Hells Gate Review 2023

Hells Gate Review 2023

On October 19, we visited Hells Gate. The haunt is located in Lockport deep in the woods but to get there you need to take a bus. The bus parking is located at 301 W. 2nd Street, Lockport IL 60441. From there, the bus will pick you up and take you deep into the woods. Prices for this event are as follows. General Admission $37 online, at the box office is $42. Vip is a shorter wait, that goes for $55 online and at the box office is $60. Instant Access, which is no wait, is $70  online and box office is $75. All Access is $150 online and $200 at the box office. All Access includes one Instant Access ticket, one Hells Gate t-shirt, a backstage tour of Hells Gate and a photo of you with your favorite character. All ticket prices, both online or at the box office come with a fee, so remember that when buying your tickets. So after you get off the bus, redeem at the ticket counter or buy your tickets there. 

So as we arrived we immediately saw a lot of actors walking around.  Hells Gate has a little bar by the entrance as well where we saw Sharky, Witch Doctor, Scraps, and so many more working the line nearby. We didn’t get a chance to meet all of our favorites because business was picking up at Hells Gate as buses were arriving. We did however bring a teddy bear to calm our nerves, but then Fluffy came around. If you do not know who Fluffy is, he is an escaped inmate from Statesville Haunted Prison who is hiding out in the mansion with his friends. Fluffy loves teddy bears. Karen knew how much he loves bears, so she handed it to him as a gift from the Halloween Blast crew. He ripped it apart, gutting it to put on a fence with the rest of his stuffed animals. It’s always good to see our friends again, but it was time to find the mansion in the woods.

As we followed the trail, we realized a couple of new things. One was when you first walked into the forest. They placed Jack-o-lanterns all over and even made an arch of pumpkins which was a really cool, nice touch. As we walked the trail we came across some small cabins,but then came across a bigger, scarier looking cabin. This looks and feels like a real cabin! It had a table and chairs with a massive moose head hanging on the wall! Then we saw a cellar all chained up with a white light flashing from the floorboards. Someone was trying to bash their way out of the cellar doors. I thought it was time to leave before something bad happens. As we walk the path through the woods and into the Cemetery, we have to point out that the haunters (a.k.a. actors) did a fantastic job of hiding and waiting for the right moment to attack! We were very impressed! We are going to jump ahead so we don’t give away the whole trail part.

So we finally arrived at the mansion. If you have never been to Hells Gate we won’t spoil the opening. If you have, then you already know about the twins. What is so cool about this haunt is you try to escape the darkness before it consumes you. You see the twins throughout the Mansion, which is a really nice touch to the story telling. If you do not know the story of Hells Gate, I strongly recommend you visit their website or visit their youtube page to see what is going on, because it all ties into the story of Hells Gate and you actually get to become the story by trying to escape and survive the darkness. You go through many secret passages and through walls. One cool room you go through is the doll room. This room is full of dolls, from top to bottom. You have big dolls to small dolls. Easter egg, the little doll house is actually the Mansion you’re walking through which again is such a great touch to detail! The last room we will touch on is the darkness. After all the running from the darkness, you hit the core of everything going on. Let me tell you, the Zombie Army crew did an excellent job! You look around and there are just oozes of black darkness everywhere; even the floor you step on is like the darkness is trying to suck you in. It is not just like, “oh, let’s throw some black paint here and call it the darkness cave”. No, they made it look and feel like this is the center of everything bad that is going on, like a portal has opened up and it is taking over the house!

We can go on and on about the details of the rooms, but then what would be the point of you going? In the very beginning of Hells Gate’s early days, the creator John Laflamboy said, “It’s not just a haunt, it is an adventure!”. Over the years, they have added more and more to the story. You have now become part of the story by going deep into the woods…walking through the cemetery…all of it leading up to the Mansion which is getting taken over by the darkness you have to escape. It was a whole adventure from start to finish! Now the acting is always on point, but this year if you’re in the front, middle or back, no matter where you are they will get you because they just don’t go for the front, they do every single part of the line. If you think, “hey, I’m in the middle, they won’t get me”, you are wrong my friend! They have it down to the minute of when to pop out, then they will reset. So if they get the front, they disappear and will circle back to get the last person as well. We are blown away how great the pop out scares have gotten. If anyone from Hells Gate reads this and you’re a haunter…you did a phenomenal job! Can you escape the darkness, survive the trail? Come find HellsGate!