We found ourselves in Indiana this season (poaching in other nearby states for local attractions)! Last year, we missed out on Haunted Hills due to scheduling conflicts. This season, we found time as this attraction was featured in the Lost Souls bus tour! It is amazing what a difference an attraction could have in a short two-year period. Much has changed since our last visit in 2023. HH has set out to provide a one-stop shop of Halloween fun.
The queue line had lots of actors wandering around and roaming through some of the houses. There were enough actors to fill most of the rooms, although there were some dead spaces. A lot of the actors relied on growls, snarls, and yelling. Some of the rooms were more believable than others. The circus house had a lot of actors trying to get you to watch their performance, and they were happy to watch us squirm.
We opted for the fear lab experience, which is an additional cost. Being left in the dark to experience this part, the actors provided good interactions with us. There were plenty of tricks occurring that we were meant to experience blindly, such as maggots being thrown at us, slimy things to touch, shocks, and other gross encounters.
We had some good interactions inside the main attractions. The circus dwellers in the Psycobilly Freakshow were plenty interactive. The magician and his rabbit, named Tragic Magic, were very entertaining with jokes, lamenting, and a very funny magic trick. In one of the hospital scenes, Nurse Decay was ready to strap any patient walking into her operating room down and treat them. They were very excited to talk about being the plastic surgeon’s nurse and all the procedures they had in mind for their victims, erm.. patients. One portion of the house had a nurse and a girl in a bunny mask guiding us to the next scene. Our group was separated and able to experience different endings, one of which seemed much stronger than the other.
The way that the majority of the actors had highly detailed airbrush makeup to define faces and exposed skin was well done. The mindfulness for details and highlights was spot on! The use of colorful contacts and sharp teeth pulled the look together.
We love how cohesive everyone’s costumes look, even though they all have their own looks. In the hospital, hospital attire was worn by both the worker and the patient. The grimy costumes match the conditions the hospital has fallen under. There were a few masks we stumbled upon that we noticed were not snug to the face or hung a bit too low to the chest, but overall, exceptional quality masks!
The clowns have taken over! While the majority of the actors in the sideshow portion wore costumes that were part of an ensemble of clowns, a few plain-clothed people acted as hostages. The makeup variety was also apparent, with some wearing colorful makeup and some wearing drab but sinister faces.
Another notable costume on the queue line was Baby. The mask they wore had an expression that matched the stench and the disgusting diaper. It seemed they had needed a change for decades. Another actor was wearing a custom costume with stitches and distressing with bunny ears attached to the hood. The best part was that she was roller skating, and it quite fit the cute look!
It should be noted that Haunted Hills Productions creates some unique and highly detailed masks and costumes. With the talented group of makeup artists, this is an unstoppable team!
HH is very easy to spot from the road. Guests are advised to drive just a little further up the road to park at Deep River Water Park. Guests use this lot and are shuttled over to the property. There are attendants and security to point you into the lot and into the attraction. There is a bustling midway, and the attractions can be spotted further in. There are a lot of staff members, and outdoor queue actors guide you where you need to go.
Security guards cover a metal detection line to prevent any potential issues inside the attraction grounds.
Some of the outdoor portions of the attractions featured do have uneven grounds; this is something to be mindful of.
Haunted Hills Attractions has a large internet presence as well as word of mouth. Not only that, but they have also had a cult like following, as this is their 3rd location, yet continue to grow! Plenty of information can be found on their social media pages.
The Midway is a fun introduction before the scares inside the attractions. The actors do a wonderful job of interacting with the crowds while they spend time waiting for their time slot to enter the haunts. It works well so that guests can take advantage of the midway for photo ops or play midway games (additional charge) prior to entering one of the two attractions. Alcoholic beverages are now an option, so visitors can enjoy adult beverages while roaming the midway. Did we mention this has been extended since our last visit? HH spent some time adding to this, and it looks great.
Inside the hospital, the many scenes gave a claustrophobic feeling. It was wild that actors were able to climb on top of structured parts of the scenes effortlessly. The walkthrough was made up of different scenarios of a hospital that has gone through a demented remodel. The walls inside the laundry room looked like they had been given a fecal spray from top to bottom. The transition from inside the hospital to the outside was completed by an elevator. While you think it’s the usual airbags under a wooden box, this was created to create the most realistic elevator we have ever seen.
The Rockabilly Sideshow gave us a look into what would happen if a traveling circus sideshow decided to crash a haunted house. The different rooms made you feel completely isolated from the outer world due to the red and white striped carnival walls. While there were clown and sideshow-themed props all around, some of the items used were repurposed everyday items to fill the rooms. The energy was quite high with everyone, though we would have liked to have had more verbal interactions to complete the immersion.
HH has never been shy of presenting great effects throughout their attractions. The Mayhem Midway feels like a town square with many optional spots to visit. Some of the photo ops within the midway produce their own trickery, which are instant scares for guests.
Inside the main attraction, Haunted Hills Hospital, there are plenty of great scenes and effects to go through. The opening scenes felt closer to when the attraction was in Lake Station, Indiana. Scenes felt as though we were walking through a filthy hospital overrun by psycho patients. One scene that was changed from our last visit is the ambulance area. This time around, we are hurried out for our own safety, as the sound of dogs is heard from all over. This differs from our last visit, as it used to be a sort of countdown situation. There is also a great elevator effect where we are placed inside an elevator, and it maneuvers. What makes this one a bit different than others is the ceiling dropping on us! Unfortunately, only part of our group experienced this as groups are split into different sections of the attraction. I’m sure this is for crowd control, but it sounds as though some of us were lucky to get the elevator treatment, as the other half of our group stated the other half did not have anything as involved.
The Sick Billy Sideshow attraction had plenty of interesting scenes as well. The Big Top within this attraction was well designed and had an interesting show we walked through! Front and center was a scalping taking place; the poor bastard was crying a lot. It was a fun scene! Somewhere within the circus, there lies a large T. rex. It’s rather unexpected but a fantastic surprise. It would have been a bit more frightening with a piercing roar to complete the effect.
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 8.5
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 8.4
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 8.95
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 8.35
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 8.4
The main attractions have their fair share of scary scenes. The set design, staff, and patients create a lot of uncomfortable tension for the hospital. The Fear Lab experience, by far, is the scariest and utilizes psychological fear with an intense sensory experience. The circus taps into coulrophobia with clown antics and tricks, all to set you up for a scare. The actors were able to hit different parts of the group at random times. Some parts of the houses had multiple characters in a scene, while other portions could have used some actors.
The actors did a lot of jump scares and startles. They were able to utilize their spaces and use those to enhance the scares. Pop-outs with yelling and screaming were the majority of scares throughout the attractions. The scares felt predictable but were effective. The actors did put a lot into their characters, so the scares were fun and fit their scenes well. The finale of the Sideshow was an entertaining walk through a circus. Making our way through the Big Top led right into some chainsaws and had us running for the midway again.
Our walk-through time for HH came to 30 minutes between the two featured attractions. With General Admission starting at $30, this gives our Minute Per Dollar value 1.00. This is more than a fair price point, considering the level of entertainment provided. Guests can always add the Fear Lab experience at an additional price. HH provides guests with a whole evening’s worth of entertainment due to its large midway. Not only are there great scenes for plenty of photo ops in the town side of the property, but there are also plenty of local vendors around with many different items for purchase. HH is a one-stop shop with food on site as well (alligator anyone?). We were told that, since owning the property the location is on, the team at HH can rent out the space for events such as parties and has even hosted a wedding over the summer. Being so close to the Chicago market, this attraction is well worth a visit for any enthusiast.
7611 E 81st Ave, Merrillville, Indiana 46307