House of Torment 2018

House of Torment is back for 2018

by James Klein

It was a Friday. A storm was approaching. Like a child on Halloween night, I was excited with anticipation. Will it be as good as last year? I couldn’t wait to walk through the House of Torment once again.

Stuck at work, on my lunch break I raced to City BBQ in Vernon Hills and loaded up on some great BBQ so I would be on a full stomach for the House of Torment (City BBQ also offers coupons for discounted tickets for both 13th Floor and House of Torment). I knew I wasn’t going to want to eat right before my venture in Hell. Smart move.

This year’s House of Torment offers THREE haunted houses. Three? Yeah I’m in. This is going to be great! This is going to be fun! This is…wait…is that a girl walking out of the first room crying? Sure enough, as I was about to enter the first of the haunted houses a teenage girl was escorted out with her embarrassed friend as she walked quickly down the aisle, blubbering and whimpering. Oh boy…

The first haunted house is Survive the Night: Patient Zero. I was greeted by some rather gruesome hospital orderlies who made me sit down in a wheel chair, bounding my arms and legs to the chair. Feeling a little uncomfortable I was then completely blinded as a black hood went over my head. Lights out. Darkness. This went from fun to nerve-wracking in seconds.

Now I have told a few of my friends about the House of Torment and when I mention being strapped to the wheelchair, most of them instantly blurted out, “No!”

or “No way!” or some sort of profanity that would make Richard Pryor blush. For those control-freaks out there, this is your worse nightmare.

Survive the Night tells the story of a plague that has hit the city and you are captured by an Evil doctor who wants to find out why you are immune to the disease. A kind orderly however tries to save you…well, I can’t give it away as to what happens next. As I was being zipped around in my wheel chair, sounds of chainsaws, screams, coughing and sneezing (all done with

sound effects and water bottles…I hope) are sprayed or blasted on me as I was stuck helpless. While this room is short, I had a blast being wheeled around in the dark as this mayhem was taking place. However I was more afraid of banging into a wall than I was of the evil doctor.

Once this room is over, you are unstrapped and allowed to see once again where you are guided to the next room, Dead by Dawn. Dead by Dawn (no relation to Evil Dead 2) sets up the story of where the previous room had just left off as you travel inside a train car and are placed inside the hospital room with…zombies, mad men, creatures, etc. Yes, all jump out at you. It’s pretty intense.

While some of the rooms I recognized from last year, much seems to have changed and all for the better as there are some gnarly rooms (one is a small swamp

room, much like the one in 13th Floor) that I journeyed through. The detail is impeccable. The amount of work that they put in to these haunted houses ought to be recognized as they look and feel like authentic Hollywood sets.

The final haunted house or room(s) is The Shadowrealm: Slenderman. This final haunted house is almost identical to last year…and that is not a disappointment. Set inside a school, you must walk thru this old educational center as you go through the library (a maze of books filled with fog and barely any light…and yes, something is in this room waiting) to the cafeteria, assembly room, lockers, etc.

In maybe the scariest room, you must wonder through a pitch black room made of just strobe lights as creatures and zombies walk toward you. You need to make your way to the next room before those monstrosities get to you.

Like the 13th Floor, tickets range from $19.99 to $33.99, depending on when you go. Of course weekends are more expensive as well as Halloween night. This can all be purchased at https://www.houseoftormentchicago.com/index.html. House of Torment is located at 8240 North Austin Ave in Morton Grove, IL 60053