Tag Archives: haunted house

Nov7

Haunted Schoolhouse And Laboratory

Posted on by
Standard
Haunted Schoolhouse And Laboratory

Howdy!! I had a most successful spooky season this year and I hope all of you had a blast too. I absolutely loved my pirate costume but my favorite thing was going to two different haunted houses! Johnny and I had a fabulous date night at the Factory Of Terror and on Halloween we went to the Haunted Schoolhouse And Laboratory with my big bro. We were so happy he wanted to come with us because haunted houses aren’t really his thing and we had the best time! The Schoolhouse And Lab has been a staple in Akron, Ohio for so long and I was most impressed with our visit. Check it out:

The last time I went to the Haunted Schoolhouse And Laboratory was at least seven years ago and honestly? It sucked ass lol. I don’t remember too much about going but I do recall paying a lot for tickets and being thoroughly disappointed by the experience considering what we paid. Because of that, I never bothered with it again until this past Halloween. Right from the jump I was amazed by how much this haunt has improved and I enjoyed every minute of it!

The Haunted Schoolhouse was definitely the main attraction and it was fantastic. It is set in an old brick building that is at least five stories tall and we got to explore all of it. Every floor was something different from scary nuns at school to a Texas Chainsaw Massacre-esque feature that I was most fond of. It is my favorite horror movie of all time! One of the coolest parts of this haunt was being banished to hell for the last floor by a nun. This floor took us into a dungeon style area complete with huge statues of Baphomet, cemeteries, creepy organ music, and exorcisms. After making our way down five floors, it felt like we were going into the abyss and it looked phenomenal. Just one floor alone of the Schoolhouse blew my past review out of the water and I couldn’t wait for more.

Once we emerged from hell, we went outside to the next addition of the haunt which is the Laboratory. This was set up like an alien takeover and holy WOW did it have some dynamite features. My only regret was that it wasn’t longer! For me, the best part of this haunted house was close to the beginning. Like the Schoolhouse, we began from the top down and were walking across sturdy theater catwalks. We were up fairly high and when Johnny told me to look down it was like staring into the mouth of a cave. It could have gone on for forever!

As we made our way through the floors of the lab, we saw a bunch of scenes of aliens causing mayhem. All the while we were walking through the most terrific lighting. It legit looked like we were making our journey in a swirling waist high sea of green. That was a really nice touch! At the final floor of the lab, we were greeted by a mad scientist who asked us if we were ready for the big show. Then, he turned on a huge orb that crackled with purple light and electricity. It was quite the send off because afterwards we were back outside into the Halloween night and delighting over our time together. ❤

The Haunted Schoolhouse And Laboratory is a haunt that I would happily visit again next year. This time around, the ticket prices were well worth it and then some and it was the perfect way to spend Halloween!

How did you celebrate Halloween? Did you go to any haunted houses this year? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct23

Factory Of Terror Date Night

Posted on by
Standard
Factory Of Terror Date Night

Hello! If there is one haunted house to go to in the greater Northeast Ohio area, the Factory Of Terror is the place to be. It holds the record for the largest indoor haunted attraction in America boasting four different haunted houses, three separate bars, a dance floor, tarot readings, and axe throwing too. Every year you go is completely different than the last and you will never experience the same thing twice. It is absolutely amazing and my favorite place to go when spooky season hits.

Johnny and I had a date night to Factory Of Terror this past Friday and it was such a scary good time! I was also lucky enough to win my first radio contest EVER and scored two free tickets to the haunt. I couldn’t believe it and was literally on cloud nine. What’s better than a free night on the town to a place we planned on going to anyways?! SCORE! This was my third time going to the Factory Of Terror and I think it was the best year yet! Check it out:

^^^ Be sure to peep my TikTok for the video tour!!

Walking into the Factory Of Terror is like walking into a great big scary playground and the fun starts as soon as you set foot on the property. Character actors roam and are ready to sneak up on anyone that passes by. It makes something mundane like waiting in line for entrance wristbands into part of the experience and sets the tone perfectly for your night of spooky delight. After getting our wristbands, our first move was to hit the Poison Ivy bar for test tube shots. We opted for a blue concoction that tasted like straight up blue and was delicious!

After hitting up the Poison Ivy, it was off to the first haunt called the Forsaken Asylum. The bones of this haunted house hasn’t changed but the interior was totally different and transformed into a freaky hospital. It was filled with jump scares galore but the best part was twofold. Halfway through the house, there was a huge slide that you went down on a burlap sack. It was a wild ride! The ending was also excellent as it was a maze of mirrors. Johnny and I were running into the mirrors left and right and eventually a creepy doll character actor helped show us the way out lol. Not so scary after all and we were most appreciative. ❤

Next up was our favorite of the bunch – the Industrial Nightmare. This haunted house took us into the bowels of a factory complete with steaming pipes, compressed air switches on the ground, and glowing green lights to guide us through the pitch black setting. Everywhere we turned were “injured” employees from factory accidents and their scares couldn’t be beat. Some of the actors were legit perched on the ceiling, others were on bungee cords to leap out in front of you, and just being followed around in the dark was enough to send shivers down my spine. The highlight of this haunt had to be when the front of a train literally looked like it was coming straight towards you. I screamed so loud it could have shattered glass. It. Was. Awesome!!

The third haunted house holds a special place in my heart because it is Factory of Terror’s take on my favorite horror film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This is their staple haunted house called Massacre On Mahoning and while the theme remains the same every year, the inside always changes. For someone who is such a huge fan of TCM, going through this haunted house was a treat filled with tricks. Its setting was exactly what you could imagine if you are familiar with the story and was a pure celebration of one of the greatest, most influential horror movies of all time. I just loved it. 🙂

The last haunt to visit was called The Abyss and it simply delighted me and Johnny. For the first half of the haunt, we walked through almost complete darkness and were able to be guided by waist high walls to keep us on the path. After making it through this portion, we were welcomed into a sunken pirate ship and we were so there for it since we are being pirates for Halloween this year! The Abyss was so visually appealing once we made it to the light but it was also pure FUN. While we were waiting in line, we made friends with one of the actors and he made it a point to sneak up on us throughout the haunt. After we emerged on the other side, we all shared a great big hug and he asked us if we had a blast. It was a resounding YES on our part!! ❤

My first job was as a character actor at a haunted house and being at the Factory Of Terror hit me right in the nostalgia. This place is so incredibly special and all throughout the night I couldn’t help thinking how much fun it would be to work there. Our hats go off to the spectacular cast and crew that make the Factory Of Terror possible because the work that has gone into it is awe inspiring. We can’t recommend it enough if you are in the area!

What is the best haunted house in your neck of the woods? What are your Halloween plans? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct22

Wild Weekend

Posted on by
Standard
Wild Weekend

Hello! There is a student run radio station called Z88 at the University of Akron and I listen to it pretty frequently. They all do such a good job! On my way home from work on Thursday, I tuned into Z88 for the last thirty seconds or so until I reached my apartment. It was literally right in the knick of time because I got the tail end of the announcement by DJ Kai that they were giving away two free tickets to the Factory of Terror for the fifth caller. Coincidentally, Johnny and I planned on going there on Friday so I thought I would give the contest a shot. I parked the car, waited about ten seconds, then started calling like crazy and…

I WON, I WON, I WON!!!!

I literally couldn’t believe it when DJ Kai answered the phone and said I was the winner. I have never entered a radio contest before and to win on my first go was so amazing. Regardless of the contest, we were going to go to the haunted house anyways but it provided us with a free date night!! Friday was our one night this past weekend to have some fun because we were on a time crunch. I got my Covid shot early that afternoon and knew darn skippy I was going to feel miserable the next day (And I did!).

On Friday we crammed an entire weekend of activities into one evening. We shot an OOTD and a COTD that I pieced together for our evening out and then it was go time. The first thing on our agenda was meeting up with my sister and sweet nieces for a community Trick or Treat outing. It was really great until I got stuck in the bathroom due to a wardrobe malfunction. You can read more about that in the Blooper Reel for my COTD but I was seriously trapped in there for a good twenty minutes until a kind woman in a Yoshi costume saved the day and my life! The culprit was this bodysuit:

After I emerged from the bathroom, we pretty much had to be on our way which was a bummer but Johnny and I were both super hungry! We planned on getting dinner on our way to the Factory of Terror which is a good forty minute drive from Akron. As luck would have it, we had this super random gift card to Red Robin which was a Christmas gift from Johnny’s aunt. There was one in the general vicinity of the haunted house and since we are never in that area we could put the present to good use.

It was absolutely hilarious rolling into Red Robin with my makeshift COTD on and Johnny in normal clothes lol. But, hey, I felt like a star and the world was my catwalk! There was a long wait for a table so we opted to sit at the bar and were served right away. I have to say, their margaritas were very good. They were nice and tart which is exactly how I like them! The veggie burger was alright but word to the wise: Don’t order their mac n’ cheese on the side. I’m like ninety-nine percent sure that it’s just Stouffer’s lol smh.

After a solid meal, it was time to go to the main attraction: the Factory of Terror! You can read all about it in a post coming soon but we had the absolute best time. It was scary good! It was a jam packed evening and I am so glad we were able to get everything we wanted to done as I knew my physical state was a ticking time bomb from the Covid shot. My arm started throbbing on the way to the haunted house and by the time we were through, I was totally and completely wiped out. I fell asleep as soon as I got home and woke up…

Feeling like total and complete ass lol. I was feeling nauseous but the worst of it was my body being so sore. It hurt to move and I felt like I got ran over by a truck. My day was a series of hot and cold flashes, moving as little as possible, and chugging blue Gatorade that Johnny picked up for me. However, this was definitely not the worst I have felt post Covid shot and for that I am thankful. This year, I decided to not get the flu and Covid shot in one go and I think that made a big difference. By the time Sunday rolled around, I was still tired but knew that I would be good to go for work on Monday!

Stay tuned for LOTS of fun on lifewithlilred! We will be talking Factory of Terror, there will be a new OOTD post, a COTD, and a COTD Blooper Reel so you can hear all about my trapped in the bathroom experience lol. -_- Be there or be square!!

Have you done any Halloween activities? What is your favorite haunted house? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct7

Halloween Fun

Posted on by
Standard
Halloween Fun

Hello!! Last year was a pretty rough time for yours truly and although Johnny and I always revel in the Halloween season, we didn’t do a whole lot of anything. I am pleased to report that this year, we are back on our BS in a major way and I love that for us! We have grand plans for this beloved time for the both of us and I can’t wait to complete everything on our Halloween checklist:

Haunted House:

Johnny and I started dating in September of 2019 – mere months before the Covid-19 pandemic. That Halloween was the only time that we went to a haunted house together and I just won’t stand for it. There is an absolutely fantastic haunted house about a half hour or so away from us. It’s called the Factory of Terror and it is one of the largest indoor haunted attractions in the country. This is the haunted house we went to when we first started dating! However, it will be nothing like what we saw during our outing. The cool thing about the Factory of Terror is that they change all five of their haunted houses every year into something unrecognizable to prior visits. I can’t wait to see what it looks like this year!

Something you might not know about me is that my first job was working as an actor at a haunted house called Carnival of Horrors. I know every single trick in the book, yet all that knowledge goes out the window as soon as I go to haunted houses. Much to Johnny’s amusement, I become the prime target for the actors because I get got every time lol. I’m sure it will be the same thing this time around but, hey, that’s the fun of a haunted house. 😀

Pumpkin Patch:

One of my all time favorite Date Days with Johnny was when we visited a local pumpkin patch. We got the cutest tiny pumpkins, took the cutest pictures, and enjoyed a yummy meal afterwards. We also never did this again so we are adding it to the agenda! While we don’t have a yard to decorate due to apartment life, we need a little something and no porch is complete without a few pumpkins. Johnny also takes great pleasure in throwing them at trees so we’ll grab a couple of extra ones for that purpose lol.

Trick or Treat:

Last year, Johnny and I made a bonfire and passed out candy with my parents at their house. It was SO much fun to see all of the kids in their costumes parading throughout the neighborhood and we definitely plan on doing that again. We also will be joining our nieces for their Trick or Treat outing and are looking forward to it so much. We are keeping our fingers crossed that our nieces will share the loot with their Fun Aunt and Uncle! 😀

Costumes:

Johnny and I have never done matching costumes and we are going for it this year. We are going to have Candyland inspired costumes with Johnny being Lord Licorice and me being a Candy Queen. I am so excited for it! In fact, we already have our costumes for next year picked out too: Alice Cooper and Cold Ethyl. The hilarious thing about both of these costumes for Johnny is that he literally already has everything he needs in his own wardrobe. Does that mean he’ll go halfsies with me on the costumes I have to buy? #fingerscrossed

31 in 31:

Finally, Johnny and I are VERY committed to completing the 31 scary movies in 31 days challenge this year. We haven’t missed a day yet and it has been great. We have been working our way through Johnny’s silly slashers and my atmospheric picks in alternation. And, of course, wearing our matching spooky pajamas and noshing on movie theater treats. I look forward to what we are going to watch every day upon our return home and it is such a nice change of pace from our usual post-work screenings of SVU!

All aboard the Halloween Fun express because we are living it up this spooky season!

What are your favorite Halloween activities? What is your favorite holiday? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan4

Paranormal Activity Pt. 6

Posted on by
Standard
Paranormal Activity Pt. 6

Hello!!! Ever since I moved into my apartment almost three years ago, I have been convinced that it is haunted. From misplaced footsteps and shadows on the wall to a levitating piece of paper and So. Much. Broken. Glass. there has been many instances that can’t be explained at chez moi.

I let whatever spirit that’s here know that it was okay if he hung out but to please not hurt me any more. My poor feet were tired of being cut by glass shards! It seemed to work and it has been a while since any paranormal activity has happened. But, that changed earlier this week.

When Johnny and I were unwinding with some episodes of Superstore, I went downstairs to go to the bathroom. I walked near my sofa and my socks were soaking wet. I turned the lights on and I saw a HUGE pool of water going all the way to my kitchen table. At first, I thought Johnny spilled something but I thought it to be unlikely that he dropped at least four gallons of water on our apartment floor.

I began looking for any type of explanation for this mini flood and came up short. There was absolutely no water near our dishwasher so I know it didn’t come from that. All of our faucets were turned off, no pipes were leaking, none of our vases of flowers fell, and there was no leaks anywhere on the ceiling. It was the strangest thing!

It took four bath towels to clean up the tidal wave that took place in my living room and I am still stumped as to how it got there. Every explanation that could have caused it was immediately debunked. I’m just thankful that I wasn’t in a rush to get to the bathroom because I could have slipped and fell. I guess spilled water is better than shards of broken glass in my foot, though.

Every time long stretches with no paranormal activity happen, I often think my “ghostie” does something to let me know that he’s still around. He made himself loud and clear this time!

Have you ever witnessed any paranormal activity? Do you have any ideas as to what could have caused this mystery spill? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct20

Haunted House Help!

Posted on by
Standard
Haunted House Help!

Hi everyone and happy Thursday! So a little known fact to my readers because I don’t think that I ever shared this on my blog before is that my very first job was as an actor at a haunted house. I worked at the Carnival of Horrors at Blossom Music Center in Ohio for two years in a row and I have to say…it was an experience! I did all of my own makeup, drank an abundance of coffee, and stayed up past one o’clock in the morning Friday through Sunday scaring the general public. At the time, my fifteen and sixteen year old self thought that this was the coolest thing ever and I still feel that way now.

I love all things horror – the films, the serial killer documentaries, the literature, I just can’t get enough. My favorite thing is when my boyfriend and I have our movie Mondays where we just watch scary movies and eat Taco Bell the entire day. I have seen more horror films than I can count but my all time favorite will always be the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. One of the other movies in my top five is the wonderful French horror film, Ils, which the American “The Strangers” is based off of. I am an amateur French speaker so their horror films are some of my favorites to watch because compared to comedies and dramas, the dialogue in horror movies is much easier for me to understand.

But I digress. The real reason behind this post besides for giving you guys a little insight into my love for the macabre is that I NEED TO GO TO A HAUNTED HOUSE!! I have not been to one in a couple of years and with Halloween just around the corner there is no better time than the present. I have three in mind that I scouted out and because I can’t make decisions to save my life and my sister is no better than me, I am passing the burden on to all of you. 🙂

The Choices:

I am definitely leaning more towards the Factory Of Terror or 7 Floors of Hell but Hauntville was thrown in as the wild card!

I am in desperate need of some Haunted House Help and I would love to know which one looks the best in your opinion. What is the best haunted house in your area? What is your favorite Halloween time scary movie? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep5

Excited For Fall? Me Too!

Posted on by
Standard
Excited For Fall? Me Too!

Heyyy everyone and happy Saturday! Good news, my bitch ass is feeling better! Bad news, Sunday is Lil Red’s blogging day off, as you all know, so allow me to leave you with a fun post for the weekend until the Monday Update and Man Crush Monday posts commence!

With fall on the horizon, every white girl comes out of her spray tanned summer hibernation in search of all things pumpkin flavored. I promise you guys I’m not that girl…You know I would never tan! BUT, I am very excited for the upcoming autumn season, so let me tell you why!

  • PEACOATS!!! Honestly, this is my number one reason why I love fall. I loves me a good peacoat and I can’t wait to put my navy blue, red and blue plaid, and emerald green coat babies to work this season! #peacoatparty
  • Semi-cold weather AKA my favorite type of weather! Summer weather is too hot for a Lil Red, winter is too cold, and spring is too rainy but fall weather…fall weather is just right!
  • Fall clothing in general! This ties into both of the previously mentioned statements but it must be said. Fall. Clothing. Is. The. Best. Point blank, period. I love nothing more than sweet sweaters, cozy cardigans, booties, flannels, chunky scarves, fingerless gloves, the whole shebang. If it’s an article of clothing you can wear in the fall, you bet your sweet ass that I’m excited for it! #betyourbottomdollar #andyoursweetass
  • The colors!!!! Ugh, the autumn color palette makes my heart so warm. Burnt oranges, mustard yellows, deep reds – fabulous on the changing leaves of trees and on those cozy cardigans I just mentioned! Burnt orange has been my latest obsession, so I’m really excited to feed that addiction even more with a fall shopping trip soon!
  • One – ONLY one Pumpkin Spice Latte. Yeah, yeah, such a white girl, I know. But it’s not fall for a suburban girl without one PSL from Starbucks! I’ll be indulging in my pumpkin treat this morning for a coffee date with my dear friend, Tyler. Yum!
  • Halloween – it’s a given. Except I can’t decide on if being Agnes from Despicable Me is a good idea because she’s not particularly slutty…Does anyone have a naughty nurse costume I can borrow? #please??
  • HAUNTED HOUSES! I love them! I love them! I. Love. Them. Fun fact for ya: my first job was working as an actor at a haunted house and I had the time of my life! I also picked up smoking cigarettes there…But that’s beside the point.
  • Fall weather hang outs AKA the best kind of hang outs! I absolutely adore fall time activities! Hiking through the metro parks, scary movie marathons, crafting, drinking apple cider, drinking hard apple cider – it’s all so much fun! Everything increases in enjoy-ability when the air is crisp, your cheeks are flushed, and you’re with some of your favorite people.
  • White girl watching…it’s like people watching, but better! Fall time is the white girl’s peak season to emerge and prosper. The temperatures have dropped which means so have people’s standards! Thus, yoga pants, leggings, and Ugg boots are somehow acceptable to wear in society. May god help us all…But anyways, I always get a kick out of seeing all of the white girls in their flock of spandex pants and boots that were made out of the skin of sheep who were tortured. Bonus points if there’s a Pumpkin Spice Latte in their hands!! #UGHboots

whitegirls

^^^ Current blogging soundtrack, judge me for it. #whitegirl 😉

So there you have it! A few Lil Red Reasons of why I’m Excited For Fall! What is everyone most looking forward to this autumn? Who has some fall time traditions that will be taking place? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah