4937 W. 26th STREET, cicero, IL
years: 2012
Cicero Hall of Horrors is a pay haunt located in the old Cicero Town Hall. This is one of the never haunts in the area, and it has quickly grown to a large, popular attraction.
The Tourers have actually tried to visit this haunt several times over the past couple of years, but have been thwarted by the large crowds. Fortunately, in 2012 the haunt was open on a couple of Thursdays, so we made a point ot getting there about 30 minutes before they opened. This strategy worked very well, as we got in with little wait. Once inside, we were greeted by a large dragon-like figure over the stairway leading into the haunt. Although it was obviously homemade, its impressive size said a lot about the effort that was put into this haunt, so we were very much looking forward to seeing what was in store for us. As it was housed in a multilevel building, the haunt had a lot of space to work with, including long corridors, stairways, and various rooms and offices. Cicero Hall of Horrors made excellent use of the real building structures to create engaging and elaborate setups. |
Commentary
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For example, an old bathroom, complete with antique faucets and toilet, was used for a bloody bathroom crime scene, and an old kitchen was used for a kitchen cannibal setup. One of the most effective use of existing rooms was the use of the old jail cells for a ghoulish prisoner/execution setup. Walking through that area and having the live actors emerge from actual cells was a nice authentic touch.
In addition to the effective use of space, there were also a number of interesting scenes, including our favorite - a swamp setting where visitors walked across a makeshift bridge. The bridge ran under a canopy, and somehow the display managed to run water over the canopy so it appeared to be raining. Also, to our right, there was a large open section that was covered with webs, with a massive spider sitting in the middle. As the bridge we walked over was slightly raised, it appeared as though we were looking down on a spider in a jungle - the rain made it all that more effective. Another favorite was a huge winged grim reaper like figure that was animated and moved back and forth towards us as we passed - we've not seen one so large except at some professional pay haunts.
There were many such scenes dotted throughout, and even when there was nothing to see, the design of the haunt made it interesting nonetheless. For example, in some areas where there was nothing but a long corridor, the halls actually had a triangular ceiling, a small but interesting detail that showed just how much effort went into the haunt. The final area we went into was also a bit of a twist on a typical idea. There are some haunts that like to incorporate a dark maze, which is basically a pitch black area where visitors need to essentially feel their way around to get out of. Some of these dark mazes also have live actors that jump out at visitors. We at Horror Tourers tend to dislike dark mazes, particularly when they are totally dark and they are used as substitutes for a lack of actors or other, more detailed scenes.
Cicero Hall of Horrors had such a maze at the end of the haunt, but instead of being dark, it was pure white. The upshot was that we could still see where we were going, but the pure white surroundings coupled with some bright lights served to be most disorienting. In addition, there were several live actors, all in white, with white masks. The overall effect was that we could only see the eye and mouth holes in the masks, so it looked at though they were floating in a white void when they approached us. Overall, it was an excellent effect, only let down by the fact that we were with a bunch of annoying people who were A) scared and B) loud - they almost ruined the haunt for us, but that's not the fault of the haunt itself.
The entire haunt took about 30 minutes or more to go through, which is at the very high end, particularly for non-professional haunts. Having experienced the entire thing, we could easily see why the lines to get in are usually so long. Additionally, at the end of the haunt there were numerous vendors selling various Mexican foods, including tacos and churros, making for a nice post-haunt snacks.
We'd highly recommend the Cicero Hall of Horrors - after only one visit it has already made our "must visit" list. Its length, set detail, and creativity easily put it on the same level as some professional haunts that are both more expensive and shorter. If you're looking for an enjoyable haunt experience that really exceeds the hype, look no further!
In addition to the effective use of space, there were also a number of interesting scenes, including our favorite - a swamp setting where visitors walked across a makeshift bridge. The bridge ran under a canopy, and somehow the display managed to run water over the canopy so it appeared to be raining. Also, to our right, there was a large open section that was covered with webs, with a massive spider sitting in the middle. As the bridge we walked over was slightly raised, it appeared as though we were looking down on a spider in a jungle - the rain made it all that more effective. Another favorite was a huge winged grim reaper like figure that was animated and moved back and forth towards us as we passed - we've not seen one so large except at some professional pay haunts.
There were many such scenes dotted throughout, and even when there was nothing to see, the design of the haunt made it interesting nonetheless. For example, in some areas where there was nothing but a long corridor, the halls actually had a triangular ceiling, a small but interesting detail that showed just how much effort went into the haunt. The final area we went into was also a bit of a twist on a typical idea. There are some haunts that like to incorporate a dark maze, which is basically a pitch black area where visitors need to essentially feel their way around to get out of. Some of these dark mazes also have live actors that jump out at visitors. We at Horror Tourers tend to dislike dark mazes, particularly when they are totally dark and they are used as substitutes for a lack of actors or other, more detailed scenes.
Cicero Hall of Horrors had such a maze at the end of the haunt, but instead of being dark, it was pure white. The upshot was that we could still see where we were going, but the pure white surroundings coupled with some bright lights served to be most disorienting. In addition, there were several live actors, all in white, with white masks. The overall effect was that we could only see the eye and mouth holes in the masks, so it looked at though they were floating in a white void when they approached us. Overall, it was an excellent effect, only let down by the fact that we were with a bunch of annoying people who were A) scared and B) loud - they almost ruined the haunt for us, but that's not the fault of the haunt itself.
The entire haunt took about 30 minutes or more to go through, which is at the very high end, particularly for non-professional haunts. Having experienced the entire thing, we could easily see why the lines to get in are usually so long. Additionally, at the end of the haunt there were numerous vendors selling various Mexican foods, including tacos and churros, making for a nice post-haunt snacks.
We'd highly recommend the Cicero Hall of Horrors - after only one visit it has already made our "must visit" list. Its length, set detail, and creativity easily put it on the same level as some professional haunts that are both more expensive and shorter. If you're looking for an enjoyable haunt experience that really exceeds the hype, look no further!