From family-friendly Halloween parades to spine-tingling haunted houses, Chicago is buzzing with Halloween spirit this season. Here are the 17 best Halloween events that will make your October unforgettable.
Rooftop Cinema Club's Spooktacular Halloween Lineup
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Dates: Multiple dates
311 N. Morgan St. / Website
The Rooftop Cinema is screening a selection of Halloween movies, including cult classics like Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown, as well as horror favorites such as Nightmare on Elm Street and The Shining. Attendees can also enjoy a range of spooky cocktails and concessions during the show.
Chicago’s 10th Annual “Arts in the Dark” Halloween Parade
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Date: Oct. 19
State Street moving south from Lake Street to Van Buren / Website
This family-friendly Halloween event will showcase creative floats, theatrical performances and spectacle puppets. Focused on celebrating Halloween as the “artists’ holiday,” the parade uplifts Chicago’s local creative community drawing talent from major cultural organizations, inspiring youth programs and aspiring artists.
Spooky Tea at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago
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Dates: Multiple dates between Oct. 19 and Oct. 27
Ritz-Carlton Chicago, 160 E. Pearson St. / Website
The Ritz-Carlton Chicago is hosting its month-long Spooky Tea series, offering guests a bewitching afternoon of ghoulish elegance and tantalizing treats. The menu features sweet and savory selections by Pastry Chef Toni Roberts, including finger sandwiches, Carbonara Quiche and an assortment of pastries like the Poison Apple and Jack-O-Cannoli. Guests can enjoy Ritz-Carlton teas or bubbling rose champagne in the enchanting atmosphere of Torali, the modern Italian steakhouse on the hotel’s 12th floor.
Nightmare Circus at TAO Chicago
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Date: Oct. 25
TAO Chicago, 632 N. Dearborn St. / Website
TAO Chicago is hosting its annual Halloween bash, themed around a vibrant circus atmosphere called Nightmare Circus. The event will feature aerialist performers, contortionists and creatively crafted cocktails with fall flavors, alongside sets from Lil John and reality star James Kennedy. Guests are encouraged to come in costume and enjoy the elaborate decor, with Halloween programming continuing throughout the week, including DJ sets from Laidback Luke and NGHTMRE.
Paul Bielatowicz's Nosferatu Live!
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Dates: Oct. 25-26
The Anthenaeum Center, 2936 N. Southport Ave. / Website
Progressive rock guitarist Paul Bielatowicz is presenting Nosferatu Live!, featuring his original score for the 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu at The Anthenaeum Center. This event reimagines the classic vampire tale, enhancing its eerie atmosphere through a dynamic fusion of live music and cinematic visuals.
Manual Cinema’s Frankenstein
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Dates: Oct. 25-27
Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave. / Website
Chicago’s historic Fine Arts Building and Studebaker Theater are co-producing Manual Cinema's adaptation of Frankenstein, which runs for three performances at the Studebaker Theater. This version creatively combines shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques and live sound effects to explore the intertwined narratives of Mary Shelley and her famous creation.
Illumination Chicago
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Date: Oct. 26
1446 W. Kinzie St / Website
Merging artistry with philanthropy, Illumination is the city’s largest costume party, offering a vibrant Halloween experience with a captivating light show, illuminated art installations and live DJ performances. Attendees can engage with interactive displays, participate in fiery parades and enjoy floating dessert tables alongside seven full-service bars. Funds raised support rare disease research, specifically for RVCL, contributing to significant advancements in the field.
Blue Man Group Halloween Performance
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Date: Oct. 27
Briar Street Theatre, 3133 N. Halsted / Website
Hosting a special Halloween performance for families, Blue Man Group Chicago will offer pre-show face painting, Halloween-themed surprises and goodie bags for children in costume under 17. Audience members are encouraged to wear costumes, and after the show, there will be an exclusive photo opportunity with the Blue Men in the lobby.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Experience
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Dates: Through Oct. 27
1367 N. Milwaukee Ave. / Website
Based on the Emmy-award-winning series, Bucket Listers has launched the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Experience, complete with a recreation of Sunnydale High, vampire-slaying training grounds, themed cocktails and bites, and tarot card readings. Ticket holders will walk away with their very own Sunnydale High diploma for their training efforts.
Night of 1,000 Jack-O-Lanterns
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Dates: Through Oct. 27
Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd. / Website
The Night of 1,000 Jack-O-Lanterns will feature over 1,000 artist-carved pumpkins lit with LED lights on the family-friendly pathways of the Chicago Botanic Garden. This year’s display includes intricate carvings inspired by popular album covers, eerie cartoons and Día de los Muertos tributes, with some pumpkins weighing as much as 150 pounds. Attendees can enjoy live carving demonstrations, costumed entertainers and seasonal treats while exploring the event, which encourages costumes and offers glow-in-the-dark temporary tattoos for kids.
Three Dots and a Dash’s Terror in the Tropics
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Date: Oct. 31
435 N. Clark St. / Website
Three Dots and a Dash is hosting its Terror in the Tropics party, featuring eight top tropical bars from around the country, including Mai Kai from Fort Lauderdale and Sunken Harbor Club from Brooklyn, each serving a signature cocktail. The venue will be transformed into a terror-filled extravaganza, with a Marketplace tent offering exclusive merchandise from all participating bars.
Untitled Supper Club's The Order of the Red Veil
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Date: Oct. 31
111 W. Kinzie St. / Website
Untitled Supper Club invites attendees to The Order of the Red Veil: a candlelit dinner with over 20 performers specializing in burlesque dance, circus tricks and aerial acrobatics. The event combines vintage Prohibition-era glitz and glamor with a macabre theme as the Dark Goddess is summoned.
Black Lagoon Pop-Up
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Dates: Through Nov. 2
The Parlour at The Albion, 1480 W. Webster Ave. / Website
Returning to The Parlour at The Albion for its fourth year, Black Lagoon is serving up bewitchingly curated cocktails and festive drinks with names like Nightmare Fuel and Hex Appeal, crafted by industry veterans Kelsey Ramage and Erin Hayes.
Mercury Chicago’s Skyline Cruiseline’s Creepy Cruise
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Dates: Through Nov. 2
112 E. Wacker Drive / Website
Mercury Chicago’s Skyline Cruiseline features its Creepy Cruise, a 90-minute nighttime tour that explores eerie tales of mysterious sightings, crime and mobsters along the Chicago River. Guests can enjoy chilling stories narrated by local guides, immersing themselves in the city's haunted history as they glide through twilight.
House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions
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Dates: Through Nov. 2
Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Space,1624 N. Halsted / Website
Chicago’s first immersive puppet haunted house offers a night filled with puppetry, theatrical performances and magical illusions. Inside the puppet portal, guests will find six different horror experiences inspired by superstitions like stepping on cracks and broken mirrors.
The Nightmare on Clark Street
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Dates: Through Nov. 3
3505 N. Clark St. / Website
Bucket Listers is partnering with Nightmare on Clark Street and Bamboo Club to present the Halloween-themed haunted experience, Nightmare on Clark Street, featuring a multi-level house of horrors and two bars. The event offers an immersive and over-the-top atmosphere, allowing guests to engage with various frightful elements while enjoying themed drinks like Freddy’s Tequila and Monster Mash.
Old Joliet Haunted Prison and 13th Floor Haunted House Chicago
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Dates: Through November
13th Floor Haunted House Chicago: 5050 River Road, Schiller Park; Old Joliet Haunted Prison: 401 Woodruff Rd., Joliet / Website
Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group presents the Old Joliet Haunted Prison and the 13th Floor Haunted House Chicago. The 13th Floor features 2024 themes like "Lycan’s Curse," where folklore creatures hunt villagers under a Blood Moon, and "Vector Research: Alien Autopsy," where furious aliens unleash biotech horrors at a research facility. Meanwhile, the Old Joliet Haunted Prison, located in the infamous Joliet Correctional Center, showcases themes such as "Carnage in Cell Block 13," where criminals Leopold and Loeb reanimate inmates using a paranormal lab, and "Inmates Row," a deadly maze filled with toxic zombies and grisly remnants.
Photography by: MARTIN DEJA/GETTY IMAGES
