Check yourself into the world-famous Sheboygan Asylum. Once a fully operational mental institution from 1939 to 2002, this historic facility housed thousands of patients over the decades. After its closure, the asylum sat dormant and forgotten, its halls silent, its rooms empty, until now.
In October 2024, the Sheboygan Haunted Asylum (SHA) breathed new life into the asylum’s long-abandoned corridors. Where doctors once roamed and patients once screamed, SHA envisioned something truly chilling and brought a fully immersive haunted house experience inside the actual walls of this infamous institution.
Each October, those brave enough to enter are invited into a nightmare come to life, as the asylum’s twisted history is resurrected through terrifying set design, scare actors, and the disturbingly real environment of the once lively facility. SHA has transformed these decrepit halls into a living horror story where the line between the past and present blurs, and the spirits of the asylum may still be watching.
SHA fills this Asylum’s walls with a wide variety of themed actors. From unsettling patients to deranged staff and supernatural entities, the cast is diverse and engaging, helping to create an immersive and unpredictable experience. While you can never have too many actors in a haunt of this scale, SHA delivers a diverse lineup that keeps the energy high throughout. While there were some noticeable differences in scare actor experience, with some performers more seasoned than others, overall, the pacing and atmosphere remained consistent as we moved through the attraction. The commitment of the cast, regardless of experience level, helped maintain the haunt’s disturbing tone and kept us on edge from start to finish.
This cast truly captured the haunting essence of the former asylum, fully embodying the eerie spirit of its dark past. Each actor brought their character to life with unsettling realism, making it feel as though they were long-forgotten patients trapped within the asylum’s decaying walls since its closure in 2002. Their performances didn’t just scare; they told a story rooted in the chilling history of the building.
Unlike most Wisconsin haunts where physical contact is off-limits, SHA offers a unique twist with its optional “Patient Pass.” This upgrade allows actors to make light physical contact, creating a far more intense and interactive experience. While many of the characters already engage guests with verbal performances and creepy dialogue, the Patient Pass takes immersion to the next level, allowing for more physical interaction that blurs the line between performance and reality. It’s a bold feature that sets SHA’s actors apart from the typical haunted attraction and adds an extra layer of fear for those brave enough to choose it.
While SHA is rooted in its asylum theme, it stands out by filling its halls with a variety of different characters. From the critically insane patients to deranged doctors performing twisted lobotomies, a nun in the chapel, and angry confessionals, each character is brought to life with a distinct personality and behavior. Rather than blending into the background, every actor fully owns their role, creating a cast of individuals that enhances the realism and depth of experience.
SHA’s costumes really fit the asylum theme and added a lot to the overall vibe of the haunt. Each patient had their own unique look, which helped make the characters stand out while still staying true to the setting. We noticed a lot of cool details, from blood splattered hats and gowns to the priest’s necklace. This show’s effort was put into the styling. Nothing felt lazy or out of place, and the costumes helped make the whole experience feel more real.
The makeup work at SHA really stands out, especially compared to haunts that rely heavily on masks. While masks were used occasionally, SHA primarily stuck with makeup. The few masks we did see were detailed and fit the characters well, but it was the makeup that really stole the show. Each look was carefully crafted, and even characters with similar roles had unique details that set them apart. That extra effort helped bring each character to life and added to the overall realism of the haunt.
The costumes and makeup inside SHA perfectly matched the asylum theme. Every character felt like they truly belonged in their scene, with outfits and makeup that reflected their role. Whether it was a deranged doctor, a tortured patient, or a ghost lurking in the shadows. The attention to detail helped tie each room together, and as we moved from one area to the next, the character designs felt consistent and purposeful. It created a seamless, immersive experience.
When we visited SHA, it happened to be the weekend the Wisconsin Ghostbusters Team was there as special guests, which was a fun surprise. To go along with that, the queue actors were Ghostbuster themed, which tied in nicely with the photo op in the midway area. While they didn’t really match the asylum vibe of the actual haunt, their costumes were super detailed, and they played up their roles well. It added a cool, interactive element while visiting.
SHA is not very hard to locate when finding the premises. The size of the asylum helps make it clear that you have arrived at your destination. When making the trip out, make sure you DO NOT enter Garden Parkway. This is clearly stated on the website but keep that in mind when visiting. The drive up to the entrance had some lights, but possibly a few more lights or signage leading up to the haunt could be helpful for some guests. Once you’ve arrived, the parking lot is moderately lit and in a smaller size compared to other haunts. There is also not much easily viable signage to navigate the property; we noticed and believe SHA could benefit from adding more clearly visible directions, especially for newcomers.
During our visit, we did not come across anything dangerous that stood out to us. Being in an old, haunted asylum, we thought there may be a bit more questionable areas, but to our surprise, we did not come across any. There were also staff around in bright hoodies to help answer questions if needed. In addition to staff being around, each staff member encountered was truly happy and passionate about working at the attraction. The morale of everyone, including the hospitality, was unmatched by other attractions we have spent time visiting.
If you are looking for more information before stopping by, be sure to check out the official website. On the website, it is easily laid out with very useful information. You can find multiple tabs from tickets, location, the FAQ page, and even more, such as a storyline of the haunt! This website is also the page to look back at for retrieving the photo of your group prior to entering the haunt. SHA also has other varieties of social media pages that are worth checking out, as they post frequently. An item our team would like to see in the future would possibly be a dedicated media tab showcasing photos or videos of the haunt/asylum, and possibly a mission statement, as a good chunk of the revenue goes back into preserving this special location for many.
When you first enter the location, there is a small area filled with the life of a concession stand and ticket booth. This is an area where you can purchase tickets and grab drinks/food before entering the haunt, along with possibly interacting with some cast members prior to entering the main queue line. The intimidating asylum in the background helps get the eerie vibes flowing, as this will become your nightmare soon to follow. Once you walk along the path inside the building, you will find the queue line where there are projectors displaying some Halloween-themed visuals. If you choose to do the tour before the haunted attraction, the ambiance of your experience will shoot through the roof, and you will get a better grasp of what this historic structure once stood.
If you check out the SHA website, you can find a full page dedicated to the story. This extra literature is a great feature that many other haunts do not have, as it helps create a connected bond to the attraction and its visitors. While the haunt felt connected to the story on the website, there was not much explanation, if any, to the guests while on the grounds. If you are visiting, take a few moments to read the story online for yourself. We would like to see SHA incorporate a bit more of the story into its audience on the grounds during the real-time visit.
During the whole attraction, we felt immersed, start to finish. A huge part of this immersion was being located primarily inside a real abandoned asylum. There are not many other haunts in the state or in general that have the luxury of using such a location for a haunted attraction. During the time inside, it does broken up into an outdoor yard part, but does not appear to be as well detailed compared to the inside portions. A few more upgrades and details would enhance this section by switching and adding more detail, along with some transition hallways inside, rather than the overused bloody sheet decor. We can’t help to mention that we did come across two specific areas that felt 110% of detail was executed from the cobwebs, lighting, aesthetic, props, and the psych patient room with strobes was outstanding.
Once you exit the haunt, you come to a small midway area. Here is where you can find the mini escape room, along with axe-throwing. There is also a covered area with plenty of seating if you are looking to regroup and talk about your experience. In the same area, there is music to be heard, and it is the area where the celebrity guest for that specific date would be located. On our visit date, we had the pleasure of seeing the Wisconsin Ghostbusters. This final section on the property could be improved over the years ahead, but it does seem limited in space. Having more character interaction, a fire pit, and potentially adding a food truck in this section could improve the visit for some guests.
During any haunt, special effects help make or break a haunt. Having a good mixture of tools in the haunt’s hands can truly amplify the guest’s experience. During our walkthrough, we noticed the sound effects were lacking in the area. There was a good amount still used, but it seemed in some areas the volume appeared to be turned down or could benefit from more noise or music/sound effects to intensify the haunt.
The scene design throughout SHA was solid and fit the theme of the haunt throughout. We saw well-detailed areas, such as using the original old chapel from the asylum to the doctor’s room. Additionally, our team thinks that some of the hallways and transition areas could benefit from including more detail to the theme than repeated blood splatter sheets. A real standout job we saw through the entire haunt was the good touch of lighting SHA put throughout the haunt, start to finish!
In our walkthrough, we did not come across many props and animatronics. This was a bit of a letdown as animatronics help amplify the overall haunt when done correctly and paired with actors. However, there were still some found throughout the haunt, but we felt more could be placed throughout, both small and large. A unique prop we saw was the use of flying baby dolls hitting against the glass you walk by. The large chainsaw puppet was good as well, but it did seem a bit odd for the theming of the haunt, and we think a larger puppet of a different theme could fit the story and theme of the haunt better.
A few other special effects we came across were the use of a laser swamp, a vibrating doctor’s chair, air blasts, air horns, and fog, to name a few. We never encountered a fan favorite vortex tunnel that most haunts use, and we could see that being used here, but also may not fit the theme. If SHA included more “wow” special effects or squishy floors, it would add to the guests’ experience, as that is a typical conversation starter of recalling unique elements found inside the attraction. During the school section, we thought the loud bell was a great touch as the bell sounded authentic and amplified this area. Overall, we did find a variety of effects, but we think this section could be stepped up in the future; however, it was still a good amount, especially being in the second year of operation.
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 7.45
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 7.77
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 6.95
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 7.71
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 6.57
As our team visits many haunts each season for review or not, we have become numb to certain types of scares. SHA did decently in scaring our team in some areas of the haunt but lacked a few scare opportunities for our group as well. The location of the haunt, being mainly inside the walls of the asylum, helped play in SHA’s favor as it already has that eerie vibe through each room you enter, especially utilizing the original Chapel, which was once lively with active patients.
We were impressed with how well the cast targeted each member of our group. Most of the time we encountered scares towards our leader of the group but still were able to hit the middle and even the stragglers holding up the rear. With our team having the additional patient pass option, cast made sure to hold back random members of the group in areas of the haunt, and this did not mean that if you were the lead that you would have been safe.
During our walkthrough, it seemed that most haunt actors were visible when entering the room, diminishing the opportunity to get some good jump scares. However, the times we had these types of interactions, the cast was well-engaged with our group. We also noticed a good number of areas where cast members came out and feel that SHA could do a better job about hiding and blending in the holes where team members come out to keep the scare anticipation high, along with keeping the sets more immersed and seamless.
Most of the cast hit our group from the front, but also the side, but never came at us from high above or even below. There could be some good scares for guests if they incorporate a few different levels of attack, especially the laser swap located in the yard area, where an actor can easily catch the guests by surprise and almost always get someone in the group from other haunts we’ve experienced, if done correctly.
The best way to end any haunted house is the grand finale. SHA was lacking in this score as it felt like a missed opportunity, but it had the effort. In this area, the singular actor did not appear to be highly energetic, as well as being too dark to take in the whole scene. On top of that, the electric chair animatronic appeared to be delayed for us and did not give the high output energy you would experience if you unfortunately found yourself taking a seat in that chair.
The time it took our group to complete the main haunted attraction at SHA was 26 minutes. This time can vary based on group size, along with interactions among the cast inside the haunt. At the general admission cost of $30, this gives SHA a 0.87 minute per dollar rating. In general, we ideally want to see a solid 1 minute per dollar, but the quality of the haunt at the price is very solid and worth the cost.
While we visited, we had the opportunity to experience what the VIP tour ticket includes. This experience is HIGHLY recommended for anyone who is interested in ghostly hauntings or the history of old buildings. During the guided tour, you will be able to see unseen areas of the location, along with being one of the first groups to enter the haunt. The ticket price for this starts at $99.95 and can jump in price and sell out, so be sure to plan.
SHA also offers an urgent pass, which is a much-reduced wait time for the attraction. We love to see these options as haunts can get extremely busy later in the season, and can truly help cut down waiting times and enhance the guests’ experience. Another ticket add-on option that SHA offers is the patient pass! This allows the actors to touch you through the haunt for an extra $10. If you are brave enough for this add-on, be sure to, as not many haunts, if any, across Wisconsin, offer this limited experience.
Once you complete the haunt, there is a small midway. This area is not the largest we have seen, but it does have an escape room and axe-throwing for $5 each. There is also a good number of seats for those who want to unwind and chat after braving the experience.
A unique thing that SHA does is offer special guests throughout the season. For example, there are select nights to meet Brad Loree, who played “Michael Myers” from Halloween Resurrection, along with other celebrity movie star meet and greets. During the appearance dates, you can buy photos and get items signed along with pictures. Make sure to check the website for who is stopping by this season and the dates, so you do not miss out.
As this is only the 2nd year in operation, we are beyond excited to see what SHA can achieve over the years to come. There is a lot of potential to improve and make this a must-visit haunt each year. Be sure to check them out this year and see for yourself if you are brave enough to enter the blood-curdling halls of asylum.
N3773 Garden Pkwy, Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin 53085
