35332 Grant Avenue, Custer Park, IL
years: 2012
Chambers of Darkness is a pay haunt and haunted hayride located in Custer Park, IL. While the distance is a bit far for the Tourers, the $10 price tag for a combined haunt and hayride was too good to pass up, so we decided to take
ride. As we had a packed schedule that night, we made a point of arriving early, before the first hayride began. It was a smart idea, as we got our tickets and were able to have some delicious snacks while waiting. There was homemade chili and other good food, all for reasonable prices. It made for a nice start to the evening. |
After eating, we got in line for the hayride. The haunt offered wagons both with hay and without, which is good for those with potential allergies. We chose a hay wagon since there wasn’t much of it and it was wide open. The hayride was over 2
miles long, so we were looking forward to a nice, relaxing ride (with scares, of course). After a short while we took off along the “trail of terror.” Unfortunately, we were mixed in with a group of older people who were not only already drunk, but also loud and obnoxious, which instantly has us wishing the hayride was over. They constantly were shouting and laughing along the first part of the ride, and giving the live actors a hard time when they came alongside and tried to scare us.
Thankfully they settled down by the time we got to the halfway point, which featured a live “electrocution” of a cheating husband by his wife – it was creepy and comical at the same time – a nice touch! Following this scene we wound past a couple more, including some type of abandoned heavy equipment from which ghouls emerged. It was a nice use of the actual scenery along the hayride route. Other than those few scenes there wasn’t much to see on the hayride, but it really wasn’t bad and since it wasn’t the main attraction we didn’t judge it too harshly.
The main portion of the attraction was held in a large barn. We entered and had to wait for about 20-30 minutes to go through. The beginning of the haunt started out well, with a nicely detailed living room set, complete with creepy live actors, followed by a nuclear waste dump set and a swamp set with a pretty cool looking moving crocodile prop. Unfortunately, after that it all wound up going downhill. From the swamp room we moved into total darkness. While we don’t mind sections of total darkness, having to walk long twisty corridors while simultaneously having to feel your way inch by inch is not fun, especially if the ground is not even, which can easily cause you to trip, or you wind up getting lost.
We finally emerged from the dark section into a large room with several doors and several live actors directing people. As is typical of these scenes in haunted houses, the live actors weren’t so much “directing” as “misdirecting” and judging by the number of patrons in the area, they were doing a very good job of it. We were directed through one door only to encounter more darkness and more people. We finally stumbled around a bit and went through another door, only to find ourselves in the very same room with the live actors. In looking at the room, it seemed that all of the potential exit doors simply led people in a circle right back to the main room.
Since we had had about enough of going in circles, we asked one of the actors which was the correct way to go, and he indicated the same door we had gone through before. We then told him that we had gone there before and we seriously just
wanted to find the exit – it simply wasn’t fun anymore. The actor refused to break character and tell us the correct way, even when we told him we needed to leave. We are all for actors staying in character, but there comes a time when,
if a visitor is clearly unhappy, that they need to be sympathetic to that.
We actually don’t recall how we got out, but we did, and we certainly weren’t the only people who were annoyed by this room, either, judging by comments we overheard. The rest of the rooms were unremarkable enough that we actually don’t
remember them. After exiting, we wound our way through a short trail section, which turned out to be the best part of the entire haunt. It was eerily lit by torches and other lights, and had some good smoke effects and setups. Also, there were several live actors present who added to the atmosphere. It was short, but very well done, without any of the long, dark corridor nonsense.
Overall, we had high hopes for Chambers of Darkness. After all, $10 for a hayride and a haunted house is pretty good. The hayride was decent, if unremarkable, and the ending trail portion was very well done, as was the first third of the main
house. Also, there were good snacks on offer both before and after the haunt itself. However, the long stretches of blackness, coupled with unhelpful actors leading to poor patron flow really put a damper on our enjoyment of this one. We
probably will not return, even at the low $10 price. However, if you don’t mind the issues we mentioned and want a decent bang for your buck (as well as some cheap eats), feel free to check it out.
miles long, so we were looking forward to a nice, relaxing ride (with scares, of course). After a short while we took off along the “trail of terror.” Unfortunately, we were mixed in with a group of older people who were not only already drunk, but also loud and obnoxious, which instantly has us wishing the hayride was over. They constantly were shouting and laughing along the first part of the ride, and giving the live actors a hard time when they came alongside and tried to scare us.
Thankfully they settled down by the time we got to the halfway point, which featured a live “electrocution” of a cheating husband by his wife – it was creepy and comical at the same time – a nice touch! Following this scene we wound past a couple more, including some type of abandoned heavy equipment from which ghouls emerged. It was a nice use of the actual scenery along the hayride route. Other than those few scenes there wasn’t much to see on the hayride, but it really wasn’t bad and since it wasn’t the main attraction we didn’t judge it too harshly.
The main portion of the attraction was held in a large barn. We entered and had to wait for about 20-30 minutes to go through. The beginning of the haunt started out well, with a nicely detailed living room set, complete with creepy live actors, followed by a nuclear waste dump set and a swamp set with a pretty cool looking moving crocodile prop. Unfortunately, after that it all wound up going downhill. From the swamp room we moved into total darkness. While we don’t mind sections of total darkness, having to walk long twisty corridors while simultaneously having to feel your way inch by inch is not fun, especially if the ground is not even, which can easily cause you to trip, or you wind up getting lost.
We finally emerged from the dark section into a large room with several doors and several live actors directing people. As is typical of these scenes in haunted houses, the live actors weren’t so much “directing” as “misdirecting” and judging by the number of patrons in the area, they were doing a very good job of it. We were directed through one door only to encounter more darkness and more people. We finally stumbled around a bit and went through another door, only to find ourselves in the very same room with the live actors. In looking at the room, it seemed that all of the potential exit doors simply led people in a circle right back to the main room.
Since we had had about enough of going in circles, we asked one of the actors which was the correct way to go, and he indicated the same door we had gone through before. We then told him that we had gone there before and we seriously just
wanted to find the exit – it simply wasn’t fun anymore. The actor refused to break character and tell us the correct way, even when we told him we needed to leave. We are all for actors staying in character, but there comes a time when,
if a visitor is clearly unhappy, that they need to be sympathetic to that.
We actually don’t recall how we got out, but we did, and we certainly weren’t the only people who were annoyed by this room, either, judging by comments we overheard. The rest of the rooms were unremarkable enough that we actually don’t
remember them. After exiting, we wound our way through a short trail section, which turned out to be the best part of the entire haunt. It was eerily lit by torches and other lights, and had some good smoke effects and setups. Also, there were several live actors present who added to the atmosphere. It was short, but very well done, without any of the long, dark corridor nonsense.
Overall, we had high hopes for Chambers of Darkness. After all, $10 for a hayride and a haunted house is pretty good. The hayride was decent, if unremarkable, and the ending trail portion was very well done, as was the first third of the main
house. Also, there were good snacks on offer both before and after the haunt itself. However, the long stretches of blackness, coupled with unhelpful actors leading to poor patron flow really put a damper on our enjoyment of this one. We
probably will not return, even at the low $10 price. However, if you don’t mind the issues we mentioned and want a decent bang for your buck (as well as some cheap eats), feel free to check it out.