Halloween fun in the Fox Valley
Halloween is Saturday, but there's still time to celebrate with candy and costumes or be scared out of your wits at a haunted house. Here are some top choices.
Aurora
Ghosts in the Graveyard: 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at Blackberry Farm, 100 S. Barnes Road, Aurora. Play games, dance with DJ, wagon rides, carousel, bonfire with s'mores and spooky stories, flashlight skeleton hunt. Dinner included with admission, $15 for residents, $20 for nonresidents. Register at (630) 892-1550 or foxvalleyparkdistrict.org.
Bartlett
Halloween Fun Fest: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, Downtown Bartlett, Main Street, Bartlett. Its Spooktacular Saturday in downtown Bartlett at the annual Halloween Fun Fest produced by Bartlett Heritage Days. Children, parents and pets in costume are encouraged to join the parade leaving from Bartlett Village Hall, 228 S. Main St., at 10 a.m., with lineup starting at 9:30 a.m. The parade ends at The Shoppes at Banbury Fair, 211 W. Railroad, where you will receive the Ghost Trail Map to downtown locations offering contests, games, treats, and music. For information, www.bartlettheritagedays.com or call (630) 924-4263.
Carpentersville
Haunted Corn Maze: 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday at 400-D Maple Ave., Carpentersville, across the street from Comcast. A corn maze filled with Halloween scares. Less scary before the sun goes down. Admission: $15 for ages 12 and older; $5 younger than age 12. Visit twitter.com/hauntedcrnmaze/.
East Dundee
Nightmare from North Street: from dusk to midnight Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 1, Santa's Village Azoosment Park, 880 E. Main St., East Dundee. As the park closes down for the evening and all park employees leave, the Morbid Army rises from shadowed corners to take complete control of the park. When the sun goes down, you never know who might be lurking just beyond the darkness. Admission is $20. It is recommended for ages 12 and older. For details, call (224) 300-8886 or visit www.nightmarefromnorthst.com.
Elgin
• Evil Intentions Haunted House: 7:30 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30-31. Located in Elgin's historic abandoned casket company, 900 Grace St. According to Evil Intentions staff, the building has been investigated by paranormal experts and a psychic and has been proven to be actually haunted. Almost every room has been completely redone. Not recommended for children younger than 13. General admission is $25 or $35 for VIP. Ticket sales at the door only. Visit www.evilintentionshauntedhouse.com.
• Haunted Hall: 7 p.m. to midnight Friday-Saturday, Oct. 30-31, at 112 Villa St., Elgin. Be afraid of the dark at the Elgin Turners "Haunted Hall." Dare to enter the Elgin Turner's 100-year-old Haunted Hall where the ghostly residents will treat you to the fright of your life. Admission is $10. Parents can wait in the bar area where food and beverages are available for purchase. Call (847) 697-4431 or visit elginturners.org/haunted.html.
• Psychosis Haunted House: 7:30 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, and 7 to 10 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 1 at 300 Lake St., Elgin. Recommended for ages 13 and older. Billed as "Illinois' most interactive haunted house." For an additional $10, they will "kidnap" you or someone in your group to be part of the experience. For an additional $5, you can be "buried alive." Regular admission price is $18, V.I.P. passes are $27. Several discounts are available; visit psychosishauntedhouse.net
Fox River Grove
Mack Manor Haunted Drive: Visit McHenry County's haunted drive-through at 1010 Algonquin Road, Fox River Grove. Hours are dusk to 9 p.m. most evenings and weekends until 10 p.m. through Oct. 31, weather permitting. Visit www.mackmanor.com.
Huntley
Holiday Habits: 6 to 10 p.m. nightly through Halloween at 10716 Wheatlands Way, Huntley. A yard haunt attraction with live "scare" actors, weather permitting. Free candy for kids. On Halloween, the first 100 trick-or-treaters get a special treat, and every 100th kid gets a bonus-size candy. Free, but donations are appreciated. Visit www.holidayhabits.com/haunt.
St. Charles
• Grimrose Farm: 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30-31, at Primrose Farm, 5N726 Crane Road in St. Charles. At Steel Beam Theatre's fifth annual Halloween production, ghouls and zombies lurk in old barns; faceless scarecrows pop-up from seemingly lifeless piles of hay; eerie tree-lined pathways take you far into the cornfields and woods aboard haunted hay wagons as you listen to the legend of this 1860s farm. In addition to viewing the 3-D spookhouse, ride haunted hayrides, tour a ghostly barn, listen to haunting tales told by a witches coven and more. There is a monster-free version of "Grimrose Farm" from 5 to 6:30 p.m. General admission is $22; monster-free is $16. Tickets are sold "at the door" or online at www.grimrosefarm.com.
• Gallery of Ghoulish Homes: The annual Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tour is held through Saturday, Oct. 31. Pack up the family for an evening cruise to see some of the spookiest houses in the St. Charles community. A guided tour is available online. Homes best viewed at dusk. Visit www.stcparks.org.