This group couldn’t wait to “meat” me. And once I entered the doors of this sick meat factory, I understood why. Various meats were scattered through the different floors and several rooms of a little building marked Abattoir, located in the little town of Vincennes, Indiana. Most of the meats seemed to be of the human kind, and it really felt like they were trying to trap me there to use my meat for whatever sorcery was happening behind these doors. I definitely do not think that this meat is marked FDA approved, so beware..
Few but mighty. The cast of the night seemed limited, but there is only a limited amount of space for the cast to act, and with the props and animatronics filling most of the dead space, it was understandable why I encountered the few cast members I did. There were a few rooms that could have used a few more cast members, or recurring cast members that could have followed me throughout my haunt experience, would have made it seem more like a full cast.
I met various different cast in this dreadful night. As soon as we walked in the front doors of this meat factory, we were face-to-face with Theodore. This goofy little guy set the stage in his performance, giving us the rundown of the factory and various warnings. He seemed unpredictable with what he would do next, leaving us on edge and giving us great anticipation for what was to come next. He told us to beware of the boss. The boss gave off angry boss vibes, told us we were late, and from his demeanor alone, we could tell he wasn’t very happy with us.
The cast set the tone of a demented meat factory well, each playing their role in several different scare tactics. Interactions of the night varied from creepy stalker vibes, uncomfortable banter, a few screams here and there, providing good jump scares, and an overall sense of “you’re next,” giving a good variety of behaviors, making me truly stay on my toes.
The costuming of the night ranged from full and complete to a few costumes that could have used a little work. The masks you could tell were made in-house, but they still gave an out-of-this-world, demented kind of appearance, which I personally enjoyed. The costumes fit with one another throughout the haunt. There were a few actors with full costumes but clean hands, making them seem a little out of place in this dirty meat factory.
The boss wore a dirty and ragged suit and tie, making it obvious that he was the one who ran this place. Herbert was a favorite of mine, wearing a very unique mask that enclosed his face, but made his mouth glow blue. Very creepy. Grin and Butch were both outstanding costumes. Grin’s mask color blended so well with his skin, making his bloody grin look so realistic. Butche’s mask was similar in tone and in creepiness. Both of these characters looked like workers at this meat factory. Dirty and bloodied up, detailed and realistic.
Each cast member, boss, worker, and victim of the performance fit in well to the overarching theme of the night, and were seemingly placed in the perfect scene for their fit.
The owner and staff of this haunt are truly some of the most welcoming, nicest, and informative people I know. They know their stuff. I encourage you, if you have time, to talk to them about their haunt, future plans, or just spooky stuff in general, do it. I always walk away from here more knowledgeable about something, and they do give off the perfect small-town, hospitable kind of atmosphere.
Abattoir is super easy to find, although driving up to the building, you get a specific ghost town undertone that helps set the mood. They have a Facebook page that gives most of the pertinent information needed to know. They have a location that, if you put into GPS, will take you straight to the building with a sign clearly lit saying Abattoir. There is a website link on their Facebook, but it does not take you to anything Abattoir-related, and I had a difficult time trying to find ticket prices before arrival.
They make it clear from the beginning that there will be crawling, tight, and dark spaces, and stairs. However, there are no scares on the stairs, and there were no real safety hazards during my visit, although sometimes it felt as if my safety was in concern, it really wasn’t.
Walking up to the ticket booth, I was met with quite the beautiful startle. We didn’t give this away last year, so we will keep the secret this year. Let’s just say “Once she lures you behind her wheel, you’ll be hers. Body and Soul.” “She’s Hell on Wheels.” And oh, how true that is. She makes the pre-haunt atmosphere one of anticipation and suspense!
Through the front doors and into my demise, I was immersed in a full meat factory during my experience, and sometimes it became difficult to find my way to the next scene, creating a specific “I’m trapped here” thought, making it hard to think. I ran into a few dead ends, one was cold and gruesome. Doors became hard to find, and I really had to use my brain so they didn’t use it for their meat!
Room to room flowed super well, consistently immersed inside this multi-story meat factory, leading up to the finale where I was tossed out the back door, and into the alley. Going from 100 to 0 in a matter of seconds created a weird shift for the end flow. Putting an actor in this area would really help the flow at the end, making this experience even more immersive!
Abattoir, in my experience, seriously brings it when it comes to special effects. They gave me a performance including many different props, animatronics, and other effects that created a never-ending anxiety buildup in my chest, making it impossible to know what was going to pop up at me next. I get confused, and I anticipated jump scares from mannequins that were incredibly humanistic, because I honestly could not tell what was real and what was not. The break room is a good example of this. Workers on break sitting at the booths, one looked so incredibly real, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, so when the boss came barging in, I wasn’t expecting him, and it created true fear.
Some of the animatronics of the night do not necessarily fit with the meat factory aspect of Abattoir, but they are wicked to say the least, and very entertaining, and do fit in with the general haunted house atmosphere.
I walked and crawled on several different textures, really hitting that feeling you get when something feels gross but you don’t know what it is. Heebie jeebies? For sure caused me fear shivers. Spiders, rats, blood, guts, and fear are just a few things I experienced during my walk-through at Abattoir.
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 7
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 9.9
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 6.9
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 8
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 6
Is it scary? I think so. There are so many different types of scares that it makes it really easy to get someone in one way or another. They attack you from all directions and angles. Bella. Oof. She really got me. Grabbing at me with some sort of maggot, drawing my attention to that, and then walking into a room already incredibly disorienting, the room with many doors. And then from behind she comes crawling at me, contorting her head in ways that seemed to be so uncomfortable and near impossible for a normal human being. Well. Bella isn’t a normal human being. She scared the crap out of me.
Walking through blacked-out areas, crawling through a tunnel that touched my sides, feeling like I was going to fall through the never-ending, furry floor, dead ends, lots of taunts and surprises were just a few moments where fear was induced in me.
I was in a group of two, and we were equally scared, even if it was in different moments. Some of the scares were predictable, while others were downright out of nowhere! The finale was an area of opportunity, although it still got a little jump out of me.
Ground Chuck was another standout, performing a different kind of scare. Acting as a victim, but helping all the workers, he trapped my group and wouldn’t let us go! The taunts and banter from him provided a weird comic relief that was actually not a relief at all. He forced me to tell him he was pretty before letting me go to the next horror scene. You’re pretty, Chuck. Now, can I go?
It took my group exactly 15 minutes to escape this meat factory; however, walkthrough time is going to vary on how fast you can find the next room, and fear zoomies might have to be calculated into my time.
General admission is $20, making the MPD (Minutes Per Dollar) .75. Although a little lower than what we like to see, which is 1 MPD, Abattoir offers a night that is memorable and worth every penny. This haunted house experience is a very unique yet horrifying one. They don’t have a lot of activities outside of the haunt to partake in, but that surprise I was talking about earlier, and the camaraderie of the owner and staff make this a bloody good time. 10/10 do recommend you visit!
321 N 2nd Street, Vincennes, Indiana 47591