How Do We Get These Scores?
Our Rating System
UPDATE FOR 2022: Our former “Atmosphere” and “Theme” categories have now been combined and renamed “Immersion.” Our intent with this is to give more appropriate credit to attractions that have shown a clear focus on achieving and maintaining better customer experiences (both inside and outside the attractions) and developing creative storylines.
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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Final Score: 8.4
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 8.03
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 8.25
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 8.92
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 8.54
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 8.24
(5% of Final Score) Theme: 9.28
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 8.36
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 8.39
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Summary:
Hauntville has been around for quite a while. In fact, it’s been going strong for more than 25 years, and more than 10 years in its current location. You might think they must be doing something right… and you’d be correct!
This longtime haunt consists of five distinct areas in a linear walkthrough, starting with The Unknown (a dark maze) and progressing through CellBlock 13 (take your turn as a prisoner in a sadistic jail with a dangerous asylum wing), The Butcher’s Barn (a little slice of redneck hell), Psycho Manor (a gothic Victorian mansion full of crazies, like The Addams Family on steroids), and Wicked Clowns in 4-D (self-explanatory, we hope).
Cast: 8.03
How Did We Get This Score?
Cast Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of Cast Score) Did it seem like there were enough actors?: 8.16Explanation:
The Unknown: 7.6
CellBlock 13: 7.9
Butcher’s Barn: 8.2
Psycho Manor: 8.5
Wicked Clowns: 8.6
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 8.36Explanation:
The Unknown: 7.9
CellBlock 13: 8.2
Butcher’s Barn: 8.4
Psycho Manor: 8.6
Wicked Clowns: 8.7
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 7.96Explanation:
The Unknown: 6.0
CellBlock 13: 8.3
Butcher’s Barn: 8.4
Psycho Manor: 8.5
Wicked Clowns: 8.6
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 8.08Explanation:
Dialogue for The Unknown includes the excellently mood setting door person.
The Unknown: 7.0
CellBlock 13: 8.2
Butcher’s Barn: 8.3
Psycho Manor: 8.4
Wicked Clowns: 8.5
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 7.22Explanation:The Unknown: 3.6
CellBlock 13: 8.1
Butcher’s Barn: 8.2
Psycho Manor: 8.4
Wicked Clowns: 7.8
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The cast of nearly 40 was spread pretty well throughout each section. Some places had a bit of dead time, including a spot where we seemingly threw back three curtains in short order without much else going on, but even in the dead zones there was usually lots of eye candy to cover understaffing.
We encountered fabulous door people, all of them in costume and thoroughly in character, who greeted us at the entrance for each attraction (in the case of Psycho Manor, in a silently creepy way). They definitely contributed to the atmosphere, mood, and enjoyment.
There was a fair share of screamers and starers, but most of the cast was very interactive and pretty talkative. We were commanded to sit on a thoroughly defiled toilet, invited to squeeze a bag of popcorn, asked to belly up to an occupied coffin to give our respects to the dearly departed, and called forth to push the button that would make a death row inmate ride the lightning.
Special props to Mr. Bubbles, the clown who was greeting/stalking people after exiting Wicked Clowns. He was very personable and quite the chatter!
Final scores for each section–
The Unknown: 7.8
CellBlock 13: 8.28
Butcher’s Barn: 8.54
Psycho Manor: 8.69
Wicked Clowns: 8.69
Costuming: 8.25
How Did We Get This Score?
Costuming Scores (15% of Final Score):
(15% of Costuming Score) How complete / finished did the costumes appear to be?: 8.1Explanation:
The Unknown: 7.5
CellBlock 13: 7.7
Butcher’s Barn: 8.2
Psycho Manor: 8.6
Wicked Clowns: 8.5
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 8.06Explanation:
The Unknown: 7.5
CellBlock 13: 7.4
Butcher’s Barn: 8.2
Psycho Manor: 8.7
Wicked Clowns: 8.5
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 7.96Explanation:
The Unknown: 7.0
CellBlock 13: 7.6
Butcher’s Barn: 7.8
Psycho Manor: 8.8
Wicked Clowns: 8.6
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: 7.98Explanation:
The Unknown: 7.0
CellBlock 13: 7.5
Butcher’s Barn: 7.9
Psycho Manor: 8.7
Wicked Clowns: 8.8
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 8.92Explanation:The Unknown: 8.0
CellBlock 13: 8.8
Butcher’s Barn: 9.0
Psycho Manor: 9.3
Wicked Clowns: 9.5
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The costuming appeared rudimentary in the prison and barn. The makeup in these areas consisted mostly of bloody smears and smudges with simple applications, and some basic masks, with prisoner or redneck clothing’and a butcher’s outfit for the proprietor of Sal’s, a butcher shop selling some, shall we say, questionably sourced cuts of meat.
For denizens of Psycho Manor, the costuming and makeup became much more intricate and theatrical, starting with the door person and first room greeter, who sported detailed costuming and makeup jobs. We also reeled from a disturbing porcelain doll mask. This upward trend continued through Wicked Clowns, where each clown had a very individualized paint job or well worn mask.
And again, we must call out the engaging, brightly attired, and fang-y clown who closed out the show on the way out after an encounter with his fellow ‘Mr.’ clown, Mr. Tickles (see photos for a pic of Mr. Bubbles).
The Unknown: 7.45
CellBlock 13: 7.85
Butcher’s Barn: 8.28
Psycho Manor: 8.86
Wicked Clowns: 8.82
Customer Service: 8.92
How Did We Get This Score?
Customer Service Scores (10% of Final Score):
(25% of CS Score) How easy was it to locate the attraction, park, and navigate the premises?: 9Explanation:
All sections scored a 9.
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 8.64Explanation:
All sections scored a 8.8 except for The Unknown, which scored 8.0 for darkness and some floor modifications.
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 8.8Explanation:
Score for the entire attraction.
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 9.4Explanation:
Score for the entire attraction.
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Hauntville is located in Elyria, a city just west of Cleveland, in a retail strip very close to a popular mall. That made for plentiful and brightly lit free parking in a real parking lot.
There were no concessions, but here’s an advantage to the retail-heavy locale: drive a block in pretty much any direction and you’ll find a handful or more of restaurants. No going hungry here!
The ticket office also was selling a nice t-shirt with the rather cool Hauntville logo, featuring a sinister green skull. The Hauntville website is a good one, and they maintain a healthy social media presence on more channels than usual.
Once we hit the ticket office, the path through the haunt was quite obvious, helped by the fact that the attractions are attended one after the other in succession. Aside from some designed floor trickery in The Unknown, footing was for the most part level and secure.
Score was 8.97 for all except The Unknown, which scored 8.73.
Atmosphere: 8.54
How Did We Get This Score?
Atmosphere Scores (10% of Final Score):
(60% of Atmosphere Score) How obvious was it that you were at a haunted house before entering?: 8.5Explanation:
The Unknown: 7.6
CellBlock 13: 8.5
Butcher’s Barn: 8.8
Psycho Manor: 8.8
Wicked Clowns: 8.8
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 8.6Explanation:
The Unknown: 8.2
CellBlock 13: 8.4
Butcher’s Barn: 8.8
Psycho Manor: 8.8
Wicked Clowns: 8.8
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Strip mall haunts usually have an uphill battle in the atmosphere department due to the banal location. Hauntville was no different. Outside there was a spotlight, banners, an inflatable ghost on the roof, and a car (Hauntville’s Haunt deVille?) in the lot with neat miniature figures from TV, movies, and comics covering the roof.
Developing a great deal of haunt-mosphere is difficult at best in such a setting… and we’re happy to report that that direction took a 180 as soon as we opened the door and went inside. The generic exterior environment melted away. Inside was a feast for the senses. A bank of coffins flanked our left, across from the ticket booth. Further in, a marvelous display of more miniatures like the ones on top of the car awaited.
The entire interior was bathed in fog and lights, and stuffed with photo ops, props, and monitors playing disturbing videos. We also have to note the fa������ade and entry queue of each attraction. They were all decked out, thematically right on point, and really led to a sense of anticipation as we entered each section.
Discounting the bland flavor on the way in from parking, Hauntville had lots of atmosphere to burn all over the inside.
Special Effects: 8.24
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 8.36Explanation:
The Unknown: 9.0
CellBlock 13: 7.8
Butcher’s Barn: 8.4
Psycho Manor: 8.2
Wicked Clowns: 8.4
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 8.06Explanation:
The Unknown: 6.0
CellBlock 13: 8.5
Butcher’s Barn: 8.4
Psycho Manor: 8.8
Wicked Clowns: 8.6
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 7.76Explanation:
The Unknown: 5.0
CellBlock 13: 7.8
Butcher’s Barn: 8.7
Psycho Manor: 8.8
Wicked Clowns: 8.5
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 8.46Explanation:
The Unknown: 8.0
CellBlock 13: 8.3
Butcher’s Barn: 8.5
Psycho Manor: 8.8
Wicked Clowns: 8.7
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 8.6Explanation:The Unknown: 9.0
CellBlock 13: 8.2
Butcher’s Barn: 8.5
Psycho Manor: 8.6
Wicked Clowns: 8.7
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Hauntville had a great handle on its effects.
There were lots of them, and even the old hat ones were spiced up with a twist. For example, ho-hum it’s a squeeze tunnel… but wait, this one was illuminated so that it gave off a ghostly glow while going through it, and it was even strobed! Laser swamps are everywhere these days, but they enhanced the experience with sound and an unexpected attack. Instead of a regular drop window, there was one where its curtain was blown up and out by compressed air, adding a dynamic flair.
Plenty of other attractions could take some lessons in fog management from Hauntville. It was impressive everywhere we saw it, which was in a lot of places, including in the entrance/lobby and in a giant room where it was not possible to see or feel the walls. It created a quite disorienting agoraphobic effect after the constricting chambers and halls that came before.
Except for The Unknown (being a dark maze), the whole place was loaded with awesome stuff to look at: props, animatronics, a few great actormatronics, and highly detailed sets… especially once we reached The Butcher’s Barn and the sections after it.
Some of our favorite sets included a mad scientist’s lab complete with a tiny head in a tank; a dining table set with all manner of disgusting dishes, such as a bowl of realistic eyeballs; and a roomful of gruesomely grinning clown figures. Those who find themselves strolling through haunts as slowly as possible to view all the details should add Hauntville to their visit list.
There were two variations on mechanical hellevators, each remarkably powered by hand. We were moved around in a spinning chamber in the clown house and pushed along in an outhouse on rails in the barn!
In The Unknown, ceiling tiles from the former retail establishment were visible in some spots, briefly breaking the belief spell, but in general the effects carried the day (er, night) as Hauntvile brought out a great variety of tricks to frighten in the darkness, such as vibrations, floors, noises, sudden light bursts, and blasts of air.
Wicked Clowns was an excellent example of the 3D sections that came into popularity some years ago, and it has retained much of what was great about the best of them. It started even before the attraction proper, with the queue area containing art on the walls and skulls on the roped posts that were treated with the paint to interact with the provided 3D specs. Keeping with the carnival atmosphere, there were some tricky-fun sections in here, including a shrinking room!
The soundtrack and audio effects throughout were of high quality and definitely enhanced the experience, especially in The Unknown. We did experience more sound bleed than in most attractions, especially one particular blast that could seemingly be heard from all over the place, but more often than not this did not adversely affect the visit.
The Unknown: 7.35
CellBlock 13: 8.13
Butcher’s Barn: 8.5
Psycho Manor: 8.65
Wicked Clowns: 8.58
Theme: 9.28
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?: 9.38Explanation:
The Unknown: 9.2
CellBlock 13: 9.3
Butcher’s Barn: 9.5
Psycho Manor: 9.4
Wicked Clowns: 9.5
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?: 9.34Explanation:
The Unknown: 9.0
CellBlock 13: 9.2
Butcher’s Barn: 9.6
Psycho Manor: 9.5
Wicked Clowns: 9.4
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?: 9Explanation:
The Unknown: 9.0
CellBlock 13: 9.0
Butcher’s Barn: 9.0
Psycho Manor: 9.0
Wicked Clowns: 9.0
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The overall theme, mainly elucidated on their website, was that of Hauntville: a small town in the middle of nowhere, forgotten by time and the normal world, with many dark secrets to investigate. Each section represents a different part of the town.
Each of the five sections stuck solidly to their theme in the sets, cast, and costumes: an adventurous exploration of the dark, a prison, butchery in a barn, a gothic mansion, and a circus at the Hauntville fairgrounds.
From the warden’s office to the prison showers, chicken coops to a giant boar’s head, dining room to a creepy girl’s bedroom, and carnival turnstile to a clown hall of fame, everything was thematically precise in each section… except for some kind of a swampy area in Wicked Clowns? Well, it was a carnival or circus, so anything goes, we suppose.
The Unknown: 9.06
CellBlock 13: 9.19
Butcher’s Barn: 9.45
Psycho Manor: 9.37
Wicked Clowns: 9.35
Scare Factor: 8.36
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 8.3Explanation:
The Unknown: 8.2
CellBlock 13: 7.8
Butcher’s Barn: 8.4
Psycho Manor: 8.5
Wicked Clowns: 8.6
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 8.38Explanation:
The Unknown: 8.4
CellBlock 13: 8.3
Butcher’s Barn: 8.3
Psycho Manor: 8.4
Wicked Clowns: 8.5
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 8.38Explanation:
The Unknown: 8.5
CellBlock 13: 8.0
Butcher’s Barn: 8.4
Psycho Manor: 8.5
Wicked Clowns: 8.5
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 8.52Explanation:
The Unknown: 8.5
CellBlock 13: 8.3
Butcher’s Barn: 8.5
Psycho Manor: 8.6
Wicked Clowns: 8.7
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 8.28Explanation:
The Unknown: 7.6
CellBlock 13: 8.4
Butcher’s Barn: 8.3
Psycho Manor: 8.3
Wicked Clowns: 8.8
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A broad spectrum of scare methods was employed with success: cast, effects, cast and effects working together, animatronics flying in from all angles, including from above. We jumped numerous times and were skeeved out in several instances.
The sets contained many icky details to heighten the mood, like the tank head mentioned in Special Effects, and an unfortunate soul whose flayed skin was tacked to the barn walls just like those of the other animals.
A creepy theme throughout was figures posed on rocking chairs, or rocking in chairs, or in wheelchairs.
Some nicely done finales caught us by surprise. There was an original one for each section. When we say original, we mean no chainsaws (that’s not to say you won’t be encountering them elsewhere inside, hahaha!).
The Unknown: 8.26
CellBlock 13: 8.09
Butcher’s Barn: 8.39
Psycho Manor: 8.47
Wicked Clowns: 8.61
Entertainment & Value: 8.39
How Did We Get This Score?
Entertainment & Value Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment received during the main attraction/s?: 8.42Explanation:
The Unknown: 7.8
CellBlock 13: 8.2
Butcher’s Barn: 8.6
Psycho Manor: 8.7
Wicked Clowns: 8.8
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 7.9Explanation:
The Unknown: 7.9
CellBlock 13: 7.9
Butcher’s Barn: 7.9
Psycho Manor: 7.9
Wicked Clowns: 7.9
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 8.7Explanation:
The Unknown: 8.7
CellBlock 13: 8.7
Butcher’s Barn: 8.7
Psycho Manor: 8.7
Wicked Clowns: 8.7
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 8.5Explanation:The Unknown: 8.6
CellBlock 13: 8.4
Butcher’s Barn: 8.6
Psycho Manor: 8.5
Wicked Clowns: 8.4
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It took 33 minutes to move through all five attractions (5 minutes for The Unknown, 8 minutes for CellBlock 13, 6 minutes for The Butcher’s Barn, 6 minutes for Psycho Manor, 8 minutes for Wicked Clowns) in this 40,000 square foot attraction, exclusive of any time spent in the entertaining queue areas.
General admission is $25, which makes an MPD (minutes of entertainment per dollar spent) of 1.32. That’s not too bad, and pretty good for the amount of entertainment value that can be enjoyed inside.
A VIP (front of line) ticket is $35. Coupons for $5 off admission on Thursdays or Sundays are available on the website and at some area retailers. Group rates are available. Those with military ID can get in for free on Thursdays and Sundays. Sunday, October 27th is a blackout event, and Hauntville is open through Saturday, November 2.
If you’re looking for a fun, reasonably priced haunt at a location very close to Cleveland, we heartily recommend a visit to Hauntville!
The Unknown: 8.22
CellBlock 13: 8.31
Butcher’s Barn: 8.46
Psycho Manor: 8.47
Wicked Clowns: 8.49
How Did We Get These Scores
Our Rating System
Each of the category scores in this review are calculated using a weighted average of several questions that we rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
The following breakdown explains what these scores typically mean. All of our Teams use this as a reference for providing accurate ratings:
10: “Peak Performance”This score is treated as if it has a chastity belt on it. “10’s” are reserved for the best of the best; those that we feel could not possibly improve on what they’re doing.
9: “Innovative and Groundbreaking”It rocked! Nearly everything seemed to go as planned and it was one of the best we’ve ever seen! These guys are leaders in the industry, and attractions like this are truly hard to come by.
8: “Solid”A high score on our scale. They had a good handle on it and, overall, they knew how to use it well. Most attractions can learn from what these guys are doing.
6 to 7: “Good”We could tell that a good effort was made. However, we’ve seen this done much better at other places, or can detect areas where significant improvements can be made. This is about the top end of what we’d call “Family Friendly.”
5: “Average / Fair”Compared to the competition, they weren’t the best, but definitely not the worst. Scares and Special Effects in this range are usually considered “Family Friendly.”
3 to 4: “Below Average”We could see that a clear attempt was made, but most other professional attractions are doing a much better job at this.
1 to 2: “Poor”It appeared that very little time, thought or effort was contributed to this aspect.
0 (Zero): “Non-Existent”No apparent effort was made to make this a significant contributor to the attraction.
Afterword:This rating system is standardized across all of The Scare Factor’s official haunt review teams. However, keep in mind there will always be minor differences between Teams, as we all have varying levels of experience. Regardless, we do our best to remain true to our core values, which is to promote all haunted attractions!Perhaps the biggest thing to remember is: sometimes the score – in and of itself – doesn’t tell the whole story about an attraction’s merits. This is why we provide detailed explanations for each category… to help you better understand how and why we chose the score/s that we did.We do our best to not let feelings or emotions rule our judgement, while also viewing the attraction through the lens of the typical haunt-goer. But, because all reviews with ratings are inherently subjective, this is nearly impossible to completely prevent. Though, when in doubt, we tend to give slightly lower scores than our original “gut feelings” to account for this, and also give the attraction more room to improve over time.We also do our best to be fair and consistent across all of the haunts that we review. We know that you’ll be looking at these scores and comparing them to other attractions, so we hope this review helps you out in that aspect.Do you have some feedback about our review system? Contact Us Here to let us know what you think!
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