The Day the Haunted Castle Returned

Some of my most special childhood memories are those moments when my father suddenly had a day off. If it happened to be a day when we were off school too, we would get into the car and head towards some unknown destination, until suddenly the walls of one of the best-known amusement parks in Europe appeared before us: the Efteling.

Getting there was exciting, but so was “het Sprookjesbos” (Fairytale Forest). The magical world of The Indian Water Lilies, Sleeping Beauty who simply refused to wake up, or the Dragon who really did get angry when you touched his treasure.

But for me, there was only one attraction that truly stood above the rest: the Haunted Castle. Built in the year I was born, it had always been part of my childhood. It was simply always there, a castle that looked as though it had stood there for hundreds of years, old and weathered, ivy creeping across its walls, deep in a dark forest. Walking inside holding my mother’s hand, barely able to see anything but hearing all kinds of strange sounds, and then, at the very end, the ghostly show that I was too scared to even watch.

As I grew older, it remained the one attraction I simply had to visit. Otherwise, I hadn’t really been to the Efteling. Just stopping by the Haunted Castle, taking in the music and the spectacle of floating monks, moving gravestones and, of course, the self-playing violin. Not fast or crowded, not commercial or imposing, but simply a scene inside an abandoned haunted castle. That simplicity, and the music, were what made the Haunted Castle what it was.

Then came the moment when the Haunted Castle was no longer there. According to the Efteling, it was time to renew the attraction. And they did have a point. Once maintenance becomes too expensive, or an attraction starts to look neglected rather than old, it makes sense to either renovate it completely or do something entirely different.

And that is exactly what they did. September 4, 2022 was the final day of the Haunted Castle. Afterwards, the place where so many memories had lived was turned into a construction site, with a promise for the future.

After that, I never really got around to spending a day at the Efteling again. Life was simply too busy, there were other things to do, and there never seemed to be the time.

But there were teasers from the Efteling along the way. Danse Macabre, the piece of music, would not disappear. There were hints of an abandoned abbey, Joseph Charlatan, missing musicians and a sweet little black cat. Much later came the making-of videos, and we saw that many things from the old Haunted Castle would return in the new attraction. Perhaps the best news of all was that a piece of the old castle wall would be incorporated into the Huyverwoud themed area surrounding the new attraction.

On October 30, 2024, the special opening ceremony for Danse Macabre took place, in a way that truly suited both the attraction and the Efteling. It is really something you should watch the way it was meant to be seen.

[video: Danse Macabre opening ceremony]

For me, it would still be a long time before I finally got the chance to experience the attraction myself. My daughter had already been on it on my birthday, of all days, but in 2026 I finally had the chance to return to the Efteling.

Of course, it was incredibly busy on the day we went, but the first attraction we visited was, you guessed it, Danse Macabre. I should say that I had deliberately avoided looking too much into Danse Macabre, even after it opened, so for me, almost everything was still new.

One of the wonderful things about attractions at the Efteling is that the queue itself is already part of the story, and with Danse Macabre they have taken that principle a little further. From the cloister garden, you have a wonderful view of the abandoned abbey. The graveyard, with the statue of Joseph Charlatan and the references to the missing musicians, makes you feel as though you have wandered into a place where nobody belongs anymore. And the final stretch through the misty forest is simply eerie, even if it is only because of the unsettling sounds surrounding you.

Once inside the abandoned abbey, you enter a dark corridor. You are led further into the abbey while the tension slowly builds. Until, finally, the doors open.

I honestly didn’t expect what came next. You enter a large circular room that resembles the old churches and cathedrals found throughout Europe. A high ceiling, sturdy wooden choir stalls surrounding a pile of musical instruments, and on top of that pile, a small black cat.

When you take your seat in the choir stall, you realise that something is about to happen that is very different from the show in the old Haunted Castle: you are firmly held in place by a sturdy safety bar in front of you. When lightning strikes the pile of instruments, the cat transforms into the Nameless Beast, and all the benches turn towards the organ, where the Conductor has suddenly appeared.

Then the music begins. It is simply the music you remember from childhood: Danse Macabre. Slowly, the choir stalls begin to move, and it feels as though you are actually dancing to Danse Macabre. Wonderful.

What moved me most was how everything around you reminds you of the past. Those times when I would almost hide behind my father, the first time I was truly pulled into the story.

The balustrades move, just as they did before. The crypts below, only revealed when the entire floor tilts downwards. The musicians, the monks and, of course, the violin carrying the music. All around you, everything continues to move with the music, and Danse Macabre keeps growing bigger and bigger.

And that, to me, is the difference between the new attraction and the old Haunted Castle. Back then, you stood there watching the story. Here, you are right in the middle of it. You are no longer a spectator. You are part of the dance.

As the piece of music Danse Macabre continues to play, you experience the Haunted Castle as it used to be, only in a completely different way.

Afterwards, I was genuinely impressed. And, if I’m honest, I still am. The Efteling has made sure that my favourite attraction did not disappear, but simply changed. The story of the Haunted Castle has not disappeared either. It has been given a reason to exist.

With Danse Macabre, the Efteling did not rebuild the Haunted Castle. They gave it a new life — and in doing so, turned an old memory into a new legend.