Haunted houses 2023: Our 18 must-scares this Halloween season
The nights are falling earlier, the calendar creeps toward October and haunted houses are opening for their bloody business across the Chicago area. There are even a few new ones this year — and whether or not you’ve heard of Raven’s Grin Inn in Mount Carroll, read on.
We’ve updated this list with a report from Terror Roulette and a new location for “House of the Exquisite Corpse.”
Old Joliet Haunted Prison
For a haunted house, you couldn’t ask for a better venue than the imposing, gothic towers and high stone walls of the former Joliet Correctional Center, built some 160 years ago. Old Joliet Haunted Prison is put on by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group. There are two different haunts, plus escape rooms and Zombie Laser Tag and the on-site bars (ages 21+) Commissary and Neon Cowboy Secret Bar.
Open through Nov. 4, with additional weekdays from Oct. 18, at 401 Woodruff Road, Joliet; tickets $19.99 to $89.99 and more information at 815-581-1598 and hauntedprison.com
Hellsgate Haunted House
This haunt off the beaten path in a mansion in the woods is put on by the pros at Zombie Army Productions. You take a shuttle bus into the Hellsgate grounds from the parking lot; the scares start before you get to the front door. Inside, expect multiple floors and a giant slide. Also for 2023, follow Hellsgate on Instagram, find that night’s “key master” and you’ll win a key for free admission. For a $125 “Hell Pass,” says Hellsgate, “we will mark your friend or family member as our personal target for the entire tour.” So that could be fun.
Open Sept. 29 to Nov. 4 at 301 W. 2nd Street, Lockport; tickets from $37 and more information at 605-301-4283 and hellsgate.com
Terror Roulette
From Tribune writer Darcel Rockett: The experience of this new haunt in South Barrington is one to make the trip for. According to Terror Roulette, “visitors may be touched, guided, held back, set on a different path or even removed from their group.” That made me a bit apprehensive, as did the fact that “Roulette” staff made it a point to separate groups of friends who came together for the 40-minute adventure. But once you’re in the moment, that doesn’t really seem to factor in.
Come with an open mind, willing to embrace the chaos as staff corrals you and puts you on various paths. The various rooms of spook include a space with stuffed dolls being played with by an overgrown baby, with a mother bent on having visitors engage with said baby. There’s a room wherein a member of your group is sent to the electric chair, and a room where sadistic clowns get up close and personal with sticky syringes.
Decision-making has a sort of choose-your-own adventure feel as members of your group separate and come back together. The maze of rooms begins with a blackjack dealer doling out a single card to each participant, one that is worn on a lanyard around your neck. If you have a face card, go one way, if you have a numbered card, go another. And if at any given time the scares become a bit too much, just yell the word “rabbit” three times and get whisked to a safe exit (sans refund).
Chainsaws, unethical medical professionals, coffins ... the macabre settings make for some great conversation afterwards. The great thing is that you can go in more than once and have a completely different experience. You may want to bring wet wipes with you to clean up afterward. If you’d rather enter with a “no touch” rule in place, that is an option when you buy your ticket.
Open Sept. 29 to Oct. 31 at 100 W. Higgins Road #J-40 at the Arboretum of South Barrington; tickets from $42. Reservations and signed waivers required. Guardians must sign waivers for participants up to age 17. You must be 16+ to enter the attraction without an adult. Call 585-483-7767 at least 48 hours before your visit to discuss ADA accessibility options. More information at terrorroulette.com
Basement of the Dead
This popular haunted house near the Hollywood Casino in Aurora has Basement of the Dead and Shattered 3D Nightmare next door — the latter is in its final season this year. From Darcel Rockett’s visit in 2022: “The duration of the scary fun was longer than most, mainly due to the tight turns and angles, and the animatronic monsters and dummies jumping from the walls. While the actors interspersed among the scary effects couldn’t touch you, it felt and looked like any of the creepy crawlies that were triggered by movement could.” Select Wednesdays in October have Nights of Isolation from 7-9 p.m., with just the haunt, no actors. Nov. 3-4 are Blackout Nights with just a glowstick to light your way.
Open through Nov. 4 at 42 W. New York St., Aurora; tickets from $19.99 and more information at 630-896-2466 and basementofthedead.com
13th Floor Haunted House
This is the 10th season in the Chicago area for the big-budget haunt put on by the Denver-based Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group. From the Tribune’s Zareen Syed last season: “Much to the delight of my husband and cousins whose threshold of scary is ‘The Exorcist,’ I was screaming and screeching at every turn. But not really because it was horrifying, but because the anticipation wrecked me. And even if you’re not shaken out of your soul, you’ll be impressed with the over-the-top ghoulish décor and carefully curated rooms filled with cut-open bodies, the unnerving clown from the movie ‘It’ and a cackling witch.”
Open through Nov. 5, including most weekdays from Oct. 9, at 5050 River Road, Schiller Park; tickets $29.99 to $84.99 and more information at 708-571-3326 and 13thfloorchicago.com
Fright Fest at Six Flags Great America
Come for the scares, stay for the rides, or the other way around. The park is family-friendly until 6 p.m., then the monsters come out. In addition to the Scare Zones and Rides in the Dark, there are six haunted houses this year, including one based on the movie “Saw X.”
Open through Oct. 31, including Thursdays from Oct. 19, at 1 Great America Parkway, Gurnee; tickets from $45, with a Haunt Pass from $65, and more information at 847-249-4636 and sixflags.com
Disturbia Haunted House
Disturbia is back for 2023 in Downer’s Grove, a warehouse-like companion haunt to Basement of the Dead. Select Wednesdays in October have Nights of Isolation from 7-9 p.m., with just the haunt, no actors. Nov. 3-4 are Blackout Nights.
Open through Nov. 4 at 1213 Butterfield Road, Downers Grove; tickets from $19.99, and more information at 630-896-2466 and hauntedhousedisturbia.com
Nightmare on Clark Street
Back for its second Halloween season inside the Bamboo Club in Wrigleyville, Nightmare on Clark Street is a haunted house spread out over three floors, plus the amenities of the year-round bar and restaurant. According to the Tribune’s Lauryn Azu from 2022′s inaugural season, the staggered entrance times meant “my friend and I explored the haunt with privacy for the majority of our visit. In all, expect about 20 minutes of terror.”
Open through Oct. 31 at 3505 N. Clark St.; tickets from $20 (ages 16+, anyone under age 18 must be accompanied by a paid adult), and more information at 833-466-3758 and nightmareonclarkst.com
Dungeon of Doom
This sprawling haunted house in Zion, boasting 45,000 square feet, has a new Sanctuary and Dead Clown Alley for 2023 among eight themed spaces in all. Plus Buried Alive Experience and Blackout Nights Nov. 3-4, and Sub-Thermal Nightmare is coming in December.
Open Sept. 29 to Nov. 4 at 600 29th St., Zion; tickets from $24.99 and more information at 847-262-3666 and dungeonofdoom.com
Midnight Terror Haunted House
This haunt is in a warehouse space just across from Chapel Hill Garden South Cemetery. From Tribune writer Darcel Rockett’s visit in 2022: “There’s evil dentists, doctors, wretched classrooms, ice cream shop vendors — actors popping forth from the walls to scream in your ear when you turn a corner. But the best parts of the haunted experience are the areas that force you to almost crabwalk through darkened passageways that have you wondering if you are claustrophobic.” Clown Takeover from 7-10 p.m. Nov. 3-4.
Open Sept. 29 to Nov. 4 at 5520 W. 111th St., Oak Lawn; tickets $30-$67 and more information at 708-571-0266 and midnightterrorhauntedhouse.com
The Massacre
This longtime west suburban haunt has a new Torture Chamber for 2023. If it’s a dark and stormy night, all waiting areas and haunts are indoors. Plus Mind Trap Escape Rooms and Bull & Bear Axe Throwing at the same location.
Open Sept. 29 to Nov. 4 at 299 Montgomery Road, Montgomery; tickets from $24.99 and more information at 708-320-3327 and fearthemassacre.com
Realm of Terror
A longtime haunt, running for more than 20 years. Plus a Haunt Bar (ages 21+), mini escape rooms and nearby attractions at Kristof’s Entertainment Center.
Open Sept. 29 to Oct. 29 at 421 W. Rollins Road in Round Lake Beach; tickets from $25.99 and more information at 847-270-8061 and realmofterror.com
Evil Intentions
Located in the home of the former Elgin Casket Co. (really), Evil Intentions is a “multilevel 55,000-square-foot paranormal hot spot.” (The ghost tours offered in past years are off this season.)
Open Sept. 29 to Oct. 31 at 900 Grace Street, Elgin; tickets from $35 and more information at 630-634-2858 and eihaunt.com
Hayride of Horror
In the outdoor attractions Hayride of Horror and Curse of the Bayou in Dellwood Park in Lockport, journey by wagon or on trails by foot through the darkness — darkness interrupted by monsters, mazes and strobe lights. Weather permitting, and you can wait your turn by the bonfire or watch scary movies on an outdoor screen.
Open Sept. 29 to Oct. 28 at 199 E. Woods Drive, Lockport; tickets from $15 and more information at lockportpark.org
Monster Purge
Not a haunted house, this is a paintball zombie hunt from a 45-foot monster truck bus, roaming the graveyards of the Kane County Fairgrounds.
Open Sept. 29 to Oct. 29 behind Kane County Fairgrounds at 525 S. Randall Road, St. Charles (use the entrance on Oak Street from Randall Road); tickets from $29.95 and more information at monsterpurge.com
‘House of the Exquisite Corpse III’
A creepy experience with a dramatic twist. Rough House Theatre’s third annual Halloween show runs most of October. Through puppetry, performances, illusion and horror, “Exquisite Corpse” tells a story through chapters such as “The Difficulty of Proof in Cases of Arsenic Poisoning,” “The Dangers of Rebreathed Air” and “Advantages of the Removal of The Sick,” all inspired by the 1883 book “Our Homes and How to Keep Them Healthy,” by Robert Brudenell Carter. Audiences enter in small groups via timed entries. “Once inside,” according to Rough House, “they must brave its dark halls, stopping at each room to spy through keyholes, cracks, and hidden doors to see the horrors happening within.”
Through Oct. 31 at Steppenwolf’s Merle Reskin Garage Space, 1624 N. Halsted St.; tickets $21-$46 and more information at roughhousetheater.com
‘Splatter Theatre 2023’
A Halloween tradition at Annoyance Theatre for more than 30 years. The formula is simple, start each performance with freshly painted white walls and a stage ready for anything. Enter cliché horror movie characters, “each murdered in wildly creative and bloody ways.” For fans of slasher films in particular.
Select nights through Oct. 31 at Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave.; tickets from $25 and more information at theannoyance.com
Raven’s Grin Inn
If you’ve long been an Illinois haunted house devotee, you know the name Raven’s Grin Inn. In an era of big-budget ticketed attractions stocked with the best and latest animatronics and scare effects that money can buy, Raven’s Grin Inn is something else entirely. A labor of love for owner Jim Warfield since 1987, this legendary haunt has taken over a house in Mount Carroll, west of Rockford. The house has been standing since 1870 (and looks it), and is purported to be actually haunted. Inside, his overstuffed creation is open for tours by appointment, and he and his wife Jessica have been giving them all year round for years, not just on Halloween.
A couple of weeks ago, Warfield announced on social media that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and both his and the house’s future were uncertain. “I will keep doing what I can do for as long as I am able,” Warfield posted in part. “For the moments I may not be at my best, Jessica is right here beside me. She has been running the house with me for 22 of the 36 years I have been open.”
Chicago publication Haunted House Chicago, which has an annual acting award for haunted house “scare staff” in Warfield’s name, has announced a benefit event Dec. 2 in Mount Carroll. Stay tuned at hauntedhousechicago.com.
By appointment at 411 N. Carroll St., Mount Carroll; more information at hauntedravensgrin.com
Dearly departed? Our guides from years past ...
2022: Our Top 12 haunts for Halloween 2022.
2021: Statesville Haunted Prison goes out with a scream.
2020: Enter at your own risk.
2019: Our Top 17 scares for your Halloween.
2018: Haunted Houses in Chicago for your Halloween.
2017: Haunted house guide: Our Top Spots.
2016: Chain saws, deranged clowns and more.
2015: The Tribune Haunted House Guide.
2014: Haunted Houses in Chicago.
2013: Guide to Chicago Haunted Houses.
2012: Fear City to Eleventh Hour, a Halloween guide.
2011: Our Halloween ‘how’ guide.
