EREBUS HAUNTED ATTRACTION, PONTIAC MI

Driving North on Woodward Ave in Pontiac Michigan, you see the circling skylights from what would seem like a major event. Just moments later, you turn left on Water Street and find the source. Standing a block and a half away is the corner of the building that houses the one-time longest Haunted Attraction in the world: Erebus Haunted House. I had been here more than fifteen years before when HAuNTCon was in Dearborn and it was one of the greatest experiences I had seen to that point. Needless to say I was only twelve but, the memories held up even to this day: October 6th 2023. Parking is $10 in a well-protected and attended lot in which hot jams from the eighties to today are blasted. They accompany dancing laser people projected against the Parking Garage next to the lot.

General Admission goes to the right of the door and Speed Pass goes to the left. Once inside the building, you get a chance to be photographed for later purchase. At this point, the queue lines actually converge, going up to the Ticket Booth and again into the first Scare Zone. A warm-lit, dingy old industrial hallway outside the walls of the house itself. The fourth queue line for the three-stage Preshow is a darker one surrounded by actors and playing host to the first phase of the preshow. An old, house-shot video of news coverage showing chaos coming out of the house.

Now, once inside the haunt you are greeted by Mad Scientists and treated to a decontamination process before being turned out into a realm of time travel and monsters. The walls themselves evoke a science-fiction feel as you make your way past a few scenes of that genre. When the futuristic wall panels come to an end, the rooms themselves just keep coming. There really aren't many themed areas compared to the full footprint of the entire house but, about a third of the house consists of excellent carnival, jungle, crypt, factory, swamp and meat-processing plant areas.

Erebus was the originator of the “Infinity Floor” and “Laser Swamp”, the Laser Swamp here being a literal swamp that you descend into. There are full-room scares and puppets everywhere. This attraction has more floor gags than you can shake a stick at including a pneumatic-shifting double spinning tunnel. If you're afraid of heights, this place gets you three times. Some of the full-room scares are interactive including the “Meat Hook” Hallway. This is the only place I've ever seen a room on fire and the flamethrower wielding maniac who started the fire. In the cave, a giant spider attacked me from behind. I can go on and on about the rooms, this is the haunt's focus. To be the leader in scenes that bend the mind, engage with fears others don't and inspire awe.

After the main show, there is the Exit Lobby in which you can buy all manner of merchandise and talk to team members about the experience. They have a number of Photo-op props including a full size taxidermy Flying Fox in a Rainforest diorama (a display that go to the heart of this animal and museum lover).

In the building next door, there is a must see secondary attraction called Mythos Oddities and Curiosities. Inside this $20 extra museum are rare artifacts, fossils and art pieces you can probably only find on years of disparate travels to museums across the country. All-in-one, room-by-room, these displays inspire an equal awe to the host haunted attraction. If you go to Erebus, this is a must-see addition to your ticket!

I give this set of attractions a value good for a single night five hour drive! Thank you for reading!