MSI Haunted House
In collaboration with Universal Studios and Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry (MSI), CSSI created a haunted maze at the museum for Halloween.

The experience begins in a marquee tent at ground level and takes guests through a hallway to the underground parking facility where the maze is housed. The premise is that visitors are venturing into an exhibit that was closed a long time ago in which the evil Dr. Sy Coddick tests the level of fear that the human body can withstand. The entrance to the maze is themed with actual MSI artifacts to add to the realism. Using two of Universal's haunted mazes in Los Angeles, Classic Monsters and The Mummy, as a base, CSSI created 20 scenes featuring classic monsters like Frankenstein and the Werewolf, along with scenes from Universal's hit movie The Mummy.

CSSI's joint venture partner, Ravenswood Special Events, ran operations and logistics, with Carrie Kennedy serving as the onsite operations manager. Gary Heitz was CSSI's project manager, Chris Wilson was the shop lead, and Tina Isaacson and Debbie Miller designed and built all the props. David Weiss of Universal provided the scripts and archive work that was used to develop the haunted experience. The maze was built with the help of Labrosse Ltd. and Ravenswood Studio. CSSI worked with Cathy Domanico and Chris Panek of MSI to complete the job under a very tight schedule and budget.

CSSI creates Fear at Navy Pier
Captain Fear and his crew once again took over Chicago's Navy Pier during October. Pirate ghosts haunt every corner of the Pier, and Fear's pet, Baby, once again staked his claim in the Head House.

Visitors are able to see Baby's blinking eyes, vicious claws, terrible tail and smoke-breathing snout. Those brave enough to continue are in for many more scares, like hundreds of pirate skeletons that are hanging both in and around the Pier.

With DeVar Creative's help, CSSI and joint venture partner Ravenswood Special Events further developed the Pier's haunted house this year. The storyline has changed, sending guests off on a very scary adventure on Captain Fear's haunted pirate ship. In the house's eight experiences, visitors run into all sorts of creepy creatures, and ultimately discover the curse of Fear's treasure. Transitions between rooms have also been expanded this year, allowing for even more scares.

Visitors get their first real glimpse of Captain Fear as they enter his ship. What seems like a painting on the wall mysteriously comes alive to the fearful surprise of the characters and guests. There are plenty of other creepy characters including Kelpy, an overgrown pile of seaweed, and a chef that is half human and half fish.

Along the way, they'll also run into a stowaway so desperate for Fear's treasure that he has been searching the ship for it for 20 years. The stowaway leads visitors to Fear's treasure room and decodes its complicated security system, only to have Captain Fear foil his plan by literally bursting onto the scene scaring everyone off the ship.

As the ultimate haunted house for families, it's tame enough for young kids, but clever enough to keep an adult's attention as well. Staff Designer Tom Ryan designed the haunted experience and all the Pier's Halloween decor.

Jekyll & Hyde Clubs scare Chicago and Texas silly
Adding yet another scary venue to its resume, CSSI built the dining room theming for the Jekyll and Hyde Club, a new Chicago destination. This project takes themed restaurants to a new level, with roaming costumed characters, two stage shows that play in the main dining room, a walk-through haunted house and more.

Working with Eerie World Entertainment, the restaurant's parent company, CSSI built the stage, rigging and all the scenery required for the live shows. CSSI also installed the show control systems in conjunction with Soundelux Showorks.

One of the many other themed areas CSSI created was the cryogenic mausoleum cases with preserved bodies and soffit lighting encased in pipes.

CSSI also served as the local scenic source for the Jekyll and Hyde Club, providing a scenic artist, signage and other last minute needs.

Project Manager John Beckman worked with Darren Clark and Mike Marte of Eerie World. Chris Wilson started off as the shop lead, but Mark Goeke picked up where he left off after Chris' wife had a baby. Curt Kucik, Nic Dimond and Eric Branson worked onsite with Mark to install our work for Crane Construction.

CSSI is doing it all over again at the club's next location in Grapevine, Texas, and hopes to continue as a partner with the Jekyll and Hyde Clubs as they expand nationwide.

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