Final Scores – By Category:

Cast (20% of Final Score): 8.89

Costuming (10% of Final Score): 8.79

Customer Service (10% of Final Score): 9.75

Immersion (10% of Final Score): 9.23

Special Effects (15% of Final Score): 9.29

Scare Factor (20% of Final Score): 9.28

Entertainment & Value (15% of Final Score): 9.35

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Final Scores – By Attraction:

Attraction 1: 9.21

Who’s ready to time travel through a 4-story haunted house? (Raises hands) Who’s ready to be eaten by giant monsters? (Raises hands) Who’s ready to get separated from their group by moving walls? (Raises hands) Who’s ready to be buried alive? Crickets. Wait… buried alive? Yes! You read that right!

Erebus Haunted Attraction, in Pontiac, Michigan, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary season, and they’re ready to have you screaming for your life! They’ve pulled out all the stops this year – and they’re throwing them at every brave soul who dares to enter. Seriously, there were moments we had to duck, or we’d have gotten whacked!

This is the most physical haunt we’ve reviewed to date! The animations and props grabbed, touched, and bit us! We even had to dive into a life-sized meat grinder and desperately tried not to plunge ourselves into a bottomless pit!

For returning visitors, this year’s show features many new scenes, effects, and characters. They’ve also added queue actors for the first time!

Haunt fans, unless you’ve been to Erebus, you haven’t seen all the top haunts yet!

The cast at Erebus did a great job of pulling us into their world. In the parking lot, we were nearly taken out of our car by a created cloaked in black, whose teeth were dangling from their jawbone! They also had a mist emitting from their hand! Was this one of the doctor’s experiments? Also, outside, a spooky girl in tattered clothing and a monstrous face mean-mugged us. The queue actors did a good job of freaking us out before we went inside, giving us just a tiny taste of what was to come!

Once inside, the cast came at us from many different angles. Their energy was high, and at times, we felt truly in danger. On multiple occasions, we ran and wondered what had just happened. They all seemed to want us to join them in their experiments with the doctor. Um, no thanks!

The two nurses who prepared us for our journey did a great job of making us feel like we were being prepped for the doctor to do with us as he wished. We also appreciated their voice enhancers. After that, every actor immersed us more in the horror of what the doctor had done. They all left us breathless and quickly on the lookout for our escape!

Erebus is a very large haunt that requires lots of staff to fill. On the night of our visit, we encountered many real monsters, which filled the haunt well. They utilized believable dialogue, and we didn’t hear many over-used phrases. They were aggressive, mean, quick-footed, and aware of their surroundings. Some additional standouts included the chain man in the stairwell, the crazed clowns, and the girl slinking around on all fours on the ground.

The cast at Erebus looked down at us from the windows of the four-story building that housed all the time travel experiments gone wrong. The creatures we could see in the distance were just glimpses of the grotesque monstrosities we would soon encounter.

Once inside the building, we were surrounded by what appeared to be doctors and scientists. All in tattered and stained lab coats. Nurses were covered in gashes and sores. Most of the humanistic personas were complete with pale skin and darkened eyes. Clearly, the doctor had not given them a break for quite some time. Some appeared to be part of his sick experiments as sores and face growths glistened in the lighting. We also noticed teeth where they did not belong. One experiment had even turned green and morphed into a lizard man! This sure was a great way to showcase the doctor’s precise skills!

Some gruesome experiments included a monkey, colorful clowns, pumpkin people, butchers, an occultist, a ghost that fit in perfectly with their surroundings, and many that we didn’t see because they were fast like ninjas! There were so many characters here that it’s hard to pinpoint them all, but their costumes were scene-appropriate, and the combination of realistic makeup, masks, and SPFX contacts helped to send this crew’s looks over the edge!

Erebus was easy to find, with multiple parking lots available nearby. We arrived early and snagged a convenient spot across the street for $10. The parking attendants were friendly, and knowing the lot would be operated all night was reassuring. The building is gigantic and hard to miss, with multiple large signs, a searchlight, and laser lights casting on nearby buildings.

The staff at Erebus were all accommodating and friendly, ensuring we were always heading in the right direction. Even when we got a little turned around inside, the characters quickly guided us back on track without breaking the immersion.

Be prepared for some uneven floors and ramps, plus areas where you’ll need to duck for an extended time. Some parts of the haunt even shift beneath your feet! This is a physically demanding experience, so make sure your shoes or boots are double-knotted. That said, we didn’t encounter any significant trip hazards.

Before our visit, we checked out their website and quickly found all the essential info – dates, hours, ticket options, a promo video, FAQs, and more. Everything we needed was right at our fingertips.

We were instantly immersed in a whirlwind of towering sets and animatronics when we stepped into this time traveler’s worst nightmare. Even the queue line was meticulously themed, making the wait an integral part of the experience. The scare actors were fully committed to the storyline, enhancing our journey as we navigated through the time machine.

The starting point of this haunt can feel somewhat subjective, with several holding areas near the beginning. Initially, you’ll enter the malfunctioning time machine. Afterward, groups are separated into various decontamination chambers, which serve as spacers to heighten the suspense. We began timing our experience upon entering the holding pits, though one could argue the haunt is even lengthier.

Once inside, we were left in awe of the incredible techniques used to immerse us in the world they created. Lighting was strategically placed, used only to showcase the cast or enhance the ambiance. The audio was powerful when necessary, elevating interactions and intensifying the scares. The timing of all the props was precise, ensuring we never missed a beat or encountered any out-of-sync triggers.

Lighting played a dual role – bright and impactful when highlighting the sets but dark and unsettling during transitions to heighten our sense of unease. Often, these voids were paired with cramped spaces and an absence of music, effectively keeping us on edge, anticipating the next scare.

The creators of Erebus have genuinely outdone themselves in the world of special effects, bringing to life things we’ve never seen before. And trust us, they didn’t just meet the bar – they smashed it! This haunt had some of the most jaw-dropping animations, animatronics, and sensory effects we’ve ever encountered.

Lighting played a big role here, with multicolored effects giving depth and dimension to each scene. Sounds were equally impressive in certain areas, drawing us deeper into the madness, though we did spot a few bare transition walls – definitely fewer than on our last visit, though!

Now, let’s talk about the wild stuff we experienced. We found ourselves dodging moving walls, navigating through a shocking cage (literally), nearly being burned alive and almost flattened by a giant pumpkin. Oh, and did we mention the room where they tried to bury us alive? Or the meat packing facility where, let’s just say, hogs weren’t the only thing on the menu. Throw in a bottomless pit, a mirror maze, and a ginormous spider, and you’ve got a recipe for pure, heart-gripping chaos.

These effects didn’t just look cool – they had us running for our lives! At Erebus, the special effects don’t just scare you from afar; they grab, touch, and chase you! Scene details ranged from incredibly intricate with layers of decor to simpler setups that were just as effective.

We’ve heard that Erebus invented the laser swamp. Well, whether they did or not, it’s one of the most effective that we’ve seen. If you’re one of those who likes eye candy and special effects, this haunt is for you!

Northwest of Detroit lies a seemingly unsuspecting building. Within this 100,000-square-foot abandoned industrial complex, an evil dwells. Erebus has spent the last 24 years working hard to engineer and refine the haunt industry one step at a time with cutting-edge techniques and revolutionary ideas. There isn’t just one type of fear that Erebus specializes in; by the time you leave, you might discover a few new things that truly terrify you.

Erebus has included just about anything and everything that could scare you, from clowns to heights, claustrophobia to being buried alive. Scares are as common as they come at Erebus, and sometimes, they come all at once, utilizing multiple actors and animatronics simultaneously. Sensory overload was a key component to how Erebus strikes fear, making us feel absolutely vulnerable and helpless, like being stuck in a thick swamp with who knows what grabbing at our ankles as we could not run away. Larger-than-life creatures lurked behind every corner and in every carved-out hole, waiting to attack unsuspecting victims with ferocity and bloodlust. The actors’ detailed prosthetics and costumes shocked and terrified us as we tried to escape their quick movements, but they were not going anywhere, and some of them just got right in our faces!

As we traversed through Erebus, we were transported to horrifying places and put in stressful situations; panic became our new best friend. Nowhere is safe, and that means everyone in the group is just as susceptible to becoming the next victim as they like to attack from above, below, left, right, and behind. Utilizing distractions to set up an even bigger and more impactful scare helps Erebus set itself apart. If you survive to the end, you’ll be frozen in fear at the final obstacle, which appears to look more like certain death than a challenge. Let’s just say you won’t believe what you “saw.”

Ticket prices for Erebus vary depending on the date. During our visit, the tickets were priced at $35 per person. With a total runtime of 27.5 minutes, this results in a Minutes Per Dollar (MPD) score of 0.79, which is relatively low for a haunt of this scale. However, don’t be misled by this number – there is so much packed into this experience that it will feel like an eternity of trying to escape. As of our visit, 10,355 customers had either backed out or failed to complete the course.

For those looking to bypass the regular lines, Speed Passes are available for approximately $40 on busier days, offering quicker entry. VIP Passes, priced at $70, allow you to skip the line entirely. We highly encourage visiting on a weekday to avoid crowds and leave a little extra money in your bank account. Erebus opens up as early as 6PM on Saturdays, so get there early.

Several add-ons can enhance your visit, including the Mythos Oddities and Curiosities Museum next door for $15 or an official Erebus T-shirt for $20.

Once you exit the haunt, you’ll find multiple photo opportunities, a concession stand, and a merchandise booth. Group photos are taken before you enter the haunt and can be purchased for a small fee upon your escape.

Outside, Erebus utilized multiple roaming characters this season, which was a welcomed addition! Inside, we were transported into a different world, which provided immersive entertainment during our wait. Coinciding the amount of screaming, ducking, dodging, and running we did inside, Erebus is a must-see haunt that you need to add to your bucket list!