Category Archives: 2007 Reviews

Reviews posted about the 2007 haunted house season

2007 review by haunt_master

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Reviewed by: haunt_master   (Event Visited: 10/26/07 @ 8:45 pm)

Review Posted: 10/27/07 on Haunted Illinois Overall Score: 6/10

Scare Factor: Medium | Atmosphere: Fair

Visibility/Location: First of all, if you use the map given on this site, it takes you to some place in New Mexico, so obviously that is an error. However, I used the text directions given, and they worked somehow (even though hardly any actual road names are given). The advertisers for this attraction may want to be more careful in giving directions so people can actually FIND the haunt (and not end up in another part of the country!)

Also, the location is quite horrible and hard to see. Be looking for 4-H park (not a haunted attraction) and that will help you find it. The roads are all sandy and gravely, which made it a giant mud pit. My car lost traction and about got stuck in certain spots, driving around the parking area.

Wait Entertainment: Haunted House: They had an actor in a straight jacket who was pretty good at his job. I hardly saw him broke character. He seemed pretty crazy. He was pretty good at interacting with the crowd. Also, they had rock music and a small tv playing rock videos.

Maze: No entertainment because I got right in with no wait.

Length of Event: House: 8 minutes / Maze: 15 minutes

Actor Performance: A mix of actor talent here. Some were really great, like “BAD SANTA” only he was more funny, than scary. I laughed quite a few times in this attraction, and sometimes I wasn’t supposed to be laughing. Some actors tried wayyyy too hard and were more laugh-worthy than scare-worthy.

Patron Flow Inside Attraction: Since you have a guide in the House, there is no chance of running into antoher group really. Although, having a guide does greatly diminish the scare factor.

Maze: Very dead and rainy night, so did not run into anyone else (because no one else was there I think).

Appropriate Ages: House: 10 and above

Maze: any (it’s not scary)

Props / Special FX: Props and SPX were quite lacking. Not a lot of eye candy here.

Costumes / Make-up: I’d rate them average. I saw some pretty unique costumes, like the scary gimp with crutches and the straight-jacket guy. Other people looked more like they were dressed up to go to a rock concert. Some guy’s costume primarily consisted of a “Punisher” t-shirt. Not that scary… and didn’t really fit in with a haunted theme.

Summary: Any haunted house with a guide totally ruins the scariness for me. I am a strong believer in the fact that exploring your way through the house is a great part of the fun. Having a guide might be practical for the house owners, especially if there are expensive props used. However, this place didn’t have to worry about expensive props or SPX, so I am not sure why they still used a guide. I believe a part of it is that walls and construction inside was not very sturdy. It would be easy to accidently push over plywood wall or rip a plastic wall/door. I do not think a great deal of care was taken in building it. The maze construction is similar too. I about pushed over walls sometimes because they were so similar to some of the hidden exits in the maze.

I really did enjoy the maze, it was an actual maze. Not a linear route in the dark. Parts were black, other parts well lit. However, there are multiple ways to get through and dead ends. It was fun. However, not many actors were in the maze. I counted 4. The scare level was low for this place, but at least it was a fun challenge trying to complete the maze. The last hidden exit is pretty sneaky!

2007 review by missrose81

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Reviewed by: missrose81   (Event Visited: 10/19/07 @ 7:15 pm)

Review Posted: 10/23/07 on Haunted Illinois Overall Score: 10/10

Scare Factor: Very High | Atmosphere: Very Good

Visibility/Location: Finding the entrance was a little tough since the street is dark.

Wait Entertainment: There were crazy people and mean clowns all over.

Length of Event: Seemed like a long one. The maze took us a while. Lasted a good amount of time.

Actor Performance: Excellent!! We enjoyed them!!

Patron Flow Inside Attraction: They are small groups and we did not run into anyone else. Which works well with the maze and haunted house.

Appropriate Ages: 6 and up

Props / Special FX: Lots of chainsaws, lights, and no lights…

Costumes / Make-up: They were good. We were in the dark alot during the maze so I couldn’t see them well there.

Summary: This was one of the best events I have been to in years. I actually felt like a kid again. It was an excellent experience. I highly recommend going to this event. Especially, the haunted maze.