300 S. ROUTE 31, MCHENRY, IL
Year: 2015
As Horror Tourers, we always like to support local haunts and haunts put on by charitable organizations. The Jaycees have lots of haunts all over the country, and they tend to be pretty good, so we're always happy to go visit a new Jaycees haunt when we can.
Last year we visited the McHenry Jaycees haunt and enjoyed it so we wade a return visit this year. Located in an old barn up a winding trail, the haunt has an eerie feel before one even steps foot inside of it. Visitors drive down a street at the end of which is a sign that points to the haunted house, but only in a general direction. Visitors have to park and walk up a dark winding road before they spot a big red barn with a haunted house sign on it. It definitely can be a bit unnerving, especially if you arrive when no one else is there, as we did last year! The haunt itself is made up of a number of differing scenes that mare mostly unrelated to one another. It's like a combination of individual set pieces that each showcase a theme. For instance, this year had a spider room, a jail cell, bathroom, doctor's office, living room, clown room, and more. Visitors never quite now what they'll find, and the Jaycees usually make a point of changing the majority of their haunts each year, so it's always new. Sets are minimal, with individual scenes getting more attention than the corridors in between, and acting is mostly by younger people and of the "jump out and scare" variety. Of course, the entertainment value of a haunt depends on how the actors perform and what clever things lie inside,and McHenry Jaycees, although of a lower scare factor than a professional haunt, definitely is a haunt with heart, and it shows. All of the actors seemed to really enjoy what they were doing, and you could tell that when they actually startled us (as they did a few times with Laura), they were genuinely pleased with themselves. It was fun to see their reactions as we walked through. A few had clever hiding places, too, and managed to sneak up on us. Good scenes included the initial hallway, which featured framed pictures on the walls and one with a head that seemed to come right out of the frame itself. We've seen this trick done with hands before, but not usually with an actual head, which was very clever. We also enjoyed the living room with the woman watching old black and white videos, the spider room, the doctor's office (with a doctor actor with some excellent makeup/prosthetics), and the bathroom with a guy who seemed quite content to eat his own waste. Gross, but different. By far our favorite scene was one that was somewhat subtle. It featured an actress who was drawing pictures on her walls and invited visitors to do the same. |
CommentaryMAP
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She was creepy as is, but if one looked closely at the walls, one could see they were clearly an homage to the movie Sinister and its main "bad guy", Mr. Boogie. It was a nice, subtle nod that anyone who has seen the movie and took the time to look at the walls would notice. It's also the only haunt we've seen that has featured Sinister in any way, so well done!
Overall, McHenry Jaycees is quite enjoyable as a non-professional haunt. It's a bit short (about eight minutes), but the price is decent. It's $10 on the weekends or $9 with a canned good donation or during the week. The scares are not high, but the actors are enthusiastic and enjoyable, and the scenes are clever and also somewhat out of the norm for a haunt of this type. The Jaycees always manage to do some creative things in their haunts, and McHenry Jaycees is no exception. Well done to all involved and we look forward to next year!
Overall, McHenry Jaycees is quite enjoyable as a non-professional haunt. It's a bit short (about eight minutes), but the price is decent. It's $10 on the weekends or $9 with a canned good donation or during the week. The scares are not high, but the actors are enthusiastic and enjoyable, and the scenes are clever and also somewhat out of the norm for a haunt of this type. The Jaycees always manage to do some creative things in their haunts, and McHenry Jaycees is no exception. Well done to all involved and we look forward to next year!