Ghosts, murderers and zombies. Oh, my!
Halloween isn’t just about kids in costumes searching for candy. It’s also about scream-worthy outings for adults only. If you’re in need of a night out and want to get your spook on, start preparing now for these outings that guarantee an increased heart rate.
Haunted Houses
Head out to Rosemont for Disturbia: Screams in the Park, located in the basement of a parking garage. Then, make your way through Morton Grove’s 40,000-square-foot Fear City Chicago, which features more than 100 actors hiding in the shadows of a train tunnel, asylum and butcher shop. Don’t get that haunted house confused with The Fear Haunted House at Navy Pier. This year’s theme is Zombie Containment, so you can just imagine what’s waiting to jump out at you. There’s also the popular 13th Floor Haunted House, which has been featured on The Travel Channel and in USA Today. Your ticket gets you into two houses: The Rising and Dead End District.
Fans of good deals will also like this promo: Scream Scene in Skokie and Chicago’s The Catacombsand Hair Razor have teamed up to offer a Triple Fright Ticket. A limited number of Fast Past tickets can be purchased for $30 and allow admission into all three houses.
Ominous Outings
You can visit Chicago’s spookiest locales via Segway with Absolutely Chicago Segway Tours. You’ll start at Millennium Park and make your way to Buckingham Fountain, where you’ll learn about Al Capone’s haunted yacht and a haunted Michigan Avenue hotel. You’ll then visit Death Alley, the Chicago River and the former location of Fort Dearborn.
If you prefer bikes, take part in Bobby’s Fright Hike: Halloween Edition. You’ll ride through a former cemetery, visit the Chicago River and learn about Resurrection Mary, the Levee District, the Colombian Exposition and H.H. Holmes.
It’s popular to explore the Chicago River’s peculiar past around Halloween, so why not actually go out onto the water? You can with Seadog’s Haunted Tours, and you never know what you’ll see in the moonlight.
The North Shore also has its share of spooky spots. The Lake Bluff History Museum hosts theirGhost Walk every other year, so don’t miss out on discovering the town’s spooky past, including possible crop circles at Crab Tree Farms, UFO sightings and the disappearances of local residents. Then join the Evanston History Center and David Parr, co-star of The Magic Cabaret, on an interactive tour of Dawes House, where a different eerie experience awaits in every room.
Channel your inner Nancy Drew with Death at the Doo-Wop, a murder-mystery dinner at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre on Thursday, Oct. 30. There’s also a mystery to solve in Northbrook at Ruth’s Chris Steak House’s Masquerade Ball on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Finally, there will be more screams off rides than on them at Six Flags this month. Spend an evening at Fright Fest, where you’ll find thrills on roller coasters while also needing to keep an eye out for zombies. And don’t miss the six haunted houses and live shows taking place throughout the park.
Mysterious Museums
The Chicago History Museum is offering quite a few spooky treats this month. Take a walk through Graceland Cemetery, where you’ll see the graves of Marshall Field, Louis Sullivan, Potter and Bertha Palmer and George Pullman. Author Pamela Bannos will also be sharing secrets of Lincoln Park’s Chicago City Cemetery, including grave robbings and improper burials. You can even explore some of the city’s most well-known crime scenes on a bus tour led by historian Richard Lindberg. Find more information on all of these events and purchase tickets here.
The Glessner House Museum will take you on a haunted tour of Prairie Avenue, including a look into the mystery of Marshall Field Jr.’s death, the spirit in the William Kimball mansion and more.
And if you would rather stay inside, the Clarke House Museum and Lifeline Theatre are teaming up for staged readings of Edgar Allan Poe’s scariest stories on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 5 and 8 p.m. Just because you’re not outside, though, doesn’t mean things will be any less spooky.
