HellsGate Haunted House Review (2024)

ZAP is known for doing extensive actor training, which is sometimes documented on the Days of the Living Dead YouTube channel. In the forest, freshly risen from the dead, creatures come out to attack from all sections of the path. The creatures use an impressive variety of noises such as growls and throaty screams, which is a healthier choice than regular screams that strain the throat.

We noticed a few actors speaking in an unknown language, now understanding them was quite ominous. Their bodies contorted disturbingly while crawling on the ground. Their overall movements set a creepy tone throughout the forest. The cast, before entering the doors, is more of a comedic relief prior to entering this sinister house. We were fed cookies by Gertie, and shown a magic trick by a cast member who had multiple-sized hats.

Inside the mansion, there was a variety of diverse types of characters that were once part of this beautiful home before the darkness took over. The housekeepers rushed us in and out of the halls to protect us from the “girls, who are not girls” that roam the house. The darkness was seen in every room. The actors came from above or below and from every open crevice, even the sides. We were forced to lean back and avoid any close encounters with the actors, which actively kept us immersed in the story.

Down in the basement, there was a clear experiment room. The subjects were demented and extremely high energy. We were greeted by an acapella version (screamed at the top of their lungs) of an iconic song from Pitbull, which makes me happy that they have access to some good music from 2009. The cast jumped around, and the small room made their screams create an overwhelming and disorienting scene. Cult members overran the dragon cave, wearing black robes that made them blend in with the dark corridors.

The new sewer room included Dr. Oreamos and his faithful crew, who locked eyes with us as soon as we walked in. They followed us around as we tried to find the exit to avoid becoming potential victims.

The room itself was beautifully built, and the actors added to its creepiness, making it come alive and active while interacting with the props.

Thankfully, we were able to attend on a day that was warmer than usual. In the forest, the creatures crawled around on the ground and could be seen wearing tethered clothes while flaunting detailed makeup, which included their arms and back and any part of the skin exposed without a costume.

Any cast member wearing masks or face masks did an excellent job of making sure their neckpiece was tucked in or blended makeup covered the exposed skin, such as the eyes, forehead, mouth, and neck. Contacts were used to create a full undead look and sometimes were mismatched depending on where the darkness was spread on the face.

The housekeepers kept their traditional look inside the mansion with matching distressed housekeeper costumes or black suits. A few used dusters to complete the look. In the library, there was an actor in a life-sized Venus fly trap, hiding to jump out on unsuspecting victims.

Down in the basement, the experiment room actors wore visibly distressed, patient-appropriate costumes. The costumes were loose enough to allow actors to jump around the beds. The dragon cave was filled with cult members wearing black robes that helped them stay in camouflage to increase the scares all around the path. The Dragon Queen looked like a miniature dragon from the horns on her head and dragon wings attached to her back. She was positioned above so we could look up to her, her silhouette majestic.

In the new sewer room, Dr. Oreamos wore a modified lab coat that looked to have been stitched up with the buckles of a straitjacket. The arms were covered in dirty bandages. The face mask was quite horrifying, with a forced smile and a gaping mouth. A lot of people may think it looks like the Joker, but I thought of Repo!

The Genetic Opera was more fitting for the medical scene. The nurse helping run the experiments wore a tight-fitting nurse costume, a leather apron, with obvious signs of foul play, an old-fashioned nurse cap, and a face mask with tentacles attached to the outside of the mouthpiece which was appropriate for the sewer scene.

It is important to note that parking is not on the haunt grounds but rather shuttled from a nearby lot (301 W. 2nd Street, Lockport, IL 6044). Guests are transferred from the parking lot into the woods on the property.

This haunt is very popular every season so as the season progresses, expect long lines. There was plenty of security throughout both the lot and haunt grounds as it remains a high priority for staff for both guests and employees.

There are plenty of staff all around to guide you to almost any point needed. It is important to check socials as tickets do sell out on certain nights. This also proves a safety priority, as they want to provide a great and safe experience over an overwhelming one for both guests and staff alike. The HellsGate website features great stories and lore of the mansion. It is exciting to see the stories come to life within the attraction.

When guests arrive by bus onto the haunts’ grounds, they are greeted by the beer garden. Sharky hung out with us and told us all about their new mocktail, the Shark Attack. Of course, we had to make the purchase, and it comes with a fun little performance piece from the bartenders (props to them for having to do this multiple times a night). Under the big tent, plenty of highly followed actors are around, leading to great interactions and countless photo opportunities.

The Story is evident throughout the walkthrough. Media platforms and the website provide customer participation opportunities if you do your homework. In the main room inside the mansion, the Twins are revealed and tell the story of how their father (The Captain) became obsessed with trying to contact his family via spiritualism and had unfortunately touched into something much darker.

Adding onto the story, Dr. Oreamos and his team of brilliant doctors were trying experiments to harness the Darkness and things went astray. There is a small blurb of amazing video promos and stories throughout the HellsGate socials.

They provide theatrical promotions to help tell the story, and you can also find a deep dive into the lore on their website. This is something good to check out as there are opportunities to find a key holder and answer a question about the history of HellsGate.

Where do we even begin? It is very impressive that year after year, the ZAP team continues to add to the story/ attraction. It remains clear that their vision is nowhere near complete after all these years, and they remain highly impressive.

Walking through the trail gate, there were plenty of jack-o-lanterns all around which added a nice touch of nostalgia. Through the graveyard trail scenes remained dark and provided plenty of spots to hide props. One of the more recent add-ons remained impressive, which is the cabin in the woods.

Approaching the cabin was menacing, as there was light and smoke from the chimney above, and overall, it felt like an homage to Evil Dead 2. Evidence of this cleared when we walked through the cabin and found the cellar door violently shaking, with chains holding it closed to keep what was under there trapped, much like the witch Bruce Campbell fights off… Shop S. Smart.

Inside the main attraction, the mansion was gushing at the seams with special effects and details. The Captain was a man of travel, and I hoped, one day, my collection of obscurities would become a fraction of what we saw throughout our time in his humble home. From Sarcophagi to Taxidermy there were plenty of wall hangers and shelf-sitting pieces to look at from all sorts of different cultures and eras.

The Darkness was a huge part of the storytelling, so to have seen the walls seeping with this from time to time throughout the haunt showed early signs of what was to come. As we ventured through the mansion, we were eventually led into the basement area, where three different things were happening.

One involved an extension from the experiment room/sewer area and was a sort of deeper testing facility for Dr. Oreamos. Here, it seemed they were trying to harness the Darkness and inject it into victims. The whole room is impressive, with four victims in rotation. It added to the scientific experiment room and flowed nicely.

Further in, we found a second section that seemed to be below the sewer. The caves here added a sort of cult vibe, which felt as though they could have remained the true source of the Darkness. Maybe the séance the Captain called for was a false truth about what was happening beneath the mansion.

Here, we found dragons and cult figures, and of course, darkness was seeping from the walls. The next big thing happening seemed to be the actual source area of the darkness, and here, everything felt wet and moist. It was difficult to walk through and almost felt like tar throughout. With some creatures here, the details of the room made this feel like the source of all the troubles of the lore behind this story. It was all very well put together, and there was so much to see in just these three scenes alone.

HellsGate provided plenty of in-your-face scares and continued to add to the team and attraction itself. Several different pop-up scares occur throughout and tend to happen rather immediately. The team here waited to open just after dark, which helped all of the monsters hide just off the trail.

Speaking of trail, the actors throughout had no issues with getting down and dirty. Some of them were found crawling on the floor in unusual ways, which gave them creepy vibes. One of the better-performed parts that led to a good jump was the chainsaw-wielding character. He circled us for a little while and hid the chainsaw well. Stalking us, he spoke in an almost Creole-like tone, warning us of what was to come. We could not see the chainsaw on him, so it was nice to have great dialogue before ripping that surprise out!

Throughout the inside of the mansion, we found a great deal of scares. The opening dialogue was something special and had its theatricals that work well for scares. Throughout the house, there were plenty of moments when we were in tight situations and then face-to-face with someone.

What worked well was the burst of transitions in the hall, which were quick and almost forceful to continue to move. Shouts from actors here gave a fee of urgency as we didn’t want to piss them off. The doll room seemed to be a crowd favorite on scares. Dolls are freaky enough, so human-sized ones were uncomfortable! Overall, the scares were plentiful and added to the amount of fun this attraction gives.

Our walkthrough time for the entire experience of HellsGate was just over 45 minutes. With online pricing for general admission at $40, our Minutes Per Dollar Value is 1.13. Considering this attraction is on so many haunt enthusiast lists, we don’t have to say what a great value this is for such a high-caliber show.

After the gift shop, there is a great midway for plenty of photo ops, midway games, and, of course, food and drinks. It could be difficult to try and crush a taco and have Slider Jesus chasing you, but if you’re lucky enough to have a quick bite, don’t forget to use your new dark (black) hot sauce from the gift shop.

Once again, the value of entertainment is well worth a visit. There are a ton of character actors who have gained celebrity-style status here and will take time to take a picture with anyone. HellsGate never disappoints and should always make the list. Within the gift shop, there is a map for guests to stick where they are from, and within their second week, the only state with no sticker was Vermont. Hopefully, that state gets filled in on the map, too; we are sure it will!