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Haunted Dungeon, Rantoul

Where: 128 E. Sangamon Ave. in Rantoul
Dates: Saturday, Oct. 17; Friday, Oct. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 25; Thursday, Oct. 29 through Saturday, Oct. 31.
Times: Fridays and Saturdays: 7 p.m. to midnight; Thursday: 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.; On Sunday, Oct. 25, there is a semi-lighted walk-through for younger kids from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and the regular haunt resumes from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Price: $7 each for the regular haunts, $1 for the lighted matinee showing, group rate is $5 a piece (please call ahead).

House of Horrors, Pesotum

Where: Corner of Madison Street and Church Street, Pesotum
Dates: Every Friday and Saturday in October. During Halloween week, from Wednesday, Oct. 28 to Saturday, Oct. 31.
Times: 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Price: $13

Fear Factory Haunted House,
Rantoul
Where: 320 E. Letchworth Ave.
Dates: Varies throughout the month
Times: Varies throughout the month.
Price: $10 for individuals (cash only); $15 speed pass to get in a faster line; group rates for 20 people or more, except on Oct. 30 and 31, and half price for any military serviceperson with an ID.
For more information, visit http://www.fearfactoryhauntedhouse.com

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Pesotum House Of Horrors »

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With the beginning of October comes cooler weather, pretty leaves and, most importantly, Halloween. While some people dress up or watch a scary movie in celebration, others just love the idea of haunted houses, getting spooked and seeing their worst nightmares materialize. Luckily, haunted houses are popping up near the Champaign-Urbana area this year, and are sure to provide all the frights necessary for the perfect Halloween.

The Haunted Dungeon (Rantoul)

In it’s 13th year of existence, the Haunted Dungeon will open on Friday, Oct. 16, and is located at 128 E. Sangamon Ave. in Rantoul. Tickets are $7 each for the regular haunts and $1 for the lighted matinee showing on Sunday, Oct. 25. A group rate is offered at $5 a piece. The Haunted Dungeon is located underneath the aquarium pet shop in the hundred-year-old basement, providing the perfect backdrop for all things freaky and frightful. Greg Lavender, one of three men who run the haunted house, said it’s the perfect atmosphere for a haunted house.

“[It’s] pretty dark and dank down there ... brick beams and really old lit posts,” he said.

Lavender explained that there aren’t any ghost stories tied to the building, but there happens to be a random old tombstone in the basement, which makes the already creepy basement a little bit creepier.

“[It was] down there even before they opened this haunted house,” he said. “I don’t know why it’s there. I think everybody’s sort of afraid to move it too far.”

According to Lavender, the house has about 3600 usable square feet, including nine or 10 rooms with mazes in between. In addition, the three men have rebuilt the entire basement and have upped their traffic goal to 2000 visitors this year, as opposed to last year’s 800.

“It’ll be a whole new experience for people who’ve been coming for years,” he said. “Hopefully [it’s] a better set up and more interesting this year.”

House of Horrors (Pesotum)

This will be the first year for the Pesotum House of Horrors, located in an old church and school building the corner of Madison and Church Street in Pesotum. Christy Grassman, who is putting this haunted house together, said her friend purchased this almost 100-year-old building in April of this year.

“As soon as we saw it, we knew we had to do a haunted house for this October,” she said.

Grassman said the locals have told her a few of the rooms in the old church are haunted, something she believes sets the house apart from others in the area.

“[There are] specific rooms throughout the church where everyone would be like, ‘That’s where the ghost was.’ Dozens that would make comments like that,” she said. “I won’t go in the building by myself ... I’m the first one in the building and last one out, [and] this one door is always at a different angle. It totally creeps me out.”

Ticket prices are $13, and only those 13 and older are allowed. The basement of the church is over 8000 square foot, and the theme for this year’s frights is horror movies.

“I went through every horror movie you could imagine ... incorporated the villains into the house in different rooms,” she said.

The haunted house will have security and more than 20 frightening actors in different rooms, as well as an additional back-up cast. The Champaign-Urbana theatre company will be replacing the regular actors one night to promote its production of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde “as a fundraiser for CUTC,” said Grassman.

Though Grassman is “very nervous,” since this is her first time doing a haunted house, she thinks it will be great.

“I’ve come up with this stuff on my own ... It’s a completely fresh perspective,” she said.

Fear Factory Haunted House (Rantoul)

Husband and wife Michelle and Jason Tator started Fear Factory Haunted House in Rantoul and still run it. The haunted house is in its 12th year, and is located at 320 E. Letchworth Ave.

The idea originated from Jason Tatar’s upbringing. He said his family always had a haunted house on their back porch annually, and when the Tatar’s were married, they started a haunted house in their yard.

“It just escalated from starting in your yard to purchasing your own facility to do it,” said Michelle Tatar.

Admission is $10 for individuals (cash only); $15 speed pass to get in a faster line; group rates for 20 people or more, except on Oct. 30 and 31, and half price for any military serviceperson with an ID. Michelle also emphasized how it’s important to make improvements annually; this year, the couple made the front of the haunted house to look like a mausoleum, gargoyles and gates included.

“When you drive out, you automatically start getting in the mood for a haunted house,” she said. “We don’t leave it the same every year; I think that’s why we keep getting more and more people coming.”

She also emphasized that Fear Factor Haunted House has an “element of surprise.” The couple tries to use make-up, including latex and fake blood, rather than masks to make the frights even more frightening.

“When walking through our haunted house, we use a lot of real props ... we try to make it more realistic,” she said.

She gave hints as to what some rooms might resemble.

“Some rooms might be a recreation of a movie ... some rooms are purely imagination,” she said. “In one room, the ceiling and walls are closing in on you. I envisioned [what] an old, creepy library would look like.”

The couple normally starts working on the haunted house right after Easter for about six months. She said she welcomes constructive criticism — any way to make the house better each year.

“Halloween, in front of Christmas, is huge for our family,” she said, “[we] definitely do it for the love of the haunts.”