2500 Mayfair Avenue, Westchester, IL
years: 2010-2011
Scare on Mayfair is a perfect example of a haunt where two of our main rating critera - enthusiasm and use of space - come into play to make a haunt better than it would be otherwise.
This haunt is located in a grammar school and is populated mostly by child actors (under 15). Obviously, being younger, the possibility for real scares is much lower as the actors can't be too intimidating, but that's where enthusiasm plays a big role. All of the live actors in this haunt were very into their roles, stayed in character, and worked to keep things interesting. They did more than simply jump out and bay "rah!" or something similar, as live actors at a lot of haunts do, but rather they came out of creative hiding places and stealthily followed us, so simply stared at us - that extra level of attention made a difference. Also, the haunt had a lot of creative rooms, from a morgue to a kitchen to a hospital and more. Each room, although perhaps similar to others in other haunts, featured some creative displays and lighting. the final room was wide open, where visitors had to traverse a very large space that looked like a ballroom (complete with tables and chairs and a bar). |
Ghouls (both live and props) were scattered all around. Trying to figure out which of the many ghouls would get up to scare us was very interesting and kept the atmosphere going up until the end. The haunt was quite long (over 15 minutes) for the $5 price, which created great value for the money. We went into this one thinking it would be average, but came out rating it a 4 out of 5. To top it all off, there was a large area after the haunt where one could order food and drinks and sit at tables watching a large video screen showing people experiencing the final room of the haunt - a nice touch.
Unfortunately we missed Scare on Mayfair in 2012, but will definitely make a popint of going in 2013. It's well worth a look, and makes for a good haunt for younger kids, too.
Unfortunately we missed Scare on Mayfair in 2012, but will definitely make a popint of going in 2013. It's well worth a look, and makes for a good haunt for younger kids, too.