Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com

A popular haunted attraction has moved to a new, larger location with upgrades and changes for the upcoming spooky season.

The Terrorfied Forest has relocated to Hell Survivors at 619 Pearl Street in the Village of Pinckney. It opens this weekend.

Owners Marie and Byron Butler purchased the paintball venue and are operating that business, along with the Terrorfied Forest. It was previously located off Swarthout Road in Putnam Township.

Marie Butler told WHMI they grew the attraction to the point where they needed a bigger space and the owners of Hell Survivors, Dave and Kelly Massey, were looking to retire. She said they were initially just looking for space for the haunted attractions and didn’t intend to purchase the business. Butler said they took over in February and while unexpected, it has been a true blessing that worked out in their favor.

Butler said they moved everything over from the old spot and have been very busy building and gearing up for their season. She said there will be some old favorites that people remember but in a different way and they’re really excited for people to see the new location, which features longer paths and some brand-new attractions. The haunted trail is just under a mile long and winds through the woods.

Butler, who has been a been professional haunter for 11 years, said it’s difficult to do a theme for an outdoor attraction but they wanted it to make it work and did. This year’s involves a post-apocalyptic world and creatures of the night that people will discover along the way. It was noted that if this is someone’s first haunted attraction or if someone is too skittish – there’s monster repellant. Butler said when people hold that, the creatures are more timid and stay away, or become funny and more entertaining than scary.

This Saturday is “Blood Bash 4” – a special night where the rules have changed and the attraction features a “full-touch” haunted trail. Butler said that’s more for the brave of heart with more excitement as the creatures get closer and it’s a lot of fun – noting a lot of people look forward to it every year. It was previously 18 and up, but this year will permit those 16 and older if accompanied by an adult.

Changes have also been made to lessen long wait lines. Butler said they’ve put in a new cue system so instead of waiting in line, people can wait under covered seating, enjoy concessions, zombie target paintball, an escape room, and listen to music. There’s also a firepit and cornhole.

Butler said the wait times should be much less and they recognize that lines can be stressful so they’re trying to find things to entertain visitors. There’s also a VIP fast pass.

Butler said they plan and build and work on things year-round to be open 15 days a year. She added they’ve worked really hard to bring this event and attraction to fans and are very excited – adding they do all of this so that people can have “a night to get away from the real world and just have fun”.