This Cleveland Restaurant Is Also A Haunted House
Have you ever wanted to dine in a haunted house? If by haunted house you mean the "Ghost Adventures" kind, complete with EVPs, strange lights, mysteriously slamming doors, and the occasional bit of shattered glassware not dropped by human hand, well, there's no shortage of these. When in Baltimore, be sure to visit The Horse You Came In On Saloon in Fells Point, a tavern said to be haunted by Mr. Spooky himself, Edgar Allan Poe (via Our Community Now). In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, you can enjoy a meal at the Farnsworth Inn, haunted by an entire squad's worth of Civil War soldiers (via Spook Eats). In Milwaukee, Shakers Cigar Bar is a Walker's Point restaurant whose previous incarnations have included both brothel and speakeasy and has a basement that may be the final resting place of several murdered mobsters (via Only In Your State).
If you are more a fan of the Halloween variety of haunted house, however, where you go on a walking tour through a building full of costumed jump scares, you had better start planning a trip to Cleveland. The 216 was once known primarily for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as its former association with LeBron James, but it now takes a place among the few cities to offer a horror-themed dining experience with the opening of its new restaurant, The Haunted House.
You'll feel like you're eating inside a horror movie
The Haunted House Restaurant opened in Cleveland Heights just this past July, according to the Dayton Daily News. It was the dream (or nightmare) project of four local restaurateurs who wanted to showcase their love of cheesy horror films. Needless to say, the restaurant's décor prominently features movie posters from such classics as "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "Candyman," and "Scream," and horror movies also play non-stop on all of the restaurant's TV sets. (Think sports bar, only with scary movies.) There's also free popcorn to enhance your cinematic experience.
Should you be at the restaurant to celebrate a birthday, cue the ominous music ... which is exactly what the restaurant will do. If anyone in your party tips them off about your special day, they will run a "Purge" film clip complete with screaming sirens and a jolting segue into Stevie Wonder singing "Happy Birthday." If it's not your birthday, but you still want to hear some creepy music, order the "Jaws" pizza and soon that familiar "da dum, da dum" will be echoing throughout the room.
The menu offerings are pretty horrific (in a good way)
Nearly every dish on The Haunted House Restaurant's menu has a name that pays homage to a notorious movie, character, or franchise. In addition to the seafood-topped "Jaws" pizza, there's a pepperoni "Jigsaw" option, while appetizers include "Nightmare on Elm Street Corn," "Frankenfish Tacos," and "Scooby Snacks" (a nacho/wonton fusion mashup). Entrees include "Swamp Things" (crab cakes), "Jerk Silence of the Lamb Pops," and a vegan "Ecto Burger." There's even a kid's menu featuring "Freddy Chicken Fingers."
If you really want the specialty of the house, though, you should go for one of the items on the "Brinner" menu. (Brinner = breakfast + dinner, so basically a heartier version of brunch, FYI.) Brinner offerings include "The Twilight" (chicken and waffles, only the waffle is black), "Pennywise" (chicken with a red waffle and "haunted maple heat sauce"), and "The Slimer" (this time, the waffle is green and comes with sausage, egg, cheese, and bacon). Oh, and since no brunch — er, brinner — would be complete without some booze (or, in this case, boos), Dayton Daily News says the restaurant offers beer and wine. There are also creepy cocktails available, including ones named after The Thing, King Kong, and Candyman, as well as something the menu refers to as a "Potion Bowl" promising "bippity, boppity, [and] boom." Whatever you order, it sounds like any trip to The Haunted House Restaurant is bound to be a spook-tacular good time!