Niles Haunted House Scream Park
Niles, MI
Reviewed on: Saturday, September 24, 2016
Every fall, as our calendar turns to September, we are excited for the first attraction to open each season. As a tradition, we enjoy taking a trip to visit the legendary, Niles Haunted House Scream Park in Niles, MI. Engulfing over 44 acres of land, Niles utilizes over 200 volunteers to help staff one of the most massive haunted attractions in the country! Niles is more than just your average haunted house, it’s an entire evening of entertainment consisting of 6 different attractions, midway entertainment, carnival games, various foods, and a variety of things that go bump in the night. All of this designed to entertain each patron and help them celebrate the season in their own way.
With various manpower needs, Niles has a plethora of volunteers to aid all aspects of this machine. Because they have been around for so many years, there are souls from 9 to 99 lurking in all corners. Some have even grown up with the Niles’ family! The individuals here are passionate and dedicated and all ready to give you the best Halloween experience possible. Put aside all the blood and gore that you may find at other attractions, Niles is all around family-fun. If you’re looking to start your children out for a love of all things Halloween, Niles is definitely the place to start!
As we made our way onto the midway, we were greeted by our favorite host, “Death”. Here, we caught up on what he’s been up to since our last visit with him and everything else going on at the Scream Park. As we watched the other roaming characters make their way through the other patrons, we were also visited by our dear friend “Nancy”, sporting one of her pretty dresses, she was ready to party the night away.
Starting our night off, we headed over to the main house. Niles Haunted House is one of the most deeply thought out and developed attractions we have encountered over our travels throughout the years. What sets this attraction apart from most others is that each and every year, they are not only updating and perfecting the scenes within, but they re-theme the attraction each year. This year, the theme was “Niles Scream Park Cinema”, where movies come to life and featured horror films from the 1930’s!
This year, the minds behind this attraction built an entirely brand new entrance! Set as if you were entering a movie theatre, the new marquee entrance was exquisite, and filled with a few scares along the way. Included in the big house this year were scenes featuring: The Mummy, Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, just to name a few! With over 100 possible routes throughout this attraction, there is no telling who else you may encounter! Each trek through the house will provide a different experience for patrons, which will always keep you on your toes.
Next, we made our way to “Cabin 13”, which is one of their two smaller haunted houses on the property. This attraction is based off a cabin hidden deep within the woods, where a group of friends were killed. As patrons weave their way through the cabin and the woods that surround it, will you survive, or come face to face with the Cabin 13 Killer himself?
The second of the smaller houses was “Krampus: A Christmas Curse”, which was one of our favorite concepts that they’ve created for the smaller houses. Based on the German folklore is the story of Krampus, the evil horned helper of St. Nicholas. This holiday themed attraction had us begging for more as we made our way room to room, with many wonderful scares throughout. One of our favorite scenes was that of the dancing gingerbread men! Naughty or nice, will you be on Krampus’ list this year? We hope not!
Before we continued on through the night, the review team took some time to sit down and watch “Zendor Presents: Murphy’s Law – If it can go wrong, it will!” This years’ show was about Federal Agent Murphy who is no longer responsible for protecting the President, but instead an evidence locker full of junk! But after messing with a few of the items inside, you’ll definitely be in for a surprise!
After resting for a bit, we were back up on our feet and headed over to the “Dark Terror-tory Hayride”. This year featured a new route through the woods and many new sets too! Taking on a 13th ghost undertone, it takes us into the future and shows us what the world could be like in the years ahead. Filled with many thrills, a beautiful view of the starry sky above, and let’s not forget plenty of water (you’ll thank us later for that heads up!), this is one fun-filled hayride you won’t want to miss!
As they say, you always save the best for last, here is no different. Our last and final attraction for the night, was the “Field of Screams”. This is and always has been one of our favorite attractions at the Scream Park. Why? Because it’s always constantly expanding and changing! This year, they definitely through us for a loop when they added 2 brand new areas to the already huge attraction. The most talked about new set was that of the floating shacks. Yes, you read that right, we said floating! The masterminds behind this Scream Park somehow created a series of floating shacks that you need to make your way across. The scene was beautifully done and will definitely keep you asking for more.
The Bottom Line: For those that are looking for a complete Halloween night out, make sure to head over to Niles Scream Park. It is the reason for the season, the spirit of Halloween, and one of the best producers of a full, family-fun evening to celebrate our beloved season!
