Goodnight, and sweet screams

You've got one more chance to visit Spirits on Sproat, which will be open Halloween night for our finale one hour earlier than normal: from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m.

Alas, October is drawing to a close, and another Halloween season is preparing to fade like a vanishing ghost. Spirits on Sproat wants to thank everyone who visited our haunt this year and helped make it a memorable month. We appreciate your patronage and donations, too.

We'll be back in 2024 with more thrills, chills, frightful characters, and festive fun. Be prepared to join us then for our 20th anniversary celebration!

As a proper sendoff to spooky season, here's a parting treat: Our 2023 official Spirits on Sproat video, comprised completely of video footage posted by you, our loyal fans. Happy Halloween!

Meet Wolfy

Avoid hairy situations in life, like running into Wolfy, our killer canine-sapien who often bites off more than he can chew. Here's the down and dirty on this lycanthrope misanthrope:

• Little known fact: Was a late night radio DJ in the seventies
• Favorite haunts: The foggy moors of London, Trader Vics
• Owns stock in: Gillette, Norelco, Alpo

Nine nights left to experience Spirits on Sproat

Okay, the Halloween season is quickly winding down--but you still have nine nights left to visit Spirits on Sproat in Oak Lawn. We'll be open every night from now through Halloween (7-10 p.m. Oct. 23-26, Oct. 30; 7-11 p.m. Oct. 27, 28 & 31), so make your final plans to check out everyone's favorite Halloween house before November tolls its bell!

Meet Swampy McGee

A former denizen of the dank Everglades, Swampy McGee departed his prior cesspool recently and became a squalid squatter on our property. Ever hungry for a fresh frontal lobe or a spicy cerebellum, and desperately seeking deodorant, you can bet that this Walking Dead wannabe won't be appearing on "The Bachelorette" anytime soon. 

More vitals on Mr. McGee:

• Also known as:  The bog zombie with particularly poor motor skills
• Suffers from: Water on the knee, trench foot, a terrible taste in clothes, atrocious table manners
• Nicknames: Marsh-mellow, brainiac, Bayou Lou, Swamp Thing
• Hates: Politicians who threaten to “drain the swamp”

Last call: We need your Spirits on Sproat videos by Oct. 24

Help! We need your videos taken at Spirits on Sproat this season. Not only will these videos be used to help us create our official 2023 SOS video, but your video could win two Fast Pass admission tickets to Midnight Terror Haunted House in Oak Lawn--a $110 value and a great opportunity to experience Chicagoland's best commercial haunted attraction without having to wait in a long line!

Our video contest will end at 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 24, so you only have four more days. 

Here's what you need to do:

1. Record video footage during your 2023 visit to Spirits on Sproat. We recommend you edit the video as needed. 
2. Post it to our Facebook page (at fb.com/spiritsonsproat) or post your video to TikTok, Instagram, or Twitter using the hashtag #spiritsonsproat
    by 11:59 p.m. October 24. (We'd also love for you to share photos taken during your visit, so post those, too.) If you have trouble posting your video on our Facebook page, post it on your own Facebook page and then copy and paste the link to your video on our Facebook page.
3. Share your posted video on your own social media timeline/feed (if you have one). Make sure the post is public.

We'll judge the best video and award the winner with two tickets, which they can pick up from Michael Myers himself between October 26 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 social media by October 25 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 Whitemare

Wanna know your worst nightmare? It's called Whitemare, and it's ready to pop out and terrify you when you least expect it! Don't think that just because she's lurking innocuously in the corner she's not capable of turning your white blood cells black and your black hair white. This could be the most fear-inducing and malevolent monster who prowls our property. 

Eager to learn more about Whitemare? 

• She's better known as: The white lunging banshee in our garage
• Her secret shame: Once fell asleep during a haunting because she was three sheets to the wind
• Whitemare's favorite pastime: Telling human stories around a campire
• Her phobias: Washing machines, clotheslines and ironing boards

Don't forget to visit other home haunts besides Spirits on Sproat

Your favorite Halloween house (Spirits on Sproat) isn't the only home haunt worth visiting this spooky season. Make plans to also check out other fantastic yard displays throughout Chicagoland and its suburbs. Here are several updated lists to follow:

• Home haunts closest to Spirits on Sproat
• Chicagoland Home Haunts 2023 list
• HauntedIllinois.com list (scroll down the page)
• Patch.com's 2023 Guide To Chicagoland's Best Halloween Yard Haunt
• Kidslist's 2023 guide to the Best Decorated Houses in Chicagoland

Meet Thrash

Nobody bangs their head in perfect unison to a hardcore beat like Thrash, the bone-rattling bass player of punk metal band The Reapers. Comprising the second half of its rocking rhythm section (with drummer Redbone Ramone beating the skins next to him), Thrash makes Flea, Geddy, Geezer, Lemmy, and Bootsy sound like amateurs. Here's what we know about this bony bassist beast:

• Famous for: Turning it up to “11”
• Claim to fame: Works his fingers to the bone on guitar
• Dirty little secret: Has lots of female skeletons in his closet
• First band: Johnny Jawbone and the Metatarsals

Meet Redbone Ramone

Make no bones about it: Redbone Ramone can keep perfect time behind his kit with no drumsticks required. All he needs is a pair of sturdy humerus bones, the chest-thumping bass of fellow musician Thrash, and the vociferous cheers of the crowd to pound home a perfectly syncopated message of metal mayhem. Ruminate on these Redbone facts:

• Better known as the mohawked drummer of The Reapers, celebrity pitchman for My Pillow
• Embarrasing secret: Side hustles as an Uber Eats driver
• Nickname: Mr. T-Bone, Yondu Jr., John Boneham
• Cause of death: Used to play drums for Spinal Tap

Enter the 2023 Spirits on Sproat video contest

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 $110 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. Record video footage during your 2023 visit to Spirits on Sproat. We recommend you edit the video as needed. 
2. Post it to our Facebook page (at fb.com/spiritsonsproat) or post your video to TikTok, Instagram, or Twitter using the hashtag #spiritsonsproat
    by 11 p.m. October 24. (We'd also love for you to share photos taken during your visit, so post those, too.) 
3. Share your posted video on your own social media timeline/feed (if you have one). Make sure the post is public.

We'll judge the best video and award the winner with two tickets, which they can pick up from Michael Myers himself between October 25 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 25 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 Rigger Mortus

Ever since he was knee-high to a cadaver, Rigger Mortus has always wanted to front a punk metal band. He got his wish years ago when The Reapers handed him microphone duties, and this red-robed rogue hasn't looked back since. While he tends to speak his doom-laden lyrics more than sing them, you can't deny Rigger's awesome stage presence. Bet you didn't know these tidbits about Mr. Mortus:

• Famous for: Fronting the band The Reapers, his red robe, singing at Queen Elizabeth II’s eulogy
• Favorite Reapers song: Viva Godda Crimson Sabbatica 
• Secret wish: The Plaster Casters were still around so he could outdo Hendrix
• Voted in high school: Most likely to open a funeral home

Meet Slasher Van Hellin

Now that the Grateful Dead are long gone, where can Deadheads turn for musical entertainment? The Reapers, of course! The Reapers are a ragtag punk-metal band of skeleton musicians with an all-star axe man plucking the power chords. His name is Slasher Van Hellin, and here's the lowdown on this ace guitarist:

• Known for: Tombstone guitar, mohawk, mausoleum breath
• Musician idols: The Misfits, Naked Raygun, The Grateful Dead
• Pet peeve: Crowds who yell “Freebird”
• Favorite expressions: “Gabba gabba hey,” and “Slag off, wankers!”
• Dirty little secret: Hasn’t showered since the 2019 reunion tour

Meet Art the Clown

There's an art to being a clown, especially when you're Art the Clown. A funny face in white greasepaint can really lower your defenses before the disemboweling commences. Intrigued? Chew on these fun facts about ol' Art:

• Famous for: Appearing in the “Terrifier” movies
• Secret shame: Once crashed his clown car and killed 50 passengers
• What he’d love to tell Pennywise: Tag—you’re It!
• Biggest climate change fear: Depletion of the Bozone layer
• Favorite breakfast: Eggs funny side up

Meet Mushmouth

Don't bother trying to talk to Mushmouth: You'd have better luck conversing with a rotten watermelon. Fact is, some malevolent force stitched his mouth shut, and he's quite peeved about it. Even though he can't tell you his story, here's some quick background on this "Sinister" wannabe found at Spirits on Sproat:

• Nickname: Eight feet and brings the heat
• Pet peeve: When people mistake him for Fat Albert’s friend
• Secret shame: His hands can’t stop glowing since he tried to warm them in the microwave last winter
• Favorite vacation spot: Your nightmares