Haunted Sanitarium

My mom took me to this theater in the 50’s. The only haunted I have ever heard of is Rahm’s desecration of it to a year round venture. My mom, who was born in 1911 said it was intended for TB patients. I lived about a mile straight west at Seminary and Fullerton. The summer plays there have grown over the years. This place is part of my youth

Super Scary! It’s a must for Halloween!

SOOOOOOOOO Upset!!! Just found out they are NOT doing the Haunted House this year!!! WHY WHY WHY??? It was so good and scary and fun? I really wish they would reconsider! This haunted house was so worth it. Even my parents went and were scared. They were so looking forward to going again this year! Booo this sucks! :-(

I did this two years ago. It was the most amazing haunted-​house experience I’ve ever had. The idea is that visitors go from scene to scene where they encounter various frights and performances. The performers were incredibly realistic, knowing just how to jump out or scream at the right time for the greatest effect. The costumes and set pieces were the highlight, though, as the craftsmanship into each one was abundantly clear.
The girl I was with was seriously unnerved, keeping her eyes closed and her face buried into my chest the entire time, leaving me to lead her through each room and deal with the ghouls all by my onesies. She kept screaming, «I just want it to be over.» At the end, we were faced with a bit of a maze, where choosing the wrong door leads you back into the last room. The girl was so upset that a ghoul in a skeleton mask actually broke character and pointed to the correct door from which to exit.
Does anyone know when this starts again?

Did this last year with a group of friends and it was a blast!
The biggest, longest haunted house I’ve ever been in, with some really great (fun) scares.
Definitely worth the ten dollars. (make sure to bring some cash)
Can’t wait to do it again this year!

Very Cool Second year I have gone and they changed it up in imaginative ways. Good for 12 and up. Wine, Beer, drinks and food available while you wait. Movie projected on a sheet. Will go again next year.

For only $ 10, this was a pretty sweet haunted house.
I guess I’ve been off the haunted house circuit or something cause I’ve never seen a lot of the stuff they had. The part where you had to squeeze through two inflated, fabric walls went on just long enough to make my inner claustrophobic start to panic.
Very nice set and costumes overall and scary, but mostly fun and not too gross. We went the day after Halloween so there wasn’t any wait or anything either which was very nice.
The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes from start to finish, so that’s not too shabby, I think.

I was very impressed with this haunted house, especially considering it’s a park district. The fact that the building was actually a sanitarium back in the day is creepy enough. You can’t beat it for the price, it’s less than half the price for Fear at Navy Pier and just as good. You can get snacks and hot chocolate while you’re waiting in line, too bad they don’t serve beer that would make it even better! Definitely check out this cheap haunted house in a nice neighborhood with a great view of the lake! And don’t let the clowns scare ya. ;)

Great price, averages out to about $ 1/​minute. Not bad for the fun at all!
I was with a couple of easily spooked gals and that made it kinda interesting. Many of the characters were chasing them, Funny! I think I might have accidentally chased one of the actors as the gals were pushing me into the next room, I think it was a reverse haunt! Super fun!

My family, friends and I have visited the Haunted Sanitarium annually since 2005 and have always been very pleased. This year, however, is a HUGE exception.
All started out well. The «elevator» effect at the beginning was convincing and very well done. All went down hill for there, however. Shortly after exiting the elevator, an employee (female) in street clothes came out of a secret door and followed us very closely all the while talking on her walkie talkie. When we would reach darkened areas, she used the light on her cell phone to illuminate her way. At one point, I turned to her and said «You’re not scary». She responded that she wasn’t supposed to be. We continued through the attraction with this woman right on our heels. It was totally distracting. It was impossible to focus on the actual haunted happenings because this stranger was intruding upon our group. It also seemed as if her presence made the actors less animated. Near the end of the attraction, I made another comment to her (although I don’t recall what I said other than the fact that it was nothing inappropriate). She responded with an unconcerned, dead-​pan «I’m sorry you’re not enjoying yourself». Shortly thereafter, we turned a corner and had reached the exit.
Did Miss Plain Clothes deign to speak with us upon our exit? NOPE! I felt my comments should be heard so I inquired at the Creepy Café for someone in charge with whom I could speak. I was told to visit the box office and ask for «Jeff» (he runs the attraction).
I knocked on the box office window and an older woman wearing wire-​rimmed glasses opened the door. I told her what had happened and she immediately snapped «We don’t give refunds!» I told her that that was not what I was seeking. I wanted to speak to someone in charge and let them know of my experience. I told her that I had been informed to ask for «Jeff» who had created and was running the attraction. She said that the radios were out of the office and that there was no way to get a hold of anyone. During this, I noticed the woman who had followed us around inside the attraction walking up and down the hall, but I was unable to get her attention. The box office attendant did not seem to care about the situation (she peered over her glasses condescendingly the entire time) and pretty much closed the door in my face.
A few minutes later, Jeff and the woman who followed us through the attraction came out. I explained the situation. The woman asked if I knew why she was following us. I said that I did not know. She said that the group in front of us was frightened and she was monitoring them so they didn’t get too scared. If that was indeed the case, why was she following us? I didn’t get an answer. She also questioned me as to why I didn’t say something to her while she was following us inside the attraction. I told her I did say something. I was trying to be subtle. There were other groups ahead and behind us. It didn’t seem like the time or place to stop for a lengthy discussion. The comments I made indicated (albeit subtly) that I was not pleased and was distracted by her tailing us. She sure didn’t make any effort to speak to us once we exited the attraction. Jeff was very patronizing throughout the whole discussion, stating that he would instruct his staff to be mindful of their distances. It was not convincing. I again repeated that I was very disappointed and that neither he nor the Park District staff seemed concerned. He echoed the box office lady’s «we don’t give refunds» spiel. I told him I was not after a refund. I wanted to explain my experience. Having done that and not being convinced that my comments were being taken seriously, I told him that after several years of patronage, I sadly would not be returning in the future as the experience just wasn’t worth it. His reply? «Good luck finding something fun to do for $ 10 in the city». With that, he and the woman turned and left.
What a waste of time! It really pains me when people will not listen. I do not feel that my concerns were taken seriously. At that time, I didn’t want my money back. Some genuine concern and maybe a «why don’t you come back tomorrow and let’s see if we can do better» would have been nice. Clearly, the Park District staff as well as Jeff and his production company staff lack any customer service background. Sadly, this experience has turned what was an eagerly anticipated annual event into a really bad memory.
Understand that I am not expecting a Disney-​quality experience for $ 10, but I am expecting something creative and unique. Sometimes things done on a shoestring can be more enjoyable than things with huge budgets. I do, however, expect that, as a customer, my concerns and comments be taken seriously. This didn’t happen in this case — not even remotely. How sad!

This is an annual tradition for Da Count and myself. Since I was too sick to take part in the Haunted Hayride at Sonny Acres, Greg and I decided to stick closer to home and check out the Haunted Sanitarium as I had taken the night off from work and didn’t want to waste it. And it was a good thing we did because we had an awesome time!
For only $ 10 you get a very creepy, dark haunt with tons of tunnels to grope your way (or your guy/​girl) through. Props and animations were as good quality as some of the more expensive haunts out in the burbs. There were quite a few moments where the actors startled us, they did their part well. For the most part we weren’t too scared, maybe because we are into horror and are a bit jaded at this kind of thing. I was kind of amused to see the disappointment in one of the actors who was trying his darndest to scare me, he kept following us raising his prop arms and it cracked me up. It sure did scare the crap out of the three teen/​college age girls that ended up in front of us and that was bonus entertainment for us ;).
After you are done with the haunt there is a «Creepy Café» all dark and spooky lit with Halloween lights and candles. You can sit and watch a scary movie and eat some snacks and have a beer or something stronger. Yes folks, this haunted house has a BAR, now don’t you think that alone should give this place 5 stars???

I thought this was the best haunted house I’ve ever been to and for 8 bucks with a student ID it was a bargain!
First of all, this house is pure fun. There are some creepy moments, highly creative scenes, not to mention talented actors and actresses who are really really into their roles. If you are into hardcore horror, this may not be the best match for you, but for those seeking a fun time and are not so much bent on quenching your blood lust, check this gem of a haunted house out.
I don’t want to give too much away, but there is an awesome awesome Christmas parody in this house, and some larger than life costumes. If you have a hot date, take them here because you need to navigate through dark tunnels and have to clutch onto each other in the dark. If you don’t have a hot date (like me) you can grab onto the person in front of you and make a new friend, because nothing brings people together like scary clowns.

This place was a lot of fun, but I scare pretty easily. I went this past Friday night on opening night and it was only $ 5 dollars with my student i.d. Tons ‘o’ fun, but I had to wait an hour and a half to get it. I hate waiting… I’m the most impatient person I know. Besides that, you should check this place out.

My boyfriend and I checked this place out last Saturday.
The $ 10 admission seemed fair, and for a park district production, they did a decent job.
I don’t want to give too many details away, but I will say that we got a good laugh out of several of the scenes, and while we weren’t scared by anything, we were creeped out by some of the tactile props. The expected characters jumping out at us startled us, sure. but we had a good time.
Now that I’ve experienced this one, I don’t think I’d go back again, but I would recommend it to people looking for something fun and seasonal to do if you are in the area.
Oh, and if you do go, say hi to the big-​breasted girl in the balloon room. She was really enjoying her role.

Went last night and for $ 10 it wasn’t bad. We only had to wait about 10 minutes which was nice and the waiting area is indoors which is also a bonus. Overall it was a bit too open to be really scary but it was enjoyable for what it was. It’s not up to par with the super expensive, high budget haunts in the burbs but it’s really all we have in the city and was worth an hour of holiday entertainment. The maze part at the end was pretty cool as was the new claustrophobia section.

In a different league than the $ 25-​$ 35 haunted houses, but as others said, for the price it’s great. It’s a haunted sanitarium theme (duh) and each room has a different feel to it.
The actors put a lot of effort into the performances and the set-​up is cool. If you’re looking for something to do on Halloween in or around Lincoln Park, or you want to do something on the cheap, this place is well worth it-​oh, and they sell beer.

Pretty cool haunted house. I wouldn’t call it scary but I have to give the Chicago Park District some props. The actors really looked like they were having fun and it looked like they really put some time and effort into the scenes.
$ 10 got you into the haunted house and it also allowed you to hang out in the haunted café. The café part plays scary movies and also sells refreshments such as hot chocolate, hot cider, popcorn, nachos, etc. etc.
All and all I would say go check it out. You won’t be scared but you will have a good time.