The Dracula Experience Turns Chillicothe Into a Halloween Destination
Live outdoor show, haunted trail, escape room and more make up this all-inclusive fall experience
Story & Photos by Matt Bayman
CHILLICOTHE — If you're looking for something more than a haunted house this Halloween season, head to the hills outside Chillicothe for an evening that combines live theater, spooky attractions, food and outdoor entertainment.
Each October, the Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheatre — home to Tecumseh: The Ultimate Outdoor Drama Experience! during the summer — transforms into a Halloween destination for what is billed as a complete "experience."
Over the years, the outdoor venue has hosted a different Halloween production each fall. There was The Sleepy Hollow Experience in 2019, The Passion of Dracula! in 2021, Stories of the Undead in 2022, Frankenstein! in 2023 and 2024, and The Mothman Experience! in 2025.
In 2026, it's The Dracula Experience.
The name is fitting because the event is much more than a theatrical performance. The evening includes an escape room, a live outdoor show, a haunted trail, food and drinks, a movie under the stars and other activities, creating a Halloween night that can easily fill several hours.
The experience takes place every Thursday through Saturday in October at Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheatre, located in a remote, wooded area in the rolling foothills just outside Chillicothe. The setting is particularly scenic in the fall, when the surrounding hills are covered in autumn foliage.
The Halloween shows take place at night, often beneath the stars and moon. Moody lighting, music and special effects begin setting the atmosphere before the show even starts and become increasingly elaborate as the performance unfolds.
The productions themselves are a mix of musical theater and live drama, with actors using the outdoor stage, surrounding grounds, props, special effects and, at times, live animals to make the audience part of the action.
During The Sleepy Hollow Experience, for example, the audience experienced the show from three different locations. It began in the regular stadium seating before the entire audience was invited down to a pond on the main stage for the second half. The finale moved to a nearby barn, where a headless horseman rode a real horse through the middle of the building while carrying a flaming torch.
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The Passion of Dracula! transformed the stage into a castle surrounded by a dark forest. At one point, a gun battle erupted outside the castle, complete with blanks being fired and actors riding real horses.
Frankenstein! continued the tradition of turning the entire venue into part of the production. The show ended with the actors transforming into monsters and the stage and surrounding grounds becoming a haunted attraction that the audience walked through.
The 2026 Dracula Experience follows that same idea of making the entire evening part of the attraction.
The night begins at 6 p.m. with a 30-minute escape room challenge. At 7:15 p.m., guests take their seats for The Immortal Dracula, a 60-minute outdoor performance with no intermission.
After the show, the Halloween adventure continues at 8:45 p.m. with a 30-minute Haunted Trail. Guests can then settle in for a scary movie on the outdoor big screen while enjoying the venue's dining and bar area until 10:30 p.m.
For visitors who want the full experience, an all-inclusive ticket is $50 and includes the show, Haunted Trail, VIP center-stage seating, a free soft drink, tomahawk throwing, and a gift and goodie bag.
Individual tickets are also available: The show is $30, the Haunted Trail is $20 and the escape room is $15.
A pub serving food and drinks opens at 6 p.m. Menu items include pizza, breadsticks, chili cheese dogs, popcorn, nachos, pretzels, apple cider, pumpkin pie, beer, soda, coffee and hot chocolate.
With the combination of live outdoor theater, a haunted attraction, an escape room, food and an outdoor movie, The Dracula Experience is less a single Halloween attraction and more an entire evening of entertainment.
It also offers a different way to experience Chillicothe in the fall, with the wooded hills around Sugarloaf Mountain providing a naturally spooky setting for a night of Halloween fun.
To purchase tickets and learn more, click HERE.
