Happy Valentine's Day.
The psychopath in this scenario goes by the name "The Bear Butcher" and he's the suit-wearing star of 13th Floor's Valentine X in Melrose Park. The haunted house is one of a handful in the Chicago-area opening for Valentine's Day weekend along with Basement of the Dead in Aurora, The Massacre in Montgomery and Psychosis in Elgin.
"We decided to (open) because romance and horror just go together," said 13th Floor spokesperson Kaitlyn Jaffke. "Lots of people go on dates to haunted houses. It's a couple thing to squeeze the other person to make them feel comfortable in a scary situation. Additionally, it's something different to do."
That's for sure. A haunted house on Valentine's provides a unique alternative to the standard dinner and overpriced cocktails date.
This is the first year Basement of the Dead will open for Valentine's. Owner Todd Baraniak said much of the haunt's Halloween season decor and characters have been altered in order to provide a new experience. He added that guests will be given a glow in the dark rose to help guide them through the dark haunt.
"Everybody is now looking for things to do in the offseason," said Baraniak, who regrets not opening for Valentine's in past years. "Some of the (haunts) own the buildings they're in. If you've got the space, why not use it? It's something people are craving. October just isn't enough."
The Massacre opened for two days in December with a Christmas-themed haunt. And like 13th Floor and Basement of the Dead, Massacre uses part of its space for laser tag in the Halloween offseason. Now my favorite haunt in 2014 is taking on Valentine's in the space currently not used by its Massacre Tactical Laser Tag.
"For these types of events, you don't have 2,000-3,000 people a night like you do during Halloween -- you have 400-500 a night," said Massacre owner Ryan Burke. "So you get to spend more time with the guests. We added a lot of passageways (for Valentine's). There's no set path and the actors will mess with you and send you in the wrong direction. You can get lost in there for an hour."
(What better test for a relationship than getting lost together? If you and your significant other can get lost for an hour or so without arguing over which path to take or whose fault it is that you're lost, you might as well marry that person, if you haven't already.)
Burke said Massacre didn't open on Valentine's in the past because he normally had the sets torn down and the space cleared out after Halloween. Massacre moved to a new location in 2014 and is on a 15 year lease, so opening on Valentine's just made sense.
"You still need to pay bills," Burke said. "Bills don't stop when you're closed."
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