Nephilim new 2014

8211 & 8215 S. MUlligan, Burbank, IL

year: 2014

tourers: bryan, Laura, Magic Mike

costs: FREE

Chainsaws: 5/5

More Info: FACEBOOK

When it comes to must see yard displays/home haunts, The Nephilim has always been one of our "go to" places - it just isn't Halloween season without at least one visit to the Nephilim, and it's always a pleasure to see!

For a home haunt/yard display, this haunt pushes all the right buttons. It has not one, but two full front yard displays spread over two houses, many articulated props, great lighting, a really creative use of neon on the house itself, and dozens of live actors of all shapes and sizes.

The main section of the haunt includes props on the entire front lawn and along the edge of the grass toward the street, leaving a nice sidewalk area to walk through. Props surround visitors here, and many are of the pop out or spitting kind, so you never know what you might encounter. Also, there is a small walkthrough closer to the house itself, which features numerous moving props all with some type of neon coloring on them.

The neon is also continued on the house itself, which is covered with various neon messages that really show the house off after dark. To cap it off, and if there wasn't already enough to see, there is a huge projector playing movie clips up on the roof of the house.

The second house has fewer props, but that's not to say that the ones they do have are not quality. This section contains a number of unusual props, including a moving torso on a bed, a selection of hanging body parts, and creepiest of all, a demon little girl with a moving head who looks as though she is following you with he beady little eyes.

While the haunt itself would be fine just as is, given that there is plenty to see, the Nephilim takes it to the next level with its large number of dedicated actors who complement the haunt on certain nights (usually weekends). There are quite a few of them, and they range from very young to older, large to small, creepy to scary.

All are dedicated to staying in character and to scaring visitors, and many are masters of the "stand very still and let visitors pass buy before jumping out at them" style of scaring people, which is quite effective!We can't say enough about how much fun the actors make the haunt. From the moment we visited we were greeted by actors walking past us, sneaking up behind us, towering over us on stilts, chasing us with chainsaws, and in the case of a creepy little child dressed like a jester, following us through the entire haunt display. He was the highlight of the actors this year, and that's saying a lot given the quality that each of them brings to the haunt. Oh, and if that's not enough, the haunt has a real life Ghost Rider on a motorcycle who rides around the area looking for victims. It's all great stuff!

The Nephilim is really what a home haunt should be about - great use of space, creative sets and props, enthusiastic actors who do a great job, and lots of interesting items to see. In addition, the haunt takes donations to help a little Leukemia victim, so they not only entertain, they help out the community as well. You can't get much better than that. Do yourself a favor and visit!