Old Joliet Haunted Prison Review 2023
Old Joliet Haunted Prison review
On September 29th, we visited The Old Joliet Haunted Prison. The prison is located at 401 Woodruff Rd. Joliet, IL 60432. There is free parking for this event and as you pull up to the prison there are signs directing you to the parking lot. The price for the haunt varies, depending on what day you go and what type of ticket you wish to purchase, so it is best if you check their website to see how much tickets are on that day. Once in line, we met a few line actors who were very interactive with customers, especially our newest team members who have never been to a haunt before. One of our reviewers was told by a hitchhiking prisoner it was okay to cry, they would just lick the tears off their face.
This haunt was broken up into 3 parts and took about 35 minutes to walk through. Cellblock 13 was the first attraction. Here we walked through some outside scenery and worked our way to the back to eventually end up in the prison walking past the old cells. One thing that stood out for me was the amount of open space where you would think surely someone must be waiting to jump out at you, but rarely is that ever where the scare came from. I could feel the suspense building as I walked past each open cell, always wondering what lies behind each doorway. Some of the cells have surprises in store for you. Just as you think a cell is empty, you realize the previous one wasn’t as empty as you first thought.
The second section is a zombie laser tag! I was very excited for this part, as I wasn’t expecting an interactive portion. While explaining the instructions, each member is given a laser gun to shoot with while walking through. Something I wish they would add in the future might be more actors in this section, both for scare factor and so there is more to take aim at. While this was a nice break from the intensity of the haunt, it was relatively short and empty. I had the most fun in this part of the night and I hope next year they bring a little more to it.
The final part is the slaughterhouse. What stood out the most here were the sections of complete darkness or overwhelming lights throwing off your vision. While these were interesting to walk through, I felt like a good majority of the walk was dark or extremely vision impairing. There were definitely some good scenes and actors in here, but it is mostly set to be disorienting. Overall, if you can handle the disorientation and gore, it’s so worth it!
At the end, outside of the attractions they have an open area with seats, cornhole, merchandise, and a bar. A few actors pass through here in between working the line, but for the most part it’s a scare free and fun filled area to relax and grab a drink. This was my first time at The Old Joliet Haunted Prison, and I can’t wait to see what they bring next year!
for tickets go to https://hauntedprison.com/
