Reviews
2007 REVIEWS
THE HAUNTED CAVE: A pair of cemetery plots rest quietly alongside the decent down the steep hill towards the entrance to Lewisburg's Haunted Cave. Buried a hundred feet beneath the ground in an abandoned old limestone mine lies one of the most frightening haunts on the face of the Earth! A Gatekeeper guards the entrance to the intimidating subterranean, while an astounding Mortician politely offers his services just in case some members of your group don't survive the experience! While waiting to enter, an apparent electrical malfunction briefly interrupts power to the lights, until a maintenance technician equipped with a fire extinguisher comes to the rescue! Navigating a wooden bridge-like walkway leads deep into the darkened cavern, where lightning flashes, thunder clasps, and sudden surprises emerge from the surrounding waters. Hidden ghouls reach out and gently touch and grab at you as the intimidating journey forces you to fight your way through brush that's overgrown the walkway. Mystifying fog, and flames highlight a visit to a spooky old graveyard, where coffins deliver more surprises, spooks reach down grasping at you from above, a near collision with a hit and run driver is narrowly avoided, and illuminated jack-o-lanterns light the way. Irate monsters, skeletons and flying ghosts haunt the eerie boneyard, where an undead soul is propelled forward out of an upright casket, and screams bloody murder as she's projected practically directly into your path! Coffins mysteriously open and close on their own, gravediggers loudly slam down their shovels, gunshots ring out from a disgruntled Undertaker, upset that you're trespassing on his hallowed ground, and a victim runs past screaming in agony because his hands have been set on fire!! Caged prisoners desperately plea for help, while a Jailer-like character attempts to bag and capture a member of your group, intending to incarcerate him with the other hostages. Living walls are encountered through a darkened maze that yields to another of the fence-like variety. A crazed loony repeatedly misdirects you into several fog-filled dead ends, until the one and only escape delivers you into the presence of The Devil himself, seated on an elevated throne amid powerful blasts of fire shooting up all around him! The Demon King's voice amplifies and echoes throughout the cave, as The Prince of Darkness happily welcomes you to Hell, and introduces you to four possible paths of escape. One leads to a successful getaway, providing you can locate an obscured route, while others return you back to Lucifer's abode, where the Fallen Archangel wickedly laughs and taunts at your predicament, and leads you into more temptation! Wire mazes, strobes, unnerving sounds, and more fog confuse and disorient the bravest of souls, while intimidating chainsaws, a spinning vortex, and a multitude of surprises overwhelm your emotions, as you desperately seek to uncover that lone beaten path that allows you to escape Satan's abomination, and The Lewisburg Haunted Cave!
Analysis:
LENGTH - 10, 30 minutes, and possibly more depending on the amount of time required to complete the various entrapments.
ACTORS - 9+, Just a tremendous job by the entire cast. Energetically loud screams, and interacting dialogue throughout. Adding the dimension of touch makes the experience that much more realistic. Actually being contacted by some of the characters totally destroys one's already frail sense of stability. Increased aggressiveness in the right spots could raise the score even higher, although they'd have to be careful not to go overboard when nudging someone in order not to offend, or provoke a retaliatory response. Devil is by far the best.
SCARINESS - 9+, Quite an intense atmosphere in a legitimately spooky environment. Bewildering strobes; loud, frightening music, sounds, and screams; agitated creatures, and subtle touching, combine to assault all your senses.
DESIGN - 9½, Lengthy, dark, and genuinely scary, except for one failed attempt at humor (selling body parts for $1.99/lb) that seems to be the downfall of more and more otherwise frightening attractions. Queue line activities are a nice addition. Particularly like the maze that repeatedly results in multiple confrontations with possibly the best climax in the business - that ungodly encounter with Satan The Devil.
PROPS - 9, Cemeteries are magnificent with a nice compliment of animatronics. Use of fire is most effective, and realistically impressive.
VALUE - 9+, A $1 price increase from a year ago, raises the cost of admission to $9 with their website coupon. For that investment, you're treated to
RATING: 9, The Cave has become one of the best, most unique haunted attractions in the State of Ohio! Introduction of some of this year's most impressive technoligocal advances (shock walls, claustrophobia) could possibly solidify Lewisburg's Cave as our HAUNT OF THE YEAR! If you plan on visiting only a handful of haunts this season, or haven't been there in a few years, don't miss The Haunted Cave!
Getting in is easy, getting out may KILL you!
Reviewed 10/13/07
The Haunted Cave At Lewisburg "A Chilling Fright Filled Cave" 80 feet under the ground is a mysterious cave inhabited by ghouls, ghosts and unexplainable horror from beyond the grave. This is The Haunted Cave At Lewisburg, a unique haunting experience you won't see anywhere else. Length-9: It will take nearly 30 minutes to exit the cave depending on how well you navigate through the confusing dark mazes which await you. Design-8: A haunted cave is one of the most unique settings you will come across and it can be quite creepy at times. This year you are on your own at The Haunted Cave At Lewisburg without a tour guide in sight. It's a completely new experience walking the many paths only lit by candle light. Many parts of this year's cave consist of a dimily lit graveyard with characters waiting to jump out at any minute. Some memorable scenes include a meat locker full of dangling body parts, a chain link maze controlled by Satan himself and a hill bill shoot out. While there are some new additions to this years haunt, I would like to see some improvements to the many dark mazes that take up space in the haunted cave. Props/Animatronics-8: You won't find many high end props at The Haunted Cave At Lewisburg, but they use unique effects to their full advantage. You'll encounter shooting flames, splashing water, a loud shot gun fire, raging zombie pets and many homemade props along your way. Most of the props go perfectly with the cave setting. Acting-7: The actors are very enthusiastic at The Haunted Cave at Lewisburg and due to it being a Jaycees haunt many of the actors are children. While some may be frightened by children screaming in the dark it doesn't have a lasting effect on the majority of people. The best acting of the night of course goes to Satan as he taunts people trying to find their way out of his demented maze from Hell. Other stand out characters include the sea creatures who hide in the water waiting to jump out. Many of the actors stay in character, but sometimes rely too much on screaming or the use of chainsaws over actual acting. Scare Effect-9: This year you will be stranded all alone in the deep dark cave without anyone besides the group you came with. It's a dark and chilling experience that can't be replicated anywhere else in Ohio besides at Lewisburg Haunted Cave. The new scenes and rooms are entertaining, but as always the spooky cave is the highlight of the haunt. Fright Value: $10 is around the average price you'll pay for admission to a haunt these days and The Haunted Cave at Lewisburg is worth your hard earned money. It's a unique haunt you just have to experience for yourself. Final Stab-8.2: This year's version of The Haunted Cave At Lewisburg is an entirely different haunt since there is no guide in site. It's dark, creepy and an experience like no other. If you are wanting to visit a different type of haunt this season, make sure to head down to Lewisburg, OH for The Haunted Cave At Lewisburg.
Reviewed 10/6/07
2006 REVIEWS
THE HAUNTED CAVE AT LEWISBURG: A hundred feet beneath the ground, in an abandoned limestone mine lies one of the creepiest haunts around. An old wooden bridge-like walkway leads you deep into the cave where a sudden surprise emerges from the surrounding waters. Coffins, flames, sparks, gunshots, and a loud revving engine, are just some of the unnerving elements that play on your senses during your visit to this underground cavern. One member of the group must participate in a creepy ceremony - placing flowers on an unmarked grave, that terminates with another surprise. The tour guide meets an unexpected fate, leading up to an awesome encounter with The Devil that offers several potential escape routes. One leads to a successful getaway, but others dump you right back into Satan's abode, and he sits there glaring at you, and wickedly laughing at your inability to free yourself from his presence! Wire mazes, fog, and strobes confuse and intimidate the bravest of souls, who must endure a spinning vortex, multiple chainsaws, and a few other surprises that might overrun their emotions while desperately seeking the only way out of The Haunted Cave.
Analysis:
LENGTH - 10, 30 min.
ACTORS - 9, A lot of interaction from a variety of irate, demanding beings. Devil is by far the best.
SCARINESS - 9, A welcome return to spookiness. Could benefit from additional mood setting background music to supplement the attraction, but quite intimidating as it is.
DESIGN - 91⁄2, Genuinely scary. Particularly like the maze that repeatedly brings you back in front of Lucifer himself!
PROPS - 9, Tons of decor, but timing is off on some of the animatronics, possibly due to group size being too large.
VALUE - 9, No price increase for this refreshingly revamped attraction.
Final Score: 9, The most improved haunt of 2006. Make the drive to Lewisburg and experience The Haunted Cave.
reviewed 10/7/06
Haunted Cave At Lewisburg-"Bats Roam The Cave's Walls" 100 feet below the earth's surface lies a cave that's home to over 30,000 bats. Its limestone walls shake from vibration while voices from beyond can be heard. Are you ready to enter into the darkness, which is The Haunted Cave, or will the spirits, which lie within get to you? This year's Haunted Cave At Lewisburg has been drastically redesigned and has made this haunt one of the most unique around. Length-9: It will take anywhere from 20-30 minutes to venture inside the dark and spooky cave. Depending on how long it will take to navigate through many of the haunted mazes, it may take 10-20 minutes extra to escape this menacing. Unfortunately there are some dead spots where little to nothing is going on and after you exit the haunt you're wanting more. Design-8: When you think of a haunt taking place in an underground cave, it's hard to imagine many scenes or rooms that could be implemented, but you'd be sadly mistaken. There are graveyards a plenty while many scenes and rooms take place throughout. There aren't many new standout rooms, but the ones that have been added make a huge impact on your overall experience. This year Lucifer's demented maze has been added into the mix and is a perfect way to finish the haunt. You'll eventually venture into one scene where you're confronted by Satan himself as he tries to intimidate you while you tirelessly try to escape. The only way out of Hell is choosing the right path and there are many. Doors are lined up with letters on them and you have to choose the right one in order to free yourself from the cave. From there you'll walk through a chained fence maze as you come across creepy actors. The new addition really has an impact on this haunt. Other rooms include a psycho circus, pet cemetery, cornfield and much more. There just needs to be more actors implemented into the mazes to fill up dead space. Props/Animatronics-8: The Haunted Cave doesn't go heavy on expensive props or animatronics, but the few that you come across really add to the haunting experience in many of the scenes and rooms. At one point you'll seamlessly walk into a pet cemetery when suddenly various dogs and cats burst out of gravestones. It's effective and creepy. Some other memorable props include a horn blowing truck, a large shooting flame, a ghoul riding a horse, spooky tombstones and so much more. Acting-8: For the most part the acting does well at what it's trying to accomplish and that's bringing you into The Haunted Cave experience. From the start of your journey you'll be guided into different scary areas of the cave by a ghoul with a black robe and lantern as he tells the history of the cave. The acting has been improved this year, but unfortunately child actors are still incorporated into some of the scenes. Some new scenes this year include a hillbilly ho down with the famous shotgun fire that Lewisburg is known for. The biggest addition to this year's lineup of characters is Satan himself. You'll eventually come face to face with Satan in his pit of Hell as his voice is amplified and his minions try to distract you as you navigate through the many doors of the maze. There aren't that many new scenes that have been added this year, but everything has been turned up a notch in intensity. Watch out for the ghouls who hide in the water. Scare Affect-9: The atmosphere of the old cave is just perfect and makes for a really unique experience. The darkness of the cave will really get to you while the various creatures and scenes are likely to catch you off guard. The cave itself is worth the price of admission alone and the frightful experience you'll endure is an added bonus. It’s well worth $9. Make sure to print out the $1 off coupon available on their site.
Final Stab-8.4
If you're wanting a truly unique experience that you can bring the whole family to than the Haunted Cave At Lewisburg is your ticket to fear. Bring the family. Bring your friends. Bring someone with a fear of the dark.
The Haunted Cave at Lewisburg opens with a blood curdling scream!Wednesday, October 04, 2006The 2006 season of the Haunted Cave at Lewisburg opened Friday night with a blood curdling scream!In its 33rd haunting season the Haunted Cave staff has completely recreated the production to take the level of terror to new heights. The cave is 100 feet beneath Lewisburg, Ohio, in a long-abandoned mine, making it Ohio's only underground Halloween attraction. The cave has acres of endless caverns, lakes of bottomless dark water and it is home to over 30,000 bats. The Haunted Cave is Ohio's longest, darkest and creepiest Halloween attraction.The local groups involved in this years scare are the Northmont Science Olympiad team, Northmont Junior ROTC, Boy Scout troop 246, Northmont INTERACT and the civil air patrol cadets from New Lebanon. Many of these groups have been working franticly since June of this year to rethink, redesign and rebuild the haunted cave production to be one of the "best haunts" ever!Traditional favorites can still be found in the attraction; however, the visitors may not find them where they once did.Enhancements this year are like none other. There are longer trails, more startles, and so many terrifying surprises. Jim Witter's, who is the mechanical and electronics specialist, has pulled out all kinds of new tricks this year. His efforts and the efforts of so many others have been creating new scenes, lighting, animatronics, and props that all come together in what will be a very memorable haunting season.Two new major additions, which are a real departure from years past, include "The Cage" and "Satan's Altar." The guests that found their way out of the cave were seen leaving crying, laughing and holding on to each other tightly."Our crowds this weekend were fantastic", commented Mark Schaefer, who just celebrated his 50th birthday. "We had great attendance for opening weekend. The word must be out that this years cave is really something new and special!"If you like to be scared, really scared, the haunted cave staff welcomes you to attend this year's production. Performances will run every Friday and Saturday night from 7 p.m. to midnight, now through October.For more information and directions please go to the web site: www.hauntedcaveatlewisburg.com or call at (937)-962-5602. Discounts can be found on the web site, on local Domino's pizza boxes, and at other local supporting retailers.
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From Jason in Lima, OH "I wrote to you earlier this year about our experiences last year. Well, I would like to say that this year was awesome! The Cave was great to say the least".
