2015 Guide to Southland's Best Halloween Yard Displays

Unlike Naperville, we in the south suburbs embrace neighbors who deck their lawns with zombie towns, body parts and insane clown posses for Halloween. That’s because our homeowners associations would probably fine us if we didn’t.

Patch visited some of these frightful yard displays created by the Southland’s most talented, amateur exterior decorators for the amusement of their neighbors or to throw a scare into the trick-or-treaters. Some have become so popular over the years that the haunters are collecting donations for their favorite charities.

We’ve UPDATED our guide of Halloween decorated yards that are bound to elicit a few 911 calls or give you brief heart palpitations when a pneumatic-controlled Freddy Krueger lunges out at you from the bushes.

If you’re looking for free fun in the days leading up to Halloween, set your GPS and visit these favorite spooky standbys and newbies that are sure to start making the lists of legendary local haunts.

Evergreen Park

1. RESURRECTION GRAVEYARD, 9421 S. COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE, EVERGREEN PARK. This Evergreen Park yard haunt is full of spooks, ghouls, crazy clowns and plenty of live action.haunt is full of spooks, ghouls, crazy clowns and plenty of live action. Actors populate the haunt on weekends, plus there is a paid haunted house attraction ($7) on the premises, proceeds of which are donated to a local charity. This year a hairy black monster has joined the cast. Resurrection Graveyard was created by an actual employee, Mike Amoroso, who worked at the actual Resurrection Cemetery in Justice. Next year, the old graveyard will setting up at Chet’s Melody Lounge in Justice, where Resurrection Mary has been known to stop by and enjoy a cocktail before hitching a ride on Archer Avenue. Stop by on the weekend to meet the clowns and tour the haunted house from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, through Halloween. You can pick up a $2 off coupon at the various Halloween stores, grab one off the Resurrection Graveyard website, or show it on your phone. “I worked for Resurrection Cemetery for 22 years,” Amoroso says. My kids started getting involved and now it’s really big, but we still want to go bigger.”

Oak Lawn

1. CORNER OF THE CURSED, 5841 W. 88TH ST., OAK LAWN - We love a guy whose sole goal in life is to fill a 3,000-square-foot corner lot with clowns. Features two actual coffins, a headless girl whose neck drains blood into a bucket and “a swinging hangman made from scratch. On weekends actors join the motion-sensored animatronics. Read the Patch writeup from 2013.
2. THE DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, 6646 W. 87TH PLACE, OAK LAWN - An empty lawn is the devil’s playground, especially around Halloween. Our favorite is the guy in the electric chair, but we won’t spoil the rest of it for you. If you lose your baseball on this playground, don’t go looking for it. Opens Oct. 16. dusk until 10 a.m., maybe a little later on the weekends, through Halloween.
3. LIMBWOOD CEMETERY, 9112 LYNWOOD AVE., OAK LAWN - This work- in-progress started out with a few dollar store tombstones and couple of crows. Now the yard haunt has tripled in size and includes a homemade eight-foot-tall grim reaper, music and fog. Keeps getting bigger and better every year. We saw a ghoul proudly #FlyingTheW. Extra points for being Cubs fans.
4. SPIRITS ON SPROAT/GALLERY OF THE DEAD, 9028 S. SPROAT AVE., OAK LAWN - This who’s who of monsters is moving their mash into the back year. “We’re ready for our closeup, Mr. DeMille.” It’s also ME-TV Svengoolie’s favorite haunt. The haunt runs from 7-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays (including Halloween); 7-10 p.m. Sundays and weeknights during Halloween week.
5. TERROR ON TULLEY, 8729 S. TULLEY AVE., OAK LAWN - Grab yourself a plate and enjoy some delicious eyeballs. We made them especially for you. A creepy yard display with touches of macabre humor. On weekends actors follow visitors around as they tour the yard haunt. Sunday through Thursday, 7-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday throughout October, 7-11 p.m.
6. THE BONE YARD, 5904 W. 97TH ST., OAK LAWN - This is the final year of one of Oak Lawn’s oldest and most popular haunts. We’re sorry to see this creepy yard o’ bones retire. Stop by for one last look. Thank-you, Carvelli family. Sunday through Thursday, dusk to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, dusk to 11 p.m. Read the write up on Patch.

Burbank

1. NICK’S HAUNTED CEMETERY, 8205 LOCKWOOD AVE., BURBANK - Friday and Saturday, 6:30-11:30 p.m.; Sunday through Thursday, 6:30-10 p.m.
2. THE NEPHILIM, 8211 S. MULLIGAN AVE., BURBANK - Hell must be missing a few fallen angels; will poke you. This year the Nephilim will be accepting donations for Halloween-lover Brenna McNamara, an Oak Lawn Community High School student who has just finished treatment for a rare cancer. Runs 7-11 P.M. Fridays and Saturdays; 7-10 P.M. Sundays throughout October; and 7-11 P.M. Oct. 29-31.

Justice

1. NIGHTMARE ON CRONIN, 7729 CRONIN AVE., JUSTICE - A haunted forest, insane clown room, and popouts that will scare the snot out of you. Set the GPS because word on the street is that it’s hard to find. 6-10 p.m. through Halloween.
2. ENDLESS ROAD, 7350 S. BANKS, JUSTICE - 6-10 p.m. through Oct. 31. Speed kills.

Oak Forest

1. FRANKENSTEIN’S WEDDING, 16409 GEORGIA AVE., OAK FOREST - We’re still trying to shake the image of Elsa Lancaster as Frankenstein’s bride out of our heads. Bring rice. Open 5-10:30 p.m. Haunted House open Oct. 28-31.
2. MOE’S GRAVEYARD, 6961 W. 156TH PLACE (156TH PLACE AND OAK PARK AVE), OAK FOREST - One of the Southland’s classic Halloween yard displays, featuring gargoyles and various other misanthropes. Live actors prowl the yard, plus we hear there is live action on the porch. Open dusk to 10 p.m through Oct, 31,
3. GRAVEYARD ON ROY STREET, 16411 ROY STREET, OAK FOREST - Another fine Halloween yard display is bidding goodbye. After 23 years, this will be Graveyard on Roy Street’s last year of haunting Oak Forest, according to the haunt’s Facebook page. We’ll miss the skeletons, creaky coffins and broiling witches’ cauldrons. As always, donations are being colleged for the Children’s Leukemia Foundation. Weekdays, 6:30-10 p.m.; 1-10 p.m. weekends, through Oct. 31.

Orland Park

1. SCARES ON SEQUOIA, 7631 SEQUOIA COURT, ORLAND PARK, IL. This Halloween haunt combines the 1970s and 1980s horror movie characters like Leatherface, Michael Myers and Jason along with your traditional zombies, witches, monsters and an enclosures to startle and scare you. The Horror Tourers, a group of Halloween enthusiasts that visit Chicago-area yard displays rates Scares on Sequoia 5/5 chainsaws. Dusk to 10 p.m., maybe a little later on weekends through Halloween.
2. SHURLEY HOUSE OF THE DEAD, 17404 DEER CREEK DRIVE, ORLAND PARK. There is lots to see in this yard haunt full of creatures, ghouls, headless brides and more. Check out the projection of the lady in the upstairs window that turns into a ghoul before your very eyes. Fun but not to scary. Kids will like it. Dusk to ten, maybe a little later on weekends through Halloween.

Alsip

1. MAUSOLEUM DE BALCONY, 12635 CENTRAL AVENUE, ALSIP, IL. No yard, just a creepy balcony with the occasional hologram ghost floating by the stained glass window. Dusk to 10 p.m. through Halloween.

Hometown

1. THE HAUNTED CEMETERY, 4033 W. 89TH PLACE, HOMETOWN, IL - This creepy upstart features a prevailing spider web theme, a headless man blood fountain and miniature people hanging in a cage from a tree. On some nights little creatures come out to scare the snot out of you. Dusk to 10 p.m. through Halloween.

Looking for more haunted yard displays, we can’t say enough good things about The Horror Tourers. Check out their fantastic website. We give them 5/5 Chainsaws.