We found ourselves back in Rockford, Illinois, to visit one of our favorite families, the Dusons. Twisted Crypt was serving up a scary good time this season, and we were lucky enough to say hello to Mama and the gang. I need to get this out of the way, so why not here! I am advocating for a Twisted Crypt 90s TV sitcom show! Imagine every Duson having their own solo credit card with their name on the bottom, and that memorable pose while the full house song plays in the back. At the end of the song is a nice shot of Rockford with faint screams occurring… one can dream. Until then, we find ourselves regular visitors of Twisted Crypt as it remains a unique attraction in how they handle guests and provide them with the best possible experience.
TC does a great job of having a great variety of actors with characters that fit into the story of the family. We would like to note that every night is different depending on actor availability, since they all have their respective stories. The actors also do a great job of interacting with the full group.
If you are not familiar with this haunt, they have timed scenes to make sure full interaction is guaranteed to the whole group, and conga lines are never an issue. The actors bring you into their scene by welcoming you to their respective stories. In the kitchen, we had some actors give us some small toy spiders and send us off to the next room while reminding us to keep the spiders safe. Smitty then greets us and sits me down for dinner and proceeds to ask for something the previous room may have given me. I was left in this position to break my promise to give up the spiders I swore to keep safe. Smitty knew I was lying when I denied having these arachnids. I did what any person would have done, and I sacrificed the mother spider and kept the baby safe since Smitty didn’t have that information at hand.
While there are a few characters we normally see every year, there were new faces that joined the family this year. Matilda was an instant favorite. She hid in what looked like a regular hanging body bag and looked so delighted to have delivered a scare from us. Uncle NJ took one of his cousins as a recruit; let’s just say they are about the same level of restlessness when it comes to their conspiracies. We were indoctrinated and shown how the Illuminati controls us and how we can make the sign with our hands.
We look forward to seeing every new person in the upcoming years!
Costume and makeup are of high quality and add to the unique look of this attraction. The Family has an overarching role in the haunt. The appearance of the actors is more backwoods-like. Make-up is applied by airbrush and gives the appearance of filth. Paired with many great-looking costumes to fit into scenes helps give the ambiance a more authentic feel. The Mistress has a great look, resembling a classic hunched-back witch. The doctor is also a great-looking character. They give off a German surgeon impression, which could very well fit into this group of psychopaths. The actor really brings the feel of this costume alive with their stern and direct tone, as well as a near-neat look. The makeup and costume design team has been working hard to bring this attraction alive.
TC is located on a mall strip and is the only occupied space within this portion of the lot. There is a strip mall sign on the main street to help guests locate the attraction. Once on the property, there is an awesome hearse in front, along with a ticket booth and roaming actors. Music is played loudly from the ticket booth to help provide entertainment.
This haunt also has local officers on site, helping with security checks before entering the building. Staff are located around and easily visible for any questions or concerns. They also regularly check in with visitors when they exit to ensure they have a good time. The attraction is also ADA-compliant and can assure a safe walkthrough for wheelchair occupying visitors. The staff here enjoy what they do, and it reflects in the attraction.
Customers start to line up at the building of a strip mall. Music plays as the actors “greet” the customers as soon as they park their car. It’s not all scary, though. A bucket of chalk is seen nearby, with an actor playing hopscotch and tic-tac-toe. There might be some cheating involved, but the customers did not seem to mind and kept playing game after game. Crowds of people could be seen running (not an exaggeration) out the exit door, giving the line that is waiting for a glimpse of what they could expect.
Once inside the main queue line, fog sets in with the main house seen in the distance. Lightning illuminates the already dark queue line along with the full moon. The front yard looks messy and unkept, which is due to the use of regular everyday items made into realistic props. It just feels like we are trespassing.
In the rules room, an actor informs us of the family who are the inhabitants of this house. As we walk through, a variety of members of the family interact with us. The majority of the time, the characters give us mini quests by giving different members of the family tidbits of information. This was a perfectly executed sense of immersion that helped tie scenes to one another.
TC is a melting pot of creativity, detailed scenes, and effects. Guests will not find any huge animatronics inside, but this location doesn’t need any of that, as I believe it would lose some of its charm. TC shines in this section due to the team’s resourcefulness in mixing what feels like anyone’s home or apartment and then smacking a coat of gross on top of it.
The indoor queue is such a fine piece of work and nearly transports guests into a whole different environment. It feels as though we instantly walked onto the Dusons’ estate and are in the middle of a foggy night. There are occasional thunderclaps, and lightning brightens the area. There is a full moon in the back near the façade that emulates a constant glow. The whole scene really sets the mood properly for the horrors to come.
The first scene continues to build as we are led to a room with a large screen. Local news broadcast plays breaking news, warning the city of Rockford to be on the lookout for the Duson family. Within this scene, there happens to be a solid effect as we are suddenly not alone in the room. Further on, we find ourselves in a dirty kitchen area. Actors play well here and work in the room appropriately. The kitchen feels dirty and gross, and the pots on the stove seem to be covered in gunk. It seems the family will cook the next meal directly over the last one without cleaning. The dining room has some great items as well. One of the cabinets is filled with actual old wet specimens. These vary from retired pieces as well as local artists helping preserve naturally deceased animals. There are amazing pieces on their walls I would have in my home, such as the sword and shield that I believe is a Freemason item.
Uncle NJ’s room is a real treat! Considering all the conspiracies he is trying to link together, there are plenty of small details linking things he believes in, such as Aliens to local events. These are all pinned to walls, much like the It’s Always Sunny meme of Charlie in the mail room. The rest of the living room has many TVs playing and old VHS cassettes lying around. This scene was used for a local short film earlier this year, as well as in other areas of TC.
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 8.8
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 8.8
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 8.75
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 8.6
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 8.65
There are plenty of scary scenes within the attraction; however, I would list the haunt as overly entertaining with dashes of scary sprinkled throughout. Do not take that as an understatement for how scary it is, as we were witnesses to several different groups running to their vehicles. Twisted Crypt is simply fun in a scary way. The attraction is heavily actor-based, and the actors are provided with many freedoms of improv, which they take immediate advantage of.
I’m sure we mentioned this before, but Twisted Crypt runs differently from other attractions. Here, we are held in main scenes throughout the hunt for a certain period to interact with whoever may be occupying that scene. This means there is nowhere to run for several minutes at a time. In between these scenes, there are corridors to venture through, and all these areas have their own frights throughout. Here is where we find drop panels, hiding actors, amongst other interesting scares. These would be the more practical scares inside the attraction.
Much like inside the attraction, actors outside are given creative freedom. The actors here tend to provide guests with a crazy experience. How crazy are we talking? Have you ever wanted strangers to let themselves inside your vehicle? If the answer is no, I suggest keeping your doors locked.
We cannot stress how enjoyable this attraction is. Between the detailed scenes, hidden easter eggs throughout (family crest, serial killer pictures), constant interaction with actors, and scares, Twisted Crypt once again provided a killer evening for visitors. With General Admission starting at $20 and our walkthrough time coming in at 19 minutes, the Minute Per Dollar Value for TC is 0.95. This is a great price for a great attraction and more affordable than other attractions we typically visit. Twisted Crypt is one of the first haunted attractions in our area to open during the 2025 season. They were open the second weekend of September this season, as well as previous ones. Seeing as how every night can be a unique experience, this brings the one-sided argument that Twisted Crypt is well worth visiting more than once a season.
5420 East State Street, Rockford, Illinois 61108