17404 Deer creek drive, orland park, IL
year: 2010
2010 was the Tourers' first visit to the Shurley House, which at that time was known as the Tower of Terror because of a large tower that was part of the display. There was so much to see, and we were impressed with the variety. Take a look at our walkthrough video to see it all, then read on for more reviews.
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year: 2011
In 2011, Tower of Terror changed its name to Shurley House of the Dead. The name change didn't mean any change in quality, though, as 2011's visit was just as good as 2010's, if not better. As always, the yard was chock full of props, both animated and static, running the gamut from your standard skeletons to famous horror movie props like Freddy Krueger. The props extended up to the porch, onto the porch, and inside every window of the house. The bottom windows featured a variety of different full size props, both static and animated, while the uppermost window on the right featured a projection of a beautiful woman who eventually turned into a ghoul - it was very well done and certainly helped to add the atmosphere of the entire display.
The entire front yard was packed with things to look at, The left hand side of the front yard was dominated by a large open crypt, through which could be seen a skeleton with ling white hair and glowing eyes. On the opposite side of the driveway stood the Tower of Doom, next to which was a groom and his headless bride. In addition, visitors could walk through a large archway and make their way up to the porch, where more ghouls and creatures awaited them. And lest visitors might think they were safe staying father away, there were various ghouls in the surrounding trees just waiting to swoop down on the unwary. To add even more to all of this, live actors roamed around the display, and the owner was set up in a large darkened booth on the driveway. Those who were brave enough to approach and see what was inside were rewarded with some Halloween candy. Overall, Shurley House is a fantastic display to see. It is open almost all of October, unless the weather is bad. It's also not too scary, so feel free to bring the little ones. It's fun for the entire family! |
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year: 2012
In 2012, the Tourers wound up visiting Shurley House three times, partly because we enjoy it a lot, but also because 2012 had a lot of bad weather, so were we not able to see the full haunt the first couple of times we went.
Despite the haunt not being fully up and running, there was still a lot to see, and a number of things had been updated and added since 2011. One of the creepiest new additions was a ghoulish little girl on a swing who occupied the space in the crypt that the skeleton had the year before. Not only did she swing, but she also sang a creepy little tune. It was most disconcerting to hear a little girl's voice when approaching the display, especially on our first visit, when the display was mostly dark and empty. Other interesting props included a whole display of demonic babies, which is just creepy in and of itself, and a prop dressed as the little zombie girl encountered in the first episode of The Walking Dead. The projection display was still present in the upper windows, as was Freddy Krueger. One other cool prop was a very disturbing looking old lady in a rocking chair, who could be seen through the lower front window. She, too, moved, rocking slowly back and forth and scaring visitors. Another great year, even though we didn't get to see the haunt in its fully functioning state. Bring on 2013! |
on the spot review
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