Is There A Too Scary Money Back Haunted House In Illinois?

Have you ever heard about a haunted house in Illinois that is so scary that you get your money back if you make it all the way through?

The classic novel, Moby Dick, tells the story of a ship captain and his obsession to find the white whale.

For several years during the month of October, my white whale was a haunted house in Illinois. You may be thinking... really? you were obsessed with a haunted house? Well, this one was special.

According to the stories, I heard at school. The cost was $100. It was in a twenty story building and so scary if you made it all the way through your money would be refunded.

Of course, I could never find out its exact location. Many people heard of it, but no one had ever been there. With no internet, websites, and social media, it was really hard to track down. It was always, somewhere around Chicago.

I remember meeting people from other towns that also heard of it, but with no real information. Then in college, I met people from other states. They knew about this unique haunted house too, but their version was in their state and town.

After so many years, I forgot about it. Recently, I've been thinking about haunted houses. There are so many awesome ones out there now. It reminded me of my "white whale" one that I never found.

Now I can use the internet to help with my research. Here is what I found.

According to hauntedillinois.com,

"For years there have been rumors circulating of a multi-level haunted house, in the Chicagoland area, that gives you your money back if you make it to the top. Throughout the years, there have been numerous variations of this tall tale. The most popular version that I have heard is the account of a 13 story haunted house in Chicago that costs $100 to get in, where you get your money back if you make it to the top." 

"Not one of these stories have ever been substantiated. No matter what variation of the story you hear, the circumstances are always the same. The person telling you about the haunted house has never gone to it themselves and they don't know exactly where it is located. A 'friend of theirs' or someone that their friend knows went to it... No matter who you question, no can ever give any concrete details."

"The premise of these stories has been a popular Urban Legend in Northern Illinois for as long as I can remember. No one has ever been able to provide proof of the existence of such a haunted house. If someone tells you of a haunted house like this but has never been there themselves and they can't tell you where it is, it is probably a hoax and doesn't exist."

I even checked snopes.com to see if they had anything about it. Guess what? They did.

"The “too-horrifying-to-complete haunted house that refunds money” tale has been heard as a local legend in Oklahoma, Georgia, Oregon, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Tennessee, and North Carolina."

Just as I suspected, it was just an urban legend.

Did you ever hear a version of this Halloween myth?

Even though I knew it wasn't true, part of me wished I never really found out for sure.