Deadmonton’s spooky horrors are yet to fail

What: Deadmonton
When: September 28 to November 4, 2018
Where: 7031 Gateway Boulevard
Tickets: $25 regular, $45 speed pass (line skipping on peak nights)

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Set up in a warehouse on Gateway Boulevard, Deadmonton’s eerie locale creeps up on me, surrounded by empty fields. As the sun sets, the creepy quiet away from the hustle and bustle of the city makes me feel goosebumps.

But soon enough, the enchantment wears off as the eagerly awaiting crowd appears. A parking lot has been allocated to accommodate the large groups. However, unbeknownst to everyone, a few horrors wait disguised in the crowd. Actors dressed as terrifying creatures keep the crowd entertained and make the almost hour-long wait bearable.

For $25, Deadmonton promises an experience of a lifetime through a post-apocalyptic quarantine. Moving past the paying booth, the wait gets more comfortable as I walk into a heated tent where we learn about the microscopic fossil that has infected and disfigured the world’s population, plunging its victims into a zombie-esque rage.

The survivalists are brought to the quarantined compound. With this, the doors to Deadmonton open, and I’m led through a series of haunting rooms, all interconnected and related to the central theme of the year. A long stretch of intense audio, lighting, fog, and special effects is compacted into 20 minutes of fear.

The haunted house is divided into multiple sections, providing a breather with a chance to assess your scare levels and an emergency exit if the spooks get to be too much. But, if you’re brave enough to make it till the end, the haunts give way to a Halloween store filled with various goodies. The brightly lit store creates a stark contrast to the dark haunted house, bringing the crowd back to reality as the terrifying event comes to an end.

Halloween in Edmonton is incomplete without Deadmonton. The spooky horrors of this place have yet to fail.