Scream Scene: Factory of Terror

The Factory of Terror in Canton was recognized by Guinness World Records three times as one of the largest indoor haunted houses in the world. Located inside an over 100,000-square-foot former foundry, it’s more than a mile long. And it’s not just one themed haunted house — the factory boasts four major haunts and four themed Halloween bars. It’s open on select Fridays to Sundays through Nov. 8.

Opened in 2002, owner and producer John Eslich has spent over two decades building out the space, launching the bars in 2019. With a Zombie Bar Crawl ticket, revelers can hop to the various decked-out bars without entering the haunted houses.

“Ohio is the No. 1 for everything haunted and Halloween,” says Eslich, who is also the owner and producer of the Akron Haunted Schoolhouse & Laboratory. “A lot of people are huge Halloween fans, so they get to go in these very unique, themed spaces.”

Steal away to the intimate Poison Ivy’s Greenhouse Bar, or dare to visit the clown-themed Carnevil Bar. Sink into a stool at One-Eyed Jack’s Pirate Bar, serving rum-based cocktails in a pirate ship. Order drinks such as a Rotten Apple — apple juice, Crown Royal and Fireball — a Screamsicle, with orange juice, vodka and cream, or test tube shots, with lemon berry sour vodka. Zombie Bar Crawl tickets include four bars as well as admission to the adjacent All American Battle Bar, where you can compete in ax throwing, duckpin bowling and more for an extra cost.

Those who partake in both the bars and haunted houses can enjoy elaborate sets with over 500 scary monsters and high-tech animatronics — as well as over 130 ghouls and staffers. The haunts include the late 1800s-set Forsaken Asylum of Dr. Morbidius, rampant with experimental treatments, an Industrial Nightmare full of freak accidents and Massacre on Mahoning, the 19th-century-era house of Wilma and Walter Winters that possesses a bewildering mirror maze. Also dive into the Abyss shipwreck, full of undead pirates and a pitch-black maze, and the Underworld interactive zone — filled with eerie crypts and lost souls. As you navigate through the spine-tingling attractions, you may encounter a spinning tunnel, clowns that pop out of the walls, crawling spiders and a 10-foot-tall moving Pennywise “It” animatronic— as well as a surprise slide.

“It’s a four-person slide, different lanes,” says Eslich. “That was a lot of fun for people to get down.”

At the center of the factory, find a French Quarter area with facades resembling real New Orleans locales like Preservation Hall and Reverend Zombie’s House of Voodoo shop. Some have doors that open. One conceals the Forsaken Bar on Bourbon, with an original large-scale painting by Canton muralist “Monster Steve” Ehret covering one wall. Another unveils Fear Fair Back Alley, a hidden club with an LED dance floor and DJ Fear spinning tunes. It’s these kinds of surprises that make the Factory of Terror an unmatchable Halloween experience.

“Having a dance floor in the middle of the whole property brings a different vibe and different excitement,” Eslich says. //KP

4125 Mahoning Road NE, Canton, 330-455-3327, fotohio.com