I gave this 5 stars based off my experience back in 2019. My experience this year was still really…read moregood, but not nearly as excellent as it was two years ago. They had to remove some features because of the pandemic, and it seems like they were struggling to get enough scare actors, regardless, it was still a fantastic experience.
Creepyworld is my favorite haunted house in the St. Louis area. It might not have as much production value or be as scary as The Darkness (they're the same company), but the expansiveness, variety, and indoor/outdoor element make it the haunted house I enjoy most.
Its got 13 different haunted houses -- parts of the mazes are indoors and parts are outside -- most years you'll need a jacket (this year it was really hot though). This year's attraction had themes like Crystal Lake, a mansion with creepy dolls, a house decked out in holiday lights just in time for Krampus to arrive, a twisted asylum, and Silo X, a mutant filled area with a evacuation siren going off.
If you haven't been to a screampark like this before, here's the setup:
you'll typically wait in a line to enter the first house, after a few houses you'll get stopped in another line as they work to spread out groups as you enter the next set of houses. This will happen every few houses, so while there is a small break from the scares all 13 houses are streamlined into one big attraction; in other words, use the facilities (porta potties) before you start.
The logistics:
There's a small cash fee to pay to park, so carpool when you can. My best guess is that it takes somewhere between 90 minutes and 2 hours to make it through the attraction (not counting the line to get in). Depending on what day/weekend you choose to go, the speed pass might be worth it. After the first few houses there's a short haunted hayride that requires an extra fee; it was fun, but I'm not sure I'd feel like I need to do it again. Buy your ticket online, unless there's a better in-person discount. This year we opted to purchase (online) the Ultimate Scarefest Scream Pass, which came to about $99 (with tax). It included Creepyworld with the haunted hayride, Lemp Haunted House, The Darkness, and speed passes for all three.
Of course there's always the question, "is it scary?" Well, yes. But that's hard to answer, because each person's scare tolerance is different. Is it as scary as The Darkness? Probably not. Did my friends scream a lot? Yes. Are there jump scares and super intense moments? Yes. Is the set design creepy? Absolutely. Did my friends and I get trapped between a super lifelike animatronic and scare actor in a narrow hallway, suddenly finding ourselves in a scene from Scooby Doo as we bounced into one another and managed to escape with the monster on our heels? Yes. Yes, we did.
My best advice: If you're afraid you'll be too scared, but still want to go, get a group of six and stay in the middle. In front you'll get the people jumping out at you; in the back you'll get followed. If you think it won't be scary at all, go in with the attitude of being entertained instead of scared, and who knows, maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised. Ultimately, immerse yourself in the experience, allow the adrenaline to flow, and let out a scream.
