Killdare Haunted City Review (2024)

Both the indoor and outdoor areas had plenty of actors. The queue area is also full of actors to keep you entertained in line. For the most part, the actors were believable. Some of the actors relied on screaming a lot instead of dialogue. Since some of the actors just popped out and made guttural noises, it was not that convincing. Most of the actors were very interactive. Before you even enter the circus, section clowns are sitting on a shipping container, waving and calling out to you. Since you’re about to walk into a room, this throws you off and sets up the actor in the next room to give you a good startle scare. The actors that utilize dialogue made the interactions work well.

Throughout the house, dialogue was used, and it mostly made sense in the rooms the actors were in. However, in some sections of the house, guests may find the butcher shop and the junkyard jarring as the dialogue they use is for a mature audience. The clowns and the actors on the school bus make great use of their characters’ dialogue while they interact with you. There is a good range of characters ranging from clowns, demonic priests, dead schoolgirls, undead mechanics, and factory workers.

In the forest, a tall black creature stood in the middle of the dark path. Upon closer inspection, two actors of different sizes moved in different directions to show their true forms. A voodoo priestess roamed around, luring in unsuspecting victims. Her distressed makeup and costume looked like she had just come straight from the swamps, and she completed the character by using finger cymbals.

A few actors wore full face masks that went underneath their necklines. The majority of actors did wear face makeup, which accentuates any distressing and completes the costume. In the clown alley, actors wore full clown costumes with undeniable clown makeup that matched their scene. A dark priest also wore an appropriate priest costume, while his face showed a resemblance to evil.

Parking was easy to navigate, although during busier times excess parking was not pointed out. For a first-time visitor, it may be difficult to see where the entrance of the haunt is without direction from the ticket booth inside the building, especially in the dark. Security and staff were difficult to locate till you got closer to your time to enter the house.

The outdoor waiting area has roped-off queue lines on uneven wood-chipped trails. Guests should wear comfortable shoes when attending as this is in a park district. Throughout the attraction, there is low lighting, a lot of stairs, bumps in the ground, and uneven flooring. Emergency exits are visible in some of the areas. The attraction is mostly outdoors so it is easy to see safety routes even when they were not labeled. The staff is helpful and happy to help guide you to where you need to be. You’ll even catch the owner of the house walking around to make sure things are running right. The vendors in the gift shop area are also helpful in giving directions and information.

Killdare has a large online presence, so information is easy to find. They also do pop-up events throughout the year to advertise.

Killdare finds its home amongst the Bridgeview Park District Office. The ticket booth is inside the building and has some decorations, but I believe it may be limited based on what is allowed or not allowed inside the building. Outside, however, some actors instantly greeted us when parking and many guests were running in fear with other actors on their tails.

Walking from the building to the area, we found some vendors. Just beyond the fence divider are small glimpses of what’s to come. Nearly beyond that is the queue, which is long and unseemly at first glance, but the large field of the area ends up as a huge playground for queue characters like Baby and the Spooky Gal, which is her new name now. As stated, the front of the attraction offers minimal. There is a wall built up with a cool neon sign, but as mentioned, I think the real treat is catching that peak over the fence on what’s to come.

Inside the attraction, there is plenty to keep guests occupied. It runs like a small city in ways with different areas completing different whole ideas, such as the car wreck/ junkyard. What is unique about this attraction is the fact that there aren’t many purchased props/ super high-end stuff you would see on a trade show floor. The team here really relies on just about anything else. Everything is just about hand-painted and crafted into a completely different idea that works. One great example is early on when entering the train caboose, the walls here were covered with old broken electronics that seemed to be crafted and repurposed to function in a way that showcased the room. Of course, something malfunctioned, and it created such a loud scare.

The immersion is there because you would want to get a close-up look at how this was all developed, and of course, there are some fun details involved. There is also a lovely tribute in the forest for another local haunt that closed down a few years ago; the stone reads “RIP D.E.A.D Rising, “ which, in my eyes, was a heavy inspiration for Killdare as they were legitimately the last of the old-school type attractions around. I believe John has to be somewhere in the universe appreciating what Killdare has done to keep the spirit of D.E.A.D Rising alive and well. Miss you, John.

Killdare is a haunt that uses everyday objects to fit them in the walkthrough. The majority of the haunt is outdoors, which gives them creative freedom to make paths using physical items.

On the forest trail, speakers are placed around to create ambient music in the darkness. A DEAD Rising sign gives you a glimpse of what to expect, and to some, it gives a sense of melancholy. A few lights illuminate the path just enough to get us through.

Sound effects were also meticulously planned according to the scene. In the caboose, an actor coordinated a sound queue once our group was fully inside. The actor activated all sounds, which is deafening, along with overwhelming flickering lights. A black-and-white maze left us unsettled with the use of tornado sirens, which led me to flashbacks of 10 am Tuesday mornings.

We do like to be surprised! Throughout the city, massive lighted signs with the logo of Hong Min Chinese Restaurant are placed in unsuspecting areas. It goes to show that a person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

The clown section is always a fun time! The walls were painted with colorful and festive colors. An actor is seen sitting inside a plastic sphere, hitting the plastic to scare anyone caught off guard. An old-fashioned carnival popcorn maker is the eye-catching piece in this scene. Some areas are filled with heavy fog, which some areas are intentionally done to blind patrons and confuse them from finding the exit easily. This area might be suitable for everyone.

As we exited the house, we found ourselves back at the inflatable spooky castle, which houses different wares from local artists. There were also more tables with various merchandise. Here, people continued to hang out and chat, purchase local art, and get spooked by the queue actors.

The attraction is not overwhelmingly scary, but they have some good startles. It is built the same way old-school haunts were built, allowing different types of scares and good old-fashioned fun. The actors were able to provide scares for the whole group. The actors utilize their rooms and body movements to get different group members. Drop boxes, startles, and distraction scares were implemented.

A lot of the scares were predictable. Walking through the school bus was scary and fun as the former living students would pop up out of their seats. When you get on the bus, a student greets you and takes you on the bus. They utilize childlike dialogue and amp up the students on the bus. The clowns also made use of people’s natural fear of clowns. They roam around the circus, taking advantage of different types of scares.

The ending of the house smothers you with fog, and it can be very overwhelming for people with allergies or respiratory issues. The fog does help dull your senses and make the corridors feel tighter.

Our walkthrough time for Killdare was at the 27-minute mark. With tickets starting at $30, our Minute Per Dollar value comes to 0.9. This is a great value when considering all the fun there is to be had here at Killdare.

We believe the secret here is that the team wants to have a good time, and they provide that in what is like a second home to them. It’s obvious a ton of hard work has come out of here when you grasp the idea that these are hand-built sets; there was a need to use big machines to place other portions just right, such as shipping containers and cars. If you are looking for what essentially is Chicago’s largest old-school home haunt with great actors inside, Killdare is a must-see.