Halloween Haunt

''This article is about the primary Halloween event that is intended for teens and adults. For the daytime festivities of Halloween at the park, see Tricks and Treats Fall Fest .''

Halloween Haunt (Also known simply as Haunt, formerly known as FearFest) is a seasonal event that occurs during the late evening of Fridays and Saturdays in late September and all of October and sometimes in early November. at Kings Island. The event is based on the traditions of the Halloween season, with the park being decorated in macabre scenery, and new attractions (mostly haunted mazes) that feature actors portraying various monsters and evil characters that guests will encounter. In some cases, animatronics and other special effects are also used in this event. Each of the attractions exclusive to this event focus on different themes of monsters, such as werewolves, zombies, and cannibals. In addition to the mazes, a large number of attractions are also open during the event.

History
As the name suggests, Halloween Haunt is a seasonal event at Kings Island that celebrates the primary traditions of the Halloween season, particularly the concept of macabre settings and themes, touching on one's fears, and the depiction of various monsters popularized in horror media such as zombies, ghosts, and serial killers. The event began as FearFest in 2000, when Paramount owned and operated the park. During this time, Paramount had a heavier focus on intellectual properties, and multiple horror properties. Some of the attractions were based on Paramount's own works, such as Friday the 13th, and Sleepy Hollow were featured, in addition to Cassandra Peterson's Elvira character and Bram Stoker's Dracula, the latter of which was included multiple years due to being in the public domain. The following year after Cedar Fair acquired all of Paramount's parks (including Kings Island) in 2006, the event was renamed to its current name of Halloween Haunt. Since this retheming, the event no longer focuses on notable intellectual properties in the horror genre of various media, though some of the music played during the event has come from films that fit the Halloween season, such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Beetlejuice. Almost all of the haunted houses in the event, especially mainstay attractions that have been around for years like Madame Fatale's Cavern Of Terror, are housed in buildings of former attractions, while others are located in backstage areas.

In 2019, Kings Island introduced a new feature to the event called Hallow-Tween. This event features altered versions of some of the mazes and scare zones, for guests who might be considered too old for the festivities of Tricks and Treats Fall Fest, but still too young to brave the mazes of Halloween Haunt. The altered mazes primarily removed all scare actors, and replaced them with hosts that gave instructions on how to get through the maze, which were reworked into escape rooms. Interestingly, one of these altered mazes was C.H.A.O.S.: Expedition Orion, which served as a teaser for Orion that opened in the same area the following year in 2020.

In 2020, Halloween Haunt was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there was a replacement event called Tricks and Treats Fall Fest, which focused more on the tradition of trick-or-treating usually used in The Great Pumpkin Fest, but with safety protocols such as face mask and social distancing requirements in place to reduce spread of the virus.

Sinister Shows

 * Monster Rock(Festhus)


 * Drums of the Dead(International Street Bandstand)

Current Houses and Scare Zones
Note that although many of the houses may share the same name throughout different years, the layout and features of each maze sometimes changes, with the theme remaining primarily the same.
 * Cornered- Located in the Tower Gardens. A corn maze, featuring monsters based on scarecrows and other farm-based characters. A similar maze called Field of Screams was open from (2016-2019), in part of the area where Dinosaurs Alive! once operated. In 2021, Cornered opened in the Same spot Cornstalkers was originally located as basically the same house.
 * C.H.A.O.S. - Located in a warehouse across from the entrance of Flight of Fear in Area 72. In this maze themed to a science laboratory, guests volunteer to be test subjects for a new experimental drug, with the drug's effects indicated when guests enter a funhouse tunnel in part of the maze. Flashing lights, scare actors, and other effects, are used to simulate the drug's effects.
 * Kill-Mart - Housed in a former arcade building of Coney Mall. This maze is themed to a shopping center that was initially a safe haven from a zombie apocalypse, but has since been overrun by the infected.
 * Slaughterhouse - This maze was originally featured in the Action Zone in the Chicken Shack restaurant, but it has since been moved to a new building in Rivertown that can be seen year-round from the queue line of The Beast. Slaughterhouse is themed to a butcher shop for animal meat, though the characters portrayed by the actors are heavily implied to also be cannibals. Actors are dressed primarily as meat cooks, with some wearing pig masks, possibly loosely and unofficially inspired by the Saw series of horror films, in addition to the primary concept possibly being loosely based on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
 * Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror - Located in the attraction building that formerly housed The Crypt. This maze is themed to a wax museum, where it's implied that the titular owner may have soaked living people in hot wax for her museum's figures.
 * Pumpkin Eater - Scare zone featured in front of Backlot Stunt Coaster. This area is decorated with a large number of pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns, some of which can be seen hanging above guests heads. Dismembered corpses can also be found inside larger pumpkins. A pumpkin monster animatronic hiding behind fake bushes will occasionally make its presence known in this area.
 * Coney Maul - A frequent tradition of the event involves renaming the Coney Mall area to "Coney Maul," a play on words referring to the act of violently and gruesomely killing something, like a carnivorous animal would. Due to the Coney Mall area always having a carnival theme as the primary area for carnival games and classic carnival rides, the Coney Maul retheme often focuses around a haunted carnival. Several years of the event have featured many scare actors and decorations based on various concepts such as evil clowns, and freak show acts with mutated humans or creatures.
 * Shipwrecked - Scare zone themed to pirates. Located in Action Zone. Take a stroll through a bustling town full of seafarers, merchants, and scrappy ruffians that rival the ports once visited by Blackbeard himself. It may look innocent on the surface, but inexplicable terror lies beneath - where lost treasure and the song of the siren have put even the strongest, sturdiest pirates in a watery grave.
 * International Street Fear- A Scare Zone located on International Street.

International Street
International Street is the entrance area of the park. This area is themed to a small town, possibly to imply the beginning of an adventure. Most of this area features restaurants, gift shops, and restrooms, but there are also a few attractions as well:

Attractions:

 * Cornered- Located in the Tower Gardens. A corn maze, featuring monsters based on scarecrows and other farm-based characters. A similar maze called Field of Screams was open from (2016-2019), in part of the area where Dinosaurs Alive! once operated. In 2021, Cornered opened in the Same spot Cornstalkers was originally located as basically the same house.
 * Fright Lane Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * International Street Fear- A Scare Zone located on International Street.
 * Eiffel Tower

Theaters/Stages:

 * Drums of the Dead(International Street Bandstand (Outdoor)(Located near Eiffel Tower near fountain)

Restaurants:

 * Funnel Cakes (Located On Left Back Side of midway)
 * Auntie Anne's (Located On Left Back Side of midway)
 * Wishbone Grill (Located On Left Front Side of midway near Starbucks)
 * Starbucks (Located On Left Front Side of midway)
 * Skyline Chili (Located On Left Front Side of midway)
 * Chick-fil-A (Located to the Right of International Showplace)
 * French Corner (Located On Right Back Side of midway)
 * Graeter's Ice Cream (Located On Right Front Side of midway)
 * Cinnabon (Located On Right Front Side of midway near LaRosa's Pizzeria)
 * LaRosa's Pizzeria (Located On Right Front Side of midway)

Shops:

 * Squishmallow Store (Located On Left Back Side of Entrance)
 * Creative Glass (Located On Left Back Side of midway in front of Emporium)
 * Emporium (Located On Left Back Side of midway)
 * Homage (Located On Left Back Side of midway)
 * Sweet Spot (Located On Right Back Side of midway)
 * Build A Bear Workshop (Located On Right Front Side of midway)
 * Animal Fair (Located On Right Front Side of midway)
 * Kings Island Trading Company (Located On Right Front Side of midway)
 * KI Essentials (Located On Right Side of Entrance)
 * Funpix(Located on left side)
 * Fast Lane Buying Stand(Located on Left Side)

Restrooms:

 * Men's- (Located to the right of the main entrance next to Kings Island Trading Company)
 * Women's- (Located to the right of the main entrance in the same building(when looking at the main entrance from the fountain it is on the left of the building next to KI Essentials))
 * Men's- (Located on the left side of the entrance in same building before you get in the park)
 * Women's- (Located on the left side of the entrance in same building before you get in the park)

Lockers

 * (Located near the Front Entrance to the right of the Squishmallow store)

Action Zone
Action Zone is home to many of the major thrill rides of the park. Although originally themed to a stunt arena for films under Paramount's ownership, it is now themed around thrill-seeking and adventure, and features many rides to accompany this theme. The site of this area originally opened as Lion Country Safari (later renamed Wild Animal Safari), and featured a monorail attraction where guests could observe various zoo animals. A sub-area named Adventure Village later opened in this spot, before all animal attractions were removed and the Adventure Village name was given to the entire area. The area was again entirely rethemed and renamed to its current iteration of the Paramount Action Zone, featuring rides either based on or named after Paramount films. The film company's name was removed along with several rides being renamed following Cedar Fair's acquisition of the park.

Attractions:

 * Banshee (***No Bags Allowed in Queue***)
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * The Bat (Previously known as Flight Deck and Top Gun)
 * This Ride is off the path past Banshee and X-Treme Skyflyer
 * Drop Tower (Previously known as Drop Zone: Stunt Tower)
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * Delirium
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * Invertigo (Previously known as Face/Off)
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near station, under batwing)
 * Xtreme Skyflyer(Pay Per Ride)
 * Shipwrecked - Scare zone themed to pirates. Located in Action Zone. Take a stroll through a bustling town full of seafarers, merchants, and scrappy ruffians that rival the ports once visited by Blackbeard himself. It may look innocent on the surface, but inexplicable terror lies beneath - where lost treasure and the song of the siren have put even the strongest, sturdiest pirates in a watery grave.

Games:

 * Banshee Arcade(Located under Banshee Station)

Restaurants:

 * Ice Scream Zone (Located to the right of Banshee)
 * Chicken Shack (Located across from Drop Tower)

Shops:

 * Coaster Connection (Located to the right of Drop Tower)

Restrooms:

 * Men's- (Located Next to Banshee near the entrance of the Bat)
 * Women’s- (Located Next to Banshee near the entrance of the Bat)
 * Men's- (Located to the Right of the Chicken Shack)
 * Women’s- (Located to the Right of the Chicken Shack)

Lockers

 * (Located to the right of Coaster Connections)

Oktoberfest
Named for the German festival of the same name, this area reflects on the heavy amount of German heritage in the Cincinnati area, and even sells beer at the Festhaus and Bier Garten.

Attractions:

 * Adventure Express
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near exit)
 * Viking Fury
 * Sling Shot(Pay Per Ride)

Theaters/Stages:

 * Monster Rock(Festhus(Indoor)(Located near Viking Fury or Delirium)

Restaurants:

 * Festhaus (Panda Express, LaRosa's Pizzeria) (Located across from Viking Fury or Delirium)
 * Hank's Mexican Grill (Located across from Adventure Express)
 * Bier Garden (Located across from Sling Shot and behind Hank's Mexican Grill)
 * Coca Cola Freestyle (Located to the right of Adventure Express)

Shops:

 * Airbrush (Located to the left of Hank's Mexican Grill)

Games:

 * Guess Age and Weight(Located next to Festhus near Pond)

Restrooms:

 * Men's- (Located across from Hanks Mexican Grill to the right of Coney Confections)
 * Women’s- (Located across from Hanks Mexican Grill to the right of Coney Confections)

Coney Mall
Themed to classic carnivals and named for the park's predecessor, Coney Island, this area features many classic themed rides, carnival games, and restaurants. This area also features a large arcade.

Attractions:

 * The Racer
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near entrance)
 * Dodgem
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near drive box)
 * Scrambler
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near drive box)
 * Zephyr
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter through exit)
 * Monster
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near Arcade on right side near red umbrella)
 * Shake, Rattle, and Roll (Previously known as Troika)
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * WindSeeker
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near back of queue)
 * Kings Mills Antique Autos (Closed in 2004 as Les Taxis to make way for The Italian Job: Stunt Track now known as Backlot Stunt Coaster)
 * Fast Lane Plus Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * Coney Maul - A frequent tradition of the event involves renaming the Coney Mall area to "Coney Maul," a play on words referring to the act of violently and gruesomely killing something, like a carnivorous animal would. Due to the Coney Mall area always having a carnival theme as the primary area for carnival games and classic carnival rides, the Coney Maul retheme often focuses around a haunted carnival. Several years of the event have featured many scare actors and decorations based on various concepts such as evil clowns, and freak show acts with mutated humans or creatures.
 * Kill-Mart - Housed in a former arcade building of Coney Mall. This maze is themed to a shopping center that was initially a safe haven from a zombie apocalypse, but has since been overrun by the infected.
 * Fright Lane Available(Enter near Entrance)

Restaurants:

 * Coney Bar-B-Q (Located to the right of The Scrambler)
 * Skyline Chili (Located between The Scrambler and Dodgems)
 * Subway (Located between The Racer station and Monster)
 * Juke Box Diner (Located across from Shake Rattle And Roll)
 * Coney Treats (Located to the left of Dodgem)
 * Ralph's Ice Cream (Located across from Shake Rattle And Roll)

Shopping:

 * Coney Confections (Located across from The Racer station)
 * Orion Merchandise Store(Located across from the Zephyr in the Coney Mall Arcade Building near the entrance to Area 72)

Games:

 * Three Point Challenge(Located near Juke Box Diner)
 * Peach Basket Midway Game(Located Near The Racer and Coney BBQ)
 * Goblet Toss Midway Game(Located Near Kings Mills Antique Autos)
 * Ring Toss Midway Game(Located Near Dodgem and Zephyr)
 * Coney Mall Arcade(Located Near Monster And Zephyr)
 * Basketball(Located next to The Racer)

Restrooms:

 * Men's- (Located to the left of Windseeker)
 * Women’s- (Located to the left of Windseeker)

Area 72
Formerly known as X-Base, themed to a top-secret military base specializing in extraterrestrial studies, to get to this area(Go past Zephyr and under The Racer)

Attractions:

 * Flight of Fear (Previously known as The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear)(***No Bags Allowed in Queue***)
 * Fast Lane Plus Available(Enter near exit)
 * Orion (***No Bags Allowed in Queue***)
 * Fast Lane Plus Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * C.H.A.O.S. - Located in a warehouse across from the entrance of Flight of Fear in Area 72. In this maze themed to a science laboratory, guests volunteer to be test subjects for a new experimental drug, with the drug's effects indicated when guests enter a funhouse tunnel in part of the maze. Flashing lights, scare actors, and other effects, are used to simulate the drug's effects.
 * Fright Lane Available(Enter near Entrance)

Restaurants:

 * Meteor Canteen (Located near Flight Of Fear and Orion)

Restrooms:

 * Men's- (Located to the left of Meteor Canteen in same Building)
 * Women’s- (Located to the left of Meteor Canteen in same Building)

Lockers

 * (Located to the right of the Flight of Fear Entrance)

Rivertown
Rivertown is an area themed to an old-time small town, with some of its rides implying that is a ghost town. This is due to the three of the coasters (The Beast, Diamondback, and Mystic Timbers) being given the storylines that the area of the rides was abandoned due to unusual circumstances, particularly as a result of a mysterious, but dangerous creature now inhabiting the property.

Attractions:

 * The Beast
 * Fast Lane Plus Available(Enter through exit- then keep going straight and not left up exit ramp)
 * This Ride is off the path Behind the Rivertown Arcade
 * Backlot Stunt Coaster (Previously known as The Italian Job: Stunt Track)
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * Diamondback
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * Mystic Timbers (***No Bags Allowed in Queue***)
 * Fast Lane Plus Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * Slaughterhouse - This maze was originally featured in the Action Zone in the Chicken Shack restaurant, but it has since been moved to a new building in Rivertown that can be seen year-round from the queue line of The Beast. Slaughterhouse is themed to a butcher shop for animal meat, though the characters portrayed by the actors are heavily implied to also be cannibals. Actors are dressed primarily as meat cooks, with some wearing pig masks, possibly loosely and unofficially inspired by the Saw series of horror films, in addition to the primary concept possibly being loosely based on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
 * Fright Lane Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror - Located in the attraction building that formerly housed The Crypt. This maze is themed to a wax museum, where it's implied that the titular owner may have soaked living people in hot wax for her museum's figures.
 * Fright Lane Available(Enter near Entrance)
 * Pumpkin Eater - Scare zone featured in front of Backlot Stunt Coaster. This area is decorated with a large number of pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns, some of which can be seen hanging above guests heads. Dismembered corpses can also be found inside larger pumpkins. A pumpkin monster animatronic hiding behind fake bushes will occasionally make its presence known in this area.

Restaurants:

 * LaRosa's Pizzeria (Located near The Beast)
 * Tom + Chee (Located near Diamondback)
 * Miami River Brewhouse (Located across from Mystic Timbers)
 * Rivertown Potato Works (Located near Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror)
 * Rivertown Funnel Cakes (Moved in 2016 for construction of Mystic Timbers) (Located across from Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad)
 * Coca Cola Freestyle (Located near Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad)
 * Coca Cola Refill (Located near Diamondback)
 * Coca Cola Refill (Located near Rivertown Arcade)

Shopping:

 * Diamondback Trading Post (Located near Diamondback)

Games:

 * Rivertown Arcade(Located near The Beast)

Restrooms:

 * Men's- (Located across from Diamondback Trading Post)
 * Women’s- (Located across from Diamondback Trading Post)
 * Men's- (Located across from Rivertown LaRosa's Pizzeria)
 * Women’s- (Located across from Rivertown LaRosa's Pizzeria)

Lockers

 * (Located to the right of the Mystic Timbers Entrance)

Planet Snoopy(Most of area closed during HAUNT)
Originally named Hanna-Barbera Land and themed to Hanna-Barbera cartoons, the family area of the park has changed themes numerous times, once to Nickelodeon's library of television shows under the name Nickelodeon Universe, and again to its current theme of the Peanuts comic strips and TV specials by Charles Schulz.


 * Boo Blasters on Boo Hill ​(Previously known as Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle)
 * Fast Lane Available(Enter near entrance)

Restaurants:

 * Planet Snoopy Ice Cream (Located across from The Great Pumpkin Coaster)
 * Planet Snoopy Grill (Located to the right of the Planet Snoopy Ice Cream)

Former Houses and Scare Zones

 * Carn-Evil - Located in a warehouse behind The Great Pumpkin Coaster in Planet Snoopy. This maze was themed to evil clowns at a haunted carnival. Closed in 2017 to make way for the Peanuts Showplace.
 * Club Blood - Located in a warehouse near the entrance of The Bat. This maze was themed to an adult-oriented club and bar that featured vampires as the employees and general patrons. Closed in 2013 to make way for Blackout.
 * Board to Death - Located in a warehouse in Area 72 (then known as X-Base) across from Flight of Fear 's entrance. Themed to giant board games, such as Monopoly, checkers, and Scrabble. Actors generally portrayed monster versions of board game pieces. Replaced by C.H.A.O.S.
 * Tombstone Terror-Tory - Located at the former entrance of White Water Canyon, with the Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad used as part of the experience. In this maze, guests would board the aforementioned train with the expectation of going on a peaceful train ride through the woods. Halfway through, actors dressed as Old West bandits would "hijack" the train, causing the guests to be let off elsewhere, with the conductor noting that the nearby path was the only way back to the station. Guests would then travel down the maze, with several actors portraying hostile figures and monsters based on the Old West genre of fiction. The maze would conclude at the entrance of White Water Canyon, which was closed due to autumn not being an appropriate season for water rides in the Cincinnati area. After the opening of Mystic Timbers required a new entrance to be built for White Water Canyon, the maze was retired. During Paramount's ownership of the park, this layout was used for a maze themed to Sleepy Hollow, a 1999 Tim Burton film from Paramount that starred Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, which is in turn based on the folklore tale of a similar name by Washington Irving.
 * Cornstalkers - Located in the Tower Gardens. A corn maze, featuring monsters based on scarecrows and other farm-based characters. Closed to make way for Backwoods Bayou. A similar maze called Field of Screams would later open in 2016, in part of the area where Dinosaurs Alive! once operated. In 2021, Cornered opened in the Same spot this was originally located as the same house.
 * Cutthroat Cove - Located in the outdoor dining area of what is now Hank's Mexican Grill in Oktoberfest, across the pond from Viking Fury. This maze was themed to undead pirates, which also had suitable decorations near the pond at the time. The area has not been used for a maze since then, and Cutthroat Cove was not relocated to a new location afterwards.
 * Holiday Horror - Located in the theater space now occupied by Peanuts Playhouse in Planet Snoopy. The maze featured various holidays such as Christmas and Easter, but each of them have been changed significantly in a manner similar to the events of the film The Nightmare Before Christmas, in which elements of Halloween have invaded each holiday. For instance, friendly characters such as the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus were replaced with far more evil versions of these characters.
 * Sorority House/Delta Delta Die- Located where Coney BBQ is today. This maze was themed to a sorority of killer coeds. Due to the construction of Coney BBQ, it did not re-open for the 2018 season.
 * Backwoods Bayou - Located in the Tower Gardens to the left of the Eiffel Tower and the Grand Carousel. Themed to a dark and murky swamp in which several creatures are lurking in wait for prey. This attraction name was previously used for a scarezone in part of the pathway where International Street connects to Rivertown. Replaced by Cornered in 2021
 * Wolf Pack - Located in the Action Zone section of the park near The Bat, and housed in the former loading station of Son of Beast. The queue and exit for this attraction also used that of Son of Beast. This maze focused on guests attempting to trek through a dark forest where werewolves are said to lurk.
 * Blackout - Located in a warehouse near the entrance of The Bat, the latter of which had alterations made to its queue line to allow line space for the maze. Blackout is themed to the fear of the dark and claustrophobia. As the name suggests, much of this maze takes place in the dark, with little to no lighting. Attraction descriptions never make it clear what kind of monsters are featured in this maze.
 * Dance of the Macabre - Scare zone located underneath the Eiffel Tower. This scare zone is themed to the French Revolution, and featured scare actors dressed in elegant old time clothing that has been damaged in some form, and with noticeable wounds primarily on their face. The scare zone featured a photo-op station based on old-time painted portraits, a banquet table overrun with rats, and torsos impaled on spiked poles.
 * Rivertown Reaping - Set in the area of the same name. Unlike most scare zones, this area did not have a large focus on new scenery that's exclusive to the event, and instead just uses scare actors themed to the old time theme of Rivertown. Open in 2019-2019.
 * Zombie Mall - Scare zone themed to zombies. Located in back of Coney Mall near Kings Mills Antique Autos. The sale of a lifetime is happening now at this one-of-a-kind outdoor market, and everything must go! If you're looking for trouble you're sure to find a killer deal, but it's still going to cost you an arm and a leg. Open 2019-2019.
 * Urgent Scare - Housed in Coney Mall behind Windseeker, in the building that formerly housed the Action Theater motion simuator theaters. This maze is set inside a hospital where a zombie outbreak has gotten out of control. Actors primarily portrayed infected staff and patients, in addition to mannequins depicting brutally dismembered patients who were attacked by zombies. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this Maze was removed before the 2021 season.
 * Field of Screams - Located in a back area past The Racer at part of where Dinosaurs Alive! once stood. This attraction is a take on the classic haunted cornfield maze, and features scare actors posing as farmers, living scarecrows, and other creepy characters, which decorations including an area with haybales. Due to Orion being close to this it was moved back to Tower Gardens in 2021 as Cornered.

Trivia

 * The majority of Cedar Fair's parks, also use Halloween Haunt as the name for their seasonal Halloween event. Among the exceptions are Cedar Point's HalloWeekends, Valleyfair's ValleyScare, Carowinds' S'Carowinds, and Knott's Berry Farm's Knott's Scary Farm.
 * Ironically, the HalloWeekends name used by Cedar Point was previously used by other Cedar Fair parks prior to the acquisition of Kings Island and the rest of Paramount Parks. These were Valleyfair, Dorney Park, and Worlds of Fun. But some of them have also since adapted the Halloween Haunt name.
 * Even stranger, Cedar Point was not the first Cedar Fair park to feature a Halloween event. It was later implemented to Cedar Point and their other parks shortly after the acquisition of Knott's Berry Farm, which had done Halloween events in prior years.
 * A common decoration for the event is a large Jack-in-the-Box toy, aptly named Jack. This decoration was originally featured heavily at Planet Snoopy, which was sometimes rethemed to a haunted circus theme during the event. In recent years, it has been seen in front of the Racer queue and carnival games at Coney Mall. During the day, it does not operate, but once the park transitions to Halloween Haunt during the evening, it will casually play a tradition music box version of the nursery song Pop Goes the Weasel, before the head lifts upward while laughing, and the aforementioned music then continues to play in a heavy metal style. It then returns to its music box style as the head lowers. This initially occurred at timed intervals, but recent years have featured this behavior start over shortly after concluding.
 * Similar Jack-in-the-Box figures that behave in the same manner can be seen at various Cedar Fair parks for their respective Halloween events. One of them could be found at the entrance to Happy Jack's Toy Factory, a former maze featured at sister park Cedar Point's HalloWeekends event. This was the only case of this recurring decoration being a promotional item for a haunted maze.
 * Some of the attraction names at Kings Island have been reused either from or by mazes at other Cedar Fair parks. For instance, Cedar Point has also used Carn-Evil, Club Blood, Cornstalkers, Slaughterhouse, Blackout and Cutthroat Cove for their HalloWeekends mazes throughout the years.
 * An animatronic ogre can be found near the break-run of the Diamondback during this event. He's generally sleeping, but will occasionally wake up, and threaten the guests to go away, or he will eat them. This animatronic is also featured at Cedar Point for their similar Halloweekends event.
 * A frequent tradition of the event involves renaming the Coney Mall area to "Coney Maul," a play on words referring to the act of violently and gruesomely killing something, like a carnivorous animal would.
 * Due to the Coney Mall area always having a carnival theme as the primary area for carnival games and classic carnival rides, the Coney Maul retheme often focuses around a haunted carnival. Several years of the event have featured many scare actors and decorations based on various concepts such as evil clowns, and freak show acts with mutated humans or creatures.
 * Guests wishing to visit the park, but not interested in the event are able to purchase "No Boo" necklaces with lights to indicate that they do not want the scare actors to interact with them. These only work for scare zones, and do not apply to the haunted mazes.
 * As with most Halloween events at amusement parks, the actors are not allowed to make any physical contact with guests. In fact, the actors will sometimes improvise if guests intentionally attempt to make physical contact with the actor, usually with sudden movements to startle the guests.
 * The closest that actors will get to guests is usually when they blend in with a group of guests, expecting them to turn around and realize a monster is following them.
 * The actors will also address guests if they are going the wrong way in a maze, though it is usually in a confrontational manner, or to surprise as if they are aware the guests do not know which direction to go.
 * All water rides, which include the entirety of Soak City, Race For Your Life Charlie Brown, White Water Canyon, and Congo Falls, are closed during this event, as the autumn weather of the Cincinnati area is much cooler than in the summer.
 * At various years of the event, a cemetery is featured, listing various names, as well as a funeral scene. This is currently featured on the pathway past the Eiffel Tower that connects International Street to Coney Mall and Rivertown. Some of the gravestones feature the names of retired attractions, which include Firehawk, Enchanted Voyage, and even a gravestone referencing a time when The Racer had one set of its cars run backwards, indicated by the text being engraved backwards on the gravestone.