HellsGate Haunted House, Lockport Illinois
HellsGate Haunted House, Lockport Illinois
Located in the middle of the woods, HellsGate is unique in the how you travel to visit its damned denizens. A short journey by bus is required to even make it to the edge of the woods. Here the path to the house is watched over by a guard, warning all those who about to enter. Traveling through the woods through old buildings and managing to evade demons trying to prevent prying eyes from catching a glimpse of the house, the path soon gives way to an old, cursed cemetery. Here, lost souls wander aimlessly, seeking help from the living who have wandered this far, while covenants of witches watch over the graves, performing perverse spells under the moonlight. Soon, you come to a small hill. Reaching the top and around a curve you find the house itself, beckoning for those either brave or foolish enough to come through the fog and enter. House staff brings the crowd to order outside, varying between gleefully inviting you in and warning you of the dangers of going inside. Soon, the doors open and you enter the home and the nightmare world that the Twins have awaiting for you. Welcome to HellsGate.
HellsGate is certainly more than just a simple haunted house. Everything about it is designed to feel like an adventure and not just a simple jaunt through a haunted attraction. This starts from the very beginning, where you must park off site and then take a bus to the haunt location. While part of this is of course to help with traffic flow issues, the design is perfect to build the mood. Watching as the lights of the town disappear behind while getting deeper and deeper into the trees helps to create a nervous anticipation. Using a moody atmosphere to create tension is a strong suit of the entire event. The silence of the paths leading to the house itself lead to a creepy atmosphere that is broken by scares by actors. Inside the house itself, music and lighting are used perfectly to continue this mood building throughout the attraction. Making every room feel like a different environment creates tension, as it keeps guests guessing what could be coming next.
The mood building is supported by beautifully crafted sets. The forest and graveyard features everything from run down shacks to crumbling mausoleums to dilapidated churches with signs of witchcraft strewn about. The house itself features everything from the grandiose to the claustrophobic. The entranceway where the Twins welcome guests to their abode and then you must make your escape through a fireplace. A doll playroom where endless dolls line the walls, and some creature lurks among them. The kitchen and adjoining walk in freezer that has the cook for the house selecting out new meat from the crowd. Grandma’s room up in the attic which leads to slides covered in fog, that when descended lead down to the laboratory in the basement where corpses are reanimated. HellsGate is a sizable journey through these locations and many more. The details of the sets are impressive, easily sucking guests into their surroundings, making them easier prey for the actors within.
The actors themselves are amazing. The zombies roaming the line at the beginning create a buzz by being both scary and hilarious, setting the stage for the rest of the event. No aspect of the event, inside or out in the forest is lacking on entertaining actors. There is a healthy mix of those who can garner great scares and those who can help set up story. One example was a woman who asked those passing by in the cemetery who pleaded for help to understand her existence of being killed and resurrected over and over. Actors like this help to build a story that separate good houses from the great ones. Also, the house features actors that are in roles that help guide you through the house in areas where it might not be clear where to head. For example, maids who guide you to the tight corridors between the walls to escape from the terror infesting the house. Many places just have staff in dark clothes that use a flashlight to guide guests. While this is useful, it is immersion breaking. HellsGate solved this issue by having those actors to help guide people through the house.
Another impressive aspect is the use of multiple checkpoints throughout the house to keep groups separated. In too many houses, groups can end up running into each other, creating a long conga-line that makes it hard for actors and animatronics to be effective. The use of checkpoints solves this issue, and even better, the actors in charge of these areas have great improv skills and help to keep the immersion going and providing entertainment while groups wait to continue.
The only major issue of the house comes from the way groups are pulsed throughout the attraction. Guests are put together in groups of about 10 to complete the journey. This in itself is not the issue as the wait would be absurdly long without doing this, and the scares are designed specifically with group sizes of this nature taken into account. Where the issue arises is being at the front of the group. Being at the very front myself, it felt like a vast majority of the scares took place just behind me. It creates an issue where I had to look behind me to catch things, while also trying to balance navigating the whole group through. Even just a few more scares designed for us that lead would help a lot.
HellsGate is a special attraction. The effort put in on every front show that everyone involved genuinely cares about creating a unique haunted attraction. These is a passion shown by the actors that reveals a desire to create scares and develop the location’s story. The set design is exquisite, with an attention to detail that helps to separate the house from the pack. The length and quality of the house justify the price, and if you ever find yourself in the area, be sure to take a trip to Hell. Board the buses and prepare for a journey that is one of the best available.
9.5/10
