Unfortunately, we weren't able to go in, as it's apparently closed until further notice? But just walking around the outside is soooooooo cool. Think American Horror Story meets Rob Zombie. Would have loved to have taken a tour, but will probably never be back up around here.

Only open around Halloween, but it's weird just walking around the place when you visit the vet. Been there for many years, but apparently stiil a draw at Halloween.

We showed up close to 10pm on a Tuesday night. While I knew this was some sort of haunted house that had been around for 25 years, I didn't know much beyond that. It's really awesome that photos aren't allowed inside, because the surprise is such an element of the entire experience. We had three hours of laughs, thrills and chills with Jim. Sometimes he talks so quick that you lose the thread of the story, but wow, he keeps the energy going and you never have any idea of what is coming next. I won't share too much so that you can experience the surprises, too. The geeky side of me particularly enjoyed the historical background on the town, as well as the explanation of the landscape. I feel bad for people who have complained about Raven's Grin Inn! I imagine them to be sad and boring people. I don't know how anyone could go here and experience Jim's magical creation and not find it to be impressive! I can't wait to go back.

I am not aware of any site that is anything like Raven's Grin Inn. As some reviews and websites mention, it is more fun house than haunted house, so I advise people looking to be scared to look elsewhere or else tone down their expectations of being frightened. I arrived a few minutes before 7 PM on a Thursday, and I got in on the first tour of the evening with a family just in front of me and a couple that came a few minutes later. A party of three agreed to link up with us after we'd already gone through the long-ish intro in the first room. A few minutes before 9, our tour was over. Therefore, unless you want to wait a fairly long time, I suggest you show up by opening time or else plan on knocking on the window about 90 minutes after opening to indicate your interest, as you likely would get in on the second tour of the evening. As for the experience: there's lots to see, read, digest, and listen to. The owner must expend a lot of energy each day, because he talks and acts a lot. The house is creatively repurposed into a strange mix of bends, slides, doors, and so on. There is lots of personal and local history included, but over time I would say Jim shares more jokes and anecdotes than long-form stories; those are saved for the beginning. Even if a lot of the humor doesn't appeal to you, I think you could be impressed by a man's labor of love and source of fun, so it's not likely to be a waste of your time. Sidebar: the little downtown has some stunning buildings, hills, and charm, so you can use the site as an excuse to get to know Mount Carroll if you don't already know it. Bonus? Savanna, IL is on the Mississippi River about a 15-minute drive away.

I must compliment the owner -- our group did need to adjust the visit schedule and he willingly did so, however we were all disappointed in the experience. The opening video was confusing, his spooky stories lasted too long prior to our walk through the house and the walk itself was not as spooky as we hoped.