The Massacre Haunted House – Naperville, Illinois (Review)
Location: Odyssey Fun World grounds (3440 Odyssey Ct., Naperville, IL. 60563)
The Massacre Haunted House is an indoor environment that operates rain or shine. It consists of two separate haunts, The Massacre Haunted House and Fear Factory 3D.
Hours: 7pm to midnight
Admission Price: $20.00 for the Massacre / $23.00 for BOTH the Massacre & Fear Factory 3D (Includes 3D Glasses) / $35.00 VIP for BOTH the Massacre & Fear Factory 3D (Includes 3D Glasses)
Parking: Free
Length: Massacre Haunted House: 15 minutes
Fear Factory 3D: 5 minutes
Fright Factor: Massacre Haunted House: Medium/High
Fear Factory 3D: Low
Review:
There are two separate haunts here, the main haunt is The Massacre Haunted House. The second haunt is 3D entitled Fear Factory 3D.
The haunt begins with Fear Factory 3D. The guests are given plastic 3D glasses and enter in groups up to 6 people. The
inherent problem with 3D haunts is that you need light in order for the 3D effects to work. It’s very hard to scare people with the lights on. Guests wind through rooms filled with some great 3D effects. Fear Factory featured an evil clown theme throughout. There were severed clown heads hanging from the ceilings that you have to brush past on the way through the haunt. Actors in makeups were in each of the rooms waiting to scare guests. It’s hard to blend in with the 3D effects in the rooms due to the lights and it’s pretty easy to spot the actors as soon as you hit each room, which limits the scares. The 3D novelty is the real attraction here and it’s incredible to look at but the fright factor is relatively low. Fear Factory is short, taking about 7 minutes to traverse.
After leaving Fear Factory, guests are corralled in a short queue line for The Massacre Haunted House. While the fright factor in the previous Fear Factory was rather low, the Massacre upped the scare quotient exponentially. This haunt boasts an all new layout and 16 new rooms. It features 12,000 square feet of terror with over 50 live actors in makeup and dozens of animatronic nightmares.
This elaborate haunted house will have guests screaming for mercy right from the get go. Guests must traverse dark mazes filled with horrors lurking around every corner. Each room has great set design where attention to detail is high. I personally enjoyed hitting the spider room where spiders of all sizes are featured to scare the hell out of those with arachnophobia. A great touch was moving spider silhouettes projected on furniture that really added a creepy level of detail I enjoyed. Upon leaving the room, guests were greeted by a giant anaconda in the ceiling slithering toward your head.
The actors in the haunt seemed to really get into their performances and were very lively, often times getting into your face for a brief moment. The special effects were enjoyable which enhanced the overall level of detail. There was a decent mix of props mixed with animatronics that really added to the terror.
I accompanied a group of five other people. The women in the group were being constantly frightened, screaming most of the way, while the guys seemed to jump a few times, but no out loud yells from them. In talking with the group I was with after exiting the haunt, they all thought the haunt was very scary, with one teenage girl telling me that she almost peed her pants. So, some pretty good reactions from the group I was with.
Overall, Fear Factory 3D was a very cool 3D experience, but the scares are few. I had a great time going through the Massacre haunt. I loved the production design and level of creativity in the scenes was outstanding. Scares were more of the “jump out and startle you” type rather than creepy or intense. Depending on your level of tolerance (mine is very high), most will find the scares in the medium/high range. The actors were very enthusiastic and seemed to enjoy their jobs. If you’re looking for a great haunt experience, then the Massacre is for you!
4 out of 5 Pentagrams!
For more information on The Massacre Haunted House, head to their official website or be sure to “Like” the Massacre Facebook Page.
A very special thank you to Ryan Burke for having me out!
Watch the 2013 Massacre Haunted House preview video here:
