626 177th street, hammond, INDIANA
years: 2003, 2009-12
Reaper's Realm ranks among the oldest still-operating haunted houses in the Chicagoland area. Located in a large empty building just off of I-80/94 East, the haunt has been operating well over 20 years and has evolved considerably during that time into the current iteration, which features three separate haunted houses as well as a carnival midway with games, food, and rides.
Tourers co-founder Bryan first visited this haunt way back in the early 1990's, and it was one of the first groups of haunts that the Tourers visited back in the early 2000's. Our experience wasn't great then, though. In fact, it was so bad due to overcrowding and claustrophobic conditions that crossed the line into being dangerous, we decided not to ever go back. However, in 2009 Paul and Bryan, needing a close haunt to visit and with few options open, decided to take a chance and return. This visit was quite different from the past - the inside of the haunt had been expanded, patron flow was sufficiently spaced out, and the narrow, tight, unsafe areas had been widened and changed. The new version of Reaper's Realm really was different, as we enjoyed it very much. Today's version encompasses three haunts: the main house, which features multiple levels, detailed scenes, and many live actors, takes about 45 minutes to go through, which is more than double the time of most other pay haunts. The scenes range from movie homages, including "Saw", "Deliverance", and "Halloween" to elaborate sets featuring swamps, ancient Egypt, an accident scene complete with police cars and full size ambulance, and even a massive electrified Tesla Coil. There are just too many scenes to describe them all. Reaper's Realm also features a full makeup and costuming studio on premises, which helps insure that their actors are very professionally attired. In addition to the main house there are two other houses. The second is accessed at the end of the first, simply by sliding down into it via a long slide. Previously billed as a 3-D haunt, it now is set up as a carnival, complete with crazy clowns. The 3-D effect is mostly gone, but there are sections where you can see that this what the effect they were going for. The final "house" is more of an outside haunted trail. Set amongst a wooded path, visitors enter by crawling through the back of a real hearse. |
The setup features various large scenes, including a campground complete with full-sized trailer, a car crash, a "Deliverance": style series of crazy hillbilly dwellings, and, at the end, a scene right out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where visitors have to traverse through hanging bloody sheets, all the while just waiting for Leatherface to appear, which he invariably does. The entire experience takes between 60-90 minutes, depending on how quickly one makes it through the various haunts and on how many people are there. Thus, for the $25 price it is well worth it, with a couple of BIG caveats.
First, this haunt is popular - very popular. Thus, the lines grow very quickly. If you go on a weekend night and don't get there before they open, expect to wait between 2-3 hours in line. If you want to avoid the lines, you have two alternatives. One is to go on an evening during the week, such as a Thursday, or on a Sunday, and to get there before the haunt opens. We have been doing this for the past couple of years and we usually only wind up waiting 20 minutes or so, perhaps less. Alternately, for $10 more you can purchase a fast pass that will help you avoid the long lines for general admission. Of course, even the VIP lines can get crowded, so it's still good to go during the week or earlier on a weekend.
Second, although patron flow has significantly improved in recent years, it still can be a problem when the place is packed. Even the best efforts can't predict low long people will taken when moving through, so the more people there are, the more likely it is that groups will meet each other. As this haunt tends to attract large crowds of teenagers, there is a high probability of loudness and sometimes obnoxious behavior, and the more people there, the greater the probability. In our experience, the crowds have changed a 5 chainsaw experience to a 2 or 3 chainsaw one. For example, when we visited in 2010, the experience was great. We went late on a Sunday evening and crowds were small. However, when we visited in 2011, despite entering through the VIP line, we wound up running into the group in front of us, who were loud, obnoxious, and afraid to move forward through any room. Their group was too large to go around, and they slowed everyone behind them down. Thus, the timing of the scares was thrown off, movement through the rooms was restricted, and the general enjoyment was lessened. In fact, our experience was such that we asked to leave after the first haunt and skipped the remaining two.
In general, if you can avoid crowds and actually experience the haunt without getting stuck it is worth it. Although the price may be a bit steep, it is in line with other haunts of the same caliber, and the extensive length of Reaper's Realm, coupled with the elaborate sets and excellent actors, all make for a worthwhile visit. However, we recommend Reaper's Realm with reservations due to the unpredictability of crowd size and the potentially unruly nature of the patrons.
First, this haunt is popular - very popular. Thus, the lines grow very quickly. If you go on a weekend night and don't get there before they open, expect to wait between 2-3 hours in line. If you want to avoid the lines, you have two alternatives. One is to go on an evening during the week, such as a Thursday, or on a Sunday, and to get there before the haunt opens. We have been doing this for the past couple of years and we usually only wind up waiting 20 minutes or so, perhaps less. Alternately, for $10 more you can purchase a fast pass that will help you avoid the long lines for general admission. Of course, even the VIP lines can get crowded, so it's still good to go during the week or earlier on a weekend.
Second, although patron flow has significantly improved in recent years, it still can be a problem when the place is packed. Even the best efforts can't predict low long people will taken when moving through, so the more people there are, the more likely it is that groups will meet each other. As this haunt tends to attract large crowds of teenagers, there is a high probability of loudness and sometimes obnoxious behavior, and the more people there, the greater the probability. In our experience, the crowds have changed a 5 chainsaw experience to a 2 or 3 chainsaw one. For example, when we visited in 2010, the experience was great. We went late on a Sunday evening and crowds were small. However, when we visited in 2011, despite entering through the VIP line, we wound up running into the group in front of us, who were loud, obnoxious, and afraid to move forward through any room. Their group was too large to go around, and they slowed everyone behind them down. Thus, the timing of the scares was thrown off, movement through the rooms was restricted, and the general enjoyment was lessened. In fact, our experience was such that we asked to leave after the first haunt and skipped the remaining two.
In general, if you can avoid crowds and actually experience the haunt without getting stuck it is worth it. Although the price may be a bit steep, it is in line with other haunts of the same caliber, and the extensive length of Reaper's Realm, coupled with the elaborate sets and excellent actors, all make for a worthwhile visit. However, we recommend Reaper's Realm with reservations due to the unpredictability of crowd size and the potentially unruly nature of the patrons.