The Georgetown Morgue is a popular haunted house experience in SODO that thousands in the Seattle area flock to each Fall. This year, we at the Mess decided to experience it for ourselves to see if it’s as scary as people claim.
The Morgue is a must if you’re looking for some scariness in your life this Halloween season. It will hands down be one the scariest 15 minutes of your life. The moment you arrive, you are immediately immersed in a horrifying scene; eight foot tall clowns and serial killers are just a taste of the characters that you will encounter before you even step inside the morgue. One of the most frightening sights is the seemingly endless line that wraps around the building. However, while this line may seem daunting, we promise the experience that follows is well worth the wait. If you’re not feeling this waiting time we suggest buying VIP tickets, or avoid going on the weekend or the days leading up to Halloween, as the line can reach up to 4 hours long.
From the instant you enter the haunted house until you leave you’ll be experiencing constant terror. They do not hold back, from bursting air canisters to blaring alarms that may leave you with trouble hearing after. There were a few tight spaces that might bother you if you are claustrophobic, but they also add a lot to the horror environment. The actors inside are eerily convincing in their various roles-but not too convincing, as they’ve been instructed not to physically touch you. You’ll want to go in a small group with some friends because if you don’t, you’re honestly a psychopath. Our group had conflicting ideas about which position of the line is the scariest when you go through– in the front, you experience the scares first, but in the back you’ll often have a zombie, foaming at the mouth, or a bleeding clown chasing you.
After going through the haunted house, we were able to get a behind the scenes tour of the Georgetown Morgue. While we don’t want to spoil the fun, it was fascinating to see the amount of work that goes into planning and running this seasonal experience. According to Tim Kolling, who runs the Morgue, they change a substantial amount of the scares every year to keep people on their toes. This year the house is 83% different from 2021–so don’t worry if you already went to the Morgue last year. He also gave us some insight into the changes they had to make during the pandemic. During that time, they had to transition into more virtual and automated scares, instead of using actors. This year, in addition to bringing back the actors, they have also incorporated some of the virtual elements from last year in a perfectly frightening combination.
We would 100% recommend going to the Georgetown morgue this Halloween season if you’re up for a spooky time. Tickets to the haunted house are $32 for regular admission and $65 for VIP. You can buy them on the Georgetown morgue website – but it runs through November 5th, so purchase them soon!