356 Yorktown Shopping Center, Lombard, IL
year: 2013
The Lombard Jaycees haunted house has been a staple of the Horror Tourers itinerary since the mid-1990's. While that is a long time, it pales in comparison to how long the haunt has been running - it's been around over 40 years now and shows no signs of slowing down. We enjoyed the haunt last year (its first year at a new location in Yorktown Shopping Center) so we were excited to see what they would come up with next.
This year's theme was a holiday one - titled Happy Hell-a-Days. That's not something you see that often in haunted houses, so we were looking forward to see what holidays would feature. We decided to get the VIP ticket for an additional $5, simply to avoid the line. We were glad we did that, since the line didn't move all that quickly, even in the VIP section. The first portion of the haunt was made up like a living room at Christmastime, albeit with a haunted spin - the walls were decked in black, with creepy drawings on them, and a live actor kept asking us what we had done with Santa Claus. As we passed the oversized fireplace, another live actor jumped out to startle us. It was a decent beginning to the haunt. The haunt proceeded through various holidays and days that might be considered holidays but actually aren't (like Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day). Most of the displays featured some type of oversized prop that was relevant to the holiday. For example, in the St. Patrick's display, there was a giant bar, while in the Easter display there was a giant Easter basket. Oversized props seem to be the hallmark of this particularly Jaycees setup, and we do have to hand it to the set designers for their presentation. Other interesting rooms included the aforementioned Easter room, complete with bloody bunny, a Mardi Gras room featuring a New Orleans street scene with businesses and a balcony, and a Day of the Dead Room (the Mexican holiday, not the movie) with come very creepy and creative makeup work on the live actors. Also present were rooms on Groundhog Day (including shots from the Bill Murray movie of the same name), a clown room that appeared unrelated to any holiday, and a 4th of July room featuring lasers and air effects. |
Commentary
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Overall, the set design was well done, particularly so given that this haunt is put on by volunteers, and younger volunteers at that. Also, there were some interesting actors, too, including an actor with a hockey mask a la Jason Voorhees, who approached visitors making "chh, chh, chh" and "ha ha ha" sounds in emulation of the Friday the 13th movie soundtrack, an actor dressed like a tree (always fun), and the previously mentioned creepy Day of the Dead actors.
Unfortunately, despite the above, we have to say were were a bit disappointed in this year's haunt, for several reasons. First, while the haunt did have a fair amount of actors, almost all of their "acting" consisted of screaming at visitors from the time the entered their room until the time they left it. This tends to get monotonous, not to mention a bit grating on the ears.
Also, there seemed to be fewer sets this year and a lot more dark maze sections. In fact, there were more dark maze portions than actual scenes, and they were so dark we completely stopped several times, bumping into the people in front of us and letting the people in back of us catch up. It took away a lot of the enjoyment of it. I (Bryan) actually got completely disoriented and lost, down to perceiving people in the room with me when I was completely alone. It's wasn't fun.
In short, while we like the Lombard Jaycees overall, we liked the 2012 haunt better than this year's. If we could offer some suggestions we'd definitely cut down on the dark mazes, or at least have a small bit of light in them to use as a guide, and also to vary to actor performances so they offer something beyond simple screaming. The good news is that Lombard Jaycees change up their haunt every year, so here's hoping that next year will be different in a good way.
Unfortunately, despite the above, we have to say were were a bit disappointed in this year's haunt, for several reasons. First, while the haunt did have a fair amount of actors, almost all of their "acting" consisted of screaming at visitors from the time the entered their room until the time they left it. This tends to get monotonous, not to mention a bit grating on the ears.
Also, there seemed to be fewer sets this year and a lot more dark maze sections. In fact, there were more dark maze portions than actual scenes, and they were so dark we completely stopped several times, bumping into the people in front of us and letting the people in back of us catch up. It took away a lot of the enjoyment of it. I (Bryan) actually got completely disoriented and lost, down to perceiving people in the room with me when I was completely alone. It's wasn't fun.
In short, while we like the Lombard Jaycees overall, we liked the 2012 haunt better than this year's. If we could offer some suggestions we'd definitely cut down on the dark mazes, or at least have a small bit of light in them to use as a guide, and also to vary to actor performances so they offer something beyond simple screaming. The good news is that Lombard Jaycees change up their haunt every year, so here's hoping that next year will be different in a good way.