Community Corner

Haunted Houses Offer Spooktacular Experiences

The northwest suburbs provide frightful experiences for all ages.

Are you the type whose Halloween season wouldn't be complete without an encounter with a zombie, grim reaper or ghoul?

Those who delight in terror, laugh in the face of fear or just enjoy trembling from the experience of a good haunting don't have far to go this month. Haunted houses are being offered across the northwest suburbs for all ages and budgets.

McHenry Area Jaycees Haunted House is held at Knox Park Barn on Rte. 31, north of Bull Valley Road, in McHenry. Admission is $9 and an express pass is $15. Take $1 off admission by bringing a canned food donation.

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In Deerfield, Boy Scout Troop 50 is hosting its 17th annual haunted house at , 815 Wilmot Road. Admission is free, but cash or canned food donations for the West Deerfield Township food pantry are requested. The haunted house is open from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Oct. 29-30.

Fear City in Morton Grove is a new suburban haunted house this year. At 40,000, square feet, Fear City provides plenty of haunting environments, with more than 40 actors every night ready to jump out from dark corners or provide you with a good one-liner. Fear City takes visitors on a tour of the dark underbelly of the Windy City, and a grotesque meat-packing slaughterhouse. At one point guests pass through the mouth of a giant head and are swallowed alive. Fear City is open throughout October. Tickets are $25 and $35 for VIP passes. Read more about , and check out the attached video to see visitors' reactions.

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Dungeon of Doom in Zion is considered one of the scariest haunted houses in the suburbs. Located in a turn-of-the-century house, it has 27,000 square feet of terror on two floors and staffs more than 80 actors nightly. Tickets are $16. A second attraction, Buried Dead or Alive, which lets visitors experience being buried alive, is available for an extra charge.

The name of Screams in the Park might tell you all you need to know about Rosemont's haunted house, which is based on the actions of serial killer H.H. Holmes. Located at 9703 Bryn Mawr Ave., next to the Muvico theater, Screams in the Park runs through Oct. 31. Hours vary by night. Admission is $20, or $30 for VIP entry to the express line. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. This haunted house is geared toward visitors 13 and older.

At Realm of Terror in Round Lake Beach, visitors may have to duck or crawl, use stairs, possibly become wet, encounter extremely loud noises and music, strobe lighting, fog, live actors and other theatrical and special effects. It is touted as a collaboration of the most horrifying things in existence. Tickets are $16. “RIP” admission, which gets visitors to the front of the line, is $22 online and $25 at the door.

Fright Fest at Six Flags in Gurnee has three haunted houses, the Massacre Medical Center, Mausoleum of Terror and Studio 13, and there are scary adventures throughout the park. Tickets are $59.99 and the haunted houses cost extra.

St. Matthew’s Haunted House at 24500 N. Old McHenry Road, Hawthorn Woods, features 15 rooms and more than 30 actors. Tickets are $12. There is also a kiddie haunted house for visitors under 12. Admission is $6.

Boy Scouts in Des Plaines are also offering a spooky experience at the Order of the Arrow's 16th annual Haunted Hike. Organized by Lakota Lodge 175, the hike will be offered for three days at the Des Plaines Methodist Camp Ground, 2000 E. Algonquin Road. Hauntings will run from 7-10:30 p.m. Oct. 28 and from 6-10:30 p.m. Oct. 29, with a flashlight hike "to avoid the fright" offered from 4-6 p.m. Haunted hikes for high schoolers will be offered at 9:30 p.m. both nights. Admission is $6 for ages 5-12, $7 for ages 13 and up, and $5 for Scouts wearing their uniforms.

The younger sect might also want to check out the haunted house at in South Barrington. “It’s for school-age children, so it’s a little bit scary, but there’s no live people and nothing jumping out at you,” marketing manager Holly Peterson told Patch. “It’s not bloody or gory. It’s the perfect first haunted house for a lot of kids to go into.” Admission is $5. The attraction is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Oct. 31.

Looking for more?

FrightQuest, a new interactive map from MapQuest, has a list of Halloween activities in the Chicago area as well as state-by-state maps, including one for Illinois.

Interested in real haunted places?

Volo Auto Museum offers Haunted Trolley Tours through the 1848 farm that was featured on Discovery Channel and said  to truly be haunted. The one hour tour has two stops, the haunted barn and the vault. Tours run every Saturday and Sunday and cost $4.95 for adults and $2.95 for children.

Do you know of another nearby, must-see haunted house? Share the details in the comment box below.


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