The 5 Points Haunted House on Roosevelt Road in West Chicago, run by 18-year-old Miles McCabe and his parents, Jesse and Rachel, welcomed thrill-seekers to abandon all hope as they entered on opening night, Friday, Oct. 4.
The 5 Points Haunted House was built inside the old barn on Roosevelt Road. Though most of the “history” on the building on the 5 Points’ website is written to establish a sense of eeriness around the building, the McCabes did take some ideas from the barn’s history when they were building the sets inside the haunt.
The building is over a century old: originally, it was used as a barn for animals, but later on, it was converted into a nightclub and bowling alley. At some point, it was even converted into a motorcycle bar.
The reason the McCabes chose the building for their haunt was because they “really liked the layout” and how it would go about with their ideas for the sets.
5 Points Haunted House offers a “scare” and “no scare” option when it comes to buying tickets. The “scare” part includes the presence of actors, who are on-site from 7-11 p.m. and the “no scare” is just animatronics-based, and runs from 2-6 p.m.
General admission tickets are $25 and include the full experience with scares, animatronics, and actors. R.I.P. tickets (Really Important Person) are $40 and offer faster access to the haunt. ‘No scare’ tickets are $10 and exclude actors. A behind-the-scenes tour with Miles McCabe, aka ‘Brick Thunder,’ is $150 and offers a guided look at the haunt’s inner workings. Season passes are $50 for general access and $80 for R.I.P. access, covering all 2024 season dates and off-season in 2025.
The haunt begins with customers lining up on the right side of the building, where line actors pop up to scare or bother them until it is the guest’s turn for the real fun.
“I liked when the scare actors would kind of harass you in the line at the beginning. The line actors. I think their makeup was really good and they’re performance was pretty convincing,” Gwenneth Nika, a junior at West Chicago Community High School, said.
Inside, guests enter a maze resembling a fence covered in vines and creepy crawlers, facing jump scares and loud, soaring animatronics. Next, they are transported into an eerie, abandoned-looking house where surprises lurk around every corner.
After the house, the setting shifts to graveyards and cursed churches, leading to a spine-chilling surprise that just might turn prayers into screams.
More animatronics and unexpected scares await. Customers then enter a hotel-like room that could have them wishing they had never booked a stay. The experience continues in the basement with a series of events, from caged lab experiments and a mad scientist to a murderous restaurant hostess and psycho chef who appears less than pleased with anyone entering his kitchen.
“The Pope church scene was my fav. The pig scene [was] scary cause they actually chased you [and] ran up to you,” Jacky Gonzalez, a sophomore at WEGO, said.
The haunt ends as customers exit the kitchen and walk into the gift shop, where they encounter more animatronics, Halloween-themed movies, Brick Thunder, and 5 Points merchandise.
“I thought it was really good overall, and the anticipation from waiting at the beginning made it alot better and more scary,” Nika said after attending opening night.
Several WCCHS students obtained seasonal jobs at 5 Points, including David Alvarez, a sophomore. Alvarez worked all three nights of the 5 Points opening.
“It went great. The rooms were outstanding, and the people and environment [are] awesome sauce,” Alvarez said.
Opening weekend was hectic for the McCabes and 5 Points staffers as on the opening day, as a fog machine caused a false alarm resulting in a visit from the fire department, which caused a delay in the opening. The rest of the weekend, however, seemed to go by smoothly for the McCabes and 5 Points staff.
“I think opening weekend went good! Even with a couple of hiccups, the overall energy and responses of the guests were fantastic. It may have been exhausting, but we can’t wait to do it all over again,” Miles’ mom, Rachel, said.
