Blood, sweat and scares go into new haunted trail

(Nick Dentamaro - ndentamaro@nwherald.com)

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

It says something about a haunted trail when the creators get spooked while making it.

One of several haunted attractions in McHenry County, the new Twisted Limits Haunted Trail at Moraine Hills between McHenry and Holiday Hills definitely has setting as its benefit.

It's located in a dark wooded area that, until now, has never really been explored.

"We'll be out here building at night and it creeps us out," co-owner Joe Panek said as he and co-owner Keith Desmet scrambled to finish the trail days before the attraction was set to open.

The two created the trail using their imaginations and as much basic material they could scrounge up, some from their past experiences with haunted houses.

No animatronics. No blood. No gore, Desmet stressed.

More than just another haunted house or trail, they wanted to create a theatrical production.

"We love to scare ourselves," Desmet said. "There will be a scare when you will not expect it."

Those who go to Twisted Limits aren't just visitors, they're new "recruits" at the Oneiros Corporation, a scientific research initiative located in the desolate Reverie Hills.

A security guard, played by one of the attraction's actors and actresses, will lead the recruits through a security gate into the woods. And, as Desmet put it, "people's nightmares come to life out there."

Throughout the roughly 1/2-mile winding trail, lit only by Tiki torches, recruits will pass a hatch to an underground laboratory, an actual laboratory, ancient ruins, a camping area and other scenes.

Panek, who wrote the story for Twisted Trails, described an independent scientist "with answers the corporation doesn't want him to reveal."

"He's got the problem of being tormented by nightmares too," he said.

Those who follow a certain television show might find the storyline slightly familiar.

"If you're a 'Lost' fan, this makes a lot of sense," said Panek. "Think of this as kind of the island.

"We're going to be instilling the mentality of, 'What's going on here?'"

It's a project born out of a simple love to entertain.

Panek and Desmet also run a paintball arena at the Moraine Hills location, as well as the McHenry Area Dodgeball Association, which hosts tournaments, leagues and events.

They hope to one day turn their latest venture into more than just a month-long attraction at Halloween by expanding the scenes and storyline.

"I kind of feel if we invest and build up the storyline, I think other people will invest and get interested," Panek said.

The trail is geared toward adults, but if younger children visit, guides will adjust the scare factor to the age group. The event also includes an area where visitors can eat dinner beforehand.

A child-oriented train ride is the newest addition to another local attraction, Terror on the Railroad at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union. Children can ride on a "trick-or-treat trolley" the weekend before and the weekend of Halloween, event coordinator Jennifer Kolanowski said.

Kolanowski, who volunteered at the museum as a child out of a love for trains, has put together the event for the past three years.

"I ask people what their biggest fears are and I work around that," she said.
Her favorite scene involves "solitary confinement," based on someone's fear of being alone, she said.

"I think it's something different," said Kolanowski, who works on the event year-round. "As far as I know, we're the only haunted attraction in the county that's actually on a moving train."

And for another sort of ride, the Wonder Lake Ski Team is hosting its Haunted Hayride at Peterson Park. The event serves as one of the team's main fundraisers, and a portion of the proceeds go to local charities.

Volunteers start working on the event after the ski season ends around Labor Day, event chair Caryn Shiel said. And they must put up and take down the scenes daily.

It's geared mostly toward those over the age of 8, but "it's really up to the parents," Shiel said. A children's matinee is scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 17.

And once again, the McHenry Area Jayces have created their haunted house along Route 31, promising "scarier scenes" this year.