The Abyss Haunted House – Channahon, Illinois (Review)
Visited on Sunday, October 13th, 2013
Location: 7502 East Hansel Road, Channahon, IL. 60410
The Abyss Haunted House is an indoor environment. The wait line is partially under a tent so in case of inclement weather, guests should stay reasonably dry.
Hours: Fridays & Saturdays 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm / Sundays 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm through October 27th.
Admission Price: General Admission – $21 per victim / VIP Admission – $31 per victim
Parking: Free (There is plenty of parking available)
Length: 15 minutes
Fright Factor: Medium
Review:
The hook with the Abyss Haunted House in Channahon, IL is that it’s a REAL haunted house. Legend has it the grounds in and around where the Abyss Haunted House is built, is the site of several murders, including a Native American murders, a drowning, and hangings from the 1800’s, as well as the cemetery across the street is reputed to be haunted as well. According to the owners, hundreds of photos of orbs and ectoplasm have been captured, many of which are from customers of Abyss. With this kind of rich haunted history, it makes for the perfect environment to get the living daylights scared out of you.
The wait line entertainment seemed to be fairly sparse on the night I visited. It was a Sunday night and there was maybe 50 people total waiting in line when I arrived. There were a few costumed actors going in and out of the crowd trying to catch unsuspecting people and making them jump. There was also an actor hiding in a dimly lit cemetery used for decoration that guests must walk past in order to buy their tickets and he would wait until people passed by and then jump out from behind his tombstone to get them from behind.
Once inside the haunt, you must traverse a series of dark and winding mazes filled with unknown horrors that lead into separate rooms, each containing a different scene. One of the more memorable rooms contained a mad scientist type that was experimenting on and torturing a hapless victim who was strapped down to a gurney. Next in the room was another mad doctor drilling into his victim’s mouth who was wearing one of those devices to spread your mouth open real wide. That scene in particular gave me the willies because I have an inherent fear of the dentist and anything that pertains to torture of the teeth sends chills down my spine, so well done Abyss, well done.
The last leg of the haunt led us outdoors into a haunted forest where we had to follow a path that twists around dark trees which hold menacing surprises for the faint of heart. You come across a couple of interesting outdoor scenes that I won’t spoil for those who haven’t visited yet. From there, we entered into a creepy corn maze for the final section of the haunt.
In the end, I was pleasantly surprised with the Abyss Haunted House. I had heard good things about it but you never know until you experience it for yourself because opinions are subjective, just as my review is. I enjoyed myself and had a great time going through the haunt. There were some legitimate scares inside, many of which are jump scares from actors waiting around the corner or coming up on you when you’re not expecting it.
Set design inside the haunt is well done; there are some really great sets that have intricate detail. One of the complaints that I have is that a lot of the design does not include a ceiling and when you can look up and out of the set and can see the top of the storage building, kind of takes you out of the moment. Adding a ceiling to the haunt for me really immerses you into the experience.
The acting was great throughout; everyone was energetic and really got into their parts. The atmosphere in the haunt and the outdoor segment was pretty creepy if you keep in the back of your mind that the grounds you’re walking on are reputedly haunted, it adds an extra level of fright that most other haunts don’t have. I would definitely recommend checking out Abyss Haunted House if you’re looking for solid frights combined with great acting and spooky sets, surely worth your time.
4 out of 5 Pentagrams!
A very special thank you to Paul Niemeyer for having me out!
For more information:
Official Website: https://abysshaunts.com/index.php
