HauntedIllinois.com Review of Baldwin Asylum's Christmas Haunted Attraction 'Holiday House of Horrors'

HauntedIllinois.com's Review of Baldwin Asylum's Christmas Haunted Attraction "Holiday House of Horrors"

Baldwin Asylum, a popular haunted attraction in Rantoul, IL, opened their doors for a special event in December called the "Holiday House Of Horrors". Baldwin has been operating in the Central Illinois area for the last seven years and this was the second time they have done an off-season event like this.

They originally got idea in 2018 when another local attraction "Midway of Madness" approached them with the notion of doing a holiday event. Baldwin agreed with the suggestion and began converting the attraction into a Christmas haunted house. Shortly after that, the owners of Spook Hollow in Marquette Heights stepped in to help with the transformation. Having received a positive response from their customers the first year, Baldwin Asylum decided to once again transform their event for the holiday season in 2019.

They began the changeover immediately after their regular season ended. Working a couple of days per week, it took a grand total of more than 200 hours to transform their haunted attraction with a Christmas theme.

This year, Baldwin Asylum decided to donate the proceeds from the event to three worthwhile local charities: Crisis Nursery, Rantoul Township High School Athletics and the Rantoul Falcons Football team. The announcement of their charity event definitely sparked some positive media attention. The event was promoted on various websites and news outlets. They were also featured on WAND-TV NewsCenter 17, out of Decatur, IL in a special segment on their morning show. Check out the video clips below, to see some fun moments captured during the show.

Baldwin Asylum on WAND-TV NewsCenter 17

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Scary Gary at Baldwin Asylum #scarygary #baldwinasylumhauntedattraction #baldwinasylum
♬ Carol of the Bells (Remix) - Nuclear Maniac

When I heard that Baldwin Asylum was doing a Christmas show, I couldn't wait to go see it. Weeks before the attraction opened, Marcus Dams and Melissa Smith, owners & operators of Baldwin Asylum, graciously offered to give me a behind-the-scenes tour of the attraction and I accepted immediately.

Upon arriving at the haunted house, the first thing I saw was the waiting area. For the 2019 Halloween season, they had constructed an impressive two-story tall facade. For the holiday season, the facade was themed for Christmas. In fact, the entire attraction was decked out in holiday decor. The various scenes throughout the haunted house were adorned with Christmas trees, stockings, twinkling lights, strings of garland, ornaments and other holiday decorations.

As I would soon find out, all of their characters would also fit in with the Christmas theme. As part of my behind-the-scenes experience, I got to see their makeup room, where I witnessed various actors and actresses being gradually transformed into creepy holiday creatures. In addition to their own cast members, they had several guest actors volunteering from Spook Hollow (Marquette Heights, IL) and Necrosis Haunted House (Rantoul, IL). One of their prominent characters was the Grinch and there were also several Whos from Whoville. Krampus, a half-goat half-demon creature from European Christmas folklore, was also represented in the cast. As everyone got into costume, various creepy elves scampered about, readying themselves for the evening's performance.

Also, it wouldn't be Christmas without Santa. Near the building's entrance, there was a special Christmassy photo op area set up where guests could take a picture with "Santa Claws" (played by regional haunt celebrity Scary Gary).

It was definitely a fun time and the event was put on for a good cause. I hope they consider doing this again in the future. Special thanks to Marcus Dams and Melissa Smith, and the rest of their crew, for their hospitality and for allowing me to disrupt their pre-show preparations, so I could get the great pictures below.