. The biggest interruption came during some downtime between scenes. Additional ambient audio could help keep the atmosphere alive during those stretches, and we’d love to see a few more Bogmen lurking in the darkness between encounters on the trail!

Each attraction eventually spat us back out into the central midway, making it easy to spot our next destination and queue up for more scares. The midway itself had more of a fall-fun atmosphere, but don’t get too cozy – you never know where Scratch, Split, Skinner, or their sinister new scarecrow may be lurking!

The Boogeyman had us saying, “Holy sound!” Because this attraction was built from the ground up, they could start with an incredible sound system, and we were thoroughly impressed. The booming bass didn’t just shake the building; it helped tell the story. Now that’s how you use sound! Pairing more of the actors’ reveals with targeted audio could help punctuate their scares even further.

Detailed scenes helped the attraction transition from a residential home consumed by the Boogeyman into an asylum, though some areas still felt unfinished during our visit. One of our favorite effects was the giant Boogeyman animatronic devouring a child. Not only was it a monstrous sight, but it also served as the perfect distraction for a well-timed actor scare!

Inside the Black Bog, we disappeared into the fog! We were thrilled to see more fog utilized where it fit best, helping the murky trail live up to its name. Changes to the audio also added suspense and realism to the journey.

We ventured through an abandoned town, a fractured home, toxic waste, cabins, a bait shop, a hospital, and even across a school bus. Clever prop placement often made it hard to tell what was real and what was fake, and more often than not, our guesses were wrong!

Many scenes featured impressive detail, especially for an outdoor trail. However, areas like the school were harder to recognize, with lockers and classroom items sitting in the open woods. Adding more of a building around them, even a dilapidated shell, would help bring the setting to life.

From a giant gator to multiple animatronics that suddenly sprang to life with supercharged movement, the trail made excellent use of effects throughout. The Black Bog was the Special Effects highlight of our visit!

The Haunted Hayride has some grandiose effects, including fire, vehicle pursuits, a real horse, a drive-in, a roller coaster prop, and many things to look at in a lot of the scenes. The vehicle pursuits are the most effective, as you don’t expect a loud SUV or even a fire truck to come after you, but then again, it is Ohio! You best be moving out of the way! Oh wait… You can’t!

One thing that makes this hayride so effective is the on-board wagon sounds. While at least one track seemed to have a delay in changing and played through multiple scenes, the quality is good, and everyone on the wagon can hear it, and there’s no lull between scenes. It’s an amazing way to build the themes of the scenes as you come up to them!

It was time to face the Boogeyman… In all his many forms! Outside, a suspiciously polite real estate agent tried to sell us an even more suspicious-looking house, assuring us the spiders were gone. Spoiler alert: that was a lie!

Inside, the cast portrayed both aggressors and victims of the nightmares. Some fled toward us in a panic, while others cornered, circled, and chased us. Several characters relied primarily on screaming, which made their roles and intentions harder to decipher. More character-driven dialogue would help bring those portions of the nightmare into sharper focus. 

The strongest characters awaited us inside Burlington Asylum, where the intensity noticeably ramped up. The patients were energetic, convincing, and far more aggressive. The standout was a nightmare-fueled creature perched atop a bed that eventually climbed down and followed us – a creepy reminder that the nightmares within don’t always stay under the bed!

Their looks evolved appropriately as the themes shifted from a residential dwelling and a child’s birthday party to the blood-soaked asylum. We encountered everything from pajamas and black cloaks to downright disturbing silicone masks and blood-covered patients. Some exposed skin appeared a little too clean, but overall, the characters looked like they belonged within their respective nightmares.

Next up, we encountered the Bogmen and plenty of others lurking within the Black Bog!

The drunken guy at the bar was a standout, bluntly telling us, “Try the bar down the street; this one sucks!” We also recommend bringing some candy for the intimidating trick-or-treater we encountered, although we weren’t entirely sure how they fit into the Bog. The schoolgirls aboard the bus nailed us with a great double-tap, but afterward, one resorted to screaming and yelling as loudly as possible until we exited the bus. The initial scare worked well, but the prolonged screaming quickly became more distracting than frightening. 

The Bog had clearly taken hold of some of these characters, and their looks matched their surroundings well. We especially enjoyed the crew in the emergency room, who convincingly went about their gruesome business while munching on eyeballs! The doctor’s microphone was a great touch, and carrying around a blood bag added another layer to her character. The characters in the Bog had the most accessories, and it helped them stand out. And don’t expect to stop for ice cream while wandering through the Bog. Apparently, they’re serving chainsaws instead! Kudos to the vampire that we thought was a prop, too!

By the time we boarded the hayride, the rain was pouring, and the wagon path had become a complete mud pit, but that didn’t slow this cast down one bit! They powered through the downpour as if nothing had happened, relentlessly coming after riders and bringing each scene to life.

Actors attacked the wagon from all sides. Some jumped aboard, climbed along the sides, invaded our personal space, and revved chainsaws beside and between us, while others slid across the wagon. Yes, this hayride had sliders! Several prisoner clowns even brought a prison-yard brawl aboard, battling it out right in the middle of everyone!

The characters matched their respective scenes well, sporting a fitting mix of higher-quality masks and makeup. Some of the hillbillies’ clothing could have used additional distressing, and their exposed skin appeared fairly clean, but the bib-wearing pig certainly looked the part! Shout-out to the vehicle drivers too! You did a great job making us question whether we were going to get run over!

Overall, we noticed many silicone masks throughout the attractions that fit the characters well and added another convincing layer to their looks, along with plenty of colored contacts. Every character we encountered looked like they belonged in their respective scenes, which is an impressive feat considering the variety of characters spread across three full-sized attractions! 

Brimstone’s newest attraction brought on a different style of fear. Relying heavily on anticipation and the feeling that something could be waiting around every corner, this new attraction was terrifying. One of the biggest contributors to that tension was the 12+ subwoofers throughout the attraction, creating deep, pounding bass that we could physically feel as we moved through the attraction. Rather than simply hearing the environment around us, the pounding sounds added another layer to the scares, keeping our senses constantly stimulated. Air blasts from head to toe caught us off guard and worked especially well when we were already focused on something else. We almost found ourselves trapped with the boogeyman himself in the last room, which made it a great finale. We would have loved to see more scares, as in some rooms we felt we were left wondering where the next scare might come from. Also, some of those actors were pure nightmare fuel just to look at! Kudos on those choices!

Once you enter the Bog, don’t assume everything growing from the ground is actually… Growing. The vegetation has a way of blending together, and sometimes what looks like another bush or piece of the landscape might be watching you right back. Hidden among the overgrowth were creatures we’ve come to call “Bush Wookies, Bushmen, or Bogmen” who blended into their surroundings incredibly well and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike.

And apparently, we shouldn’t trust the “decorations” either. At one point, we were completely convinced a black-cloaked creature was nothing more than a mannequin- until it proved us very wrong. That one got all three of us good! Another standout came inside the school bus, where two actors utilized the space and their positioning extremely well, managing to get pretty much our entire group to jump on their perfectly timed double-tap! And yet again, the baitshop duo also nailed us with a good distraction!

There were a few moments when we would have loved to see the interactions spread a little more throughout the group, giving everyone a chance to be part of the scare. We also noticed a few quieter stretches that could be great opportunities for an additional actor, an unexpected animatronic, or another detailed scene to keep our attention. The Bog already does a great job of making you question what around you might suddenly come alive, and adding in more fog this season provided perfect opportunities for more things to hide within it.

The hayride has a wide mix of scares, with something for everyone. And what’s worse than clowns? How about clowns literally sliding into action and starting a fight right in front of you? A lot was going on throughout this ride, and the actors did a great job of keeping us looking in every direction because we really didn’t know where the next scare was coming from.

Probably the most suspenseful moment of the night was when we noticed something big and loud following us from behind. Suddenly, when some large lights came on, we realized we were not far away from the mouth of a spinning combine! Then a truck with its ridiculously loud engine roared behind us, getting extremely close to the wagon. But apparently that wasn’t enough, because they kicked it up another level when a firetruck started chasing us with lights flashing and sirens going off. At that point, we couldn’t help but keep looking behind us just to see how close they were getting! It doesn’t help that we couldn’t see the drivers of the combine or the firetruck… Talk about creepy!

And just when you think sitting on the wagon may have given you a little bit of a safe zone, think again. Actors were jumping right onto the wagon with chainsaws roaring only inches away from us. Having them get that close definitely changes things, especially when you’re basically trapped in your seat with nowhere to go. Between the noise, the actors coming aboard, and everything that was happening around the wagon, we felt the intensity of the ride had increased this season, even in the middle of all the rain!

Something else that really stood out was how the actors worked the entire wagon. They didn’t just attack on one side and move on. They made their way around and made sure everyone got some attention. We honestly can’t think of an actor who missed an opportunity to get somebody in our group. This was a big reason why this hayride stood out as much as it did.

We recommend purchasing tickets online ahead of time to save time at the gate. General admission was $43.79 per person, including fees, on the night of our visit and included unlimited trips through all three haunted attractions. Fast Pass admission was $55.99 plus fees, and single-attraction tickets were available for those who only wanted a taste of the terror.

For guests planning a full night, Brimstone also offers an Unlimited Experience that includes unlimited haunt admission plus all the midway games! It’s also easy to spend time in the midway getting drinks(alcoholic and non), food, and you’ve gotta get the mini donuts & ice cream! Like, it’s not even an option!

We spent approximately 41 minutes inside Brimstone’s three attractions, resulting in 1.05 minutes of haunt time per dollar spent, which is above average. Even better since admission lets you experience the attractions more than once if time permits, making this an amazing deal for those who want to squeeze in every scare they can!

For a full night of fright, visit Brimstone Haunt, where pumpkins lurk in the darkness, fire heats up the night, and the Boogeyman is real… or is he???