St. Matthew’s Haunted House named one of the state’s best
The corridors inside St. Matthew’s Haunted House in Hawthorn Woods are too small for a normal-sized man to fit comfortably, and it’s so dark it’s nearly impossible to see your hand in front of your face.
During the 25-minute walk through twisting corridors, you know that at some point something is going to happen. Then, just as you touch something gross hanging from the ceiling, a figure jumps out at you.
St. Matthew Lutheran Church on Old McHenry Road just completed its 20th year operating the haunted house that serves as the church’s main fundraiser. Friday, the small haunted house was even officially named one of the state’s 10 best by HauntedIllinois.com.
After two decades in the fear business, the dozen or so volunteer creators behind the project say they use creative thinking and outside-the-box ideas to get the most out of their low budget and create enough fright to satisfy patrons.
“We have always known we couldn’t compete with the larger professional haunted houses and their big budgets, so we have always pushed to make it as entertaining on a limited budget,” said Dane Relle, director of the haunt for the past three years. “We say, every year, ‘Let’s make it a challenge to get people into and out of every room. Let’s really work to keep them in there as long as possible, and give them a good time.’”
Relle said the idea for the haunted house started when a former pastor was looking for a new fundraiser during the fall months. Someone brought up the idea of the haunted house, and several families jumped on board to help make it happen.
Construction takes about two weeks, and the work is done in the gymnasium and some unused corridors of the St. Matthew Lutheran School, Relle said.
“The gym class is moved for a couple of weeks while we are open, and we make sure there is little to no evidence of the haunt in the hallways when the school is open during the week,” he said. “This year, we started building on Sept. 30, two weeks before opening night. It was a rush to get everything open on time.”
Relle is one of about 90 volunteers who work at the haunt, and one of about a dozen adults who oversee numerous teenage actors who trade weekend nights for thespian points or community service credits from their local high schools.
“We go to the local high schools and ask the drama departments to send us actors, and in exchange the students get community service credits or thespian points,” he said. “We had about 90 volunteers from various high schools show up to our first night. The high schools have always been a big help.”
Because of their limited budget, they have to use everyday items in spooky ways to try and come up with scares.
“A lot of adults initially get involved in doing security or concessions, but eventually they get in, build a room, then act in it all year long,” he said. “It’s really some of the most fun you can have during Halloween.”
Adam Drendel, the owner of the website HauntedIllinois.com, said the St. Matthew facility annually lands on the online poll as one of the state’s best haunted houses.
But, this year, Drendel said, he and his team of reviewers named it to their official top 10 list, a rare honor for a small charity haunt operating out of a church.
“The volunteers make the event a lot of fun,” he said. “They really deserve to be on the top 10 list.”
St. Matthew’s uniqueness is that it’s an extremely interactive haunted house, he added, and draws people into every scene.
“Two major factors that helped make St. Matthew’s a top 10 haunted house was overall creativity and the bang for your buck they give you,” Drendel said. “For the modest admission price of $12, I got 25 minutes of fun, which is a lot better value than some of the more expensive haunted houses that I have been to this year.”