Haunted Houses in 2020

Haunted houses are notorious for the Halloween season. Some teenagers always look forward to Haunted Houses unless you aren’t a fan of scary situations. There are definitely some fan favorite haunted houses that are a tradition for them to go to every year. Since COVID-19 has come along it has taken away some of those Haunted houses. In Ohio, attractions are opening back up taking precautions of course. Haunted houses all throughout Ohio are going to lose tons of money to put towards their funds for the next year. Some companies will struggle more than others if they aren’t opening up for the season. The ones opening back up will be able to contribute the same as always for next season.

The two main haunted Attractions in Licking County are the: Jail of Terror and the Haunted Hoochie. Sadly, only the Haunted Hoochie is. It is understandable why The jail isn’t opening because you're only outside when you're waiting in line but once you go in you're crammed very closely with your group and the Actors/Actresses. Haunted Hoochie is in fact opening back up and has already had many showings which started near the end of September. They didn’t know how many people they would get near the beginning but every weekend they have been packed. Opening back up they knew they would have to take precautions. They advise everyone to wear a mask when getting to the attraction but since it’s outside it is very easy to stay 6 feet apart from other groups. Going in a group is still allowed to happen; it is 10 people per group. They had to make a big change which was that the actors aren't really allowed to touch you as much as they used to. Yes they are still scaring and touching their guests to give them that scare that they have always had there but the low limits aren’t as much as they usually do. Jail of terror was one that was always a big event; it was on the radio most nights it was open. It was definitely something people were scared of mainly because it is supposably already haunted. It just adds that extra bit of fright. When it got close to where they would start getting ready they knew they probably would not be opening for this Halloween season. Sadness occurred for the workers and people who run it due to the fact it was something they would look forward to every year. Not opening up this year is also a good thing for them, meaning they will have more time and a better idea than ever before to scare more people.

There are many other Haunted attractions that are open to the public. One for instance is Nightmare in Nashport. This is a haunted trail which was a good thing for this season because it is an outdoor trail and is easy to stay separate from other groups. Columbus has quite a few Haunted attractions that are still open. The 13th Floor is one in Columbus that has opened back up. They are having a limited amount of tickets they sell. They are doing shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The 13th floor isn’t a big one but it is definitely still making the money the need to put on their show for the next season.

COVID-19 has taken over many peoples business and some of the things people look forward to. All of the business opening back up are hoping to do good in business. I think it is a good thing some are opening back up with precautions because, it is giving something more to do rather than sit around and not really have anything else to do. This is usually the biggest time of the year and to not be able to have any houses or attractions is just the adding on top. We already don’t know if we are having trick or treat, so not a lot of attractions opening and not having trick or treat leaves Halloween season not that interesting. I guess next year IF anything is back to normal they will be able to put on a bigger and better show because they will have more time to think about what their theme is and what they want to do. Even though wearing a mask probably isn’t ideal for walking through a haunted trail. People should understand for them to stay in business they are going to need to take these precautions, so they don’t get shut down by the health department and are able to stay open all through October and the 1st weekend of November. A mask isn’t mandatory at these places, but if someone ends up getting COVID and they were there the whole attraction will shut down and they won’t be able to perform that great of a show next season. If we go I think we should all just try our best to keep anyone in your group or yourself from getting COVID-19.