FORT THOMAS, Ky. – The Dent Schoolhouse may be in Cincinnati, but it’s the other side of the river that claims the mastermind behind the scare.
His name is Bud Stross. For this 23-year-old a lifelong love of all that is terrifying began when he was just a kid and he and his father decided to spook up their Fort Thomas front yard. From the yard, the annual haunting moved onto the driveway and from there, the neighborhood and then, well, that’s when his year-round Halloween started.
“Halloween is great because it allows you to tap into someone you are not. And who doesn't love leaving their skin for a while and taking on a different person for a night or two. It’s healthy,” said the 2004 Highlands High School graduate.
The lifelong Fort Thomas resident is the co-owner and one of the creators of The Dent Schoolhouse, a haunted house attraction ranked sixth in the nation by Hauntworld.com.
Stross said his fascination with Halloween and with getting into the creepiest character began when he was wee little goblin who would dress up with the sole purpose of scaring people.
“This was my first steps to acting. Which is my true passion,” said Stross, who is an Northern Kentucky University graduate who majored in radio/TV with a minor in theater.
“I love entertaining and creating characters. The haunted house and Halloween allowed me to tap into some zany characters and entertain!”
And entertain they do. The haunted schoolhouse’s motto is “Take A Lesson In Fear!” and the crew takes that chapter in the book of fright very seriously every Halloween.
Scary Yards Take Over Neighborhood—
Growing up his favorite costumes weren’t about blood and gore, but rather cartoons and comics.
“I think [my favorite] would either be Michelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or old school Bat Man.”
But as an adult, his imagination started to grow.
For a man who has played and created so many characters and costumes over the years it was hard to narrow it down to just one. Maybe his favorite to transform into is Charlie, The Janitor—a character with a past from The Dent Schoolhouse.
“His costume is just so detailed and authentic. Whether it be the keys that jingle around his belt or the tool belt that is fully stocked with the ingredients for the perfect killing.”
Stross said that his own “lesson in fear” began when he and his dad Chuck, began their annual Halloween tradition. He calls it their “evolution of haunting.” The process took several steps beginning in the ’90s with dummies and fake tombstones.
Each year Stross said he and his dad “amped it up” taking over neighbors’ yards as well. They built a castle façade over their driveway, which lead people through “several rooms of horror.” But that was only the beginning of their master plan.
Every year for one weekend, Halloween weekend, the duo and their cast, that grew to 16, expanded their spooky décor until 2004, the final year of “yard haunting.” By then they had spilled over into three front yards and maxed out their castle with 10 fright-filled rooms—not to mention the clown house they put up in the backyard with five rooms to scare.
The name: “The Majestic Nightmare.” People came from all over, said Stross, who remembered that one year they had to shut down a portion due to a major traffic back-up on their street.
While he thanked his mom for “putting up with him for all those years,” he couldn’t forget the man behind the haunt that made sure every year happened no matter what.
“It would have never been completed fully each year if it wasn't for my dad. When I had to go in and do homework he would be outside late at night fixing something so we would open on time.”
If You Dare GoThe Dent Schoolhouse is open 7:30 p.m. until midnight Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and 31 and 7:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1.
It is located at
5963 Harrison Ave. in Cincinnati.
