Places we like - if we go there and we like it, you'll read about it or see it here.

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Review by Jim Dvorak

Dedicated to the memory of Mr. Tuxedo.

 

           Tucked back behind some buildings in a quiet little town in the middle of nowhere, at the end of a dead end street and right across from an old cemetery sits the strangest and creepiest looking house you may have ever seen. The people in town tell stories of this house being haunted. Inside, a man and a woman live alone and it has been said that on some nights, screams can be heard coming from within. Sounds like the beginning of a creepy ghost story or old time Horror movie doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. It is in fact the literal truth. I know this you see because I have seen it. I have been inside….and you can too.

           Nineteen years ago I took a road trip to Mt Carroll, IL. Where I had heard exists a year round Haunted House. What I found was something the likes of which I had never seen or experienced before. This was no ordinary Haunted House attraction like you can find in any strip mall or mini golf course all through the month of October. This was something very different all together. What I found was an actual house with hallways and rooms and hidden passages that led to who knew where. You were taken on a guided tour by the strange man that claimed to own the house and shown things that you would never forget. Then, when you found yourself in one of the top floor bedrooms, if you dared to sit on the bed, it would collapse and send you shooting down a pitch black slide only to find yourself in the wine cellar. Who could forget an experience like this? I tell you that I couldn’t and continued to tell people about it to this very day.

           Which brings us to the present. It has been several years since I was at “Raven’s Grin” and now we have things that we didn’t then such as the internet and facebook. I began running this little website where we Suggest and Review things that we think are cool to people, and with Halloween approaching, I saw this as an excuse to head back to “Raven’s Grin.” It had been so long, was it still there? Would it still be the same? I needed to find out and much to my pleasure I found their website and facebook page. I wanted more than just a tour this time; I wanted to talk to the man behind the House and all the creepiness within. I found an e-mail to contact “Raven’s Grin” and wrote with my request. Jim Warfield, the owner operator wrote me back and invited me to come take the tour and have a chat with him. A couple of weeks later I set out on this two hour road trip alone to meet the man behind the Haunted House I had been so amazed by nineteen years earlier. I couldn’t help but feel like Jonathon Harker as he took his long trip to have a meeting with one Count Dracula at his place of residence. I arrived in the late afternoon and pulling up to the house at the end of the dead ended Carroll St.; it looked much as I had remembered. I was met by a very kind and outgoing couple Named Jim and Jessica Warfield and they invited me in to their strange and eerie looking house for a chat. In honesty I felt like the fly being invited to the web by the spiders but that was part of the fun of this experience…..wasn’t it?

             Sitting down with Jim and Jessica, in a macabre front room that seemed to be right out of “The House of 1000 Corpses,” I learned some things about the house, its history and how it came to be what it is today. Built in 1870, the house at 411 N. Carroll St. has been a school house, a bordello, a Speak Easy Tavern, an Inn and an apartment house. Jim, whom had built haunted houses in has parent’s basement as a child, purchased the house 25 years ago with the idea of building one on a much grander scale. Buying the house for around $3000, it was at the time condemned and in need of much work, all of which Jim did himself. Living in the house, his original plan was to run it as a haunted house for a couple of years and then change it over to a Haunted Bed and Breakfast. Learning from the people in town that this house was believed to be truly haunted, it would seem as though all the pieces were falling into place. After attempting the Bed and Breakfast idea for a bit, Jim discovered that there were too many regulations required that were just going to be impossible to accommodate. This coupled with people that were just too plain frightened or freaked out to stay the entire night, it was decided that a year round Haunted House was the way to go. Today, Jim and his bride Jessica live in the house giving tours to any that dare to come and experience the Horror/Fun house. I asked them point blank if the house is truly haunted. Jim said matter of factly “If you believe in that stuff, yes.” He then proceeded to tell me stories of his experiences in the house and Jessica had several to share of her own. I could share some with you here but Jim will tell you many of them at the beginning of the tour and he is a much better story teller than I. What I will tell you is to keep an eye open for the lady in white. Many have seen her and she is not part of the show. I suggest that if you see her, say “Hello Eileen.” and be on your merry way. Even employees of the house have been known to run out screaming because of things they have seen behind them in mirrors or being tugged on by something that isn’t there.

            What to expect: This is not your average run of the mill “get em in, get em out” Haunted House. Jim and Jessica believe in story, atmosphere and taking time with the customers. The tour is given in an old world showmanship kind of way by Jim who will make you laugh and creep you out at the same time. (All of which seems to come very naturally for the man.) You will not find Freddy and Jason here and there will be no chainsaw guy at the end. This is an experience that takes you through corridors, hidden passageways, in and out of several different rooms, through the back yard and down slides. You may get startled, you may get scared, most importantly you are guaranteed to smile and have a good time. And who knows, with a little luck, you may even see something that was not planned for you to see. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I think this place is GREAT and Suggest it for anyone looking to do something a little different and a little spooky.

            As you may expect, October is the busiest time for “Raven’s Grin” and I personally suggest going any other month of the year. The wait will be shorter, the tour may be longer, and sometimes we need to get our fright on during other seasons as well. On weekend afternoons they offer “Toned Down” tours for children to come and enjoy the house as well. It is a type of funhouse after all and with the fright reduced can be a great time for younger children.

            “Raven’s Grin” also offers a Hide-N-Seek experience where you can bring a group of up to ten people and have the run of the house for up to three hours if you desire. Play hide and seek or just walk around, look at stuff and scare your friends. Ouija anyone?

 

Raven’s Grin is located at 411 N Carroll St. Mt Carroll, IL 61053.  Ph# 815-244-4746

 

Visit “Raven’s Grin” on line at www.hauntedravensgrin.com and visit their facebook page at Raven’s Grin Inn.

 

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