10 ways to scare yourself silly in the suburbs
It's officially the haunting season.
To help you prepare for the mayhem ahead, we've compiled a list of 10 spooky experiences - from returning favorites to new attractions - for those who like a good fright. Check them out if you dare.
<h3 class="briefHead">1. Fright Fest at Six Flags Great America</h3>
This year marks the biggest and scariest Fright Fest ever at the Gurnee theme park.
New this year is The Gates of Hell, which features six haunted experiences and is home to Nox, the Fright Fest overlord who oversees all 300 park characters.
Other new additions include The Apocalypse: Zombie Experience, which simulates an overrun evacuee camp, and LightMosFEAR, a Halloween light show on the carousel.
"This is a new kind of Fright Fest - a no-mercy type of event," said park spokesman Dameon Nelson. "This will be an immersive haunted experience that you cannot get anywhere else."
Info: frightfest.sixflags.com/greatamerica. Located at 1 Great America Parkway, Gurnee. General admission tickets are $69; specials available online. Open Friday to Sunday through Nov. 1. See website for hours.
<h3 class="briefHead">2. Evil Intentions Ghost Tours</h3>
Explore the abandoned Elgin Casket Company - site of the Evil Intentions Haunted House - with Chicago ghost hunter and medium Chris Fleming.
He'll lead fans on a ghost tour of the site, which has a history of murder, disappearances and occult activities, beginning at 11 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25. Fleming will demonstrate how to communicate with the supernatural using their sixth sense and the latest paranormal technology.
Info: ghostoutlet.ticketleap.com/evilintentionsghosthunt. Located at 900 Grace St., Elgin. Passes begin at $59. Starts at 11 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25.
<h3 class="briefHead">3. Legend of GRIMrose Farm</h3>
A multi-attraction Halloween haunt features a 3-D spook-house and haunted hayrides. Ghouls and zombies lurk in old barns, faceless scarecrows pop up from hay piles and eerie pathways take guests into the haunted woods.
It's the fifth annual Halloween production for Steel Beam Theatre, a nonprofit theater in St. Charles that has partnered with the St. Charles Park District to present weekend evenings of entertainment, including spooky tales and hot cocoa and marshmallows by a bonfire.
Info: grimrosefarm.com. Located at 5N726 Crane Road, St. Charles. General admission is $22. Entertainment begins at 7 p.m. on weekends through October; monster-free versions begin at 5 p.m.
<h3 class="briefHead">4. "The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story"</h3>
Life and death, love and heartbreak are the themes of "The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe," a First Folio Theatre production based on the author's life and writings.
Poe and his beloved, doomed wife, Virginia, lead guests on a tour through historic and haunted Mayslake Hall, a Tudor Revival-style mansion that's part of DuPage County's Mayslake Forest Preserve. They'll bring to life Poe's melancholic tales and poems and offer a glimpse into their romance.
Info: firstfolio.org. Located at 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook. Tickets begin at $25. Various times Wednesday through Sunday through Nov. 1.
<h3 class="briefHead">5. D.O.A. Room Escape</h3>
A unique haunted attraction in Addison offers participants a game with a psychologically scary twist. Up to a dozen potential "victims" are locked in a room, with one hour to uncover clues, decipher riddles and crack lock combinations in an attempt to escape.
Game rooms include the Garage, which transports guests to Valentine's Day 1929, with a job by Al Capone. The Basement, the scariest real-life escape room, was inspired by the actions of America's first serial killer, H.H. Holmes. During the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, he built a funhouse-like maze in a hotel, installing trap doors and hidden chutes that led to a basement where he tortured and killed dozens of victims.
"You are actively involved in a challenge where you play out the outcome," says co-game master John Bennett. "This gaming experience cannot be matched or compared to any other in Chicago."
Info: doaroomescape.com. Located at 1450 W. Fullerton Ave., Unit A, Addison. Admission is $29.50. Reservations required; see the website for available times and dates.
<h3 class="briefHead">6. Fox River Trolley Museum's Ghost Story Trains </h3>
The Fox River Trolley Museum in South Elgin is offering fall activities for families and all ages, from pumpkin picking to riding the pumpkin trolley. The museum takes guests on a nostalgic trip back to an era when the electric car was a vital part of American life.
The reserved-seating, after-hours Ghost Story Trains into the John Duerr Forest Preserve take place at 5, 6:15 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25. The one-hour experience features spooky tales, songs, s'mores and bonfires.
Info: foxtrolley.org. Located at 365 S. La Fox St., South Elgin. Train fare is $13.20.
<h3 class="briefHead">7. Insanity Haunted House</h3>
This St. Charles haunted attraction features more than 5,000 square feet of pure terror - and you'll just have to stop on by to discover exactly what that means.
Unlike other attractions, this haunted house doesn't adhere to a specific theme, says owner Pete Pavia. "You never know what you're going to run into, which is a little unique," he says.
The experience has been a work in progress for years, with set design changing about a dozen times, he says. Without a major budget for fancy props, the focus of this first-year haunt is on the actors.
"I wanted it to be more of an in-your-face haunt and very actor-driven," he says. "Part of it is about the experience you have with the actors. I don't want to give away too many things, but there's no blood and guts and gore."
Info: insanityhh.com. Located at 3800 E. Main St., St. Charles, inside the Charlestowne Mall next to the movie theater. Admission is $15. Opens at 6:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday, through Nov. 1.
<h3 class="briefHead">8. Friday Night Frights </h3>
Celebrate the scary season at the Ogden 6 Theatre in Naperville with Friday Night Frights, a series of classic fright films to be shown at 10 p.m. every Friday in October.
"Bram Stoker's Dracula" will play Friday, Oct. 23. The 1992 film from Francis Ford Coppola offers a full-blooded portrait of the immortal Transylvanian vampire.
On Friday, Oct. 30, the director's cut of "The Exorcist" will be shown. The 1973 supernatural horror film - considered one of the scariest films ever made - chronicles the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her mom's attempts to win back her child through an exorcism conducted by two priests.
Info: Located at 1227 E. Ogden Ave., Naperville. Tickets are $5 per person; purchase at classiccinemas.com or the theater box office.
<h3 class="briefHead">9. Brick-or-Treat at Legoland</h3>
Monsters, zombies and witches have invaded Legoland Discovery Center in Schaumburg. Guests are invited to check out Halloween activities for all ages, taking place daily through Oct. 31. Activities include a haunted village with four miniature lands of Lego mummies, swamp creatures and zombies. The Master Model Builder's workshop has been transformed into a Crazy Professor's Lab. There are also scary scavenger hunts, raffles and photo opportunities. Wear your Halloween costume for a $5 admission discount.
Info: LEGOLANDDiscoveryCenter.com. Located at Streets of Woodfield, 601 N. Martingale Road, Schaumburg. General admission is $18 per person. Special rates available online.
<h3 class="briefHead">10. Basement of the Dead </h3>
The haunted Aurora attraction returns, bigger and better than ever. The theme revolves around a father-son duo who worked at Walker Laundry and were burned in a freak accident. They've been seeking revenge in the underground tunnels ever since.
New this year is a 3-D flashlight haunt, featuring a circus theme and the murderous clown Shattered. "It's quite the experience," says Jason Seneker, one of the owners.
Their attraction features an attention to detail and focus on the actors, helping them develop their roles and back story, Seneker says. "We spend a lot of time and effort on making the rooms look like movie set-quality," he says. "When customers walk into the room, they really feel like they're in danger."
Info: 42fear.com. Located at 42 W. New York St., Aurora. General admission is $25; specials available online. Open through Nov. 1. Check website for hours.