Amhurst Asylum

DO NOT GO HERE! This is not what I would consider a haunted house.
I was very excited to go here since this was considered #2 on Chicago’s best. Well, news flash for me it was far from being «the best.» I’ve been to several haunted attractions in Chicago, and quite frankly I’ve been to many that are actually scary and not a waste of time.
First of all, the place inside is not scary. I admired the details on some areas when the theme was realistically brought out. But aside from that, it’s more like a child hay ride but inside the house.
Most of the actors are adolescents and just randomly came out of expected areas. Hint: they didn’t scare anyone in my group. But not to mention some girls working there were very rude to one couple and came like they all had attitudes. This was before the «hunt» actually began.
Overall, not the slightest close to being scary, poor experience, and much less deserved to be one of Chicago’s best.
If you are a person over 16 I recommend going somewhere where the actors are not volunteers.

Great haunt again this year! Amhurst Asylum knows that scary really doesn’t cut it because monsters and stuff like that are obviously fake. So they go for creepy and they do it well! The house is set up to disorient you and sort of force interaction between you and the inmates, who do a great job of making you wonder whether they’re acting or really have a screw loose somewhere!

This was an amazing haunt. The actors were superb– very committed to their roles. The scenes were exceptionally detailed. The costuming and makeup were top notch. The route was long– about 20 min to get through and I don’t even remember how many rooms. The passage ways were unique (shaking elevator, inflatable tunnels, etc) and often you are forced to walk right through a scene which made me scared. Overall, it was a very scarey experience. I was genuinely terrified more than I care to admit.
No line at all on a Sunday evening (we arrived close to closing, around 9:30pm). My parents went to this haunt 3 years ago when it was at/​near Valpo University and they didn’t care for it then. But they said that this year’s haunt (which is now in Valpo’s boonie district, a few miles southeast of Taltree) is 100% different and totally reformed. Actually, just the car ride to get there was sort of scarey!
All in all, we loved it! One of our top 5 fave haunts (and we visit one new haunt every Halloween– it’s a tradition) so we’ve seen many! We purchased our tix through Groupon (4 tickets for $ 40), regular price was $ 20 each.

Save your money, this place is not scary at all. Actors are pretty good, but much better places are Lake Hills in St. John Indiana and Reapers Realm in Hammond, IN
Go to Lake Hills at $ 15 per person, you won’t be disappointed.
Doug in Schererville, IN

Very detailed. Actors were really good. Time length was good too. I would go back again

The fact that they can touch you at this haunted house is the best part. I had people brushing up against me and whispering things in my ear. At one point I thought I was holding my friend’s hand and it was actually one of the actors which scared me pretty bad when he creepily whispered in my ear «you’re holding the wrong hand.»
The acting at this haunted house beats Statesville and Reaper’s Realm by far. The sets were very interesting and scary. I highly recommend this haunted house.
My only problem with it was that it was too short. I definitely don’t regret spending the money I spent for the experience but I’d like a little more bang for my buck if I am going to go back. I’d definitely like to see how they improve on this one in the future.

Despite the previous reviews, I absolutely loved this haunted house! i was very skeptical to attend this haunted house because previous posts deems it as «amateur». Even at 10:30pm, 30 minutes prior to closing the actors were just as invested with energy and portrayal of their gruesome characters. Each turn revealed another crazy antic and gauged you just as much as before. My friends and I were scared beyond straight! 5 stars! and worth EVERY penny *$ 10 bucks with a groupon deal!* Will be going again in the future!

I have every reason to believe that most of these people who have reviewed this haunt have no clue what they are talking about. It takes at least 15 minutes to walk through even when its closed down, with the lights up and no actors. There are NO walls made of garbage bags, everything is extremely detailed with wood, wall papers, tile, etc. Although the actors are younger, they are completely aware of where the money goes and still LOVE coming every weekend to act. No one is making them come. The profits all go back into the haunt to make it better each year with much success and what patrons don’t see is the amount of money spent on keeping the actors happy. We are fed very well, taken to other haunts at little to no cost, and provides with parties and events through out the year. Its a sweet gig for everyone. As for the haunt itself, its incredible and there’s a reason we got top three haunts for 2012.

Overpriced, and not scary. Some of the walls were made with black plastic garbage bags. I think I read online that the actors are all local high school drama students that volunteer. I think that would be fine if the profits were going to an organization, and not into the owners pocket. I don’t want to be overly critical of high school aged children’s acting skills, but don’t expect much, and don’t expect to be scared. I wasn’t even startled. You could see where the actors were hiding before they attempted to frighten, but the end result was lack luster… The other major disappointment was the length of the event… I think it took 5 minutes.

For all of the hype this place received, you would’ve thought that they would’ve presented a scarier haunted house. I was pretty disappointed. I don’t think for one moment I was genuinely scared. There were a couple of surprises but after the first few turns it became pretty predictable. You knew someone was going to jump out at you or follow you for a few feet. The only thing that got me at the end were the people with the chainsaws. And I think that was more because I hate the sound of chainsaws than the actual performance of the people in the haunted house. It’s my understanding that this is only their second or third year of doing this. The idea itself has the potential to present a really scary haunted house, they just haven’t gotten there yet. Hopefully in a few years that will be a different story.

if your looking to be scared to death, then this isnt the place for you! its like a hospital crazy ward with the actors acting like their crazy! it was ok. i just wanted to be scared. i can see crazies on the street