The curtain falls on another season at Spirits on Sproat

We've come to the end of another great October at your favorite Halloween house. Thanks to all who visited, donated, and were good sports while Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees went into scary mode. Spirits on Sproat will be open tonight for our finale one hour earlier than normal: from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. We'll return next year with more thrills, chills, frightful characters, and festive fun.

Meantime, enjoy our freshly minted 2022 official Spirits on Sproat video, entirely featuring snippets of video footage posted by you, our loyal fans. Happy Halloween!

Meet Grinz

When life is tough, they say you have to grin and bear it. But Grinz the ghoul from Spirits on Sproat bares big pearly whites to show that he can face life's drawbacks with a smile. Here's the lowdown on Grinz:

• Famous for: His big smile, white face and blank eyes
• Personal heroes: The Joker, Pazuzu, Rudy Giuliani
• Weapon of choice: Laughter
• Motto: Kill ’em with kindness (and a knife helps, too)
• Favorite song: Shiny Happy People by R.E.M.

Meet Broom Helga

Which witch is on most people's wish lists of horrible hag they'd least like to meet at Hogwarts or otherwise? Why, it's Broom Helga, of course.

Her "double double toil and trouble" routine can be tiresome at times, but no one else bakes up a better batch of poisoned apples or gingerbread cookies than this grand old dame of doom.

Betcha' didn't know these fun facts about Broom Helga:

• Nickname: Miss October
• Weapon of choice: Toadstools, eye of Newt Gingrich
• Dirty little secret: Prefers battery-operated broomsticks
• Favorite performer: Stevie Nicks
• Favorite movie: Every Witch Way But Loose

Meet Stitches

"Quit clowing around" is what you'd probably say after spending two minutes with Stitches, a 9-foot-tall barrel of laughs at Spirits on Sproat who doesn't know when to stop delivering punchlines. Want to know what makes Stitches tick? Read on!

• Also known as: The purple people eater
• Secret shame: Flunked out of fashion school because he wouldn’t stop pairing polka dots with stripes
• How he dropped 432 pounds: Sticking to the cannibal diet
• Famous for: Playing the Catskills every winter and opening for Carrot Top

Spirits on Sproat now open every night thru Halloween

Your favorite Halloween house is now open every night this week through Oct. 31. Our hours on Oct. 24-27 and Oct. 30 will be 7-10 p.m., and we'll be open 7-11 p.m. on Oct. 28, 29, and 31. 

The forecast calls for fun frights and better-than-average temperatures (although Tuesday night will be a wet one), so come on out and end October in spooky style by visiting Spirits on Sproat one last time this month!

Meet Bigfoot

Sasquatch looms large in our imagination--and in our backyard, where you can spot him in a dark corner if you're keen-eyed. Ponder these frightful facts about this legendary giant:

• Famous for: Casting a large shadow, never being captured, tussling with the Six Million Dollar Man
• Often mistaken for: Harry Henderson, Chewbacca, a man in a cheap gorilla suit
• Favorite newspaper: The National Enquirer
• Why he’s popular with the ladies: You know what they say about guys with big feet

Last call for Spirits on Sproat videos

Want to win 2 Fast Pass tickets to Midnight Terror Haunted House in Oak Lawn (a $100 value)? We need you to post video of your 2022 visit to Spirits on Sproat by Oct. 27 (Thursday) to our Facebook page or to your favorite social media platform using the hashtag #spiritsonsproat.  Also, when you post a contest video, please email us a notice that you've done so at cineversegroup@gmail.com so that we can more easily find your video. 

We're especially looking for videos of Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees scaring or stalking visitors. Hurry! You've only got 4 days left and we need more contestants in our 2022 video contest! 

The winner will be chosen and notified on Oct. 28 and must use the tickets by Oct. 31.

Meet The Creep

Mom always said reading comic books would rot your brain. Take one look at the Creep, and you'll know she was right! Curious what makes this Creep so creepy? Chew on the following:

• Famous for: Being the host of Creepshow
• Prefers: Homicidal poetic justice, books with lots of colorful pictures
• Can’t stand: That pesky Cryptkeeper, flossing, parents who throw out your comic books
• Suffers from: Involuntary laughter, heavy breathing, rigor mortis

Help! We need your Spirits on Sproat videos!

If you plan to visit Spirits on Sproat soon, or have recently stopped by our haunt, we encourage you to take videos recorded during your visit and upload them to your favorite social media platform using the hashtag #spiritsonsproat. So far, only two people have uploaded videos of their visit, and we could use a lot more to share with our followers and friends.

Remember: The person who posts a video we judge as the best wins 2 Fast Pass tickets (a $100 value) to Midnight Terror Haunted House in Oak Lawn for use between Oct. 27 and 31. You can publish your Spirits on Sproat videos to Facebook, Tik-Tok, Instagram, and Twitter. We simply ask you to tag your video using the hashtag #spiritsonsproat, which allows us to more easily find your posted videos. Also, when you post a contest video, please email us a notice that you've done so at cineversegroup@gmail.com so that we can more easily find your video. We're also extending our video posting deadline to October 27, 2022. We will review all videos posted through that date using the #spiritsonsproat hashtag, pick the best one, notify the winner, and give them 2 Midnight Terror Fast Pass tickets.

Please post your recorded videos on your favorite social media platform soon so that you meet the contest deadline. Good luck, and happy Halloween season!

Meet Linus Van Pelt

Good grief: Poor Linus has been waiting his whole life to meet the Great Pumpkin. Thankfully, his prayers have been answered at Spirits on Sproat! Want to know why we love Linus? Read on!

• Known for: Believing in The Great Pumpkin, thumb-sucking, carrying a security blanket
• Suffers from: Premature balding, chronic bullying by his older sister
• Secret shame: He’s never had a piece of Halloween candy in his life; has arrest warrants in eight states for trespassing on private pumpkin patches

Meet The Great Pumpkin

A giant pumpkin with legs and arms? Hey, snicker if you want, but you'll be sorry if you cross the big enchilada known as the Great Pumpkin, made famous by the Peanuts gang. Here's what we know about this voluminous vegetable:

• Also known as: The gourd lord, viceroy of the vines, Billy Corgan, He Who Walks Behind the Rows
• Biggest fan: Linus Van Pelt
• Favorite pastime: Crashing jack-o-lantern carving contests
• Voted in high school: Most likely to enjoy a sudden growth spurt
• Suffers from: Serious heartburn

Meet Lenny & Gourdy

No, it's not a ventriloquist act with a talking puppet. It's the infamous duo known as Lenny & Gourdy, who engage in a lot of chilling chatter about macabre matters. Before you come face to face with this terrible twosome, take a moment to learn more about what makes them sick -- uh, I mean tick.

• Better known as: The hooded skull-faced giant and his talking pumpkin sidekick
• Little-known fact: Were the opening act for Spinal Tap in 1986
• Suffer from: A horrible sense of humor
• Secret shame: Got booed off the stage at America’s Got Talent
• Big fans of: Rammstein, goth girls, Steve Bannon

Enter the 2022 Spirits on Sproat video contest and win 2 Midnight Terror tickets

Here's another great reason to visit Spirits on Sproat this year: You can win two Fast Pass admission tickets to Midnight Terror Haunted House in Oak Lawn--a $100 value and a great opportunity to experience Chicagoland's best commercial haunted attraction without having to wait in a long line!

Here's what you need to do:

1. Take video during your 2022 visit to Spirits on Sproat. 
2. Post it to our Facebook page (at fb.com/spiritsonsproat) by 11 p.m. October 23. (We'd also love for you to share photos taken during your visit, so post those, too.) 
3. Like us on Facebook.
4. Share your posted video on your own Facebook timeline (if you have one). Make sure the post is public.

We'll judge the best video and award the winner the two tickets, which they can pick up from Michael Myers himself between October 24 and Halloween night.

A few tips on taking and submitting videos:

• We prefer horizontal video over vertical video (it fills up and looks better on the screen)
• We especially love footage of our live scarers (like Michael Myers and Jason) creeping up and scaring people.
• Please aim for a reasonable video length; not too short (at least 30 seconds) or too long (not longer than 3 minutes) please.
• Do not post video recorded in past years. Only post fresh video recorded this October, please.
• We will contact the chosen winner privately via Facebook/Messenger by October 24 to arrange pickup of the tickets. Prepare to show a valid ID when you pick up the tickets.

Good luck, and happy Halloween season!

Meet Mal Evolent

Wraiths can wreak havoc, especially when you project your own fears upon them and they shimmer with evil in the darkness. That perfectly describes the eerie apparition known as Mal who has taken up residence in our garage. Consider Mal's fearsome features:

• Also known as: The identity-shifting glowing specter standing behind the vampire coffins
• Quirks: Won’t kiss a banshee on the first date, allergic to ectoplasm
• Voted in high school: Most likely to disappear after graduation
• Favorite social media platforms: Instadamn, Snapsplat, TikShock, BooTube

Meet Stripe

There's a little good and bad in all of us. But there's only bad in the little critters known as gremlins, and the worst of them all is Stripe. For the 411 on this tiny terror, read on.

• Better known as: Ringleader of the evil gremlins
• Favorite pastimes: Going to White Castles after a midnight swim, forcing Gizmo to sunbathe
• Famous for: Beating Yoda in a “Biggest Ears” contest
• Dirty little secret: Dyes his white hair black before heading to the singles bar

Meet Morticia

She's creepy and she's kooky, mysterious and spooky, she's altogether ooky, she's Morticia from the Addams Family--and she's all bent out of shape about something this Halloween. Just see for yourself. Want to know more? Read on!

• Famous for: Starring on The Addams Family TV show until Gomez broke her neck
• Dirty little secret: Refuses to go to a chiropractor
• Known for: Getting bent out of shape
• Sick of hearing people say: You know, you’re a real pain in the neck

Meet Mr. Talbot

Betcha didn't know that werewolves come in extra large sizes. For proof, visit Spirits on Sproat this October and meet Mr. Talbot. Here's the dossier on this shape shifter supreme:

• Also known as: A 10-foot-tall were-wolf and larger-than-life lycanthrope
• Favorite pastime: Turning Halloween into howl-oween
• Can’t stand: Peter, Little Red Riding Hood, the 3 Little Pigs, Droopy Dog, Cesar Millan
• Big fan of: Howlin’ Wolf, Los Lobos, Wolf Blitzer, Virginia Woolf