601 Dundee Avenue, East Dundee, IL
years: 2012
Nightmare from North Street is another haunt that the Tourers just stumbled onto in 2012. Apparently this haunt has been going on for years, but for some reason we didn't wind up visiting it.
The haunt is held inside Santa's Village, an amusement park in East Dundee, IL. Santa's Village has recently been renovated and reopened after closing in 2009, yet many things remain as they were. |
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When we arrived we didn't know what to expect, although the description said that we would be actually walking through the park itself as part of the haunt. Bryan in particular was excited about this, as Santa's Village was one of the places he often visited as a child. He was very happy to find that the Santa's Village fire engine ride was still in operation - happy memories!
When we arrived, we paid for our tickets and headed to an enclosed waiting area inside the park gates. We were right by the old fire engine ride and the old electric cars, which was fun enough to behold. After about 20 minutes, we were led into the park with a guide, who walked us into an outdoor theater area. The park looked much like it did back in the 1980's, and it was a kick to see it all in the dark, after hours.
The theater played an introductory video, which is something that haunts do to tell everyone the rules before they go inside. However, sometimes the video is a diversion so people focus on it while live actors sneak up on them. This turned out to be that type of video, although more than simply sneaking up on us, the live actors announced their presence by tapping pipes on the ground as they approached. We turned to see what was going on and immediately turned back to the video, awaiting our fate. The live actors came right up behind us, brushing their hair against the backs of our necks and making loud breathing noises - it was most creepy, particularly since we couldn't see them.
Following the end of the video, we met back up with our guide, who led us through the park. Just wandering through, not knowing where we were going and waiting for actors to come out and scare us was a pretty fun experience. During the walk through the park we were joined by another person who seemed to be just another haunt visitor. Later on, as we passed a cemetery display, one of the live actors jumped out and grabbed this new visitor and hauled her away as she screamed for help. We figured out she was just a live actor, but it was a nice twist on the normal types of scares.
The main portion of the haunt was set up in a building in the center of the park. It featured numerous rooms, including an electric chair scene, a butcher scene and a disorienting spinning wheel/laser room. Overall, it was pretty well done, with all of the actors staying in character throughout, but unfortunately the lights were a bit too bright, so in some rooms it looked like we were walking through a deserted office building rather than a haunted house.
Following the main building we did some more guided wandering through the park, then exited outside. Overall, this was a decent haunt. The walk through the park added a different dimension to the standard fare, as did the "victim" who was taken away and the creepy live actors behind us during the video. While we'd like to see a bit more in the main haunted house portion (and some dimmer lighting), it still was well put together and managed to put an eerie spin on the normally happy place that is Santa's Village.
When we arrived, we paid for our tickets and headed to an enclosed waiting area inside the park gates. We were right by the old fire engine ride and the old electric cars, which was fun enough to behold. After about 20 minutes, we were led into the park with a guide, who walked us into an outdoor theater area. The park looked much like it did back in the 1980's, and it was a kick to see it all in the dark, after hours.
The theater played an introductory video, which is something that haunts do to tell everyone the rules before they go inside. However, sometimes the video is a diversion so people focus on it while live actors sneak up on them. This turned out to be that type of video, although more than simply sneaking up on us, the live actors announced their presence by tapping pipes on the ground as they approached. We turned to see what was going on and immediately turned back to the video, awaiting our fate. The live actors came right up behind us, brushing their hair against the backs of our necks and making loud breathing noises - it was most creepy, particularly since we couldn't see them.
Following the end of the video, we met back up with our guide, who led us through the park. Just wandering through, not knowing where we were going and waiting for actors to come out and scare us was a pretty fun experience. During the walk through the park we were joined by another person who seemed to be just another haunt visitor. Later on, as we passed a cemetery display, one of the live actors jumped out and grabbed this new visitor and hauled her away as she screamed for help. We figured out she was just a live actor, but it was a nice twist on the normal types of scares.
The main portion of the haunt was set up in a building in the center of the park. It featured numerous rooms, including an electric chair scene, a butcher scene and a disorienting spinning wheel/laser room. Overall, it was pretty well done, with all of the actors staying in character throughout, but unfortunately the lights were a bit too bright, so in some rooms it looked like we were walking through a deserted office building rather than a haunted house.
Following the main building we did some more guided wandering through the park, then exited outside. Overall, this was a decent haunt. The walk through the park added a different dimension to the standard fare, as did the "victim" who was taken away and the creepy live actors behind us during the video. While we'd like to see a bit more in the main haunted house portion (and some dimmer lighting), it still was well put together and managed to put an eerie spin on the normally happy place that is Santa's Village.