Final Scores – By Category:

Cast (20% of Final Score): 6.85

Costuming (10% of Final Score): 6.65

Customer Service (10% of Final Score): 8.1

Immersion (10% of Final Score): 7

Special Effects (15% of Final Score): 5.75

Scare Factor (20% of Final Score): 6.88

Entertainment & Value (15% of Final Score): 7

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Final Scores – By Attraction:

Attraction 1: 6.83

Fear at the Fairgrounds Haunted Barn in Wellston, Ohio, has been a fundraising endeavor for the local FFA and 4H groups for the past 13 years. This all-volunteer haunted attraction uses profits to make improvements to the fairgrounds and for the FFA and 4H programs in the community. The walls are constructed in the barn (as the name implies) and covered with black plastic. Families then claim an area to decorate and act on the nights they are open to guests. Recently, some profits have been used to update the haunt with some special effects, props, and such. Actors here are a mixed group of children, teens, and adults.

This haunt has no website, but they have a Facebook and Instagram account. They are also a cash-only haunt, so be sure to bring cash with you.

We met several young child actors and a few adult-size actors on our walk-through. Most acting consisted of high-pitched screams, being told to get out, or asking, “What are you doing here?” Other masked actors would pop out of nowhere or simply take a stance and wait for us in full view as if to dare us to continue. We didn’t hear a lot of speaking or inventive speech; character lines were very basic, ie: “Boo,” ”What are you doing here?” and “Get out.” We did hear an actor devise a creepy guttural laugh at us, and there were a few clowns that could give us a loud and excited laugh.

The most lively characters provided us with the finale. They laughed in our faces and had us jumping and skipping out of there! We also met a tall masked character in a white tank undershirt who effectively hit on something metal with a prop to create a loud and jolting bang.
Aside from the clowns laughing like clowns, other character behaviors were similar and not specific to the mask they were wearing. There were a variety of masks and some makeup: werewolf, vampire, burlap face, nun, pig people, white face, skeleton, gas mask, and neon purge masks.
Although advertised as a no-touch haunt, we were touched on the head, back of the neck, and legs. Touching is not advertised as part of the haunt and is open to families of all ages.

Many characters had handheld props. Darkening around the eyes with black makeup would help hide the eyes behind the mask, thus making the character seem more real. Some masks were tucked in, but we saw some that were not. It was dark in the haunt, but we did see some basic painted faces. The masks were in differing qualities, and most seemed to fit fine, aside from the ones with a neck or slit in the back. Bright red streaks from makeup treatments were applied to some characters to mimic injury. The costumes themselves were varied as well. Some rooms had clearly designed costumes, while others took a more general approach to costuming. For example, some clowns wore actual clown costumes, but some actors wore clown masks and street clothes. The costumes we did see appeared complete and helped us decide what kind of character they were. The nun wore darkened makeup, similar to the movie The Nun, and wore a full-length nun costume, including a habit. Many clowns showed up in full clown garb from head to toe.

For the most part, rooms relied on costuming and minimal props to tell the theme. Characters seemed to fit well with the room they were stationed in, given the minimalist approach to many of the rooms. We were a little confused with the room containing an electric chair, autopsy/medical specimen jars, and a gas mask-wearing actor behaving as though they were choking or infected in some way.

While at the ticketing line, we saw four separate actors walk along the line of customers for play. All wore masks, and costuming seemed appropriate, with some blood and holes. Queue actors wore gloves to cover their hands.

We knew the haunt was at the fairgrounds and had ample free parking. There was no staff available to direct us, so we parked ourselves in the dark parking lot. There was one unlit sign indicating parking. They provided a tractor-pulled wagon ride to take customers to the haunt’s entrance. We did not see the wagon and did not wait for the wagon, so we wandered the property looking for the barn. Someone directing people where to park and telling visitors to wait for the wagon would be nice, and decorating the wagon could help alert people to use the wagon.

From a distance, the barn was dark, with minimal string lighting inside. We struggled to find the entrance to the actual haunt as it was off to the side of the barn. Once we got inside the barn to the entrance and ticketing area, we could find the queue easily.

Aside from the costumed staff, we were unsure who the staff were. We did see one police officer at the ticket booth.

All information has to come from their Facebook page, as there is no working website. There is no option to buy tickets online, and this is a cash-only establishment at the gate.

The staff seemed very friendly and accommodating. They answered questions and directed people where to go within the haunt. They were professional with each other as well as the customers.
The bathrooms were challenging to locate in the dark, so we had to ask where they were.

There were 2x4s noted between some scenes that could cause a tripping issue. An easy remedy might be putting wedges on each side of the boards to make a little “ramp” to help minimize tripping hazards. While the actors were shaking the handrail as we exited, the bus was intended to be scary, and handrails were fastened tightly to prevent falling hazards.

We saw some homemade snacks available for purchase.

In the queue area, we were met by several actors. Heavy metal music was playing in the queue area. There was minimal lighting consisting of rope lighting and patio string lights. Early at the entrance, we noticed a shadow effect of a spider in a web.

Inside the haunt, we were met by many actors, big and small. The walls consisted of black plastic with cobwebs, picture frames, and different props to decorate. The cornstalks, fencing, dangling chains, and wooden shack helped fill some of the rooms and gave us something different to look at. We were pleasantly surprised by some of the bigger special effects!

The same music playing in the queue line could be heard throughout the haunt.

There was no storyline here; the 4H and FFA members volunteered to take charge of each room separately, so there is no shared story to build on.

The exit to the haunt directed us back to the entrance, where wagons loaded and unloaded guests.

For an entirely charitable haunt, the Haunted Barn was quite impressive. Significant effects included a simulated car crash complete with a blaring horn and blinding headlights, walking through a full-sized school bus, a full-length compression tunnel, a jolting electric chair, sparking tools, a laser swamp, a darkened revolving door with a dropdown panel. They had us walking on a squishy mattress at one point. They also had a narrow laser pointer tunnel and another tunnel with a ceiling effect, causing us to stoop down to get through. There were plenty of strobe lights and black light effects. Sounds were completely reliant on the same music from the queue area throughout. We also noticed the use of fog in some places.

This haunt is actor-driven with a few animatronics. They used pop scares and jump scares a lot. Most actors popped out from behind curtains, and there was one drop-down panel. We were a group of three, so most of the pop scares affected all of us. They did appear to come from the front mostly, and the people in the back were sometimes followed. The actors would come to each individual when we were stopped in a room.

The following phobias were used: clowns, spiders, chainsaws, claustrophobia, and fear of darkness. A shrinking tunnel was a nice touch, and the compression tunnel was well-made. The interactive electric chair was an effective prop to shake customers up. The sparking tool provided a loud noise and a lot of sparks. The crash simulation was well executed and scared all three of us. We didn’t see that coming!

The finale consisted of us being trapped in a room full of clowns, jumping up and down with the floor shaking and chainsaws coming after us. This finale was a refreshing take on the classic “chased by a chainsaw” finale.

Our time walking through the haunt was 10 minutes. This is a charity/fundraising haunt that is growing and adding to their arsenal year by year. As they grow and gain experience, we look forward to what they will be doing in the future. We had a pleasurable experience here and were entertained as we played along with the actors and engaged with their props and special effects. There is a photo station at the end of the haunt, and guests are treated to a wagon ride to make the walk between parking and the haunt easier. While $15 is somewhat pricey for this length of haunt, all the money goes to a great cause that benefits many in the community. As mentioned earlier, this is an up-and-coming haunt that is adding to their haunt and will no doubt continue to improve over time.