Haunted House – Downtown Chicago

*review from our ChicagoNow blog —
It is rare to find any haunted attractions within the actual city limits of Chicago, especially in the downtown area. So when Count was contacted by the folks at Haunted House *yes this is the name of the haunt* we jumped at the chance to attend a haunt without having to drive all the way to Bumblebum, Egypt in the burbs.
We arrived on opening night armed only with our GPS and an address. The haunted house was a bit difficult to find as there was no signage AT ALL on the outside, no line waiting to get in. The only sign that this event was taking place at all was a man dressed in a Halloween costume passing out flyers. He directed us into what appeared to be a bar/​restaurant where the people in charge escorted us to a back stairway with a narrow entrance. We went thru a door in a back room where there was a fright, erm frieght elevator decorated ghoulishly *or is that everyday grunge?* with an elevator operatior dressed with an evil clown face.
We arrived to another room, which we assumed to be a waiting area, dimly lit but shiny clean. There was only the two of us so we were ushered into a dark corridor which turned into a pitch black maze. This maze had so many twists and turns into dead end corners, it eventually became very frustrating and more than a bit creepy so I think they got the job done. We were hopelessly lost so one of the staff helped us out by flashing a flashlight inside as well as Count using his cell phone light, which he honestly does NOT like to do as it normally spoils the scares. This time we didn’t mind because we were becoming very uncomfortable.
As soon as we exited the maze we ended up in what looked like another waiting area, with a staff member at a desk who collects the tickets. We still hadn’t gotten to the haunted house yet? Guess not! So we went inside the second part of the haunt and for a first year haunted house, the sets were extremely detailed, yet spaced a bit far apart. It was very eerie to walk around the various sets, but I think the haunt as a whole could have benefitted from having a few more actors or perhaps animated props to come out unexpectedly to scare the bejeebus out of you.
For a first year haunt, it was not a bad job. I think with a little more work, a few more actors and a lot of publicity would make this an excellent haunt because I definitely see potential here. I would also like to see how everything would progress with a larger crowd as that night we were the only two there at all.
*ONE AND ONE HALF FANGS* for very good effort, can’t wait to see what they will have in store for us next time!
Haunted House is located at 223 W. Lake St., Chicago, IL
Open October 15 — 31
Daily 6PM — 12AM
For more info and to buy tickets, visit
or text «ChiCrackin» to 69 302