DEAD Rising Haunted House 2019

DEAD Rising
Crestwood, IL
Reviewed on Friday, October 4, 2019

As one of the last few “classic” or “old school” haunted attractions in the Chicagoland area, DEAD Rising in Crestwood, Illinois, is a collage of scenes artistically crafted to provoke, intrigue, and instill fear. The crew here are resourceful and experts in finding ways to use and reuse materials.

From the moment we arrived, we were introduced to the cast of characters calling Dead Rising home. We met Nyx, a dark clown/harlequin, which has a hunger for torture. We also met Molly in her cage, “Not Blade,” and Bummer. We were also treated to a wonderful sliding display by Skinz, which some playfully called, “Sparklez.”

When it was finally time to enter, we first had to survive a classic attraction: The Hellevator. As we rumbled down to our destination, “Not Blade” helped us find our way, even though he wasn’t too thrilled with our presence. As we explored the dark hallways, we found ourselves in a church with a preacher. We were read the rules, but also given instructions for a dark salvation!

Some of our highlights throughout the tour included the TV room (complete with popcorn offering), the forest, the kitchen (who isn’t hungry), and the electric chair room. AND who can forget the clown room! But, our favorite is still the turn-around hallway, in which patrons find themselves trapped like rats!

The Bottom Line: Dead Rising is a classic, old-school attraction that focuses on actor/actress performance and interactivity. They will have conversations, ask questions, and expect answers. This isn’t that type of attraction that you can just cover your head, and barrel through. They WILL hold the show for you, and that type of experience is rarely seen these days. This is certainly one of the lost art forms of our industry, so make sure you don’t miss out on the opportunity to experience it!

But, don’t just take our word for it, check out these images from our visit: