Chicago is an October city.

It has some of the most (allegedly) haunted locations in the country, including:

-The Congress Plaza Hotel and the Nederlander Theatre in downtown

–Hull House by UIC

-The Lincoln Park Zoo (built on a somewhat-relocated cemetery)

–Archer Avenue in Bedford Park

-And the L after midnight

Even just walking around the city feels different. Heading down the street as the weather turns chilly, and the dark settles in earlier and earlier, the voices and music on the street and from the patios dying out to the silence of winter…

Sometimes the whole city feels haunted.

And knows it.

Chicago excels at celebrating the macabre, the dark and the scary like few other places. Each October, there’s an immense offering of Halloween events, activities and parties for every inclination and comfort level of scare. I’m still finding new ones each October. This year, here are (just a very few) personal recommendations.

Jack’s Pumpkin Pop-Up – The Fall Festival

Definitely more spooky than scary, Jack’s Pumpkin Pop-Up bills itself as “Chicago’s Largest Fall Festival.” Located next to Goose Island, it sports a corn maze, carnival games, ax throwing and Instagrammable backgrounds.

I’m not going to recommend loading up on cider before trying out the corn maze, even though it can only help your sense of direction, right? Same as how the pumpkin spice Malört will help your ax throwing.

This one’s good for families and no-scare hangouts and dates. All the cozy fun of fall, without (too much) spooky.

House of the Exquisite Corpse – The Haunted Puppet Show

Presented by Rough House Theater Co. and Steppenwolf Theatre, highly talented puppet teams put on six different five-minute shows designed around a theme.

This year is Superstition.

I found the this year’s shows less disturbing in content than they were last year (which is a pro for me), yet still as creative and delightfully macabre as ever, each show different from the others in aesthetics and puppeteering techniques. The (no-spoiler) standout involved keeping your eyes firmly on a mirror, and not on the demonic puppet creeping up behind you…

Avondale – The Crossroads

My current neighborhood has a serious concentration of horror-themed stores that you can spend the day (and night) hopping between.

Start off the morning at the Brewed (a play on David Cronenberg’s The Brood) and enjoy the spooky decor with some delicious coffee and snacks. It’s connected to Bric-a-Brac Records, which has among its vinyl collection a kick-ass soundtrack section, including some from horror movies (such as the Creepshow vinyl that I’m the proud owner of).

Then head over to the intersection of Belmont, Elston and California Avenues for Bucket o’ Blood, Chicago’s horror-themed bookstore. Special sections highlight women and LGBTQ+ horror writers, themed anthologies, extreme horror and spooky children’s books. This place also doubles as a record store, and also also has a great selection of DVDs and VHS tapes for sale.

Pop over to the Horror House for an unmatched selection of horror-themed clothes, artwork, bowls/bongs and other scary pop culture miscellanea, all crafted by independent artists from all over the world. It’s especially important to shop there this season, because you’ll be helping the store move to a better location (due to mold issues). Coming over to buy some sick posters like this one will really help them out:

Next up: The Alley

This store has been putting clothes on punks, goths, metalheads and all sorts of other delinquents since 1976. It has some of the coolest shit for your alternative wardrobe, from rings and chains to leather jackets and combat boots (which you’ll need: they’ll be important later).

Then round off your Avondale crossroads horror tour with a couple of drinks from DMen Tap, a horror- and Dungeons and Dragons-themed bar with a love for Krampus, solid bar food and quality beer.

If you’re properly inebriated enough—and it’s around midnight—then keep moving down Belmont until you hit Late Bar, a late-night goth club that’s open until five in the morning. If you’re looking to get litty on Halloween night, they’re hosting an Industrial Halloween rave that might have a certain horror writer somewhere in the crowd.

Nightmare on Clark Street – The Haunted Bar

Located in Wrigleyville, this pop-up takes over the Bamboo Club every year, turning the top floors into a winding nightmare that features a lot of skeletons, pumpkin-headed beasts and air cannons. The Area 51 lab stands out, along with the pitch-black maze where you’re not… quite… alone…

While the sets are fun and atmospheric, it’s scarce on actors: only a few masked crazies come at you, which I found disappointing, but it makes it a good one to go to if you want the haunted house experience without having the shit scared out of you. It’s more creepy and tense than it is actually scary. What sets it apart, though, is the bar in the middle. Once you’ve braved the first half of the nightmare, you can fortify yourself with some horror-themed liquid courage surrounded by Beetlejuice decor and a disconcertingly-friendly Michael Myers. The Freddy’s Tequila was particularly fortifying, thanks to the Patrón and jalapeño slices.

Nocturna – The Dark Rave

And here’s the best, saved for last.

Nocturna is a darkwave/industrial/goth rave that’s been going for 36 years, hosted at Metro in Wrigleyville.

(Which I find hilarious, when I’m standing in line with all the goths and vampires in leather, chains and all-black purchased from the Alley, surrounded by sports bars in the heart of Cubs country.)

While it’s put on year-round every other month, the big event is the All Hallow’s Eve Ball, being held on Saturday the 26th this year. It’s not just one of the largest events for Chicago’s goth scene, but for the city’s alternative scene overall. It’s going to include a costume contest (which I think was won by sexy Mothman last year), alternative apparel vendors, ghostly vibes, a lot of dancing, and a kick-ass setlist run by the inimitable DJ Scary Lady Sarah, who’s a powerhouse in the city’s underground music scene. 

It’s an accepting, judgment-free space. Come dressed up in costume, or gothed out, or completely normal—just as long as you’re not an asshole or a creep, then you’re welcome. Personally, Nocturna is one of the coolest things I’ve ever been to, and I can’t recommend it enough for the adventurous and open-minded.

And if you show up, keep an eye out for a goth cowboy. That’s definitely not me.

Lastly, I got bored and made a Halloween/goth playlist. I recommend it for house parties, seances, zombie-slaying and the abject horror of the Monday morning after Halloween.

Banner Photo Credit: Ghost City Tours