Screams in the Park Haunted House - Rosemont, IL

The best thing we can say about Screams in the Park is that it is one of the few pay haunts (in our
view) that lives up to the hype. We remember when this haunt came on the scene. It was clear that it was being portrayed as one of the best haunts ever, and given that it was brand new we found that a bit circumspect. We're always a bit skeptical of such claims as we see them all the time. Thus, we avoided the haunt for it's first year. However, we did eventually get there and we loved it, so it's now one of our "must do" haunts each season. Full review here.

Review - Madness on Midland Yard Display - Joliet, IL

Madness on Midland is one of those yard displays that keeps getting better each year. It's located in Joliet, home to several other great hone haunts/yard displays, including Count Kuhadja's and Agony, and we make a point of visiting it each time we are in the Joliet area.

Full review here.

Commentary - Haunted Quarry, Joliet, IL

The list of brand new haunts for the Tourers seems to be endless. Here's another one that cropped up for us in 2013 - it's the Haunted Quarry in Batavia. As with many haunts, this was one that was on our list before but that we never got to. However, we made a point of going out there in 2013 and it was well worth it.

Unusually, this haunt featured both inside and outside spaces that visitors alternated between.
It was held in some park district buildings that were not connected, so visitors went from building to building via a series of outdoor trails that also had haunted scenes interspersed among them. It was a very effective use of oddly configured space, and also made the haunt longer and gave it some additional variety.

Full review here.

Agony Home Haunt - Joliet, IL

Agony is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, home haunts we've ever been to. It is actually two parts in one - the first part includes an elaborate yard display, complete with animated props, pneumatic props, homemade props, lighting, smoke, live actors, and more. This portions encompasses the entire front yard, front porch, and side areas of the home where the haunt is located. This portion is elaborate enough and large enough on its own, but that's really only the half of what Agony is.

Rwview here.