7631 Sequoia Court, Orland PArk, IL
year: 2014
One of the things we like best at Horror Tourers is visiting brand new haunts and yard displays that we haven't seen before. Even more than that, we really like to see entirely new displays that didn't exist in previous years. As such, we had to go visit a new setup in Orland Park called Scares on Sequoia.
Like many yard displays, Scares on Sequoia features a graveyard theme, complete with tombstones and various life size figures. What sets Scares on Sequoia apart, though, is a little bit of background set decoration in the form of a black backdrop with spray painted sayings on it that stands behind the main display and obscures the front of the house. This effectively takes the house out of the equation and also eliminates a light source in the background, making for a more stand alone atmosphere for the main display. This, coupled with some effective lighting, makes the most of the darkness and shadows to up to spooky feeling one gets when viewing. The entire setup is surrounded by a fence and gate, along with some stone pillars that include some clever dropdowns for live actors to pop out of. Most of the tombstones inside are of the humorous variety, and even include a tombstone shaped like R2-D2, which is a definite first for us, as we've never seen one like it elsewhere. Numerous life size figures, both homemade and store bought fill in the main scene. Some are the standard skeletal/zombie variety, while some are movie monsters like Jason and Mike Myers, and some are entirely new creations. Our favorite included a specter in a tree holding a lantern and a large tree with a face that had a glow coming from inside. Both of these were entirely hand made, but looked as though they were purchased. Excellent quality! The store bought figures were also used very well. Both Mike Myers and Jason, for instance, were placed in the background, close to the black backdrop. This placement created some nice shadows on their features, causing some doubt, especially in the case of Mike Myers, as to whether or not they were props or live actors. In particular, the figure of Mike Myers, which was close to the main doorway of the property, really managed to look lifelike when viewed from the corner of one's eye. Also, there was a large Leatherface on the porch, made up of an old Halloween costume and a broken life size Jason Voorhees prop - he oversaw the entire display from his elevated vantage point, and provided a bit of a scare as visitors walked closer to the porch area.
Overall, Scares on Sequoia is a really nicely done setup. It has a lot to see, some good prop placement, and some nice lighting, all of which give it that creepy feel without being too threatening. As such, it's a great one to take the kids to as it's not too scary, and nothing will jump out at them. We enjoyed our first visit and we certainly look forward to seeing Scares on Sequoia again in the future! |
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