Photograph courtesy Dent Schoolhouse
At the Dent Schoolhouse, the team behind one of the city’s most beloved Halloween attractions is getting into the holiday spirit by decking the halls with bowels and holly. A Christmas Nightmare returns to the haunt for an eighth year of spooky yet jolly fun on December 6 and 13.
“We were one of the first haunted attractions in the nation to do it,” says Dent Schoolhouse co-owner Bud Stross. “It’s a meshing between the two best holidays—you’re getting Halloween and Christmas at the same time. You’ll still see Santa, you’ll see elves, you’ll see some of our main characters, but it’s kind of like Christmas puked on our haunt.”
Plenty of other festive characters will also make twisted appearances including a decrepit Rudolph, an evil Sugar Plum Fairy, Mrs. Claws, living snowmen made with yellow snow, Zobo the Clown dressed as Buddy the Elf, the Belsnickel (yes, like from The Office), the Grinch, and many more. However, Krampus is the real star of A Christmas Nightmare and partially the reason the event exists in the first place.
Photograph courtesy Dent Schoolhouse
“We started seeing these Christmas haunted houses popping up around the US and they were using Krampus,” Stross explains. “Cincinnati is German and Krampus is straight up from Germany. It made sense to test it out and bring a different way to celebrate the holiday and we haven’t looked back since, even after several football fields worth of garlands and hundreds of Christmas trees.”
Photograph courtesy Dent Schoolhouse
According to Stross, families have started making A Christmas Nightmare part of their holiday traditions alongside or in place of more conventional events like Winterfest and Festival of Lights. “They want to see Krampus! You’ll even see grandparents coming out here, which is not normally our market.”
“We’ve got something for everybody if you choose to go a bit darker on your Christmas,” says Stross. “A lot of people bring onions for our Grinch. And we always see people high-fiving and trying to give Krampus a hug and he’s this really really tall monstrous version of a Christmas character.”
A Christmas Nightmare is also a good entry point for those who may be newer or more wary about haunted attractions since the scares are a bit more lighthearted and toned down compared to their usual hardcore Halloween show. “Our characters are still trying to scare you, but it’s just a lighter way of experiencing a haunted house.”
Photograph courtesy Dent Schoolhouse
The Monster Midway will also be open to guests with special photo-ops, mini escape games, a concession stand with hot cocoa and caramel corn, and the Spooky Shop with haunt merch at half-off. The Shop will also be selling exclusive Christmas Nightmare merch including the incredibly popular Dent Schoolhouse ornament and digital prints of photos taken from the haunt—Stross says some people make them their Christmas cards.
Despite the blood and monsters, the team at Dent wants everyone to know that A Christmas Nightmare is a labor of love. “In no way is the show a mockery of Christmas,” says Stross. “We also love the holiday, but we wanted to provide a different form of entertainment and a different way of celebrating. It’s kind of weird hearing screams and ‘Holly Jolly Christmas’ at the same time, but people are having a great time.”
Dent Schoolhouse’s A Christmas Nightmare runs from 6:30-10 p.m. on Sat, Dec 6 and Sat, Dec 13. Tickets are $34.99 for general admission, $54.99 for fast pass admission, and $74.99 for front of the line admission.
Photograph courtesy Dent Schoolhouse
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