This Halloween, PortAventura World is premiering El Carnicero de Penitence, a new haunted house in the Far West area of PortAventura Park. Proasur handled the production and installation of its scenery, based on a design by Pizarro Studio. The attraction is open throughout the season, from 19 September to 15 November 2026.
El Carnicero de Penitence, this Halloween’s big new attraction
With this addition, the park now offers five haunted houses. According to PortAventura World, the story is set in the town of Penitence in the late 19th century, where the sheriff asks visitors for help investigating a series of disappearances linked to the local butcher.
The route takes visitors through a series of spaces inspired by a butcher’s shop and slaughterhouse of the period. The attraction also leans into a distinctly gory tone, setting it apart from the rest of the season’s experiences. The full programme is available on PortAventura World’s official Halloween website.
430 m² of period scenery
The scenery covers around 430 m², arranged across 13 rooms, 2 corridors and 4 transition areas. Each of these spaces needed a finish consistent with the Far West setting, where nothing could look newly built.
That is why the attraction’s realism relies so heavily on its finishes. The walls have an aged look, with damp stains and mould, and in some areas the ceiling beams imitate old timber. Likewise, metal objects have a corroded finish and the ropes look worn by decades of use.
Every element, down to the cobwebs, was crafted or selected with meticulous attention to detail. Even functional elements are part of the setting: the emergency exit doors, for example, were painted to look like old wood, so they blend into the route without breaking the immersion.
Every detail counts
A few years ago, while installing the scenery for a zarzuela (a traditional Spanish operetta), the Proasur team learned a lesson it still applies today. The set reproduced a hyper-realistic façade with balconies full of flowers, and every one of them was turned to face the same way. The reason was simple: in real life, plants turn towards the sun.
Probably no one in the audience would consciously notice that gesture. Yet the brain registers small details, and when they all fit together, the space becomes believable.
That same idea lies behind the care taken over every finish in El Carnicero de Penitence. After all, in a haunted house, fear works best when nothing seems out of place.
Reclaimed wood for El Carnicero de Penitence
One of the project’s most distinctive features is the use of reclaimed wood in much of the scenery. In addition, the façade reuses the structure of Hysteria in Boothill, a former attraction at the park, completely transformed to suit the new setting.
This way, the texture of the old wood itself brings authenticity to the spaces, while also reducing the use of new materials, in line with our environmental policy and ISO 14001 certification.
From workshop to installation: El Carnicero de Penitence
Our carpentry workshop built furniture such as benches and tables, while our metalwork workshop produced bespoke metal elements for various scenes.
The Proasur team then carried out the installation at the park, coordinating the work with the other teams involved. During this phase, the wood also received a fire-retardant treatment, essential in a space open to the public. As a result, the scenery’s aged look goes hand in hand with the park’s safety requirements. The project was coordinated by Melina Ickowicz.
Scenography for leisure spaces and experiences
The attraction has also been well received by specialist media. The guide Parquetematico.net ranks it among the haunted houses with the most carefully crafted scenery at PortAventura’s Halloween.
This project adds to Proasur’s track record in scenography, from theatre to theme parks, where every space must withstand intensive use without losing its power to surprise. It also strengthens our collaboration with design studios such as Pizarro Studio.
With more than 35 years of experience, Proasur brings the technical expertise needed to turn every concept into a reliable, fully built space. In El Carnicero de Penitence, that expertise served a very specific goal: making visitors believe, from the very first room, that they have stepped into 19th-century Penitence.
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