Who says big things don’t come in small packages! Located in Northern Monroe, Michigan, is Spooky’s Fright Night. Spooky’s is Monroe’s only haunted attraction, making it a must-see stop. This is Spooky’s fourth year in operation, and each year the overall theme changes.
This year, The Garden Motel is on the chopping block; a dark, twisted motel with some fascinating and terrifying residents. Spooky’s is not a permanent haunt; they are located at a local training center. The amount of work that goes into designing, building, and finishing a pop-up haunt. This is a traditional style haunt that speaks to our spooky roots.
As for casting, we could tell right away that the residents of The Garden Motel were a close-knit family. With everyone giving everything they had, there was a high-energy, paced haunt which we truly enjoyed from start to finish. Every cast member understood the assignment and delivered on it. With just 10 actors lurking in the shadows of the Garden Motel, they covered every inch of the haunt, resulting in no dead spaces. Each cast member took their characters to a new level, becoming the menacing creatures and monsters that call this motel home.
The contortionists made our backs hurt as they twisted and bent around the room, and Tick and Tock made us giggle as they recorded us and bounced around full of energy. Even though these are just a few, the entire cast that calls Spooky’s home is fantastic and made us want more from every one of them.
With some haunts of this level, they usually rely on cheap Halloween costumes from the local Spirit Halloween or the neighborhood pharmacy. We were pleasantly surprised that this was not the case here. Only one character wore a mask, and even then, it was a complete costume – a terrifying demon figure wielding his trust axe. All others were in full makeup, done to a level we would see at some of the biggest haunts we visit. From the hair on Tick and Tock to the medical socks on the possessed contortionists, there was no detail left out.
Finding information on Spooky’s proved to be more difficult than expected. With just a Facebook page and an Instagram account, we had to either look up the Event for the 2025 season or reference the haunts’ flyers to find information such as location, pricing, dates, and times. While Maps got us there, we accidentally passed the entrance because there was little to no lighting at the entrance and on the sign by the road. The parking lot was also really dark, giving us a sense that we were in the wrong place or that they were closed.
With all that being said, the employees at Spooky’s were amazing. They made us feel welcome and like we were part of the Fright Night family.
Entering the indoor waiting line, it was clear that we were in a training center lobby; however, once we met the motel’s desk clerk, the surrounding area all became a true motel lobby. He took our names, gave us our room number (which he seemed concerned about), and escorted us to the motel’s hall, where we met the resident bellhop. He wasn’t very helpful in directing us; for when we entered, we soon realized we had wandered into the wrong motel room.
As we maneuvered through each of the rooms and the confined halls of The Garden Motel, it was apparent we should have booked the hotel up the road. The storyline was evident throughout and never deviated. The residents had us looking for keys and other means to help them escape the motel’s grip. We helped rock some demonic babies, and many of the ghouls that inhabited the motel followed us up until the end. As we escaped, it was evident that they would never be able to leave this forsaken place. We soon found ourselves walking through the motel lobby again, and after what felt like just a few minutes, the desk clerk informed us that we had been lost there for 3 days.
Special Effects is a tough category for this haunt. With Spooky’s being a more traditional haunt, they rely heavily on actor scares rather than special effects. There are no animatronics or elaborate props. Instead, they use good old-fashioned personal interaction with some spooky, scary characters.
The lighting in the haunt delivered a creepy, spine-chilling ambiance, and while the attraction kept us immersed in a dilapidated motel, some of the scene details distracted us from the experience. But with these “pop-up” haunts, we know that anything is fair game when putting these scenes together. A true haunter can design, build, and successfully scare visitors out of anything they have available, which is precisely what was pulled off here!
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 4.5
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 9.25
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 5
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 4.5
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 8.5
Like we mentioned before, The Garden Motel relied on the cast to deliver the scares, and deliver they did. Using a variety of scare tactics, including jump scares, distractions, suspense, and disorientation, the actors hit us from all directions. We were watched as we wandered the halls by one of the insane residents we would later meet, creating an uneasy feeling.
The what looked to be possessed girls crawled and twisted around the room, contorting themselves over and under the bed. Jump scares from actors tucked in the walls, a careless mother who distracted us with her babies before wildly throwing one at us! Oh, and the one that was watching us from afar? That was Tick. Or was it Tock? Not even they know! Either way, they made us feel uneasy as they sat us down and integrated us while manically maneuvering around the room, jumping back and forth between both of us.
While Spooky’s did have its scares, it was very family-friendly, allowing all haunted house seekers, both young and old, to enjoy them.
Unfortunately, the main attraction is the only attraction. We left Spooky’s wanting more. More characters, more costuming, and more scares. Not because it was bad, but because it brought us back to our roots, back to our first haunt, back to a simpler time.
It took just 8 minutes to see all that Spooky’s has to offer, and with $15 a ticket, the Garden Motel equates to an MPD (Minutes Per Dollar) of 0.53. While this is on the low end (as we usually like to see a 1 for MPD), it is in line with some of the bigger haunts located a few minutes north.
We could tell this haunt was home to every person who scared us that night. We are incredibly excited about what the team at Spooky’s has in store for year 5, and Team Bently Butchers will make sure to report back!
1211 S Monroe Street, Monroe, Michigan 48161
