From 31 October, Danse Macabre open its doors to every brave mortal 

For two years now, Efteling staff have been working day in and day out on a new attraction at Efteling: Danse Macabre. On the spot where the Spookslot Haunted House used to stand, a mysterious abbey with a terrifying history has arisen little by little, and the dilapidated building can now be admired in all its glory from behind the construction fences. For the first time, Efteling is now sharing images of the inside of the abbey, with recently installed choir seats, old, reused elements from the Spookslot and an immense organ. From 31 October, Danse Macabre will open its doors to visitors. 

Danse Macabre is a haunted spectacle full of dark twists where 108 souls each take their seats to “dance” to the musical piece of French composer Camille Saint-Saëns of the same name. The design team visited several abbeys in Belgium for inspiration. Efteling's investment in Danse Macabre and the new Huyverwoud themed era is around EUR 35 million. 

Designer Jeroen Verheij: “The bizarre thing- and at the same time the beautiful thing- is that, as a designer, you are at the very beginning of inventing and sketching what we are showing here now. That means that I am actually in my own drawing now. I hope our guests will be overwhelmed by what they see soon enter this chapel. It is a hugely impressive space. This will be an unforgettable attraction.”

About Danse Macabre

From 31 October 2024, Efteling will let visitors to Danse Macabre on a large 18-metre diameter turntable. On this turntable, there are six smaller turntables, each with one choir seat with three row, that in total hold 108 visitors. The large turntable will rise, tilt and fall, spinning like a coin before falling flat. Danse Macabre's spectacular ride system is the first of its kind and makes its debut at Efteling. The 20-metre-high attraction is located in a completely new 17,000km2 creepy themed area with catery, retail and matching entertainment: the creepy Huyverwould forest.

The creepy Huyverwould forest

Visitors enter the creepiest part of Efteling via an ominous abbey square. They will find, among other things, dark catering locations In den Swarte Kat and ‘t Koetshuys and totilet facility De laetste Hoop. The Charlatan family and their special barrel organ, Esmerelda, will provide creepy entertainment. Through a gate, visitors from eight onwards enter the ’waiting route'. This queue full of surpises leads them via the cloister, a mysterious herb garden, a grim cemetery and a creepy forest to the entrance of Danse Macabre. There, a creepy spectacle full of dark twists awaits them.