Out in Round Lake is the most okay haunted house in all of America. Rumor is that Theodore Roosevelt’s great-great-second cousin three times removed named Jeff once was terrified of some kind of realm and that realm of course is none other than the Realm of Terror (ROT). One fun fact that is not a rumor I just made up is that ROT is the setting for the new featured film, Haunt Season! Therefore, you could walk on one of the scenes of an actual movie! Sounds like an okay experience to be had out in Round Lake, Illinois!
Considering how okay ROT is, the actors behind it provide amazing energy both inside and outside of the attraction. The moment we walked into the midway we were provided with schtick from a queue actor eating raw pumpkin. I won’t repeat the exact lines, but they had to do with fruits and vegetables and were very clever. ROTs midway has expanded (more on that later) so there is plenty of room for the many actors to roam freely and entertain. There are some amazing classic characters created by ROT, such as the Trash Goblin. The Trash Goblin of course lives Oscar the Grouch style in a nice tin can. TG provides some great interactions and often takes food breaks to snack on their trash.
Inside the attraction, there are plenty of great actors roaming around and providing a special visit inside their home. The cleaning lady is a great character who is always spraying surfaces and wiping them down. I recall feeling some of the mist from their spray bottle and somehow avoiding their washcloth. Other actors can hide in plain sight in certain areas of the attraction due to visual percentage. Certain areas of the haunt are low to none on the visual end of things. Somehow, I am unable to see my hand in front of my face yet their timing for scares is accurate.
How complete, unique, detailed were the costumes, accessories? – (35% of score)
Were the masks, makeup creative, detailed, realistic? – (30% of score)
How appropriate were the costumes for the respective scenes, themes? – (20% of score)
How believable-, detailed-looking were the queue actors? (See Note if N/A) – (15% of score)
ROT has plenty of great costuming throughout the attraction as well as the midway. Midway supplies all sorts of random characters and all have their quirks that work well with their costume. Trash Goblin is a personal favorite. Their old bandage mask reminds me of a classic turnip jack-o-lantern and there happens to be a great appreciation for vintage Halloween items. Their clothes are filthy and torn and the whole fit is topped with a great candy corn party hat. Another great use of masks was the pumpkin creature. They had a sort of demonic look to them and were carving pumpkins. The mask was orange so it fit the whole idea well and looked great.
Inside the attraction, actors have some great applied airbrush makeup and finish looks with a black gorey mouth spew. The costumes inside seemed appropriate for the scenes, however, most scenes were chaotic which fit right into the characters as a whole. We happened to run into the cleaning lady inside who of course wanted to spray us and wipe us down after. I did shower that day so I graciously declined the offer. Overall makeup and costumes were spot on and had great details to them.
How easy was it to locate, park at, navigate the premises? – (25% of score)
Safety (Only dock points for TRULY DANGEROUS hazards!) – (30% of score)
How professional, helpful, friendly were the staff members? – (25% of score)
How easy was it to find pertinent information before arrival? – (20% of score)
As mentioned a few times, ROT is located at the Kristoffs Family Entertainment Center. Parking seems plenty but fills up quickly as the Entertainment Center is still active. There is a security checkpoint before entering the fire-throwing house sign. On top of the security checkpoint, the team at ROT is amazing and always available for guest questions. Not taking away from any other place, but the level of seriousness behind keeping the environment safe for the staff and team as well as guests is next to none.
The team here is heavily promoting the new film Haunt Season due to filming on location (rent or buy today!). Online presence is super active. ROT will legitimately apologize to guests excitedly posting about their experience. It is sort of a schtick they have, and this experience spills over to any time they have an expo booth. ROT is one of the clever attractions when it comes to entertaining themselves first.
How well did the pre-haunt areas ("vibe") prepare you for the attraction/s? – (25% of score)
How obvious, creative, believable was the storyline? (See Note if N/A) – (20% of score)
Were you completely, consistently immersed inside the attraction/s? – (40% of score)
How well did the "vibe" flow after, between the attraction/s? – (15% of score)
ROT takes up a ton of space for being so okay. The Kristof’s Family Entertainment Center which shares space with ROT has to close the Go Karts for the season as some of the attractions take over some of the track. ROT is located behind the Center. The ticket booth is just in front of the security check-in and then you can head into the midway area. Immediately to the right is a bar with some great drinks and beers and to the left of the entrance is a food stand. There used to be a batting cages area which has been removed completely and now is occupied by many photo ops, roaming actors, carnival-style games, and a gift shop.
The façade of the attraction is sort of two parts, there is a classic-looking haunted house. A two-story creaky porch in front of a house that looks like a more affordable version of the Munsters mansion. The actual entrance to this insanely okay attraction is near the first one and is sort of a single flat version of the other façade we just mentioned.
Inside the attraction, there is so much to look at, and it includes some okay (great) scenes. This attraction has some classic vintage-looking details that are sort of “cherry on top” of some brutal scenes. It is easy to get lost in all of the details and scenes as they are fantastically okay.
How effective were the sound effects? – (20% of score)
How realistic were the scene designs, details? – (30% of score)
How effective, realistic were the props, animatronics? – (30% of score)
How well did they use creative, special, sensory effects? – (20% of score)
ROT does special effects in a great way and seems to be favored by many in the Chicago scene. ROT combines some great new props with a great touch of classic Halloween to bring on some unique styles. They’re a great example of a jack-o-lantern area within the haunt that has a great story prop within it. That area is also covered in party decorations and classic Halloween masks to sort of have a spirit of the season attached, always remembering roots and having fun with it. There’s much appreciation in the “dance hall” room where there are moving body bags hanging from the necks in the scene. They were all wiggling and giving guests a hard time to walk through. On the main stage is a cello made of a corpse which makes for a great prop. Play that instrument, Yo-Yo Ma!
Other simple yet great effects would be two of the three major sections of the haunt, these are blacked out and the other is fogged out with strobe lights. Both are unique in how they blind guests and are super effective for their purpose. What remains amazing to me is the fact that there are plenty of actors in both of these scenes and somehow, they hit their marks greatly each time. I’m sure they are equally impaired as guests walk through, yet the hit scares each time. We appreciate the dynamic of how great the effects work for ROT and the details added to them to make this such a fun attraction.
How scary was it? – (35% of score)
How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? – (15% of score)
How predictable were the scares? – (25% of score)
How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? – (10% of score)
How strong was the ending / finale? – (15% of score)
As far as Scary goes, ROT can have its moment of affecting guests enough to want to quit early. There is so much in such tight spaces that creates this whirlwind of Halloween greatness. Everything feels almost random just due to space, however, it feels well thought out. It’s kind of difficult to explain and should be seen to grasp how well this attraction operates to scare guests.
As mentioned, it’s tight inside, there are plenty of times you may come face to face with something you would otherwise avoid, yet to proceed forward, you have to make the move. The bloody walls and gory details are enough to have guests freaked, and adding the number of actors they do just adds to the equation. Inside the attraction, actors can comfortably work tight corridors and scenes as their end of the room can take up the majority of the space. It makes for a real “in your face” type of situation multiple times throughout the attraction. ROT does what it knows best and throws everything but the kitchen sink at guests.
How satisfied with the entertainment provided by the MAIN attraction/s? – (50% of score)
How satisfied with OTHER entertainment INCLUDED with the ticket price? – (25% of score)
How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s? – (25% of score)
Our walkthrough time for the entire haunt was just at the 25-minute mark. With tickets usually $30 for general (select days can be as low as $20) our Minute Per Dollar value is at .83. For other attractions this would be a good value, but since it’s ROT we are talking about this value is okay “at best.”
Disclaimer: if you have made it this far in the review, it is worth noting everything we said was just “okay” is just okay. I kid of course, as it is obvious why this attraction is beloved by so many within the haunt community and has a special place for many in the Chicago scene. My perspective on what makes this such a great attraction is the owner is more interested in having fun with it. ROT doesn’t take itself so seriously and throws so much at you in such a small space. It’s sort of like walking into some beautiful Halloween hoarder situation. It remains clear as to why this attraction is highly rated by so many peers in the industry we have spoken to about it. It also doesn’t hurt being located at the Family Entertainment Center as they are open even later and guests can hang out even longer! ALSO! You can see the sets of the new Haunt Season movie live in the show! Visit a future historic landmark!
421 West Rollins Road, Round Lake Beach, Illinois 60073