Lake County haunted houses
Legend has it that the hills and hollows of Lake County are dotted with haunted houses at this time of year.
Take, for example, St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 24500 N. Old McHenry Road, in Hawthorn Woods.
Inside an otherwise unassuming school gymnasium lurks a trip through terrifying territory, a journey that materializes in the weeks leading up to each Halloween before vanishing into the mist for yet another year.
Two weeks before this year's scheduled opening on Friday, a crew of 50 to 60 volunteer workers began gathering to make the transformation.
"On Friday, at about 3 p.m., we started unloading the trucks," said volunteer Dane Relle. "By 3 p.m. the next day, the whole (overarching) structure was built."
The next step, he said, is building individual rooms -- there are 14 of them this year -- and the maze.
"We try to set ourselves apart by building a house that's difficult to find your way through it," he said.
Volunteers, many of them seventh- and eighth-graders at St. Matthew whose parents began as haunted house volunteers as many as 16 years ago when the tradition began, haul wooden panels and put them in place to create dark corridors, eerily decorated rooms, creaky staircases and claustrophobia-inducing crawlspaces.
Workers don't need extensive carpentry skills, Relle said.
"All you need to know is how to put screws in 4-by-8 panels," he said.
The house, covering about 3,000 square feet, is built fresh each year with new features, themes and surprises.
The project is one of the church's two major annual fundraisers, Grant said. The other is an August pig roast.
Proceeds raised by the haunted house fund church ministry programs while serving up fun for volunteers and visitors alike.
"We like the Halloween holiday," said Bev Grant, a church member from McHenry who has headed up the haunted house project for the past several years.
This year, Grant's handing off the supervisory duties to her sister, Barb Holmblad of Lake Zurich.
"We spend the month of October together every single night. It's just a great camaraderie project."
The creepiness quotient is derived through playing on people's expectations, or lack of expectations. There are the twists, turns and hidden exits that keep people guessing, along with the occasional, unexpected approach by a costumed actor in the dark.
There's no reliance on the occult for chills and thrills, she said.
"Being a Lutheran church ... we try to appease most people. We try not to make it too distasteful," Grant said.
There are always a few objections raised, Holmblad said, to a church presenting a haunted house.
"We tell people we're secure in our faith, that this isn't an issue for us," said Holmblad. "We're still human. We like to have fun."
That's not to say that this is one of those tame haunted houses that could barely frighten a mouse.
Posted signs warn that visitors will encounter machine-produced fog, strobe lights and startling sights and sounds that should be avoided by heart patients and those prone to seizure disorders.
Grant said children, teens, even adults, sometimes resort to bailing out through one of the strategically placed exit doors in the house.
They don't always make it in time to avoid embarrassment.
"We've had people wet their pants," she said.
Grant said visitors must navigate pitch-black hallways.
"Our house is unique in that there's not a clear path. You have to find the exit," she said.
Sometimes, they'll have to crawl on their hands and knees to pass from one room to another.
In the past, said Holmblad, the house's rooms have played host to the likes of a swamp lady, a haunted forest and a butcher.
"A big scare for a lot of people is clowns," hinted Grant.
Grant said she and her fellow volunteer haunted house-makers visit other haunted houses to fire their imaginations.
Judging from past visitors' reactions to the St. Matthew haunted house, they've come up with a winning formula for fright.
"We don't recommend the adult house for anyone under 12," said Grant.
For younger visitors, there is a children's version of the house, open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. It's the same house but the more gory features are covered up and children can bring flashlights and parents with them, she said.
Lake County Haunted Houses
St. Matthew Haunted House, 24500 N. Old McHenry Road, Hawthorn Woods*
Hours: 7-11 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Oct. 19-20 and Oct. 26-27; Kiddie House, 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 27
Features: Maze, 15 rooms, 3,000 square feet
Admission: $12 per person, $6 for Kiddie House
Web site: www.stmatts.net/haunted
X-treme Hauntings Haunted House, 145 Sayton Road, Fox Lake**
Hours: Friday through Sunday, Oct. 19-21, Oct. 26-28 and Oct. 31; doors open at 7 p.m.
Features: 8,000 square feet, including cage maze, the "Hellevator" and 13 horror-themed rooms. Named "best new haunted attraction in 2006" by hauntedhousechicago.comAdmission: $12 on Fridays, $10 on Sundays
Web site: www.myspace.com/xtremehaunting
Dungeon of Doom Mercy General Hospital, Lake County Fairgrounds, routes 45 and 120, Grayslake**
Hours: Friday through Sunday, and Oct. 18-21, Oct. 24-31; 7-10 p.m. Monday-Thursdays, open at 7 p.m. Fridays, 6 p.m. Saturdays and 6-10:30 p.m. Sundays
Features: In existence since 1987, has 19 rooms, 12,000 square feet. Second attraction, Mercy General Hospital, is set up as 1900s decapitating manor
Admission: $14 per person, $1 off with non-perishable food item
Web site: www.dungeonofdoom.com
Realm of Terror Haunted House, Kristof's Entertainment Center, 421 W. Rollins Road, Round Lake Beach**
Hours: Doors open at 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Oct. 18-21 and Oct. 25-31
Features: In its fifth year. Kristof's features mini golf, arcade and other entertainment activities
Admission: $10
Web site: www.realmofterror.com
Fright Fest, Six Flags Great America, Gurnee***
Hours: Open Friday through Sunday, and Oct. 19-21, Oct. 26-28; 5-11 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays
Features: Theme park rides, shows
Admission: $54.99 for adults, $34.99 for kids under 54 inches tall, parking $15; online specials available. Haunted house admission requires an additional fee.
Web site: www.sixflags.com
Fear factor:
* Appropriate for those 12 years of age and younger
** Appropriate for those over 13 years of age
*** Appropriate for all ages