Meet Jake the Drake

Don't try stealing any gold from this fire-breather: He's bound to adopt a scorched earth policy on your posterior. Here's the lowdown on Jake the Drake: 

• Archenemy: Kendrick Lamar 

• Also known as: Dragon breath, Fireball, Maleficent’s alter ego

• Why they love him in Texas: Turns every meal into a barbecue

• Favorite TV shows: Hoarders, Golden Girls

• Secret shame: Allergic to knights

Spirits on Sproat now open every night through Halloween

 Your favorite Halloween house is now open every night through October 31. That means 14 straight evenings (weather permitting). Make plans to visit soon!

Meet Heartless Hal

Here's a real mummy's boy who wears his heart on his hand instead of his sleeve. Heartless Hal rises from his tomb every evening to seek out new cardiac victims to add to his collection.

• Known for: Ripping your heart from your chest and rubbing it in your face

• Inquiring minds want to know: Is he a mummy, or is he a zombie? 

• What the other monsters say about him: He’s too wrapped up in himself 

• Nicknames: The cardiac kid, lost gauze 

• Secret shame: He had a full head of hair until age 937

Meet Sir Stalks-a-Lot

One scarecrow who won't be traveling the Yellow Brick Road anytime soon is Sir Stalks-a-Lot, who would rather hang around our home haunt than seek out the great and powerful Oz. Fun facts about this strawman:

• Also known as: Our pumpkin-headed scarecrow

• What the crows say about him: He’s out of his gourd 

• Sick of: Pumpkin spice latte, Linus Van Pelt, The Smashing Pumpkins 

• Catchphrase: “That’s the last straw!”

Meet the Bride of Frankenstein

Guess who's married to tall, dark, and gruesome? It's the stitched up lady with Nefertiti hair, who'd rather hiss than kiss. Here's a bullet point roundup on the Bride of Frankenstein:

• Hair goals: invented the lightning bolt highlight trend before salons caught on.
• Commitment issues: only alive for 5 minutes and already rejecting her arranged marriage.
• Swipe left: not into tall, scarred guys with neck bolts.
• Powered by electricity: making her the original “plug-in hybrid.”

Meet Tipsy O'Neill

Got any skeletons in your closet? This guy sure does. His name is Tipsy O'Neill, and chances are if he's looking at you he's seeing double. Here's the dossier on this bonehead:

• Nickname: Boozy bones 

• Voted in high school: Most likely to be late for his own wake 

• Personal motto: Rattle responsibly but drink like there’s no tomorrow 

• Beverage of choice: Anything 80 proof and up 

• Secret shame: Lost his pants in a bar bet

Meet The Devil

You've got a date...with the devil. And he's on our property! Come catch a glimpse of Mr. fire and brimstone himself, one of our newest residents of Spirits on Sproat. . Here's what we know about him:

• Aliases: Beelzebub, Old Scratch, Mephistopheles, Steve Bannon
• Amazing fact: He stays in great shape but doesn’t exorcise
• Greatest trick ever pulled: Convincing the world that the Kardashians deserve to exist

Meet Morticia

Can you handle the hotness that is Morticia? This vampirish vixen sees the world in black and white, with that former color representing her entire wardrobe. Here's what we know about this female fiend:

 • Famous for: Being Wednesday’s mother and the matriarch of the Addams family 

• Little-known fact: Her bosom is regarded as the eighth wonder of the world 

• Dirty little secret: Turns PTA meetings into séances 

• Bet you didn’t know: She’s the only mom who irons in full evening wear

• What they say about her on social media: She puts the “fun” in “funeral”.

Meet Zombie Zed

Everywhere you look these days, it seems like another zombie is popping up. Whether it's on TV, in the movies, or running for political office somewhere, brain-eating members of the undead are hip. And making a presence at Spirits on Sproat, too, as evidenced by the arrival of Zombie Zed. Fun facts on this fascinating figure:

• Nicknames: Lurch, B.O.S. (bent-outta-shape), tall, dark and gruesome
• Secret shame: Was fired from “The Walking Dead” TV show because he gnawed on the director’s arm
• Suffers from: Male pattern baldness, binge eating disorder

Midnight Terror reinvents its haunted house for all-new scares

Midnight Terror Haunted House in Oak Lawn wrote the book on how a Chicagoland haunted attraction can thoroughly terrify its audience when it opened 11 years ago. Now, in 2025, it’s ripped up those pages and created a whole new scare playbook after reworking its entire theme and introducing new characters and fresh thrills designed to frighten audiences anew.

Haunt owner and Marine veteran Justin Cerniuk of Oak Lawn spent the entire off-season reimagining Midnight Terror, aiming to amplify the fear factor and entertainment value for his customers.

“After a successful run of the same popular theme for several years, it was time for a new look, design, and approach to the way we scare,” he says. “We want our visitors to think of us as not just a haunted house but a major Halloween event: one that creates an unforgettable experience and an exceptional value for the price. So we adopted a completely new narrative that drives our characters. We incorporated classic monsters that everyone loves and associates with Halloween. And we gave our scare actors and makeup artists more creative freedom on how to inhabit those roles and frighten customers in more clever and innovative ways.”

Midnight Terror will continue to offer two impressive haunted attractions for the price of one. Now, you’ll first enter the dark industrial corridors of Shadowtek, a decrepit workshop where Dr. Shroud conducts illegal lab experiments on hapless factory workers, transforming them into malicious mutants programmed to terrorize the public. Next, your journey leads you through Black Oak Grove on All Hallows’ Eve, where an eerie fog blankets the streets, malevolent trick-or-treaters roam, and the OG fiends that populated your childhood nightmares – including vampires, werewolves, witches, and mummies – take shivery shape from out of the shadows. Then, to escape the haunt, you’ll have to brave an insane maze of killer clowns wielding rusty chainsaws.

Even the “Rotten Hollow” queue line will keep you on your toes, with costumed creatures, professional jugglers, stilt walkers, and street dancers providing free entertainment as you prepare to enter Midnight Terror.

The haunt will also be hosting four special events in 2025:
· “Lights On Trick-or-Treating” on Oct. 25 from noon to 2:30 p.m., during which parents can bring their younger kids to tour the haunt while the lights are on and “scary mode” is turned off; enjoy costume contests, candy, magicians, balloon artists, and carnival games (all-ages admission is $15 per person; all children must be accompanied by an adult).
· “Blackout” on Nov. 2 from 7-10 p.m., when all lights inside are turned off and visitors must rely on a glow stick to navigate the dark haunt (admission from $30).
· “Clown Takeover” on Nov. 8 from 7-10 p.m., when the haunt’s theme switches to a “carn-evil” swarming with killer clowns (admission from $30).
· “Christmas Fear” on Dec. 12, 13, and 14 from 7-10 p.m., which promises an unforgettable experience in Yuletide terror (admission from $20).

Additionally, 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park is now offering a special Midnight Terror Burger for a limited time; bring your burger receipt to the on-site Midnight Terror ticket booth and your general admission tickets (two maximum) will automatically be upgraded to Fast Pass tickets – a $40 value. You can get details on other promotions and discounts by signing up for the haunt’s official email list, Nightmare Fuel, at MidnightTerror.com.

Ranked as one of the best haunted houses in Chicagoland by TimeOut, a top 10 haunted attraction by USA Today, a top 10 haunt by ScareFactor.com, and one of the 10 scariest haunted houses in America by ScaryOverload.com, Midnight Terror has been featured numerous times on Fox 32 and comes highly recommended by Thrillist, NBC, the Chicago Tribune, Patch.com, Haunted House Chicago, Illinois Haunted Houses, and others. The haunt has also received more than 1,200 five-star reviews from visitors on Google and Facebook.

Midnight Terror Haunted House is located at 5520 W. 111th St., Oak Lawn, Ill., 60453, just east of the intersection of Central Avenue and 111th Street. General admission per person starts at $30 online page down page down and $35 at the onsite ticket booth; Fast Pass admission per person, which places you in a line that’s three times faster than the general admission line, is $55. Or you can purchase immediate access ($75 per person), which guarantees instant entry into the haunt. Use the promo code Fear 20 online to get 20% off general admission or Fast Pass tickets, good on select dates.

Midnight Terror is wheelchair accessible and open, rain or shine, from:
7 p.m. to 11 p.m. most Fridays and Saturdays: Oct. 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, and 31
7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays and select days: Sept. 26-28, Oct. 3, 5, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 29, and 30, and Nov. 1, 2, and 8.

Visitors can park for no charge on-site or take a free shuttle to Midnight Terror; the shuttle departs from 9525 Tulley Ave., Oak Lawn, regularly during hours of operation (check the website for the latest shuttle schedules).

For more information, check out MidnightTerror.com or email info@midnightterror.com.

Spirits on Sproat reopens tonight

Your favorite Halloween house springs back into action tonight, September 26. Make a visit to Spirits on Sproat this opening weekend and come see what all the frightful fuss is about. We'll be open tonight and tomorrow from 7 to 11 PM and Sunday 7 to 10 PM.

For our full 2025 schedule and more details, click here.

Spirits on Sproat rises from the dead on September 26

Spirits on Sproat, your favorite Halloween house, returns for its 21st season of frightful fun on Friday, September 26. We will be open for a record 24 evenings this year (weather permitting). Make plans to see our outdoor museum of the macabre in which nearly every major horror icon from film, TV, literature, pop culture, and urban legend is represented. In 2025, Spirits on Sproat will showcase over 130 full-size figures, many of which are home-made replicas of classic horror characters.

Spirits on Sproat—which has been featured multiple times on Svengoolie’s television program and in The Chicago Tribune, and was named a Hall of Fame Haunt by The Horror Tourers—gets thousands of visitors each season. Visitors enjoy two unique scavenger hunt games that you can play on your smartphone or on laminated sheets provided at the haunt, humorous signage describing each character, creepy horror movie music mixed with sound effects, light projection special effects, and everyone's favorite knife-wielding Michael Myers and hockey-mask-wearing Jason Vorhees in addition to other live scarers.

For our complete schedule and more details, click here.