The legendary Akron Haunted Schoolhouse got a pretty gruesome makeover this summer.
Don't worry. Many of the scenes that generations of fans have come to love and look forward to every year since it first opened in 1974 are still there.
But chances are you won't recognize the indoor waiting room when it opens for the season this month on Friday the Thirteenth.
The space that was home to a rather boring zig-zagging queue and ax-throwing stalls has been completely gutted.
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It is now an immersive space.
The new entrance is like walking into a creepy town square.
There are faux storefronts along with a real working bar.
The new town, where guests will wait for their turn to tour the legendary haunt, is a feast for the eyes and ears.
There are a dozen moving animatronic beasts that snarl and growl.
Lightning and thunder go off.
And there are some hidden surprises like a creepy arm that pulls back the curtains in an upstairs window and a doorbell that offers an unexpected surprise for guests.
Show producer Dave Shonk said the project — like everything at the venerable haunted house — started modest and simply grew and grew in size and scope.
"This became a big project," he said. "We thought it would take a couple months and here we are nine months later."
The ambitious waiting area also helps improve the guest experience.
Shonk said the biggest complaint is how boring it is to wait in line.
"We want to make it exciting from the moment you step inside the door," he said. "That's when the show starts."
The reshaping of the space actually created more room for guests to wait under cover.
Shonk said last year was pretty rainy and now they have space for as many as 600 people inside as they wait their turns to tour the schoolhouse.
And they are also experimenting this year with a new chute system — similar to a roller coaster — where guests are lined up in small groups at the end of the queue before they enter the haunt.
Considering its sheer size, Shonk said, the new waiting area is probably by far the largest space that has been themed at one time since the haunted house opened back in 1974.
"This waiting room is as big as some haunted houses," he said. "It is huge."
Aside from a new bar area that will offer refreshments for those waiting in line, there is a separate space for those who purchase VIP tickets to get to the front of the line.
Shonk said those VIP guests will also get to walk through a new museum area that will show off artifacts from posters to T-shirts to old props, including what is believed to be a real human skeleton.
"There's so much history in the place and we wanted to have a space to share it in," he said.
There are a lot of artifacts tucked in and around the old Thomastown Elementary School on Akron's Triplett Boulevard and the renovation was a way to bring them out on display.
Some of the original signs dating back to the 1970s are on the wall of the new bar area.
And the garage door on another wall is from the former Guggenheim Airship Institute next door, which has been home to the haunted lab since 1981.
As you begin the tour of the schoolhouse, there is a new trophy case display that includes a dated college photo of owner John Eslich, who also runs the Factory of Terror in Canton.
When does the Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory open?
The fall season begins on Sept. 13 and runs through Nov. 2. For more, visit hauntedschoolhouse.com.
Shonk said the Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory actually will open up for one more night after the season ends for a special private tour for haunted house owners from throughout the country who are gathering in the Midwest to tour haunts in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
"We have been looking forward to hosting this tour for a year," he said.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: A major (and spooky) change is coming this fall to Akron's beloved Haunted Schoolhouse
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