Going when it's less crowded during the week and a couple of weeks before Halloween has its perks: -Less waiting (15 minutes in line is better than hours) -Discounted tickets (print off a coupon for $8 off and pay $27 at the door for) -More time enjoying the top notch rooms and well dressed monsters inside. One downside is there were less actors and stretches without any jumping out to scare you. This place was more lit than any other haunted house I have visited, which makes it a little less scary but easier to see the cool props. I think a little background scary music could have added to the vibe. The variety of rooms seemed endless and took almost 30 minutes to walk through at a leisurely pace. The actors did a great job startling me as they jump out sometimes out of nowhere. The spinning tunnel towards the end, one of my favorite part of a haunted house, was not disorienting as others I have seen. It felt like someone had dialed down the scare factor of the whole house a notch. The exit area and gift shop were fun to see. There were lots of photo ops with different scary monster figures and signs to pose by. .|\---/| | @_@ | ..\_^_/..2025 read more

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Came on a Friday night a couple weeks before Halloween and it was super crowded. Parking was hard to find and the line to get in was super long. Recommend coming early and planning to stand in line for a while. Once inside though everything was scary and fun! The workers seem like they care a lot about people being safe and having a good time which is important. It was such a long haunted house so you definitely get your moneys worth. I was shocked at how many different scenes they had. Unfortunately the person I was with wasn't feeling great and wanted to leave halfway through. The workers were super nice and got us out quickly and safely. read more

Amazing experience! My friends and I stopped by to check out this venue the night before Halloween. We arrived shortly before opening and I was pleasantly surprised by how quick and easy it was for me to find a good parking spot. It wasn't too crowded when we got there and the wait to get in wasn't that long at all. While we were in line we enjoyed the actors coming around and engaging with everyone. It was humorous to see some of the reactions of people when their presence caught them off guard. I was watching and they still managed to sneak up on me too! The haunted house itself was really good. I was prepared to be ahead of the game this time, by trying to predict when someone was going to jump out and scare me, but boy did they get me good with the jump scares. And they got my friends too! Quite a few times. I loved the themed rooms and the animatronics were pretty dope. As a horror fanatic I thought that the setups and effects that they had going were amazing. At the end there's a little shop and museum where you can take pictures and stuff. Their collection was very impressive. I'm generally a tough critic when it comes to places like this, but like I said at the very beginning. . . I had an amazing experience. I would recommend this place to any and everyone who is looking for a fun scare during spooky season or any other time for that matter; as they have other spooky events throughout the year! But don't just take my word for it. Go and experience it for yourself. read more

We didn't know what to expect from the mixed reviews of this haunted attraction but decided to go check it out. We went about 7pm and parking is a bit challenging. We ended up parking a few blocks over on the street and walking over which worked well. We also paid extra to get the immediate access which we highly recommend since we waited a very short time and the general admission line was pretty long. We were very impressed with this attraction overall. The staff kept things well organized and the spacing between parties well timed so they didn't back up on each other. The overall length of the attraction is very long since it is both on the first and second floors of the building (we estimate we were inside at least 45 minutes walking through). The details as you move from one theme room to another is amazing as are the special effects (noises, screaming, etc.), and we thought the mix between live actors and automated props is good since it keeps you guessing what is real and not. The number of different themed rooms is amazing and the room that looks as if you are wading through a swamp is pretty cool. Overall, the price is pretty reasonable and they have a interesting gift store at the end and plenty of static displays where you can get photos. We have been to the new Universal Horror Unleashed attraction in Las Vegas and have to say the details, number of themed rooms, chaotic sound and light effects, length and price of this attraction is far better. Definitely something to visit and experience this Halloween season. read more

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Hands-down, the best haunted house I've ever been to! Ever! There was so much detail put into every room. And for the cost, you get so much for the experience. Takes you about 30 minutes to go through it quickly, but you can definitely take your time. Highly recommend! read more

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The investment on the animatronics was apparent from the beginning. This is where the problems begin. This haunted house was more like a fun house. Not much fright. 95% non human contact which to me gives it the real fright. Secondly they are more concerned with heads through the door almost stacking you as you go through. Not enough space to let any actors which are few to reset. I did a VIP to avoid any delay but in my opinion this was a one time event. read more

I have gone three years in a row and previously really enjoyed it. This year there was a new feature where one room had a giant skeleton head and arms that moved into the room. The arms hit me and my friend very hard on the head, so hard in fact that it caused her to get a concussion. We were very stunned as we walked into the next room and an employee happened to be behind us and let us know that there was in fact a person controlling the skeleton arms, so it wasn't just an automation. This employee told us that she would share our report of getting hit in the head very hard with the management of the haunted house. After this occurred and my friend had to see medical for her concussion, I reached out to the organization via email and Instagram and got no reply. If you look at the Google reviews, many customers also report injuries yet the owner replies with manic responses that claim nothing has ever happened. read more

it started off fine, was not very scary at all. there were alot of people at once. i picked up one of the prop book and one of the actors grabbed it from my hand and reprimanded me. It was then i walked up to a person who appeared to be a mannequin, i touched the radio on their shoulder only to realize it was a real person. they immediately started yelling at me to not touch the actors, i tried to explain i thought they were fake but she continued to bitch at me repeating the same phrase without listening. she snitched on me to another worker who then started to follow me. throu the whole thing i enjoyed touching the props to see how real they are. the worker who was following me saw me touch a fake axe, and then started screaming at me to not touch anything. saying things like "your not entitled to do shit!" "do not touch absolutely anything!" "if you touch one more thing i will have your whole group escorted out" even though he was already following us the whole time. the staff ruined more than half of my 35$ experience following me and threatening things. its funny that i accedentally touch a person i thought was fake but staff can follow me and put their hands on MY shoulder. my experience was overpriced, underwhelming, and ruined entirely. wow a haunted house where you can't touch anything but can be touched lol, this place is garbage. read more

The Darkness definitely earned its place on the top 10 list of haunted attractions. We travel the world to visit haunted attractions and came into St. Louis to do all three (Creepyworld, Lemp Brewery, and The Darkness) this year. The Darkness is an incredible haunted attraction that delivers on jump scares, movie quality set and prop design, excellent costumes and makeup, and FANTASTIC theme-ing. It is by far the best haunt in St. Louis. [[I cannot believe the number of reviewers recommending you go to Creepyworld instead. The Darkness is at LEAST 175% better in every conceivable way.]] Side note #2: We bought the pass for all three attractions which also includes Fast Pass. That means $75 for three attractions including fast pass, which is a STEAL! Other haunts' fast pass for one attraction are typically $55-$75. I highly recommend it as you can do any of their houses on any night and skip all the lines. This year (2019), the first haunt you enter is an Egyptian temple theme that was done beautifully. We would have been satisfied with only this. However, at the end of that section, you go upstairs to a haunted house themed section. Gorgeous and wonderful. The clown house at the end is a total bonus as far as I'm concerned! At the end, they have movie memorabilia, horror themed pinball machines, photo ops, and a gift shop. All the staff we encountered were sweet. Everything was reasonably priced. The pinball games were super fun and a great way for the night to not end right away. The only wish I have is that the photo the staff took of me getting jump scared at the end of the temple house was sent to me. Don't walk, RUN to visit The Darkness whenever they're open! read more

The Darkness - Photo ops in the lobby - Haunted Houses Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

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This is cool. Seriously cool. Lots of movie nostalgia. Feels like it was created by a movie studio. It's better than the haunted house we went to in Universal Studios California. Worth the money. read more

Best haunted house in American. The set design is unreal. It's like you are walking through an elaborate horror movie.

The Darkness is Scarefest's crowning glory; its other properties, Creepyworld & Lemp Brewery Haunted House (formerly the Abyss), don't have quite the same flair. While Creepyworld is my favorite of the three, I acknowledge that The Darkness is the BEST of the three; its set design is awesome and intricate, there were many more scare actors, and the scares are much more frequent and elaborate. I would say this is probably the scariest of the three, although each has its own reasons for being scary. My over-simplified breakdown of what makes each scary: Creepyworld: First off it feels like you're in the middle of nowhere, and utilizing the outdoors adds a 'realness' to the situation. Plus, it's the longest of the three, so instead of 30-60 minutes of scares it's almost double. Lemp Brewery Haunted House: The Lemp Mansion is claimed to be haunted, thus by association, this attraction at the Lemp Brewery is called 'Missouri's only REAL haunted house.' So perhaps that ups the creep factor for you, but what does it for me is the natural setting: an old brick building and the long spiral staircase you descend to go underground. It's the shortest of the three and thus felt more intense. There were areas where we realized we were going in circles and had to feel around in the dark to find our way out. I would say this one best utilized disorientation to up the fear. The Darkness: The sets are so well done; at their worst they put you at unease, at their best the can actually frighten. There's many more scare actors, and some stalk you from a short distance through several rooms just watching, waiting, and creating some pressure to keep moving forward into new scares. The scares here are more than just a one off. They really set you up to be paying attention to one thing and run into another. You dodge a giant puppet(?) reaching out for you only to run straight into a monster. An old car sitting to your right startles you with its horn as its terrifying owner pops up on your left. I would say the scares are better orchestrated here. The Darkness is two levels of indoor scares. Using rickety floors, monsters in unexpected areas, huge sets, giant puppets (again, not sure this is what they should be called), one-two punch type scares, and more to terrify. The only thing I didn't like was the "Terror 3D" part. With cheap 3D glasses that fogged up because of my mask it just didn't work very well. For some reason, the Creepyworld 3D area worked much better. It's not necessary to wear the glasses, it just creates a disorienting feeling that makes you uneasy and ups the scares a little. Overall, the production value of this place is pretty incredible, and I can't wait to go back. The logistics: Check their website for parking info; we went on a Sunday evening and the parking lot was free. Once inside the attraction it took us somewhere between 45-60 minutes to complete. We only had to wait about ten minutes, but depending on what day/weekend you choose to go, the speed pass might be worth it (keep in mind this is 2021 and we went the first weekend in October). And remember, there's safety in numbers. If you're feeling a little too scared, take about five or six friends and put yourself in the middle! read more

The Darkness "St Louis Escape" is outstanding!! My compadres, and I had a wonderful time. We escaped from "Frankenstein" and "Haunted Hotel." The Darkness venue is like the Disneyland of independent Haunts. The escape rooms scenic, props, interaction, and atmosphere are movie quality which makes for a dark-ride experience along with the escape room experience. One of our hostesses Destiny was great as she say performed her voice interaction with us in the theme of the room. read more

Went around 7:30 pm and there was barely a line, which was great not needing to wait forever to go inside. I wish they would have waited a little longer before letting in the group behind mine because they caught up to my own group and basically hugged us the whole time, being loud (not in the screaming/scared way, just in a rowdy disrespectful way) and shining their phone lights when my own group was trying to enjoy it. Another thing is that we didn't experience very many actors. We probably saw about 5-6 total before hitting the clown 3D section. The props and rooms were AMAZING. Set up very well. Just wish they wouldn't have used so much fake smoke, my group could barely breathe trying to walk through. Overall, a lot of time and work was put into this. Just didn't get a lot of interactive experience with actors and need to spread groups out so we're not hugging each other. read more

Very impressive haunted house that is well worth the money. The combination of actors, animatronics, sets, and props works very well. I was especially impressed by the 3D section, where the colors really did pop off the walls and helped with disorienting everyone. Another section where you were in pitch black darkness was also great at creating confusion. Crowds were modest at 7pm on an early October Saturday. Speed Passes seemed like great value as we were able to vault right to the front of the VIP line and enter almost immediately. Something that didn't impress us at Darkness was the add-on 5-minute escape room, which seemed to be mostly out of order; even after escaping the coffins, the second phase wouldn't activate, and the operator just called it off. This was a bummer because Creepyworld's 5-minute escape room was a highlight this year (it is completely different from the one at Darkness, FYI), and this had a lot of potential. These can be wonderful if they work. During one 24-hour period, we visited all 3 Scarefest facilities (Darkness, Lemp, and Creepyworld), and we agreed that Darkness was arguably the best overall, although Creepyworld was a close second and Lemp was still a lot of fun, but considerably shorter and less elaborate. If you plan to visit all three, I highly recommend the Ultimate Scarefest Scream Pass that includes all admissions plus Speed Passes. read more

Venue was closed 10/24/22 due to issues with the sprinkers. Admittedly not their fault but after having driven two hours to go here and then being told that "They'll honor your ticket at Creepyworld" which admittedly isn't unkind but was an additional half hour away it was a bummer. Considering we had timed tickets for opening and had planned our night around this we decided not to go to Creepyworld. Currently getting a run around about whether or not I could even get a refund due to the facility being closed by staff. Was told plenty that they'd be open more times later on but I simply don't have time to visit another day. If you decide to go I wouldn't prepurchase tickets. read more

Pretty scary and better than I thought. Their lines were not terribly long and the haunted house itself was so much fun! I especially loved the last 3D part read more

This is a very well organized haunted house. The design of the place is super cool. There is a great haunted house ambiance, but it wasn't exactly bone rattling scary. I really liked how they had people interacting with you while you waited in line to get into the house. They seemed a bit understaffed, but it is early in the season so I guess it is understandable. They had the same people coming out again and again throughout the house to scare you. We went with a group of people, some of whom had never been through a haunted house before, so that was entertaining. I had a few good startles, but nothing nearly as scary as I remember other haunted houses I remember. I liked the clown/fun house area where you got 3D glasses, that was a cool change from the normal gory stuff. All in all, a great experience. I'd do it again. read more

The Darkness - The darkness Haunted house - Haunted Houses Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

best haunted house ive ever been to!!! also the longest hh i've been to. i would definitely recommend!

Hands down the best haunted house I've been in, the actor's were amazing as well couldn't even tell who was real or not. If you're looking for a good haunted house the darkness is your spot! read more

I'll be the first to admit I'm a skittish kitten. I will scream like a 10 year old girl if my boyfriend sneaks up behind me too quickly just to put his arm around me. I may not be best measure of how scary a haunted house can be. But, if you keep these things in mind and bear with me, please. The darkness has been rated the 2nd best Haunted House in America. I came here with a group of friends the Friday before Halloween and apparently everyone else in St. Louis had the same idea. We arrived at 7:45 and the line was already 4 and a half hours long. I am not kidding. Pair that with the horrible Z107.7 music blaring from the loudspeakers, and I was somewhat annoyed. We finally decided to upgrade our tickets to the $50 speed line passes. I have to say, the shorter line was well worth it, but good lord, the price! How outrageous. I usually expect a lobster, a good steak, or some seriously good wine when dropping $50 that quickly. Once we finally made it inside, (even the speed line took an hour), I found that the place was decorated well. Every corner had something on it or in it. The walls were covered in a foamy skeletons, there was clearly a lot of effort put into the place. There were your stereotypical people jumping out of corners and doorways and chasing you with chainsaws. There was even a whole 3D section (which I frankly could have done without, but I'll give them points for creativity). So, the story goes like this. Did I jump in terror? Yes. Where there points where my heart jumped into my throat, of course. But was it worth $50? Definitely not. Were most of the people in my group scared? Nope, just the skittish ones (like myself). All in all, it wasn't a BAD haunted house. It was alright and sure, I was entertained. It took a long time to go through, so it did take up my night, which was nice. Also, the fact that it's in Soulard is convenient as all get out. I mainly will say this: if you find a way to finagle free passes next Halloween, go for it. Otherwise, I bet you can find somewhere a little cheaper that will be just as scary. read more

We came here on Sunday after seeing this place on the Travel Channel. I honestly didn't know if I was going to be scared or not, but I jumped so many times and walked so oddly due to being scared that my legs hurt for a day afterwards! The only thing I would have changed was allowing smaller groups in at a time so you would feel more alone and get more scared. Otherwise, probably the best haunted house I have ever been to! read more

What a joke! I can't believe that people call this place scary, let alone the scariest haunted house in St. Louis. I drove from Chicago to check this place out and wow was I disappointed. First of all, I love that all haunted houses now just shove as many people through as they can with no line breaks. It defeats the purpose if all you are getting is actors or animations just going back to their hiding place from a scare that just happened. What a let down! We got zero scares. I'll give this place one thing, nice set design and cool props, but you use way too many and you light up the place WAY too bright. And where are the actors? We counted 7 total. Just horrible. You shouldn't call this place a haunted house, just a family attraction for Halloween to show off their set design skills. It's so sad this is the trend over almost all the haunted houses now. read more

The Darkness is just an average haunted house. Despite all the hype that surrounds it, The Darkness refuses to change, lacks excitement and is not very big. I strongly suggest visiting Creepy World instead. I have a more detailed review on my youtube channel @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WdLEvJDe1A read more

Amazing detail when you take your time going through. The jump scares are top notch! If you have the opportunity to go the darkness won't disappoint. read more

I go here every year and as recently as last night during their Spring 1-day preview. The recent updates are great, you can tell a lot of thought and attention to detail went into the additions. The actors were energetic and creative, always keeping people on their toes. Their make-up and costumes were a lot better this time than previous visits. Here's the deal, a lot of people come on these forums and complain about the same old things; "They cram you in, they don't space people out." Well, half of that is because some terrified tween is standing in a corner too afraid to move forward and keep the line moving. The other half is when hundreds of people line up outside, they HAVE to keep it moving, otherwise you would be there all night. My advice to avoid crowds is to not only go early in the season, as in when they first open, but go early in the day. Obviously, 8:00pm on the Saturday before Halloween is going to be jam packed, so be strategic. Use common sense and you will have a blast. Millions of dollars have been put into this place and you can really tell. The automated decorations, ceilings and floors that drop, LED/laser lights, water features, and it goes on and on and on. This place is great and I will return every year. read more

Don't you believe America's scariest haunted house for one second! The really cool props saved it from having one star. The waiting area was right out of a movie set. Don't count on any absolute dark areas, or other means of sensory overload. We were through in 30 minutes. Drive to their sister site at Creepyworld, or save your money and rent a classic horror movie. read more

Is it possible to be addicted to a haunted house?? I think yes! I go here every year, sometimes multiple times. They change it up each year, so it never gets dull. They have fantastic actors that you see from the time you enter the parking lot as well as very high tech animatronics. Scary Gary and Steve are by far the best, I get a picture with them every year. I look forward to the new IT sewer area this year. They also have escape rooms and a little museum and gift shop. read more

So much better other than the claustrophobic's nightmare entrance, which is NOT a good kind of scare because of the real feeling of imminent death. This is a really fun haunted house. The actors are great at startling you. They have plenty of room to be move around to be behind you one minute then in front of you when you turn a corner. read more

I'm really surprised by the average reviews, because the detail and layout put into this venue is incredible! The characters that scare you outside while you're waiting in line are friendly and just neat to be around. I'm not going to spoil the event by including details in this review, but I can tell you every theme you go through does not miss a thing. Everything was taken into consideration to give you the chills, and if you're going to spend $25 on a haunted house, this is the one to go to! read more

The Darkness - Haunted Houses Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

Ehhh. So I went to the Darkness because my "Plus 1" at the Elite Yelp Event won tickets with her bad hair. Thanks Erica, LOVE YOU! I was not impressed at all, but then again I don't get scared by that kind of thing. If you want to scare me, put me by myself in a dark underground basement in an abandoned building and I'll scare the living crap out of myself. I digress. Anyways, my friend was scared at things jumping out at her and startling her. The best part of the entire night was seeing the people hiding and making sure I turned so they would jump out and scare her. I wouldn't spend my money going to this place especially since it's extremely over priced. But who knows, if you are 12 you might be scared. read more

This was a good haunted house experience. Now, if you are looking for a genuine skin crawling, there may really be some evil spirits in here, kind of experience - this is not for you. This is more of an amusement park-like attraction that utilizes your underlying fears and reflexive startle responses to entertain you. It's for fun, not ghost hunting. Unlike many halloween attractions that pop up this time of year, you get your money's worth. I don't know how long we were in there, but it was long enough. They made full use of anything that ever creeped anybody out. You have a good mix of anamatronics and live action fright covering all of your typical animal/bug fears, ghoulish creatures, clowns, hospitals and asylums, and even the ice cream man (which in my opinion is the creepiest thing ever). It's fun if you're into these kinds of things. If not, I'm sure you will feel like you just wasted your money on a cheesy circus sideshow. On some level, you have to appreciate the elaborate design and planning. I thought it was a lot of fun and I'm glad we did it. I'm still not sure what to think about the vibrating chair at the end of it. read more

Nothing Special. Pathway of prop mazes no anticipation, just quick shock scares. Lots of detail but in my opinion it's just too much to look at and takes away from the realism and for opportunity to wonder what's around the corner. read more

The props get better every year, but it's still about the same ol' darkness... waiting for them to do something more epic to really scare me--- like start making ppl sign waivers so you can grab them or something, I dunno.. read more

Now from what I heard about this place, I had so many expectations for a great haunted house. But after going there, it doesn't deserve to be called a haunted house. It's all props, now don't get me wrong they probably spent quite a bit of money on all of the stuff. But absolutely nothing about this place was scary, it's 98% props and "scary" scenes and 2% jump scares that were expected each time and not well done. It's $25 and I have to say that I definitely wasted my money. read more

It was okay.. Definitely won't go again.... Waste of $25. Wasn't scary at all. In fact I laughed almost the entire time. The rattles got annoying very quickly. I would probably pay $10 for this. read more

The venue was clean and well kept. The only flaws was that it was in a shady part of town and it was very short. I would say a 10-20 minute experience tops. It takes a lot to scare me but they did a great job getting me shaking! The people inside were hilarious and the characters outside were very interesting guys! They also did a great job of keeping us in small groups, and keep the line moving very quickly. As expensive as it is (for haunted house standards anyways) it was worth the drive and the visit. Definitely a must see attraction. read more

This was more a technology driven haunted house. It was crowded so you were walking in a single file line and could see everything coming. It was nearly as scary as Lemp Brewery. The effects were neat but if you really want scary the Brewery was the better of the two. read more

I went here the night before Halloween 2015. First off, I am VERY skittish. I got anxiety just thinking about going here. When I got there, I didn't scream ONCE. The details and special effects are AWESOME. However, they don't split you up in small enough groups. They wait 1 minute or less between groups, and by 5 minutes into the attraction, you've met up with everyone else, and it becomes a line of people. So essentially, it eliminates all scare factor because you can see what is coming in front of you. I would not call this "America's best haunted house" as they advertise. Definitely glad we got the fast pass, I would have been upset to waste my time in the long line for a let down. read more

I have visited the Darkness twice. And I must say unless you scare easily, this is NOT a haunted house you go to, to be scared. Now keeping that in mind, This is a Haunted house you want to go to if you enjoy electronics and appreciate attention to detail and scenery. This is a very beautiful haunted attraction very detailed and impressive. But the actors were awful both times I visited. They didn't really even try to scare you. They were just kind of there. I'm a 19 year old girl and I could have been a better monster than almost everyone there. If you consider yourself a real thrill seeker don't waste your time and don't listen to reviews that say its the scariest haunted house in america, because it certainly isn't. I would recommend the Abyss right now the street if you actually want to be scared. The actors there have real passion and it's a very thrilling experience and the best haunted house I've been to. read more