7350 banks street, justice, IL
years: 2010-2012
Endless Road is a yard display in Justice, Illinois. Befitting its name, it is located at the end of a long, dark, winding road and it is easy to miss, even with a GPS (as we found out in 2010)!
The somewhat secluded location does add a lot to the atmosphere, and there is plenty to see at this display as well. The entire display is set along a circular driveway, so visitors enter at one end, go around in a big circle, and exit back where they entered. The entrance is covered with a dark semi-transparent material that shields the display from people driving by. It adds to the Halloween feel, and it makes people get out of their cars to actually visit instead of just driving by. The display itself has lot of props - some store bought and some homemade - most of them animated. The haunt itself is more a mixture of the humorous and the scary than the downright gory or frightening.. Some standout displays included a fortune teller display where a creature pops out in place of a printed fortune, a rather cute animated spider, and a real coffin, complete with (hopefully fake) occupant. Additionally, on the night we went there were a couple of live actors. One acted as our guide, welcoming us into the display and leading us around, while the other provided a good scare, courtesy of a well-chosen hiding place. We won't mention the actual hiding place, but is it very effective. When we visited in 2011 it was still somewhat light out, and there didn't appear to be anyone around when we entered the display, but there was - the operator was hiding and got us good! The nature of the hiding place is such that it is sort of hidden in plain sight, which makes it even more effective. Overall, Endless Road is worth a visit, especially if you are touring the various haunts located in the Oak Lawn/Burbank area, like Devil's Playground, The Boneyard, or Hell's Corner. Its more humorous nature will appeal to those with younger children, while there is enough scary content to keep older kids entertained as well. |