4701 W. Oakton Street, Skokie, IL
year: 2012
Scream Scene is one of several haunts on the north side of Chicagoland, and is one of the more consistently good ones that the tourers have encountered. We have been going to Scream Scene since .the mid-2000s and it always seems that they come up with something new and innovative each year.
Located in a fieldhouse, Scream Scene boasts numerous rooms, both inside and outside, each with its own unique theme. Aside from the standard haunted house scenes such as clowns in a funhouse, a creepy hospital room, and a child's playroom, Scream Scene usually boasts at least one room thaty you don't normally see in a typical haunt. For 2012, two unique features stood out (in our opinion). First was the room full of stuffed animals, including a large pile of them in the corner of the room. Inside the pile, of course, was a monster waiting to jump out, but he was so effectively camouflaged that he was praqctically invisible. His costume was partiually made of up of some ofthe stuffed animals in the pile, so he blended in perfectly. Second was the clown room. Although many haunts feature a creepy clown room, Scream Scene featured not only individual scray clowns, but a room full of hanging clowns, all fake except one (see photo at right). This clown's feet were fake, and it appeared as though he was hanging in the room like the other dummy clowns were, but as you passed him, he jumped out. A very siumple yet effective twist on the creepy clown scenario. It is efforts like this that set Scream Scene apart from other haunts of this type, which was staffed by volunteers and run by a park district. Scream Scene also has some well done outside entertainment, with a chainsaw wielding maniac who stalks the crowd. You just never know when he is going to show up. The entire haunt lasts a good 15-20 minutes, and for the low $8 price it is certainly worth the effort. |