✓-Paid Parking✓-Restrooms/Porta Potties On-Site✓-Food/Concessions✓-Gift Shop/Souvenirs✓-Special Events✓-You may be touched✓-You will NOT be touched✓-Original Characters✓-Uncovered Outdoor Waiting Line✓-Indoor/Outdoor Attraction
This attraction was reviewed on October 12, 2018 by .
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: 8.38
How Did We Get This Score?
Final Scores:
(15% of Final Score) Cast: 8.51
(15% of Final Score) Costuming: 7.88
(10% of Final Score) Customer Service: 9.18
(10% of Final Score) Atmosphere: 10
(15% of Final Score) Special Effects: 7.86
(5% of Final Score) Theme: 6.45
(15% of Final Score) Scare Factor: 7.86
(5% of Final Score) Entertainment & Value: 8.81
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Summary:
The Haunted Hydro is celebrating their very impressive 29th season this year with three new haunt themes as well as three all-new escape rooms. It is situated in the farm country of Fremont, Ohio inside of an old hydroelectric dam. You enter the haunt through a small shack right next to the ticket booth, where a clown shows you their extremely impressive beanie baby collection and explains the rules of the haunt to your group before letting you out into the midway. A professional photographer asks if you want your picture taken against a hand-painted mural, and later in the week you can find that picture on their Facebook page, tag yourself and share. Mysteriously, there is also a little pickle painted on this mural. We did not question the pickle, we just admired it.
Cast: 8.51
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
(30% of Cast Score) How creative, believable and convincing were the actors?: 8.5
(20% of Cast Score) How interactive were the actors (verbally and physically)?: 8.5
(15% of Cast Score) How creatively & appropriately did they use dialogue?: 9
(15% of Cast Score) Was there a good variety of characters?: 8.75
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Despite the fact that it was raining and cold that evening, there were a good number of actors in the haunt. There did seem to be a few missing in the woods, most noticeably in their trampoline scene, which was very wet that day. But the actors they did have were interactive and witty. We were especially big fans of a clown we assume is called ‘Boops,’ as he held out his finger to boop our noses with. Touching is a no-no at The Haunted Hydro, but we let Boops know it was ok to give us a boop, and he did and it was delightful.
The main building of the Hydro was separated into two themes this year: The Asylum and the Haunted Carnival. Crazy Bob himself greeted us at the entrance and introduced us to the Hydro’s esteemed new friend, an actual human skeleton that rested in a coffin. We want to emphasize that the remains of this person were held in great reverence, respectfully displayed and ethically obtained.
The level of enthusiasm inside the Hydro’s Asylum was off the charts. There was a great range of characters, including a child doctor, an evil nun and a crazy cafeteria worker in the process of making the mystery meat. The wide spectrum of character types allowed for some pretty unique dialogue as well, and the actors are not afraid to get creative. There was a good number of actors on the inside of the Hydro, sometimes two in a room, who played well off of one another and also with us.
The Haunted Carnival led us back into the night, and while there weren’t a ton of actors out there, they were extremely active and followed us to multiple scare spots. Some were silent and menacing, while others were very talkative and needy for our attention and body parts. Creep was especially cool as a crawling clown. We always appreciate when female clowns aren’t afraid to step away from the ‘cute clown’ aesthetic.
Costuming: 7.88
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
(25% of Costuming Score) How creative / detailed were the costumes?: 8
(20% of Costuming Score) Was their makeup creative? Detailed? Realistic?: 7.5
(15% of Costuming Score) How effectively did they use masks (if used)?: N/A
(25% of Costuming Score) How appropriate were the costumes for their scene/s & theme/s?: 8
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The Hydro does a great job at clothing their characters in original costumes. We didn’t suspect that any of them were Halloween Store costumes. Even in the outdoor portions of the haunt, the cold weather clothes the actors had fit seamlessly with the rest of their attire. They are not big on masks at the Hydro, and we didn’t notice any of those on our visit either. The makeups are of high quality and had held up well in the rain at the time that we visited.
Customer Service: 9.18
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?: 8.5
(30% of CS Score) How safe was the attraction?: 8.5
(25% of CS Score) How professional, helpful and friendly were the staff members?: 10
(20% of CS Score) How easy was it to find their information before* arrival?: 10
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While we didn’t hear any radio ads or see billboards on our way, we know that The Haunted Hydro is well connected to their community. They have a huge number of local sponsors, and tickets are available for purchase at various locations in town to give patrons the opportunity to skip the ticket line when they arrive at the haunt. The ticket booth staff is very friendly, and there are several Hydro-employed security folks stationed in the courtyard.
The queue lines are all outdoor but have large tents over them to shelter guests from the wind and rain.
Atmosphere: 10
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?: 10
(40% of Atmosphere Score) How well did the atmosphere prepare you for what you experienced inside?: 10
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The Hydro itself is a massive building, which is lit with multicolored spotlights. A haunt branded hearse sits up by the road and a massive spider crawls over the midway entrance. Paired with the fact that The Haunted Hydro has had the good fortune to be located in the same place for its whole life, it’s hard to miss.
The food truck, souvenir shop and museum were all decorated in rope lights and had a pleasant, Halloween-y atmosphere which kept you in a haunted house mindset as you traveled between activities at the haunt. The addition of a live DJ, complete with fog and light show, keeps the energy up as you wait in line to enter the attractions.
Special Effects: 7.86
How Did We Get This Score?
Special Effects Scores (15% of Final Score):
(20% of SFX Score) How effective were the sound effects?: 7.75
(20% of SFX Score) How creative / original were the scenes & props?: 8.5
(20% of SFX Score) How well were the scenes detailed?: 7
(25% of SFX Score) How well did they achieve & maintain the suspension of disbelief?: 7.75
(15% of SFX Score) How effective were the SFX at providing scares / entertainment?: 8.5
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The Hydro tends to favor ambient noise over manufactured sound effects, however, the haunt wasn’t completely devoid of a soundtrack, they were just used very sparingly. Their scenes are well decorated, but some could use just a bit more detail. They are very much an actor-driven, old-school style haunt and aside from a few very large props, they don’t have much use for animatronics.
Theme: 6.45
How Did We Get This Score?
Theme Scores (5% of Final Score):
(30% of Theme Score) Could you tell what the theme was?: 6
(50% of Theme Score) How well was the theme carried throughout the attraction/s?: 6.5
(20% of Theme Score) How well does their location authenticate the theme?: 7
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The Hydro’s main attraction has been re-themed for the 2018 season and has been split into two separate themes: The Asylum and The Haunted Carnival. The 13 Ghosts of the Hydro are running wild throughout the asylum, threatening to make you a patient in their home.
The Haunted Carnival is situated on the grounds of the asylum as a form of entertainment for the patients, and some of them may have disguised themselves as clowns to escape the Asylum’s horrors to pass the terror on to unsuspecting patrons.
Vanna Fright’s W.O.O.D.S. (Warning Only Outcome is Danger and Screams) is a bit more loosely themed, with a sort of ‘Fear Factor’ theme to it. It is presented as a game show, where your life is on the line and the prize for winning is being allowed to leave’with all of your insides. We didn’t really get a game show feel from it though, so this theme was a little lost to us.
Scare Factor: 7.86
How Did We Get This Score?
Scare Factor Scores (15% of Final Score):
(30% of Scare Factor Score) How scary was it?: 8
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide scares to the entire group?: 8.25
(25% of Scare Factor Score) How predictable were the scares?: 7
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How well did they provide a wide variety of scares?: 8
(15% of Scare Factor Score) How strong was the ending / finale?: 8.5
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The Haunted Hydro places its emphasis on ‘hauntertainment’ which, in their case, is a delightfully campy blend of horror and dark comedy. Their actors are well trained and most are not content on just scaring and sooting. They want to have a moment with you and get inside your head. They do make an effort to scare each member of the group, but for seasoned haunt-goers, some of their hiding spots may be a bit predictable.
The finales this year were of the tried and true chainsaw variety, but the one set up at the end of the Haunted Carnival was a bit stronger, as it had a one-two punch from out of left field that left Katie high-tailing it out of the attraction!
Entertainment & Value: 8.81
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?: 9
(25% of E&V Score) How satisfied were you with the entertainment that’s available with* the ticket price, excluding the main attraction/s?: 9
(30% of E&V Score) How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s?: 9
(15% of E&V Score) Have they effectively used their available space?: 7.75
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We took our time wandering the Hydro’s haunted attractions and spent a total of about 45 minutes in all three. At a ticket price of $20, that puts your minutes per dollar value at just a bit over two minutes per dollar spent which is among the highest we’ve seen.
There are a number of ticketing options available, as well as group rates available for groups of 10 or more. Three all-new escape rooms are prepared for an additional charge, with the possibility of winning free prizes if you escape in time.
There is a tremendous amount of extra stuff to do in the Haunted Hydro courtyard as well. There was a live DJ in the courtyard as well as multiple photo ops and a free museum chronicling the Hydro’s impressive history. Inside the museum is a gallery wall of photos taken at the Hydro, where you can vote on your favorites.
With so much to see and do, it would be easy to make a whole evening out of a trip to the Haunted Hydro.
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!
