Inside a schoolhouse that once echoed with the footsteps of more than 200,000 students, actors in the dark are now the ones doing the haunting. Grafton Haunted School House, built inside the historic Grafton School at 1111 Elm Street in Grafton, Ohio, wraps up its 2026 run this weekend, closing out a season that began as a family's home haunt and grew into a full walkthrough attraction inside a National Register landmark.
The building itself has a long history behind the scares. According to Historic Grafton School, the structure was designed in 1935 by architect Walter Caldwell and held classes from 1936 through 2005, with more than 200,000 students passing through its doors over those 70 years. The nonprofit now behind the property is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to repurposing the building into an arts and culture center, following its 2015 purchase after a decade sitting vacant.
As reported by News 5 Cleveland, the haunted attraction traces back to John Minor Jr., who ran a homemade Halloween display called Minor Manor out of his family's garage in Columbia Station for several years before the operation found its way into the old schoolhouse. Minor told the outlet that the Elm Street location felt like fate, and that he has a longstanding passion for Halloween that predates the move.
From a Garage in Columbia Station to a Former Classroom Wing
Minor's path to 1111 Elm Street wasn't a simple one. A house fire destroyed his Columbia Station home in 2025, and he moved afterward; per the same News 5 Cleveland report, a connection through his landscaping business told him about vacant space at the old school. Minor said the fire was devastating but ultimately led his family to a better place, and he said he hopes the attraction keeps making an impression on visitors.
Visitors enter the Minor Manor experience through the east wing of the building, according to graftonhauntedschool.com, which bills this year's edition as “Terror Returns To The Historic Grafton School House.” The walk-through winds through corridors, a locker-lined waiting area, repurposed classrooms, a cafeteria and a kitchen outfitted with macabre props, live actors and sound effects, the News 5 Cleveland report notes. Minor told the station visitors can expect jump scares, dark hallways and things lurking around every corner.
Scare Actors With Ties to the Building's Past
Chelsey Butler, a scare actor at the attraction, told News 5 Cleveland that her stepmother once attended Grafton School and has described eerie experiences from her time there. Butler said she sometimes feels spooked herself while working as an actor inside the building. Fellow scare actor Patrick Smith, who helped build the original Minor Manor, said the home haunt impressed him even before it moved into the schoolhouse.
The attraction's organizers say the work behind the scenes never really stops. The team spends countless hours bringing the old schoolhouse to life each season, creating new scares, environments and characters, according to FOX 8. That outlet reported the attraction's 2026 schedule ran Fridays and Saturdays from 7 p.m. to midnight and Sundays from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. from Sept. 25 through Nov. 1.
One Toned-Down Night Before the Final Scares
One Toned-Down Night Before the Final Scares Before the season's final scares, the attraction is holding one family-friendly night. News 5 Cleveland reported Grafton Haunted School House opens Thursday, Oct. 29, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for a family-friendly experience featuring lower sound effects, no fog and no jump scares. The attraction's closing weekend then follows the standard format, with Friday and Saturday hours running 7 p.m. to midnight and a final Sunday, Nov. 1, slot from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Minor has described the season, per the News 5 Cleveland report, as the attraction's second year of operation, while the station separately characterized it as its second season. He also said paranormal investigators have claimed to find evidence of hauntings inside the building, though that claim has not been independently verified elsewhere. Minor said he sees the project as something bigger than scares alone, telling the station it's bringing the community together and creating good memories.
A Growing Reputation Beyond Lorain County
The attraction's rapid rise from a garage haunt to a full-scale production inside a historic school hasn't gone unnoticed outside Grafton. A 2026 review from The Scare Factor, which described the attraction as a newcomer to the Cleveland area that debuted the previous year, scored it 8.7 out of 10 for how easy it was to find information, park and navigate the property, and 7.3 for how well its exterior areas and entrance set the mood. The reviewer noted the walkthrough moved from medical-horror imagery into a funeral-and-crypt section before ending on a circus theme; the outlet disclosed it received complimentary tickets for the visit.
The old schoolhouse has drawn other offbeat programming before. In 2022, paranormal expert Brian J. Cano brought his History of the Paranormal Exhibit to the building from June 22 through June 25, filling it with displays on paranormal history, spiritualism, haunted objects, tarot and paranormal research, according to The Morning Journal. Whether it's ghost hunters or Halloween actors, the building that once held classrooms for 70 years keeps finding new ways to put its long hallways to use.
