Can you believe it is OCTOBER? This is my favorite time of year! The leaves are changing color, the temperatures are dropping, everything pumpkin spice is in full swing, and bonfires, pumpkin patches, and s’mores are part of our weekly activities. I LOVE FALL! I also love Halloween. I love it so much that our family hosts the event every year and we go all out. Decorations, great food, and trick-or-treating for the kids in a neighborhood with over 200 houses! BUT before the bewitching hour there are weeks of preparation and fun leading up to the main event and one of my favorites is heading out to local haunted houses.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, I am proud to live in a city that is home to one of the scariest haunted houses in the country, The Dent Schoolhouse! Last week, thanks to a partnership with one of our local favorites, DUNKIN’ DONUTS® and The Dent Schoolhouse®, we were able to visit the site for a sneak peak of this season’s upcoming attractions before this year’s opening.
The night started out with some tasty treats from Dunkin’ Donuts like the sinfully sweet Salted Caramel Coffee, REESE’S® Peanut Butter Squares, Pumpkin Munchkins®, and Pumpkin Muffins. Then we met up with some of the actors recreating Dent’s horrific history … ummm yeah, the “Janitor” kept eyeing me. Finally it was time to tour the Schoolhouse. I can’t even begin to tell you how REAL so many of these elements looked even with the lights ON. I inched up next to a couple of props because I was certain they were living, breathing actors. Haunted houses sure have come a long way since I was in high school! The makeup, the effects, the dead bodies!
Thanks to our special advanced screening, if you will, we were permitted to take pictures. Some were a bit much so I didn’t share them on social media but if you are really curious, you are welcome to see them .
Every visit we’ve made to The Dent Schoolhouse has been frightfully fantastic and from the looks of things, this year is set to keep the tradition alive. We’re excited to head back this weekend to experience Dent in the dark and I can hardly wait.
If you’ll be in Cincinnati this Halloween season, be sure to pencil in a little time for learning and head to The Dent Schoolhouse!
The Story of The Dent School House
CINCINNATI- In 1894 the Dent Public School was open. Teaching all grades kindergarten through 12th grade, the school was seen as the ideal establishment to send the local school children. The school was equipped with the finest teachers, cafeteria workers, and janitorial staff for miles.
The school was very successful and thought highly upon. But in 1942 several students, known for their “disruption in the class room”, mysteriously vanished. They were last seen at the Dent Public School. The Dent police began an investigation and came to the conclusion that they must be runaways. Two years later, 1945, four students went missing in October. Local police were baffled as to what was happening to the students. Rumors started to spread that the local children disappearing had something to do with the school.
School remained as normal but rumors kept coming out about the missing kids. It wasn’t until 1952 when three more students were not seen after school. Students at the public school began to complain about a strange smell that was coming from the basement. When Charlie, the head of janitorial services, was asked about the smell he said it was the pipes clogging up. After a couple weeks the smell subsided, but new rumors spread that Charlie the janitor had something to do about the local kids disappearances.
In October of 1955, more than seven students vanished with out a trace. The local kids complained about a smell that was coming from the basement that was actually causing some children to pass out. Community members of Dent rallied together and stormed up to the Dent Public School. The angry mob bust down the large doors of the school house and proceeded to go into the basement of the school. The local rioters were shocked at the grizzly sight that was strung throughout the janitor’s basement.
The basement was covered with the decaying remains of the missing students. Bodies had been sealed in barrels, wedged behind the brick walls of the basement, and left in sanitary tubs to decay forever. A search for the Janitor went over two weeks, but he was never found. The school was closed shortly after the discovery.
The old school house is now said to be haunted with the roaming spirits of the children that were “taken care of” by the Janitor. Rumors are that the Janitor came back after several years of the school house being closed. His body was never found, but his spirit is still said to clean the old building. The spirit is also said to have “taken care of” local trespassers that try sneak a peak at his home in the basement.
The Dent Schoolhouse’s HOURS vary, click HERE for details.
TICKETS can be purchased at The Dent Schoolhouse or ONLINE. Note: CASH ONLY at The Dent Schoolhouse {there is an ATM on-site}.
For additional details, see below!
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Disclaimer: This post is written in collaboration with Dunkin’ Donuts® and The Dent Schoolhouse®. Regardless, all opinions expressed are still 100% my own.
