The Butcher Shop House of Gore

Park on the street for free, and arrive at the Butcher Shop… which turns out to be a garage owned by a local family…
Turns out big things come in small packages. Big, gory, terrifying, things. Though it lasts under ~10mins (depending on your pace), every twist and turn of the House of Gore was full of intricate and horrifying details. I can tell they put a lot of time into picking out each item to make this a gruesome and unique Tour de Gore — so definitely take your time and check out the deets. The actors can touch you, chase you, and haunt your nightmares. Not only does it procure a lot of screams within a short amount of time, it is passionately family-​run, and a great VALUE! $ 7!!!
I don’t want to give away too much (though it does change constantly to keep things fresh and frightening), but I’ll just leave this here: a real pig’s head, genuine vintage props, do (n’t) look up, John Wayne Gacy.

I attended this event with a group of fellow Unilocalers. The place is in Daytons Bluff Neighborhood of St. Paul. The owner personally greeted us and the butcher shop is set up in their garage. The maze/​walking area was real narrow. A minus for chubby people. It would be nice to be wider so people with disabilities could frequent. They told us if you touch the actors first they could touch and scare you. We even got to go through it a second time from end to beginning and take photos. I asked about bringing kids and they welcome 11 plus year olds and they say a parent must accompany. They can adjust the gore too. Each year they change it up also. I may bring some 12 year olds next year and be the coolest mom ever.

House of Gore.
So, since I hadn’t heard much about this place before, arrogantly, I believed that I wouldn’t be that scared. I was wrong. To preface this however, I should probably share that I’m the type of person that was sincerely a bit terrified when I saw that scene in the Ring where the scary ghost woman with long hair climbs out of the tv. Also, this is the first scary attraction that I’ve been to as an adult, so I have very little to compare it to.
That being said, I screamed till I was hoarse when I went through the little house/​garage of terror and ran fast, out the final doorway, slapping furiously at the curtains to clear my path and make my sweet, sweet escape. It’s seems a lot bigger on the inside with curving narrow hallways and a lot of props, so cleverly and realistically designed and strategically mixed in with live people in costume. There’s also something about how dark it was the night I went, with cold and drizzling rain, combined with the grimey, dark, narrow hallways with bloody… things all around. The narrowness both maximizes the space, but also adds to a sinking, trapped feeling. Honestly, I can’t clearly remember a single thing I saw that night — the fear must have compromised my poor memory further, coupled with my subconscious trying to protect me by suppressing the creepy bloodied images. But I do remember that it was actually a lot of fun, once it was over.
It’s a pretty incredible deal at $ 7, and I think it provided about 20 – 30 minutes of intense entertainment. It would be a fun part of any night, especially if there are drinks and snacks before and/​or afterwards. Also, you enter two people at a time, so I would advise to come in groups of even numbers.

A gruesome and gory attraction that definitely took the cake for my Halloween sightseeing!
Since it’s in a garage, my first thought was that it would be a 2-​minute display and then that would be the end (silly me, I didn’t do my homework and look up the place first!). It is well laid out and very tight in space but they use every inch they can! They have you go in two at a time and you basically walk through the halls they build and go through different scenes — WITH MONSTERS CHASING YOU. Sometimes there will be one tugging on the back of your shirt and the other is grazing your cheek with a severed arm in front of you. The humorous part is that the halls are so narrow, you can’t even escape! Luckily another fellow Unilocaler used me as a human shield and she caught the back end of the monster attacks.
It’s a family-​owned business and it’s very apparent that they put a lot of blood, guts and tears (and love and eternal optimism and fairy dust, yeah all that positive stuff too) into the Butcher Shop. They do their best to switch up scenes every year and add some new props. My favorite? A rotting pig’s head!
Definitely stop by if you can. It’s one of the more affordable Halloween attractions I’ve been to and one of the best!

This is everything I want from a haunted house.
It’s the complete opposite of the big, generic haunted houses. It’s small. It’s literally in a garage. But it’s packed with so many twists, turns and scares that you might find yourself tempted to run as fast as you can to get out of it.
Don’t do that.
Take your time. Look at every disgusting detail. Savor the severed limbs hanging from the ceiling. When a sign says «Don’t look up,» definitely look up. Everything in this haunted house is handcrafted or carefully curated by local artists who know what makes these things fun.
The staff is into it. These aren’t kids slumming it in masks to make a couple extra bucks. This is a group of friends and family who all have their hearts in it. On my last visit, one of the ghouls chased me out of the haunted house with a chain. To my surprise, she kept chasing me around the driveway. I had to hide behind friends. Finally, she took off her mask and revealed that she was the owner’s aunt. «I grew up with a bunch of brothers who used to scare me all the time. Now I get to scare people,» she told me.
I’ve been to the Butcher Shop almost every year. Some years I’ve gone back multiple times. It keeps changing, keeps getting better. I will be there every October as long as it exists.

Come early to avoid rotten flesh odor, or come later in October, if you like that sort of thing.

This a fantastic haunted house. We heard about this one from City Pages & decided to check it out Saturday night. When we pulled up to the house & realized that it is literally in someone’s garage, we were definitely skeptical, but loved the setup on the outside & decided to go in. We were so glad we did! While a little on the short side, it is extremely well done & loads of fun. Don’t miss it!