Hell inside a church? Elgin church mixes fun, serious message.
Hell inside a church? That's what New Life Covenant Church in Elgin is organizing for Halloween with a “Hell House” for people 15 and up.
About 45 people, including 20 actors, will be creating scary scenarios based on real-life “hellish” situations — family problems, abuse, addiction and even identity crisis — with music and lights in hallways and rooms throughout the church's second floor.
At the end, people will walk into “heaven,” or the sanctuary, where the Rev. Abi Raices will be reading the Gospel.
“Hell House” is all about people having fun while connecting to the church, said Raices, who wants to make it an annual thing in Elgin. “Our goal is to literally scare the hell out of people. We want to impact them in a good and awesome fun way.”
Church women's director Linett Rivera, who coordinated the event, said she's attended similar Halloween outreach events at other churches, including the New Life Covenant Church campus in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood. The church is affiliated with the Pentecostal organization Assemblies of God.
“It takes a lot of work to make it good,” Rivera said.
The preparation in Elgin started this summer and lately, “it's been lots of long nights to prepare the ambience,” she said. “The sound and the (electric) connections was the biggest project to make this happen.”
There will be some old-fashioned, hair-raising Halloween fun — people in fearsome masks popping out of nowhere — along with serious themes designed to inspire reflection, Rivera said. The scenes are not graphic, but they are “very impacting,” she said.
“There is a little bit of thrill in there, but at the same time there is a message,” she said. “There is a story.”
So what about people who have experienced, say, abuse and might be triggered by a scene?
“We did discuss that,” Rivera said. “If you feel overwhelmed and you can't take it anymore, we have a plan to escort them to a safe place. They can wait there or join the rest of the group at the end in the sanctuary.”
Hell House takes place 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at New Life Covenant Church, 2250 W. Highland Avenue in Elgin. Visits will take place with tour guides and last 15 to 20 minutes, not including waiting time.
Youths ages 15 to 17 will need to be accompanied by an adult. There will be security and people are encouraged not to bring bags and backpacks, which will be searched.