2010 Ghost Tours Of Kemper Center Event Reviews

Went on a Sunday night and was only able to do the tour and not the haunted house. The site never tells you that there are times when it is only the tour and not the house. The tour was okay but having just come from another house it was a giant letdown. The tour guides are great in keeping with the spirit of the tour but sometimes get in the way of the effects. Very low scare factor with actors just jumping out and screaming "get out" at you. The rundown look of the building provided a factor of fear but would have been so much better if they had played the actors and effects more low key so you could have thought you saw something in the shadows. More shadows, more lighting effects and more low key would have made this "real" haunted building so much more.

This event was really enjoyable.

It may not be clear in the haunt's listing here, but there are actually two separate events at the same location.

One is the Ghost Tour. This was really fun, and it was great to go through a historical building that had a natural element of creepiness to it. The spiral staircase was incredible to look down, and one could definitely see a person jumping top their death from the top of it.

Constructive criticism, some of the security guards could have been spruced up with some simple face paint just to keep the haunted atmosphere going. It's hard to get scared when you see big security guards there ready to keep people safe. Some face painting could help counteract this.

Also, as with the 2nd event at this location, the acting could use a little work. Screaming "get out" is a bit cliche. Perhaps the bride would beg men passing by to marry her, and accuse women passing by of trying to steal her mate. Perhaps the Durkee Mansion woman could try to get passerbys to sit with her for some blood tea. Taking a little time to develop a character for each actor would help immensely. Anything other than "get out."

The 2nd event was the haunted house which was put on by some kind of teenager charity organization. There was some really great stuff going on here. It was really impressive, I only wish it had been longer.

The waiting area had some gravestones set up, but could probably use a bit more decoration to help get the mood going right away. Maybe some weird lighting or cobwebs or fog. Maybe some actors opening windows and yelling at the crowd. The tiki torches were a nice touch, did you know that they make tiki torches that have green and purple fire? Just a thought.

One of the best parts was the 4 trolls that wait by the gate under the building. These guys were really decked out. I had to get my picture taken with them they looked so great. Great acting from them too.

They have an area that sells hot drinks, sodas and popcorn and candy. That was good.

Not sure how this can be taken care of, but there was a problem with guests using their cell phones as flashlights through really dark areas in the haunted house, particularly the mazes. This always lessens the experience.

Also regarding the fear rating, I'm thinking the fear rating , it may be a bit more scary than the event has set their fear rating at. At least I thought so.

Really great stuff here though. Definitely check it out if you're in the area!