The Yule Scream Holiday Haunted House Brings Krampus to Life

Oh, the weather inside is frightful …

Finding things to fill your weekends with festive winter cheer is definitely not hard to do in the snowy Twin Cities. What can be more challenging is finding an event that actually hits different and is geared toward adults. That’s why this year, many fans of horror and immersive theater are so excited about Nowhere Haunted House’s Yule Scream holiday-themed event.

More than just your typical Halloween-style walk-through maze, this is an immersive theater experience guided by trained improv actors that welcome guests into short horror scenes inspired by eight different Scandinavian and Saxon myths—including the well-known Krampus and the child-eating troll Gryla with her Yule Lads and pet Yule Cat. Rather than guests wandering freely, there is a set time frame in which they interact with a room; the characters set up a base story line, but each group’s experience will be different based on the imagination and participation of the guests. Because it’s set on the footprint of the organizers’ Halloween attraction, wherein the larger-than-life sets and custom-made animatronics stole the show, some jump scares do remain, with holiday-themed skins or upgrades. But in Yule Scream, it truly is the actors that make the show shine like blood-covered baubles on a Christmas tree.

… but the fire is so delightful!

Nowhere Haunted House had its freshman year as a Halloween attraction in fall 2022, helping fill in the void that haunt titan ValleyScare left open for many Halloween enthusiasts. Being so new to the haunt game in addition to trying to navigate the yet-unpaved road that is the holiday haunt game, there were only a limited four nights of Yule Scream open to the public, with Saturday, December 17, being your last chance. The only other experience like this I’m aware of locally is an event the Haunted Basement held in 2019, so while it’s evident Yule Scream is still very much evolving as a show, it would seem that the building blocks are in place to make it a year-round haunt destination for many seasons to come.

And that is exactly the creative team’s goal, with plans to do similar shows for Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day in addition to Nowhere’s 18-plus escape room experience, Insomnia. Also soon to come are a minigolf course and arcade, to be built by the group’s expert team of set designers and construction builders and slated to open in spring 2023.

Get your tickets in advance, as time slots are selling out. Use coupon code SOLSTICE at checkout for $5 off each ticket.

Rudolph, is that you?