Abattoir A Haunted Attraction Review (2021)

As with many haunts (and other businesses) this year, staffing was a bit tight for Abattoir. Despite that, a select few sinister assailants snuck up on us several times to multiply the frights we received including Billy Bonzo. Also, the Doctor and the Executioner were verbally interactive with us, splitting up our group to experience different experiments and making us pull the lever to electrocute a culpable criminal. Make sure you pull it hard and fast or it won’t be good enough! (We know – that’s what SHE said)

However, the dialogues varied from monster to monster. Some jumped out with common ‘rawrs’ and hysterical laughter, while others selected scripts more suitable to their scenes. Regardless, we could tell these creatures were conscious of their areas due to their ability to scare us from multiple directions. Some crawled out on the ground from unsuspecting sanctums, banged from behind barriers, or lunged out from secret lairs trying to grab us!

When it comes to masks and makeup, most of these monsters’ looks leaned towards masks to finish the fiends’ faces. Most of the masks included high-end silicone models that enhanced the realism of the respective miscreants and formed to their faces enough to make them easily heard as they spoke to us. A couple of the most memorable masks were those worn by Billy Bonzo, the executioner, and the pig-headed axe murderer near the finale.

Makeup was also used during our tour and was [albeit moderately] successful at sending shivers down our spines. Still, most of the monsters were well dressed and matched the scenes we saw them in. Some of these included filthy overalls, work uniforms, lab coats, and more as prescribed by the character being portrayed. Others used accessories, such as arm-length gloves and hooks, to extend their devious depictions down the lengths of their limbs and various weapons to increase the intimidation factors.

Abattoir’s 2nd Street location puts them right down the road from Vincennes University. An elevated and illuminated sign by the street helps approaching visitors to spot their location from quite a ways away. First, however, one must embark down a narrow alley to access their neighboring parking lot. On most nights, a parking attendant helps indicate where to enter and the best place to park.

The ticket booth is on the opposite side of the building as the parking lot. Several small tents are next to each other, covering the ticket booth and queue area, which was great on the drizzly night that we attended! Everyone we spoke with was amicable and able to help us with any questions we had. At the ticket booth, be sure to cast your vote for your favorite holiday, as they’re currently planning on opening at some point during the off-season for whichever event gets the most votes! Options include Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day.

Inside the haunt, guests can expect to experience two floors of fear! However, with that said, there are some stairs to descend and ascend to complete the journey. In addition, there is also a spot through which customers must crawl but it’s soft. Overhead lights adequately illuminated each flight of stairs, and no scares were happening in those areas. Well, that is until we were well clear of them and any trip hazards. Be sure to limber up before you get started; you’re going to need it if you expect to escape the assailants within!

When searching for information online, we were able to find their general information quickly and easily on their website along with a video, FAQs, and more!

Abattoir’s atmosphere (outside the building) is relatively minimal but ‘to the point.’ Small posters and projections in the streetside windows displayed the haunt’s name and added some spooky sights to the structure’s front. In addition, Billy Bonzo’s occasional walkabouts while wailing, ‘It’s too scary in there!’ and mingling with the crowd, as well as the haunt’s illuminated sign, certainly help imply the presence of a haunted attraction. There’s also a collection of ambient sounds playing and a small photo op booth near the entrance where folks can take some sinister selfies with their group.

Abattoir is a bit of a rare bird in the Special Effects department. On one hand, avid scare-seekers may be impartial to some of the more conventional displays on tap throughout the tour. On the other hand, however, there’s also an impressive mix of high-end, heart-pounding animatronics, startling sounds, and their own brand of creative chaos that’s sure to keep even the most experienced terror tourers on their toes!

Perhaps the most noticeable changes since last year were the rooms themselves. Previously, many of the scenes were relatively large and unencumbered by walls and such. This season, efforts to shrink some of the room sizes successfully added more twists and turns. Not only did this give the monsters more places to hide, increase immersion, and make some of them more physically interactive, it also added a bit of length to the haunt! More on that in our Value section below.

Other tricks included cleverly-placed twitching bodies, group-dispersing doorways, visual illusions, multiple audible and visual electrical shocks, well-disguised hiding spots, unexpected blasts of air, and quite an extensive collection of grotesque corpses scattered around everywhere!

However, two of our most memorable sections at Abattoir are their ‘chainsaw hallway’ and their ‘smashing hallway.’ We won’t dare ruin these surprises for you, but we haven’t seen either of them at any other haunt this year. Both of them made us run or think twice about going through at all! Aside from these, we also noticed some large rodents, a creepy phone ringing, punctured pipes, an escaping skeleton, a quarantine zone, and a whole lot more that you’re just going to have to see for yourself.

Lastly, we noticed an improvement in sound usage this year. One of the first scenes was quite memorable with the upbeat old-timey music contrasting with the chaotic scares going on in the scene. Some of the selected singles included ambient sounds that helped break the silence, but other choices may have better enhanced the intensity and scariness of the scenes. Many of the most influential sounds came from the props and animatronics themselves.

Before we even started our tour of Abattoir, we witnessed several groups of haunt-goers using the chicken exits, coming back out the front door in a panic attack, or running out the normal exit fleeing from the final fiend!

Aside from standard startle scares, this attraction extorts an extensive assortment of frights and phobias. Some of these include darkness, clowns, hospitals, doctors, confined spaces, werewolves, and zombies. And, however, just because you’ve experienced one of them already doesn’t mean you may not get it again before the end of the tour!

In addition to the wide selection of scares, we couldn’t tell from which direction they might show themselves. Some came out from well-hidden hidey holes, others from within the walls, and others WERE the walls themselves! Lastly, this is what we’d call a ‘360 haunt,’ where the scares may attack you from any direction, including from above or below you. Trust nothing!

The finale of the haunt takes place immediately at the top of a set of stairs, which leaves little time for suspense build-up or an impactful scare scene, but safety is the top priority, and we still saw several groups come running back out to their cars. From what, you might ask? Well, we’ll put it this way: ‘Meat is Murder!’

Customers can purchase general admission to experience the atrocities at Abattoir on-site for $15. Our group was subjected to their sinister scares for just under 10 minutes, which gives them an MPD (Minutes of Entertainment per Dollar spent) of 0.67. This result is considerably lower than the average of 1.25 that our Team has seen this season. Still, the creativity and originality of some of the scenes and startles within make this attraction well worth a visit! Plus, it’s one of the more budget-friendly haunts that we have the pleasure of visiting each season.

While we waited, there were a few items to take pictures of, some spooky music, and Billy Bonzo prowled the crowd, taking selfies and running up and down the street hilariously expressing his thoughts on the haunt itself. But other than that, there wasn’t much going on to pass the wait in line.

Abattoir states on their website that they do offer a SCARE-LESS adventure. If you don’t think you’re brave enough to survive the terrors within, feel free to ask for this option at the ticket counter.

Abattoir is a unique haunted house just a stone’s throw away from Illinois in South-Western Indiana. With 2021 only being their 2nd season in operation, and with all of the new frights we find here each year, we can’t wait to come back and see what else they come up with!