Christmas haunted house set to open in Lombard

A controversial Christmas-themed haunted house is opening Saturday in Lombard, and organizers hope it will draw large numbers of visitors this holiday season.

The attraction, called Frightmare Before X-mas, is sponsored by Lombard Commonwealth, which was formed this fall by former members of the disbanded Lombard Jaycees.

It will be held Dec. 6, 13 and 20 in a strip mall at 20 Yorktown Center, which is the same location the group used for its Halloween haunted house.

"I know there's a handful of people that are trying to stop us at every turn and have contacted Yorktown and threaten to boycott us, but Yorktown is very supportive," said Jackie West, president of Lombard Commonwealth.

Last month, the village board unanimously denied the group's request for a temporary special event permit to operate the haunted house every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in December leading to Christmas.

A few trustees cited concerns about increased traffic. Others said they wanted to know more about the group's finances.

According to village code, temporary special event permits are only valid for three days; an extension of the permit requires village board approval.

By hosting the haunted house on the first three Saturdays in December, the group avoided bringing the matter to the village board again.

West said the attraction passed all its building inspections and a special event permit was issued Wednesday.

"Overall, we have a ton of supporters, of people who live in town, people who work in the village, the people who work it, the parents of kids who work it," she said.

Hours for the haunted house are 3 to 11 p.m. Admission prices will be the same as the Halloween haunted house: $10 for ages 10 and older and $5 for ages 9 and younger.

A free "kiddie matinee" will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 20. Attendees are asked to bring a nonperishable food item for the St. John's Food Pantry.

At the matinee, all the lights will be on and a "nice Santa" will be on hand to take pictures with kids. Guests also will have a chance to walk through the family-friendly, Christmas-themed rooms, which West described as "whimsical and fun."

"We don't have the devil Santa, there's no nativity scene or anything religious," she said.

Several other Christmas haunted houses will be open this month in the Chicago area, including "Santa's Slay" at the 13th Floor Haunted House in Melrose Park and "Christmas Nightmare" in Montgomery, which warns people who are "easily offended or scared" to go see Santa at a shopping mall instead.

But the only scary part in the Lombard haunted house will be the young actors, West said.

"It's all fun," she said. "Yes, the kids will still try to scare you. They want to look scary and they want to scare you, but the rooms themselves are not scary."

If the attraction draws a lot of people, West said the group will consider ways to improve it next year and use it to further benefit worthy causes.

"We just want to thank everybody who supported us through this," she said. "It means a lot to us that people know the good that we do and that there is nothing malicious (about this)," she said. "We're not trying to ruin Christmas. This is just something we're giving these kids to do that they're very passionate about and that they love."