The witching hour is close at hand. And before we say farewell to another Halloween season, it is time to unveil Haunted House Chicago's Official 2010 Top 13, as chosen by our Review Team.
After an all-time high of reviewing exactly 50 attractions and traversing 3,194 miles this season, here is our list of the best around:
1. Statesville Haunted Prison & City of the Dead in Crest Hill, IL
2. Realm of Terror Horror Experience in Round Lake Beach, IL
3. Wisconsin Feargrounds in Waukesha, WI
4. Fear Itself at Legend Skream Park in Mishawaka, IN
5. Nightmares: Basement of the Dead in Aurora, IL
6. The Fear Haunted House at Navy Pier in Chicago, IL
7. Dream Reapers Haunted House in Melrose Park, IL
8. Niles Haunted House Scream Park in Niles, MI
9. Dark Side Haunted Adventure in Ixonia, WI
10. Spook Hollow & MC Manor in Marquette Heights, IL
11. Amhurst Asylum Haunted Attraction in Valparaiso, IN
12. Spider Hill in Chillicothe, IL
13. Asylum Xperiment in Villa Park, IL
Please join us in congratulating these outstanding haunted attractions!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
2010 Jim Warfield Acting Award Recipients
Haunted House Chicago would like to formally congratulate recipients of the
2010 Jim Warfield Acting Award:
Lindon Warren as "Mr. Pan"
Performing at Realm of Terror in Round Lake Beach, Illinois
AND
Jake Gesse as "Me"
Performing at Amhurst Asylum in Valparaiso, Indiana
Please join us in congratulating these outstanding Actors of the Year!
2010 Jim Warfield Acting Award:
Lindon Warren as "Mr. Pan"
Performing at Realm of Terror in Round Lake Beach, Illinois
AND
Jake Gesse as "Me"
Performing at Amhurst Asylum in Valparaiso, Indiana
Please join us in congratulating these outstanding Actors of the Year!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Halloween 2010
We made it. Another Halloween is finally upon us! AND just when we thought we were going to have spend it in our shorts and flip-flops, Mother Nature rears her head and the Earth begins to freeze once more.
As we celebrate this special time of year, take some time to reflect on the true history and meaning of Halloween.
Take a look at this article from History Channel’s Halloween history:
Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31, is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic and Roman religious rituals and European folk traditions that blended together over time to create the holiday we know today. Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity and life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. Halloween has long been thought of as a day when the dead can return to the earth, and ancient Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these roaming ghosts. The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and the Roman festival of Feralia all influenced the modern holiday of Halloween. In the 19th century, Halloween began to lose its religious connotation, becoming a more secular community-based children's holiday. Although the superstitions and beliefs surrounding Halloween may have evolved over the years, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people can still look forward to parades, costumes and sweet treats to usher in the winter season.
You can read more here: http://www.history.com/topics/halloween or here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
So, whether this Halloween season was about trick-or-treating, haunted housing, dressing in costume, carving pumpkins, or parties, we hope that it was everything that you hoped for and more!
Thank you for joining us this and every season! We hope you enjoyed reading our articles and content as much as we enjoyed providing them.
From all of us at Haunted House Chicago to all of you and yours, we wish you a very safe, haunted, and Happy Halloween!
AND stay tuned for the announcement of the 2010 Critics Top 13, Jim Warfield Acting Award recipient, and the 2010 People’s Choice Award!
As we celebrate this special time of year, take some time to reflect on the true history and meaning of Halloween.
Take a look at this article from History Channel’s Halloween history:
Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31, is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic and Roman religious rituals and European folk traditions that blended together over time to create the holiday we know today. Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity and life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. Halloween has long been thought of as a day when the dead can return to the earth, and ancient Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these roaming ghosts. The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and the Roman festival of Feralia all influenced the modern holiday of Halloween. In the 19th century, Halloween began to lose its religious connotation, becoming a more secular community-based children's holiday. Although the superstitions and beliefs surrounding Halloween may have evolved over the years, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people can still look forward to parades, costumes and sweet treats to usher in the winter season.
You can read more here: http://www.history.com/topics/halloween or here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
So, whether this Halloween season was about trick-or-treating, haunted housing, dressing in costume, carving pumpkins, or parties, we hope that it was everything that you hoped for and more!
Thank you for joining us this and every season! We hope you enjoyed reading our articles and content as much as we enjoyed providing them.
From all of us at Haunted House Chicago to all of you and yours, we wish you a very safe, haunted, and Happy Halloween!
AND stay tuned for the announcement of the 2010 Critics Top 13, Jim Warfield Acting Award recipient, and the 2010 People’s Choice Award!
Devil's Night 2010
What mischief are you planning on getting into? Almost every haunted attraction in the book is open.
Where will you scream tonight?
Where will you scream tonight?
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Four More Days of FEAR at Navy Pier!
See What Chicago's Screaming About!
Find out for yourself why Haunted Attraction Magazine named The Fear one of the "Top 25 Must-See Haunted Houses in the USA", why Fox's Breakfast Club called it "A Must-See" and why TimeOut Chicago gave The Fear 5 out of 5 Stars.
Visit The Fear website for a coupon worth $5.00 OFF NAVY PIER PARKING and bring it to The Fear's ticket booth!
FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS: Grab coupons at The Fear website to take advantage of special food & drink specials being offered at Harry Caray's new Navy Pier location!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Ready to Rock & Roll
Our programmer has given us the "All Clear" - you should be able to register/log in, rate, review and vote for your favorite haunted house! Happy Haunting this weekend!!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Website Issues with HauntedHouseChicago.com
Hi, folks - we are aware that the website is acting weird and our programmer is working diligently to get it fixed up. Stay tuned, and sorry for the inconvenience.
Friday, October 8, 2010
New Award
Haunted House Chicago is proud to announce the addition of a new category to their award system.
Currently, we offer two categories of awards:
-Haunted Attraction of the Year: Critic’s Choice
-Haunted Attraction of the Year: People’s Choice
Starting in 2010, we will be adding an annual award for the best haunted attraction actor or actress.
Because of his outstanding contributions to this field, the award will hereby be dedicated and known as:
The Jim Warfield Acting Award
Since 1987, Jim Warfield has been guiding groups of tours through his one-of-a-kind 19th century home, Raven’s Grin Inn. Besides being the designer and decorator, Jim is also the main star of his attraction, in which he performs multiple vaudeville-esque routines nearly every night of the year. Relying on wit and wisdom, Jim entertains thousands of guests annually with humor and history.
Description & Criteria
Entertaining patrons of a haunted attraction is one of the toughest jobs around. Since each individual has a different set of fears, actors and actresses rarely have more than a few moments to capture one’s attention.
This award is to recognize the best actor or actress from each haunting season who has excelled above and beyond in their individual performance.
This award is eligible for any employee from every attraction reviewed by the Haunted House Chicago Review Staff, with exception to ownership/top level management.
Stay tuned for the announcement on October 31, 2010!
Currently, we offer two categories of awards:
-Haunted Attraction of the Year: Critic’s Choice
-Haunted Attraction of the Year: People’s Choice
Starting in 2010, we will be adding an annual award for the best haunted attraction actor or actress.
Because of his outstanding contributions to this field, the award will hereby be dedicated and known as:
The Jim Warfield Acting Award
Since 1987, Jim Warfield has been guiding groups of tours through his one-of-a-kind 19th century home, Raven’s Grin Inn. Besides being the designer and decorator, Jim is also the main star of his attraction, in which he performs multiple vaudeville-esque routines nearly every night of the year. Relying on wit and wisdom, Jim entertains thousands of guests annually with humor and history.
Description & Criteria
Entertaining patrons of a haunted attraction is one of the toughest jobs around. Since each individual has a different set of fears, actors and actresses rarely have more than a few moments to capture one’s attention.
This award is to recognize the best actor or actress from each haunting season who has excelled above and beyond in their individual performance.
This award is eligible for any employee from every attraction reviewed by the Haunted House Chicago Review Staff, with exception to ownership/top level management.
Stay tuned for the announcement on October 31, 2010!
Friday, October 1, 2010
October Has Arrived!
October is back and the haunting season is finally upon us! Almost 75% of all area attractions are open this weekend. So, here's a quick run-down of who's open:
(Please check each attraction for individual dates/times/hours, etc.)
Iowa
Davenport Jaycees (Davenport)
Illinois
Disturbia Torment of Fears (Addison)
Sweet Dreams (Alsip)
Nightmares: Basement of the Dead (Aurora)
Fear Asylum / Screamatorium (Belvidere/South Beloit)
Haunted Mansion / Asylum 13 (Bolingbrook)
Abyss @ Dollinger Family Farm (Channahon)
The Fear at Navy Pier (Chicago)
Spider Hill (Chillicothe)
Asylum of Mad Dreams (Cordova)
Statesville Haunted Prison / City of the Dead (Crest Hill)
The Scream Haunted Adventure (Decatur)
Haunted Hovel (East Moline)
Evil Intentions (Elgin)
Psychosis Haunted House (Elgin)
11th Hour (Elk Grove Village)
X-Treme Hauntings (Fox Lake)
Six Flags Great America (Gurnee)
Satan's Portal (Joliet)
Jonamac Orchard Haunted Corn Maze (Malta)
Mazon Dungeon of Terror (Mazon)
McHenry Jaycees Haunted House (McHenry)
Dream Reapers (Melrose Park)
Raven's Grin Inn (Mt. Carroll)
Hotel Massacre (Naperville)
Torment at Twelve Hundred (Orion)
Fear Factory (Rantoul)
Haunted Haven (Rock Falls)
Skellington Manor (Rock Island)
Realm of Terror (Round Lake Beach)
St. Charles Haunted House (St. Charles)
Dungeon of Doom (Zion)
Indiana
Reapers Realm (Hammond)
Fear Itself/Legend Skream Park (Mishawaka)
Amhurst Asylum (Valparaiso)
Michigan
Niles Scream Park (Niles)
Wisconsin
Dr. S. Cary's Haunted House (Fort Atkinson)
Terror on Rural Street (Hartford)
Hubertus House of Horrors (Hubertus)
Dark Side Haunted Adventure (Ixonia)
Mars Haunted House (Milwaukee)
Monster Mayhem (Milwaukee)
Haunted High School (Oconomowoc)
Racine's Factory of Fear (Racine)
Hartford Jaycees (Slinger)
Haunted Barn (Stoughton)
Wisconsin Feargrounds (Waukesha)
Hauntfest (West Allis)
Meadowbrook Pumpkin Farm Haunted Cornfield (West Bend)
Shockwave Haunts (Whitewater)
Have a safe and frightful weekend!
(Please check each attraction for individual dates/times/hours, etc.)
Iowa
Davenport Jaycees (Davenport)
Illinois
Disturbia Torment of Fears (Addison)
Sweet Dreams (Alsip)
Nightmares: Basement of the Dead (Aurora)
Fear Asylum / Screamatorium (Belvidere/South Beloit)
Haunted Mansion / Asylum 13 (Bolingbrook)
Abyss @ Dollinger Family Farm (Channahon)
The Fear at Navy Pier (Chicago)
Spider Hill (Chillicothe)
Asylum of Mad Dreams (Cordova)
Statesville Haunted Prison / City of the Dead (Crest Hill)
The Scream Haunted Adventure (Decatur)
Haunted Hovel (East Moline)
Evil Intentions (Elgin)
Psychosis Haunted House (Elgin)
11th Hour (Elk Grove Village)
X-Treme Hauntings (Fox Lake)
Six Flags Great America (Gurnee)
Satan's Portal (Joliet)
Jonamac Orchard Haunted Corn Maze (Malta)
Mazon Dungeon of Terror (Mazon)
McHenry Jaycees Haunted House (McHenry)
Dream Reapers (Melrose Park)
Raven's Grin Inn (Mt. Carroll)
Hotel Massacre (Naperville)
Torment at Twelve Hundred (Orion)
Fear Factory (Rantoul)
Haunted Haven (Rock Falls)
Skellington Manor (Rock Island)
Realm of Terror (Round Lake Beach)
St. Charles Haunted House (St. Charles)
Dungeon of Doom (Zion)
Indiana
Reapers Realm (Hammond)
Fear Itself/Legend Skream Park (Mishawaka)
Amhurst Asylum (Valparaiso)
Michigan
Niles Scream Park (Niles)
Wisconsin
Dr. S. Cary's Haunted House (Fort Atkinson)
Terror on Rural Street (Hartford)
Hubertus House of Horrors (Hubertus)
Dark Side Haunted Adventure (Ixonia)
Mars Haunted House (Milwaukee)
Monster Mayhem (Milwaukee)
Haunted High School (Oconomowoc)
Racine's Factory of Fear (Racine)
Hartford Jaycees (Slinger)
Haunted Barn (Stoughton)
Wisconsin Feargrounds (Waukesha)
Hauntfest (West Allis)
Meadowbrook Pumpkin Farm Haunted Cornfield (West Bend)
Shockwave Haunts (Whitewater)
Have a safe and frightful weekend!
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