Lawsuit: Elburn woman gets concussion at Aurora haunted house

A 52-year-old Elburn woman argues that she got more than just a scare when she visited an Aurora haunted house two years ago.

Elizabeth Teevans has sued “The Basement of the Dead,” saying she sustained a concussion when she was hit by a haunted house worker.

In the lawsuit filed in Kane County this week, Teevans said she went to the attraction at 42 W. New York St., on Oct. 10, 2010.

“While proceeding through the premises, an agent of the defendants swung down from a doorway and struck Plaintiff (Teevans) on the head. Due to the nature of the location of the incident, Plaintiff was unable to determine the identity of the agent, and was unable to seek immediate assistance,” according to the suit. “Plaintiff, in her injured state, proceeded to exit the premises.”

In the suit, attorney Todd Wallace argues that Teevans immediately began to experience the effects of “concussive syndrome,” has not been able to work since then and still needs treatment for her injuries.

Wallace argues that Todd and Tressa Baraniak of Naperville, the owners of Arrival Productions and West New York, LLC, were negligent and seeks more than $50,000 damages.

Wallace did not return a phone message seeking comment.

Todd Baraniak could not immediately be reached for comment; a message left at the haunted house Wednesday night also was not returned.

According to the website for “Basement of the Dead,” the site was the city's largest laundry beginning in the 1920s. But Imus Kilya and his son, Al, were severely scalded in 1964 when a boiler exploded.

“They never returned to work and rumor was they had vowed to get even,” states the website, 42fear.com.

“Under the streets and building were sewer lines and tunnels well known to Al and Imus. A year or so after the explosion people from the laundry started to disappear and body parts were found in the river near the drainage pipes. Al and Imus were suspected but never found. The laundry eventually closed and the basement was never used again.”

The website also cites awards the haunted house has won and states in a FAQ section that: “Our monsters are not allowed to touch you. Of course, in the darker areas, something may accidentally bump into you but our monsters will never grab you.”

Both sides are due for an initial court appearance Dec. 27.