CINCINNATI — Tri-State native Alex Dickey lives a double life. During the day, he works as a purchasing manager for a local restaurant, but when the sun goes down, he transforms into a monster.
From mid-September to late October, Dickey works as a scare actor at The Dent Schoolhouse.
The legendary haunt attraction has consumed most of his free time during the spooky season for the past five years, but Dickey said he wouldn't have it any other way.
“I’ve always loved Halloween," Dickey said. "I’ve always had a passion for decorating and going out and scaring."
The Dent Schoolhouse is one of the top Halloween Haunts in the country. It's inside an old schoolhouse that was built in the 1800s and shut down in 1950.
The Tri-State has dozens of Halloween-themed attractions, but Dickey said Dent's history is what draws him and many of the other actors to come back year after year.
“It is just something about a potentially true story and the whole thing based on it just gives you chills,” he said. “The backstory I think is one that really draws a lot of us in. We believe it to be true."
According to an urban legend, a murderous school janitor along with many of his victims haunt the grounds.
"It is tough to prove," Dickey said. "When you are in the building and you hear things and see things it is kind of tough to say otherwise.”
Dickey said that he's experienced some of the haunting firsthand.
"I’ve seen something get thrown," he said. “I was getting ready for the night in one of the original parts of the house. I just saw this thing fly off a counter and hit the floor. I am a good five feet away from it. I know I didn’t hit it.”
According to Dickey, that item was a toilet brush, which he said really freaked him out considering the rumors of an evil janitor's spirit lurking in the dark halls.
"I don’t believe in coincidences," he said. "It is one of those things that you try not to think about too much.”
Dickey added that other people have experienced strange things on the grounds too, including hearing a whistle in the basement and kids laughing.
Whether you believe the ghost stories or not, there is no doubting the fact that The Dent Schoolhouse haunt is a Tri-State Halloween staple. And it takes a lot of work to make it happen.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize that haunting and making a haunted house is a year-long business," said Denton Schoolhouse co-owner Bud Stross.
Stross has been working hard to scare Cincinnati for a long time. The Dent Schoolhouse has been open as a haunted attraction for nearly 30 years. Stross, his dad and his business partner, Josh, bought the schoolhouse 17 years ago from the Boy Scouts who were running the haunt as a charity.
“We were just three guys who wanted to do Halloween for a living,” said Stross.
From movie-quality sets to award-winning makeup, over the years, it has evolved into quite a production.
"From start to finish it’s like reliving a horror movie,” Stross said. “We want you to be totally involved from start to finish. The moment you get on our property you’re ours.”
Stross said close to 200 actors and staff work the haunt season every year and like Alex Dickey, they come from all walks of life.
“Some are haunt enthusiasts, they can be haunted house fans, some just want to try something different,” Stross said. “It’s a strange working family of people that come together once a year to scare Cincinnati and then they depart.”
Dickey agrees, he said his co-workers include delivery drivers, mail carriers, retail workers, people in the restaurant industry and even doctors.
“You could be walking down the street and be passing a haunt actor that’s going to put you on your knees at night,” Dickey said. “Your doctor could be a haunt actor and you could have no idea.”
Both Dickey and Stross said there's just something about the magic of Halloween that keeps actors, staff, and fans coming back year after year.
"Halloween is like a grown-up kid time," said Dickey. “It's a chance to relive your youth when you could go home from kindergarten and dress up like superman.”
"Halloween is an amazing holiday,” Stross said. “It’s a fun way to become something different and to leave your normal job or reality just for one day.”
When can I get terrified?
The schoolhouse opened for the season on Sept. 16.
The haunt schedule varies slightly by night but it will be open every weekend through Nov. 5. Throughout the month of October, the haunt is open Thursdays through Sundays.
Anyone who thinks they have what it takes to visit one of Ohio's scariest Halloween haunts can get their tickets right here.
The Dent Schoolhouse also offers a "Lights Out" experience, a more family-friendly "Lights On" experience, ghost tours and behind-the-scenes tours. All the information can be found here.
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