Chi-Town Screams: Three Adult Tricks and Treats for Halloween in Chicago

Photos by Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

Halloween in Chicago marks a special time. It’s usually the last time that the weather allows for outdoor fun without full arctic wear and the streets are lined with red and gold leaves and harvest decor. We do Halloween big with parades, parties and haunted houses galore but here are three standouts that may appeal to grown up visitors:

After Hours Cemetery Tours and Eerie Crime Scenes

Chicago cemeteries are creepy. Not just because they are filled with dead people but because of the city’s famous gangster history, there are more ghosts and bloody tales lurking in our cemeteries than usual.

The Chicago History Museum explores it all in gory details with Cemetery Walking Tours.  You can  roam through the funerary art of Bohemian National Cemetery and learn the stories behind  the tombs on Nov. 6. Don’t forget to bring your flashlight.

You can also check out Graceland Cemetary for a daylight visit of the graves of famous Chicagoans including Marshall Field, George Pullman and Potter and Bertha Palmer on Oct. 30 and 31.

For daytime terror, check out the Devil in the White City Bus Tour on Nov. 12, which traces the historic fairground and the murders committed by H.H. Holmes, Chicago’s first serial killer.

A Haunted River Tour

Hop aboard Seadog Cruises for a spooky tour of the Chicago River. The 75-minute ride covers the scandals, supernatural happenings and haunted legends that Chicago is known for. The open vessel supplies night-time views of the Chicago skyline while a guide explains all the mayhem that floats behind it. The last Haunted River Tour is on Oct. 30.

Bizarre Bucktown Halloween Tour

Take a trip to the dark side with a tour of the eerie happenings in one of Chicago’s most popular neighborhoods. The Bizarre Bucktown Halloween Tour is a flashlight walk through the hood, beginning outside the Lincoln Tavern, the site of a scary abduction and murder.  The tour runs for over a mile to spotlight more sketchy happenings before ending at Club Lucky with a much needed drink. The tour runs Oct. 28, 29 and 31.

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