Entertainment

Wanna see something really scary? Suburban haunted attractions deliver thrills, chills this Halloween

Posted October 02, 2025 1:25 pm

Barbara Vitello

American Nightmare Scream Park debuts this weekend adjacent to Richardson Adventure Farm in Spring Grove. Courtesy of American Nightmare Scream Park

Haunted attractions are big business in the ’burbs. Grayslake resident Jason Wright, a 31-year veteran of the industry, knows from experience just how big.

About seven years ago, he moved from Milwaukee to Chicago to fulfill a vision he nurtured for two decades: to establish a Halloween attraction unlike any other.

With the opening of the American Nightmare Scream Park at Richardson Adventure Farm in Spring Grove, Wright’s dream became a reality.

“There are several amazing attractions in the Chicago area,” said Wright, “but we're the one and only outdoor scream park. It’s something nobody has done in the Chicago area.”

Located on a two-acre midway surrounded by 12-foot-high corn, American Nightmare consists of five themed attractions titled Death Rows, Bloody Acres Estates, Camp Blood, Circus of Insanity 3D and Nightmare 31, along with ax-throwing lanes, a DJ, two bars, food trucks and a VIP lounge.

Wright and his crew worked 12 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week to be ready for the Friday, Oct. 3, opening.

“We did the unthinkable in two months,” he said of the park, which he estimates could attract thousands of visitors each day.

The result is a first attraction of its kind in the Chicago area, one he says is completely different from the haunts located in strip malls, warehouses and other buildings.

“It’s a completely different feel,” he said.

Suburban haunts

Of the dozen suburban haunted attractions we found, most deliver intense, violent scares geared toward older teens and adults. Operators recommend purchasing tickets in advance.

13th Floor Haunted House Chicago

5050 River Road, Schiller Park, 13thfloorchicago.com.

Details: Open select days through Nov. 9. Recommended for ages 13 and older. Tickets start at $19.99. “Shattered Skyline” imagines Chicago in ruins, overtaken by the undead. “Nocturne 1893” unfolds on the final night of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair as something monstrous rises.

Father-son duo Jason and Tristan Wright stand in one of the sets they built at the American Nightmare Scream Park opening this weekend next to Richardson Adventure Farm in Spring Grove. Courtesy of Cynthia Wolf, Wolf Wordsmithing

American Nightmare Scream Park

At Richardson Adventure Farm, 909 English Prairie Road, Spring Grove. scareamerica.net.

Details: Opens Friday, Oct. 3, and runs Thursdays through Sundays through Nov. 1. Recommended for ages 13 and older. Tickets are $40, $55 fast pass, $75 VIP. Debuting this year, American Nightmare Scream Park features five haunted attractions, a Midway with live DJs, ax throwing and freak show entertainment on select days.

It might be hard to escape from Stripes at the American Nightmare Scream Park, which is opening this weekend in Spring Grove. Courtesy of American Nightmare Scream Park

Basement of the Dead

42 W. New York St., Aurora, (630) 896-2466, basementofthedead.com.

Details: Open select days through Nov. 8. Recommended for ages 13 and older. Tickets start at $21.99. The Basement of the Dead is an abandoned underground laboratory housing terrifying creatures. The Shattered 3D Haunted House incorporates visuals that require 3D glasses to experience.

Scary creatures populate Aurora's Basement of the Dead. Courtesy of Basement of the Dead

Disturbia Haunted House

University Plaza, 1213 Butterfield Road, Suite D, Downers Grove, (630) 896-2466, hauntedhousedisturbia.com.

Details: Open select days through Nov. 8. Recommended for ages 13 and older. Tickets start at $21.99. Prepare to face your worst nightmares at this suburban fright house.

Duchess Manor

At The Arboretum, 100 W. Higgins Road, South Barrington, shopthearb.com.

Details: Open select days through Nov. 2. $17 through Oct. 19; $27 Oct. 23-Nov. 2. The Arboretum marks the spooky season with the debut of this new immersive haunted house.

Dungeon of Doom

600 29th St., Zion, (847) 262-3666, dungeonofdoom.com.

Details: Open select days Friday, Oct. 3, through Nov. 8. Recommended for ages 13 and older. Tickets start at $33.99 online; $40 at the door (cash only). More than 100 actors work to scare visitors at the Dungeon of Doom, a 45,000-square-foot venue that has been “scaring souls silly” for 28 years.

Evil Intentions Haunted House

45W050 Beith Road, Maple Park, eihaunt.com.

Details: Open select days through Nov. 1. Recommended for ages 13 and older. Tickets start at $26.85. This year, the haunted house relocated to a larger, more terrifying home in Forsaken Hollow.

Hells Gate Haunted House

Park at 301 W. Second St., Lockport, and take a five-minute shuttle to the site. (605) 301-4283 or hellsgate.com.

Details: Open select days through Nov. 2. Recommended for ages 13 and older; ages 16 and younger much be accompanied by an adult. Tickets: $40-$80 online; $45-$85 on-site. Hells Gate unfolds in a multilevel mansion located in the woods that monsters and prison escapees call home.

The Old Joliet Haunted Prison

401 Woodruff Road, Joliet, hauntedprison.com.

Details: Open select dates through Nov. 9. Recommended for ages 13 and older. Tickets start at $19.99. Set inside a former prison, attractions include “Cellblock 13: Warden’s Revenge,” in which the warden takes revenge on the inmates who killed him; “Death Row Rampage” finds the inmates hunting their guards; and “The Forsaken Facility” is a top-secret military facility overtaken by the criminally insane.

Massacre Haunted House

299 Montgomery Road, Montgomery, fearthemassacre.com.

Details: Open select days through Nov. 1. Recommended for older teens and adults. Tickets start at $29.99. Forty theme rooms constitute the haunted house within this 30,000-square-foot venue, which also has a clown-centered “Freak Show” and a basement “Underground.”

The Realm of Terror Haunted House in Round Lake Beach centers around a farmer who gets more than he bargained for when he calls upon demons to save his crops. Courtesy of Sergio Garcia

Realm of Terror Haunted House

421 W. Rollins Road, Round Lake Beach, realmofterror.com.

Details: Open select days from Friday, Oct. 3, through Nov. 1. Recommended for ages 13 and older. Tickets start at $19.99. “Rotten Origins” centers around a farmer whose crops fail until he uncovers a book of ancient incantations in a crate buried beneath his barn’s floorboards. He utters one and calls forth predators who promise him riches if he hosts a gruesome festival in their honor.

Six Flags Great America offers plenty of scares as part of its annual Fright Fest. Courtesy of Mike Danenberg, Six Flags Great America

Six Flags Fright Fest

1 Great America Parkway, Gurnee, sixflags.com/greatamerica/events/fright-fest-2025.

Details: Open select days through Nov. 2. Tickets start at $90 for park admission and haunted attractions; tickets start at $40 for haunted attractions; all-access gold pass for season pass holders is $75. For the 34th season, Six Flags Great America unleashes new nightmares, including a haunted maze inspired by “The Conjuring” film series; three new scare zones — “Oddities: Circus of Madness,” “Head Bangerz” and “Los Muertos” — along with returning favorites “Henchmen Alley,” “Forbidden Forest,” “Underworld” and “Lost Souls.” The fest also includes live music, cabaret performances, a scare-free Boo Fest for kids and an Oktoberfest Food Festival.