It’s that glorious time of year again, the Halloween season, and with that comes all the haunted houses and attractions opening up everywhere. This is my favorite time of year for many reasons, one of which is I get to attend and review many spooky haunts in the greater Chicagoland area. New to the Chicago area this year is rocker/filmmaker Rob Zombie’s haunt which he lends his name to, Great American Nightmare!
This is only the second year for Zombie’s Great American Nightmare. Last year, he had one haunt in California and for 2014, he opened two, one in Arizona and one in Chicago. Now don’t you worry about his skills in scaring the sh*& out of people because he’s been designing haunts for Universal Studios theme park since 1998 as well as creating some of the scariest films of the past decade.
I had the privilege of attending a press event for his Great American Nightmare Chicago, where I interviewed the man himself (Read my interview with Rob Zombie here) and had the chance to tour the haunted attraction with the lights on to see what it was all about.
I wanted to give you a little preview of Great American Nightmare, to let you know what you’ll be in store for without giving too much away, of course.
Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare Chicago is made up of three separate sick and twisted haunted houses.
- This bone-chilling experience combine the most haunted house technology featured in three different haunted attractions. These attractions will put you in the middle of the most immersive experience of your life.
- The three haunted houses are based on Rob Zombie’s horror films and characters: The Lords of Salem in Total Blackout, The Haunted Adventures of El Superbeasto in 3D and Haunt of 1000 Corpses.
Now not only do you get three haunts for the price of admission but you also get assaulted before you even enter the building with:
- The ultimate midway, Bloody Boulevard, with roaming creatures, freak shows, themed food and drinks, musical entertainment and creepy activities!
- An entire night of Halloween frights and fun!
- Opening night Rob Zombie concert extravaganza!
Let me just say that after touring all three of the haunted houses, patrons will be in store for one of the scariest experiences of their lives. Many of my fellow journalists I toured each house with became scared several times during our tour with the LIGHTS ON and NO ACTORS, so what does that tell you about what it will be like for you in total darkness with 12o actors waiting to scare the crap out of you!
I was able to take some pictures, and meet some of the actors which I will share with you below, but the producers didn’t want us to give away too much of the horrors that await guests.
The Lords of Salem in Total Blackout takes you into a very cool reproduction of the apartment house that Sheri Moon Zombie’s character lived in for the film. You will venture through serpentine mazes with plenty of scares throughout.
Next is The Haunted Adventure of El Superbeasto in 3D. This is a 3D haunted house based on Zombie’s animated film of the same name. This house is not as scary as it is sick and twisted, just as the film was. You’re given a pair of 3D glasses to wear throughout the house. The 3D effects will blow you away!
Finally, we have the Haunt of 1000 Corpses which is again based on the film. The premise of this house is based on the murder ride at the beginning of House of 1000 Corpses, showcasing some of the most notorious serial killers in history. In this house you’ll get extremely graphic portrayals of Jack the Ripper, Ed Gein, Charles Manson, H.H. Holmes, Ted Bundy, and more. I believe this will be the house that will send guests screaming out the front door.
Producer Steve Kopelman told us their main goal is for people exiting Great American Nightmare is for them to want to immediately run home and take a show to get the filth of the atrocities they’ve just seen off of them, now that’s my kind of a haunted attraction!
I will be attending the live haunt this evening to review and will have that review posted very soon at horrorsociety.com!
So, if you’re in the Chicago area, hell, even if you’re not, it’s worth the drive to come and check out Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare Chicago haunted attraction, you’ll be in store for some great frights and surprises!
Located at:
Odeum Expo Center 1033 N Villa Ave Addison, IL 60181 Hours: Fridays and Saturdays 7:00 PM until 12 AM / Thursdays and Sundays 7:00 PM until 10:00 PM Website: https://www.greatamericannightmare.com/index3.html#
What a joke