C2H2: The Terror Within (Community Commonwealth Haunted House)
Westmont, IL
Reviewed on: Thursday, October 15, 2015
Finding a new home each year is hard for any attraction in our industry. But one attraction that has been able to overcome that issue each and every year is that of the former Lombard Jaycees. With a new name of, C2H2: The Terror Within (Community Commonwealth Haunted House), they decided that with a new name change, comes a new location. Taking up residence in the old Discovery Zone building (talk about a throwback Thursday reference there!) in Westmont, IL, this is one of the largest spaces that they’ve ever had.
This haunted house is a non-profit attraction that is completely volunteer based, sprouting from the love of Halloween that runs deep through the veins of everyone a part of it. It is the pure love for this holiday that drives this attraction. Plus, one added bonus that this attraction does is involve youth. By giving them a place to go, they have the opportunity to learn, grow and build and see what exactly this industry is about. It’s a great way to get kids active and keep them off the streets.
One thing that this group is good at is messing with your fears. Which in fact, this year’s overall house theme was that of “Phobias”. Ranging from a room full of spiders, to the cemetery, along with Freddy & Jason making an appearance along the way.
One other thing they do very well is their blackout hallways. When we say blackout, we mean, can’t see your hand in front of your face. While some might find this rather boring, we love it! It takes you out of your comfort zone and makes you feel your way out.
A few other scenes that really stood out to us this year included a visit with the Mad Hatter. In one of the larger scenes of the house, the actor portraying the Mad Hatter was spot-on. He was clever with his riddles and jokes and made us feel very welcome to his demented tea party.
The one actor though that stood apart from all the other was in the doll room. As you enter, you see what looks to be a life-sized Raggedy Ann doll sitting on a setup of toy blocks. The way the lighting hits in this spot is mesmerizing. Waiting ever so patiently till we are in the room, the doll comes to life and asks if we would be their new mommy and daddy. When we ask what happened to her daddy, she simply walks over to the blocks and pulls out a head. With such witty comebacks to all of our questions, the acting here was spontaneous and very playful. This actor even made their way with us to the next room, continuing their act the whole way.
After making our way through the attraction, we learn that this dolls name is: “Killy Billy”, and is actually portrayed by a male actor. Words can’t even begin to describe our astonishment! It is truly impressive that we couldn’t even tell while we were in the attraction. One of the BEST acting routines done so far this season!
The Bottom Line: If you have as much love for this season as we do, make sure you make a trip out to C2H2: The Terror Within and see the love they have for this season as well. For an all-around fun evening with family & friends, this is definitely one to stop and face your fears at! Thank you for keeping the Jaycee tradition alive!
2015 Scores:
Entertainment: 15 out of 20
Scare Factor & Fright: 6 out of 10
Acting: 7 out of 10
Sets & Room Detail: 7 out of 10
Costumes: 3 out of 5
Make Up: 3 out of 5
Sound: 3 out of 5
Lights: 4 out of 5
Props & Special Effects: 7 out of 10
Originality & Story Concept: 7 out of 10
Management & Owner Presentation: 5 out of 5
Website: 5 out of 5
Total: 72 points out of 100 points possible
– Official Haunted House Chicago Review Team Review
