“I wonder what’s gonna pop out from around the corner. Oh wait! It’s just another prop!”
After experiencing the Joliet Haunted Prison, I couldn’t help but feel like there was a certain wow factor that was missing.
The main experience includes three different attractions. The first house, the longest and most exhilarating attraction with a prison outbreak story and rampaged hospital vibes. There was loud music that added to the intensity of it all. It was a bit cramped at times with small hallways and large groups of people. Scare actors were mostly nonverbal and performed in a way that showed their insanity with body language and sounds.
The second attraction was the shortest and frankly the most boring one. It was more of a mad laboratory gone wrong type of scene. The toxic goop and smoke was a nice touch to the atmosphere. The few actors we saw were interactive enough to make it interesting.
The last attraction was more unique being a chainsaw maze. The scare actors hide around corners with masks. There was also a bit of a butchery touch to it all.
The atmosphere was greatly set up. The small details and mess added to everything.
There seemed to be a lack of actors. While there were two roaming around while waiting in line, it wasn’t enough to rivet all of the audience.
In the actual attractions there seemed to be a lot of props and dolls in order to make up for the lack of scare actors.
The actors that the editors and I got a chance to interact with made a memorable experience. Even those who couldn’t speak did a great job with body language and making their presence known. There were times where they helped us get through areas such as the maze when we were second guessing ourselves.
My favorite part was this area in the third attraction. There was smoke and flashing lights that made it difficult to see. Normally, there would be a wall to help find your way through but here it was jail cells, which added difficulty.
The area before the line was nice. If you looked around at buildings you could notice some spooky effects in windows that were a nice touch. There was a merch shop, a food stand, and you could look around to see some extra activities.
This wasn’t a bad haunted house by any means. It just didn’t have anything that made it stand out or made the experience memorable.