Summary:

This year, the Lombard Jaycees Haunted House was named "Theatre of Lost Souls".  The attraction consisted of several scenes, each separated by dark hallways.  A number of the scenes followed the main "theatre" theme, while others did not.  One of my personal favorites was the movie theatre scene.  Just like a real movie theatre, it featured rows of movie theatre seats, as well as a large movie screen.  As patrons walked down the center aisle, they could see a video image of themselves walking through the scene, projected on the big screen.  That was very creative.  In another area, there was a hallway of doors.  As the lights in the scene flickered, the names of the seven deadly sins appeared (Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Anger, Envy and Pride), each one scrawled on a different door.  The Phantom of the Opera scene featured a pipe organ, organ music soundtrack and a "Phantom" actor that popped out of a great hiding place. 

One of the most detailed scenes was the graveyard.  The entire area was bathed in eerie blue light and patrons walked down the center, with scenery set up on both sides of the path.  On one side was a textured stone mausoleum and the other side featured an old horse-drawn hearse coach.  As the patrons passed by, a "corpse" inside the coach sat up, while another actor at the end of the scene surprised everyone.  In another area there was a grungy kitchen with cabinets, counter-tops, a refrigerator and stove.  Interestingly enough (although seemingly a bit out of place) the actors in the scene were clowns who taunted us, as we walked through.  One of their best and most unexpected scare tactics had to be in the hallway of bookcases.   While walking through, something unexpected happened that definitely made the group jump.  I'll have to admit that I didn't see it coming.  It was a very creative scare.        

Throughout the attraction, there was an interesting mix of acting styles.  Actors performing pop-out scares did a great job; their timing was very good, for the most part.  The other actors in the haunted house played more passive, creepy characters.  Everyone stayed in character and followed through, regardless of their role inside the attraction.            

Kudos to the Lombard Jaycees crew.  They always come up with some interesting ideas and this season was no exception.  It was definitely worth the price of admission and an event that I would highly recommend.       

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