Welcome to the (Haunted) Neighborhood - New Haunts for 2014

Each year we Horror Tourers look forward to the new haunts that open, as each new haunt brings with it the anticipation of seeing something completely new and different. While we love seeing a lot of our old favorites, there’s always that special thrill that we get when we’re entering unexplored territory. 

2014 is shaping up to be a smaller year in terms of the new haunts that are opening up, but there are a few. First, and perhaps most interesting, is the opening of the 13^th Floor in the former Eleventh Hour space in Melrose Park.  For those that don’t know, 13^th Floor is a chain of professional haunted houses with locations in Denver, San Antonio, Phoenix, and now Chicagoland. 13^th Floor boasts Hollywood style makeup and effects and intense scares, and has a reputation for excellence. Here’s hoping that it does live up to the hype.

And speaking of hype, another new haunt this year (albeit in perhaps a temporary fashion) is Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare, located at the Odeum in Villa Park, formerly home to Asylum Xperiment, one of our top haunts for 2013. We get the impression that the Zombie presence is strictly a one time thing, but we’re not sure on that. Featuring three haunted houses, each focusing on a Zombie movie (Lords of Salem, Devil’s Rejects, and Zombie’s animated The Haunted World of El Superbeasto), American Nightmare promises some high level scares and weird experiences. 

 However, the attraction has garnered mixed reviews on various online outlets, so we’ll reserve judgment (and our decision to visit) until we see some reviews of the 2014 incarnation.

Not completely new, but new as a professional haunt is Midnight Terror in Oak Lawn (www.midnightterrorhauntedhouse.com). This is one of our favorite home haunts, even making our Hall of Fame for 2013, so we’re especially looking to see how well it translates to a professional setting. Also under the “not completely new” banner is D.E.A.D Rising, located in the former House of Nightmares space in Alsip, IL. D.E.A.D Rising was around last year in another location and with a slightly different name (D.E.A.D. Central). We enjoyed it, but it was quite short for the price, so here’s hoping the change of location will result in a bigger and better haunt.