Massacre Haunted House 2021

Massacre Haunted House
Montgomery, Illinois
Visited on: Sunday, October 3, 2021

Vital Signs:
Opened: 2010
Number of seasons-to-date: 12
Number of attractions: 1 & offers short room escape
Size: 38,000 square feet
Number of actors: 50
Fun Fact: Started out at 115 Bourbon Street, moved to Odyssey fun world in Naperville, now permanent home in shopping center that is fully owned.

A fixture on the Haunted House Chicago Top 13 since 2013, The Massacre Haunted House is located inside a very unassuming warehouse-style building, connected to a strip mall. Although they have permanent lit-signage attached to the building, and some very big spot lights, one may not fully understand what they might be walking into until it is too late. With the faint sound of screams and chainsaws in the background and fire-twirling dancers out front, patrons are summoned like moths to a flame as they enter the building. But, what’s down the rabbit hole would give even Alice a run for her money.

In the “early days” of professional haunted housing in the Chicagoland market, the attraction that led the way in the set design and detail department was called “Dream Reapers.” Their scene designs were ahead of their time and were some of the first to provide full-immersion experiences in the environments they fabricated. Although they have been retired for years now, we once called Massacre Haunted House the “new Dream Reapers.” Well, after this year’s tour, it was the very first comment that escaped our lips.

The team at Massacre has been VERY busy. Creating deeper, richer, and taller scenes than nearly any other attraction, environments are full detail with no stone left unturned. To say these scenes are movie-set quality would be an understatement. From the jump, we found ourselves looking up as we encountered massive sets that had fine-print as far as the eye could see! The Massacre crew accents these already amazing scenes with special effects, lighting, fogs, and smells, to provide a setting that attacks and attracts all your senses.

The tour is an amazing journey through some breathtaking scenes like the catacombs, courtyards, jungle, church, and town. But, some of their most crowning achievements are their fully-functional CTA train car, and the best swamp we have ever traversed. Both have 360-degrees of detail. From the ceiling to the textured floors, they instantly help us fade into the illusion! Enter in their amazing team of properly timed monsters of the night, and it makes for one hell of a ride!

Speaking of hell, one of our long-time favorites is the “sin” confessional room. Here, patrons are stopped and asked to profess and share one of their deepest and darkest sins in order to continue through the attraction. The actor is playful and interactive, and guests now must expose their own inner-demons and face the judgement of their group! (Which is another set of fears all together!)

Monsters of Note: Mabel, her friends, and their trusted (or distrusted) scarecrow did a phenomenal job giving us some real-life frights both inside and outside of the attraction! We also want to recognize the elevator operator!

The Bottom Line: Massacre Haunted House is a must-see each Halloween. Escaping down their rabbit hole is a something you don’t want to miss. Set your looking glass to Montgomery, Illinois, for some of the best-detailed haunted attractions you will witness!

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