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.