On Oct. 22, nine Bishop Noll student teenagers attended the Haunted Hills Hospital Haunted House in Merrillville to have fun and make memories out of this event. 

According to the Haunted Hills Hospital Haunted House website, it is known that this haunted house is Chicagoland’s best haunted house and the scariest one in Indiana as well. After getting your wristband, they ask for one of the group’s phone numbers, so they can receive a message about when they are allowed to go in. Walking inside, there is a food court, bathrooms, and extra activities such as an escape room. 

There is no specific time to get through it since it is at your own pace, but according to one of the workers, it takes at least twenty minutes. 

Talking to an actor, she said that this year, the land is shorter, because they wanted eight acres of land and instead only got five. The haunted house’s location used to be in Crown Point, but even though the location has changed, their commitment to scare their audience has not. They couldn’t get many actors due to Covid, so they are hoping next year it is much more frightening.

Walking inside there is a man rushing you to get in for then you can start your journey through the park. You’re always walking outside, so they recommend not wearing your favorite pair of shoes unless you don’t mind getting mud on them. The whole theme is just as if you were in a hospital, but there could be a few clowns or girls asking if you either had candy or wanted to play with them. Their actors would talk to you, chase you, or mess around with you saying they want something of yours. 

“I chose to go to the Haunted Hills Hospital, because since last year when Covid hit and everything was shut down no haunted houses, or any amusement park for that matter was open, so this year with precaution, my friends and I decided that it would be a fun idea to go to one”, said sophomore Gizzel Hernandez. “It has been a good while since we have all been able to gather and go to haunted houses.”

When getting invited to go to the haunted house, sophomore Jazmin Sierra, had emotions running everywhere in her head.

“Well in the beginning I was actually excited because I was going to get to spend time with friends”, she said. “On the other hand, I was also nervous since haunted houses aren’t really my thing.”

“My standards were set pretty high since we weren’t able to attend one due to Covid,” Hernandez said. “We also did some research on the haunted house and it did seem to be pretty entertaining. I thought everyone would have a good time, and they did!”

Visitors can buy their tickets online or at the box office for $20. For a quick pass through the line, visitors can pay $10-15 more.

The closer it is to Halloween, the longer the lines are but the staff tries to keep it to under an hour wait.

“For my friend group, there were 4 girls and 5 boys that went, which is quite a few, but that made it more exciting. We all pushed each other so we wouldn’t be in the back”, says Sierra. “Overall in the park, there were a lot of people, so we waited in line for almost an hour.”

Haunted Hills Hospital Haunted House is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 6:30 p.m. until 12AM. For 2021, since the haunted house will be held outdoors, always dress accordingly for the weather. 

“My friends and I had fun! We were laughing, screaming, and some even crying. It was truly one of the best nights of my life, and I would most definitely go again,” says Sierra.