Category: Michigan

HAUNTS – Haunted Funeral Home – MI

HAUNTED FUNERAL HOME

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The group of young ladies waiting to enter the Haunted Funeral Home, a uniquely frightening stand alone haunted attraction in an actual funeral home, scattered screaming and jumping on each other as soon as the door opened. They explained that they had been to a larger, professional haunt earlier in the season and weren’t scared but something about Haunted Funeral Home terrified them. Maybe it’s the area in which it’s located, or the history of the building, or simply the unknown…personally I often find smaller haunts in creepy locations more unpredictable than the larger more commercial haunts. This is definitely a creepy haunt for those reasons. It’s not a large space, but they do a good job using what they have. I thought the actors were a lot of fun and working hard. There wasn’t a clear story or large impressive animatronics around every corner like some of the larger haunts, but it was charming and fun. I had a great time visiting the Haunted Funeral Home.

HAUNTS – Azra – MI

AZRA

Azra Chamber of Horrors Haunted House is a stand alone haunt in the Detroit area. It’s one of the larger haunts in the area. It has a great reputation, which I didn’t think it quite lived up to. They have some really unique moments and fun scenes. The actors worked hard. A few moments stood out to me; the bees & the clown playfully shooting the balls at me. However I didn’t like the slide, it felt awkward and caused a small bottleneck. Also it didn’t appear to have a work around, so if you didn’t want to do it you’d miss the clowns. It lacked a bit in creativity and originality. At times it felt like it was trying to imitate other haunts rather than finding its own voice. However I see A LOT of haunted attractions, so if this is one of the few haunts you plan to see in the season then it may not be as noticeable. Overall it was a good professional haunt that locals seem to love.

HAUNTS – Hush – MI

HUSH

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Hush is a 40,000 square foot professional haunt just outside of Detroit Michigan. We went in the middle of October and they already had a very large crowd compared to a lot of the haunts this season. It’s nice to see the community out enjoying Halloween early, however keep that in mind when you plan since there are likely be long lines. Hush does offer fast pass and immediate entry options if you are in a hurry or just don’t like to wait. They also have specialty events including glow stick walk throughs in the dark at the end of the season and kids day.

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Hush was a fun experience. The props and sets were very well done. I loved the special effects and large animatronics. There were a handful of actors that really understood the art of the scare and storytelling. I especially liked finding out about a few easter eggs in the design such as the Hush logo showing up when you least expect it.

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Thank you to Hush for having me out to experience the haunt. It was a great time!

HAUNTS – The Scream Machine – MI

THE SCREAM MACHINE

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The Scream Machine is a scary fun haunted attraction located in Taylor Michigan. It’s located in a mall which allows for easy parking and space for an indoor line queue. This attraction is wheelchair accessible. It takes about 20 minutes or so to go through the attraction. They also have two mini escape rooms at the end for a small up charge.

The Scream Machine does a great job of keeping you on your toes. They don’t really give you any time to relax, it’s constant scare after scare. The actors work really hard! I was also impressed by the staff here, especially when I realized the person I had been in contact with about visiting was not only running the door but also helping guests with frightened children so that the kids wouldn’t have to go inside. I love the sense of community. The Scream Machine does a good job with sets, props and costumes. They purge the line well so you don’t end up stuck in a conga line. I had a lot of fun going through. I also really enjoyed the escape rooms. I found the carnival themed game especially entertaining and clever.

Overall it’s a very fun way to enjoy the Halloween season! Thank you for inviting me out to experience it. I had a frighteningly fun time!

HAUNTS – Erebus – MI

EREBUS

First I’d like to congratulate Erebus on their top placement on this year’s USA Today 10Best List. It’s a well deserved win.
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Erebus is one of the few haunted attractions I’ve seen that has effectively taken a huge variety of scenes and managed to tell a coherent story. I love the idea that the guests are being used as test subjects to time travel. The addition of a small archway between scenes combined with the story at the top was enough to tell an interesting tale while still allowing for creative freedom in the different sections for amazing scares. The large, unique location adds so much charm to the event. Erebus uses the four levels that houses the haunt effectively having you go up stairs and down ramps in a way that really made me uncertain of where I was and what was coming next. I love the buried alive moment. I found the set and props impressive. I especially loved the Dinosaur.
Overall I think Erebus puts on and incredible event and I hope you’ll check it out. Thank you to Erebus for having us out to experience it.
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HAUNTS – Scarehouse Windsor – Canada

SCAREHOUSE WINDSOR

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Windsor Scarehouse is a fun haunted attraction for adults and families. They have a wonderful location in Windsor, which is also very close to Detroit Michigan (even though it’s a different country). There are two main attractions this year: Scared Evil and Haunted Darkness (the blackout maze). I found Haunted Darkness to be disorientating, confusing and fun. I enjoyed the interactions with the actors throughout. I liked the theme of the nightmare purge in Scared Evil. I felt the use of animatronics very effective. The set and sound design were well done. The actors worked very hard and were dedicated to the scare. The costumes and makeup were great. Overall I found them both very well done and a lot of fun. Thank you to Scarehouse for inviting me out to attend your event.

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HAUNTS – Rotten Manor – MI

ROTTEN MANOR

Rotten Manor had incredible potential, but was one of the experiences I’ve had at a haunted attraction.

There were a few great actors, beautiful sets and some cool moments. The actress in the gingerbread house and the actor with the pig mask that did the countdown were awesome! The gingerbread house scene was actually my favorite moment in the entire event. The set, scents, props, lighting and actress were all top notch. The payoff of the oven was lacking though…we expected something, anything in that moment but nothing happened. The foam rooms were creative, but there could’ve been fewer. The dark tunnels and tight spaces moments were great the first few times but did get a bit overused. The facades were gorgeous!!! We did meet a few very competent and kind staff members that seemed passionate about the haunt and customer service.

However, Rotten Manor had some of the worst crowd control I’ve ever seen at a haunted attraction. I’ve seen crowds with similar energy at haunts like Haunted Hoochie or House of Shock except at those events the cast and crew are able to keep the crowd in check. Unfortunately this staff and cast didn’t have the same expertise.

A few moments really stood out as disappointing. I asked the staff member that let us into the trail what the rules of the haunt were and he replied, “There are no rules” which seemed to be the major issue. We had an actress say ,”sorry I broke character” and then continue to talk about how hot the guys in front of us were instead of scaring us. The guys in front of us on the trail managed to hide away in the crypt and proceed to jump out and attempt to scare my husband and I but no one stopped them even though we waited and tried to stay far behind them we’d catch up to them harassing actors or making what appeared to be tiktok videos on different sets (with actors watching them do it). One of the actors just blew directly in my face as a “scare”, which isn’t scary but probably going to lead to me catching a cold. Inside the manor an actor separated my husband and I, which we’ve seen done effectively in other haunts, however there was no purpose or payoff we just ended up not being able to enjoy the haunt together. It was so packed we were often standing around waiting to move, I stood trapped in an airbag for a really long time due to lack of purging the line properly. I had strangers grabbing me and running into me through the majority of the dark sections because we were crowded in the space and couldn’t see.

There was a large crowd out, so lines were long. It was mostly frustrating because the people in front of us chained smoked even while standing in front of the NO SMOKING sign. Security appeared to say something to them but instead of putting out their cigarette they passed it around and tried to finish it then lit up again as soon as he walked away. It seemed security didn’t want to eject anyone even if they clearly were breaking the rules.

Overall the haunt has massive potential, but lacks tremendously in skilled actors and an overall effective staff. It seems a bit of training might change this from a hot mess to one of the nation’s top haunts. Unfortunately at the moment they are just a hot mess.