2003 Year in Review

Asylum of Mad Dreams

Skeleton in spider web.

Body in a freezer

Skeleton in coffin

New Vortex Tunnel, the room starts spinning as you walk through.

Arnie and Mitch Drolema love to scare people. That’s their job at Asylum of Mad Dreams. It all started back in 1996 after the Jaycee’s disbanded. The Jaycee’s put together the haunted house for several years and Mitch helped as a member. They used Arnie Drolema’s barn on Orange Street for the haunted house so it was only natural for Arnie and his son, Mitch, to take over when they stopped.

Every year they make changes in the haunted house. Keeping it fresh brings people back to see what has changed. This year’s house is 75% different than last, it may be the same concept but something has been changed: like new doors, walls, props, or exits. They bought a truckload of new props in Colorado and added 2 rooms to make a total of 26. The two new rooms are the smoke room and an all white maze with a strobe. They’ve changed the lighting in some rooms and brought the riddle room back. The biggest change is the purchase of a Vortex Tunnel. Walk up the step into a rotating tunnel and watch the room start to spin. If you get motion sickness you may have to walk through it with their eyes closed but if you can go on any ride at Six Flags, you’ll love it.

"Our purpose is to scare people, not gross them out,” Mitch explained. He is one of 14-20 people that enjoy working the rooms. Expect to be surprised by someone in every room. They may jump from anywhere. The clown room can be really scary for anyone that is afraid of clowns. Otherwise there is chainsaw wheedling, air sprays, and people jumping out which makes the whole experience scary. Haunted houses are very popular now with young and old. In fact, there is a web site dedicated to just haunted houses in Illinois. People travel all over to tour different houses and Asylum of Mad Dreams brings people in from many communities.

October 3 will be the opening night for the Asylum. Their hours are 7 pm to midnight on weekends. For a full list of their nights and times check out their new web site at the end of this page.

The house takes about 35 minutes to go through and there could be 1 to 1-1/2 hour wait on the busiest nights. It’s best to visit early in the season or weeknights for the shortest waits. In past years, there was a long line but starting last year everyone pays for their tickets, gets a number, and a time to come back. Seahorse Swim Club sets up a concession stand at the barn and Halloween or scary movies will be playing.

The house is geared toward older children and adults but every year they turn on the lights and open the house to younger people after the Saturday afternoon Halloween Parade. This year the parade will be the afternoon of October 25 and all proceeds from the afternoon will be donated to Morrison Veteran’s Memorial.

For more information check out these web sites:

Asylum of Mad Dreams

Haunted Illinois

by Barb Benson, theCity1.com
September 29, 2003