COOK COUNTY, IL—If you're looking for new zombie graveyards, body parts, floating ghosts and devil's playgrounds to explore for Halloween, you've come to the right place. Patch has assembled its annual scary yard tour for 2026, created by some of Chicagoland's most imaginative and demented exterior decorators.
Given the scary yard tour's history of breaking the internet, we have organized the 2026 list by county. So click on the link for the list of scary yards near your house and buy a few gallons of of regular unleaded. Unless noted, most yard haunts are now up and shocking their neighbors, so you're not wasting gas at $4.65 per gallon. Support your neighbors who are blowing up their electric bills.
GET ON THE LIST: We LOVE reader submissions, so we'll be updating the list every FRIDAY leading up to Halloween. So send in your pictures and tell us why your yard haunt is worth a drive-by to lorraine.swanson@patch.com.
Read more about how to get on the Patch 2026 Tour of Scary Yards.
See what other counties are doing:
Buffalo Grove
Tadelman's Spooktacular Asylum, 988 Providence Lane, Buffalo Grove—Rick Tadelman has added new animatronics to his gigantic display, which has now expanded to this back yard and neighbor's yard. It is both family friend and scary. Yard is lit through Nov. 1 from 5:15 nto 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. Fridaqy and Saturday. The popular display has been featured on several TV news shows as well as the Daily Herald. We love a good insane asylum.
Chicago/North
Invasion on Gregory, 7735 W Gregory St., Chicago–Cesar Benavides has created an invasion on his front lawn based on the movie "Coco." His yard haunt has been featured on WGN. Yard is lit daily from dusk to 10:30 p.m. Cesar will be handing out full-size candy bars on Halloween.
Chicago/South
Grimm's Carnevil of Horrors/Cemetery of Hell, 11000 S. St. Louis Ave. (corner house), Chicago—The carnies are back in town, and they've all assembled in Mt. Greenwood. Huge creepy clowns, possessed dolls and other scary characters, including Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, Ghostface, Michael Myers and more can be found in this giant walk-thru on a corner lot. Some even jump out. Yard is lit Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October, through Oct. 31. Where's Gary Busey when you need him?
Chicago Ridge
Maniax on Moody, 10604 Moody Ave., Chicago Ridge–Every Halloween 16-year-old Brody Cavallone transforms his parents' yard into Halloween wonderland, complete with a walk-thru. is a yard display walk thru. Brody spends countless hours bringing his ideas to life because he truly loves Halloween. "For Brody it is about much more than decorations and scares. One of his favorite parts is seeing familiar faces return year after year, watching families walk through together, and seeing the smiles and excitement on both kids and adults. Knowing that something he created can bring happiness to people in our community makes all of his hard work worthwhile."
Elk Grove Village
Invasions Halloween, 541 Sycamore Drive, Elk Grove Village—Ivette and Rusty Burke offer an innovative black light haunt in full neon color with original and modified props to captivate audiences of all ages. Join the towering pumpkin friends guarding their skeleton children at play in real wooden playground equipment from merry-go-round to swings and monkey bars. As our skeleton families celebrate Halloween and fish in our splashing waves, pirates invade attempting to put a damper on the fall festivities at Invasions. A real wooden ship with a mast holds being tied down by the New Breedz aliens who hope to restore peace. Check out the custom made aluminium UFO made from aluminum porch heaters and a Weber grill recreates Area 51. The Burkes also have a rare collection of 10-foot aliens never seen before at any haunt. The aliens have been joined by a band of witches to protect sacred burial grounds. The Burkes may surprise visitors with a witch or two. They'll be handing out warm cozy Halloween socks, fidgets, squishes, coloring books, tattoos and stickers as well as all the popular name brand candy.
Flossmoor
Devil's Playgournd Home Haunt, 900 Western Ave., Flosmoor—This playground from Hades is packed with creepy creations, including a lunging Freddy Krueger, an electrifying execution, toxic lagoon, animatronics, carnEvil scary-go-round, haunted graveyard and plenty of interactive and digital effects dreamed up by Head Devil Keith Janowski and Creative Conjuror, Renee Basick.
On some nights, Devil's Playground really comes alive. Live actors make occasional appearances, and on select weekend nights, visitors can have their cards read by the mysterious Madame Zmaj, resident fortune teller. Check the haunt's Facebook page for Madame Zmaj's appearance dates and times.
Open for viewing on weekends Oct. 16–31. Admission is free, with donations encouraged to support Haunters Against Hate. Parking is available in the adjacent school parking lot.
Come for the scares. Help fight hate. Have a hell of a good time.
Hometown
LORETTO CEMETERY, 9041 BECK PLACE, HOMETOWN—One of the great displays on the Scary Yard Tour. My neighbor, Tom Roche, has had his display up since August and has been decorating his yard for the past ten years, adding props and animatronics. One of Hometown's premiere yard haunts, this scary yard includes 25-30 props including zombies and witches, a handful of which move and talk. There is also a garage haunt. Roche and his girlfriend are out most nights haunting the yard with chainsaws and sledgehammers. This homeowner also has another surprise for trick or treaters. Watch out for the man on the lawn mower. Yard lights dusk till 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and dusk to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Mortuary Gardens, 4568 W. 88th St. Hometown—This is Jill Hewitt and Ryan Smith's third year of decorating in Hometown, rivaling Loretto's Cemetery and Unforgivin. Their display features animatronics, homemade props, homemade music and plenty of fog. Hometown has some great yard haunts and is definitely worth a drive-thru.
LaGrange Park
The Haunted Mansion on Homestead, 836 Homestead Rd, La Grange Park–Welcome Foolish Mortals to the Haunted Mansion. Everything is made by hand and hand-painted by the Coglianese family. This display is a loving recreation of Disney's Haunted Mansion. Interactive! Help the Haunted Mansion Band make music, control the Kraken, or play games! Make a donation and a custom homemade glow-in-the-dark souvenir ghost will follow you home! (While supplies last). Supporting PUCK CANCER.
Lemont
Tucci's Spectacular, 1304 Castlewood Court, Lemont—A massive Halloween haunt filled with towering creatures, iconic Halloween characters and surprises around every corner. Meet Huggy Wuggy, CatNap, Slender Man, the Demogorgon, Frankenstein andhis Bride, Towering Night Walker, Bone Collector, Towering Ghost, Interactive Skelly, the Pumpkin Patch Family, werewolves, Reapers, a floating witch, dragon, gargoyles, the one-legged zombie and zombie trio, plus Predator of the Night spreading his enormous wings over the haunt. And beware of Timekeeper, Darling Dolly and other jump scares waiting to catch you off guard. We don't know if this haunt was inspired by Stanley Tucci, but it lives up to its name.
Midlothian
Old Town Terror, 4359 150th St., Midlothian — Back for its 18th terrifying year, this award-winning creepy cemetery with multiple animations will scare you. The haunt will be lit from dusk to about 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, until 9 p.m. Sundays; until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday Hallween week, and 3 to 10 p.m. on Halloween.
Graveyard on Kilpatrick, 14441 Kilpatrick Ave., Midlothian — Instead of playing tricks, kids come from miles around just to see Judy Scott's giant front yard mausoleum. "I have been decorating my house since around 1988, and I have expanded my decorations to what they are today. It started with my love for Halloween and my son wanting to scare the children. My husband helps with the large displays that are all handmade, like the mausoleum." On Halloween night there are smoke machines, spooky music and a live actor prowling about to scare the kiddies. Lights are on from dusk to 10:30 p.m.
Mt. Prospect
1817 W Palm Drive, Mt. Prospect—This is an inspired a 3-in-1 yard, porch and window display. Many new props are added every day in the yard and entryway, while the animated village in the front windows makes its annual return. Effects start daily at dusk, or come out for a quiet daytime visit. Make final arrangements now; we've been dying to have you. Open now through Nov 1. Lights, fog, music and animations from dusk to 10:30 p.m.
Oak Forest
Skull N Crossbones Cemetery, 14519 Club Circle Drive, Oak Forest—Ginger Jackson submitted this cute little yard haunt. Decorations are DIY with repurposed items and a few animatronics, highlighted by a 10-foot-tall witch and over a dozen mischief-making skeletons. Belly up to the Boneyard Cafe, creepy cemetery, newly expanded pirate area and spooky lighting. Family friendly.
The Haunted Garage, 5936 Condado Drive, Oak Forest—David Martinez is the mastermind behind this haunted car shack, which is bigger and better than ever, with new scares. Don't let the innocent tract house fool you. The garage is a portal to hell with great special effects. David and his pals have added new tracks for 2024. Live actors will jump out at you.
The Twisted Neighbor, 5020 158th St., Oak Forest – The bone throne is back! Some of the south suburbs' sickest Halloween displays can be found in Oak Forest. The Twisted Neighbor's bone throne is also back, where people can walk up and take a photo if they want. On the weekend they will have a fog machine, and sometimes they like to scare people. We wish they were our neighbor!
Oak Lawn
Smith's Grove Cemetery, 8720 S. 55th Ave., Oak Lawn—This is a boneyard for the ages and has been featured on the cover of our tour o' scary yards in past years. Timothy Smith has built a full graveyard scene with a full skeleton rock band and audience, complete with light show and music. Plus, two giants! Everything is up now through Halloween.
9741 S Cicero, Oak Lawn–Jeff Roccaforte's haunted condo balcony lights up Cicero Avenue.
Orland Park
GLOOMY OAKS MANOR, 12351 Derby Lane, Orland Park—Brandon Lopez's extreme outdoor yard haunt features 50+ animations, multiple projections, multiple creepy scenes, and larger-than-life displays. This year, Gloomy Oaks Manor features a Haunted Witches Forest, a witches' castle, and multiple returning favorites. The house has been featured multiple times on the local TV news station. "We are the scariest house in Orland Park," Brandon claims. The yard is lit Monday-Thursday dusk-9 p.m., FRIDAY-SATURDAY dusk-10 p.m.--weather permitting. Props and animation will not be operating during rain/high winds. **Please respect these hours and also be mindful this is a residential neighborhood. Keep an eye on your kids and road traffic.
Schaumburg
Haunting On Howard, 1120 Howard Drive, Schaumburg–Neighbors have watched Skelly grow all summer by giving him bones until his present height of 12 feet. She's giving away candy, treats for the four-legged trick-or-treaters, and toys for those who cannot have candy.
Streamwood
Spooky Meadow Manor, 1032 Meadow Ct, Streamwood
Tinley Park
Reapers Revenge On Ridgeland, 16422 Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park – This is the Deenens' ninth year of decorating in Tinley, and four years before that in Alsip. They've added six new props. The biggest hit is their zombie containment machine. Push the button and hope he doesn't escape.
Dark Shadows, 16322 64th Court, Tinley Park—You may want to wear a spit hood at Mike Yazumbeks's yard haunt, featuring an extensive collection of one-of-a-kind animatronics that jump, spit, and talk to you!
TIMBERS POINTE CEMETERY, 8907 WOODBINE COURT, TINLEY PARK—Features a haunted abandoned house and graveyard with multiple animations, projections and live actors, weather permitting. Haunt is lit up Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October, and Oct. 26 through Oct. 31. ALERT: Full-sized candy bars will be handed out on Halloween. The Casto Family will be collecting monetary donations as well as non-perishable food items for Haunts for Hunger.
Willow Springs
Killer House on Kazwell, 109 Kazwell St., Willow Springs – Julie Waytek was the very first person to submit her house for the 2026 Scary Yard tour. What a setup. Animatronics and jumping scarecrows will be out all Halloween day. Open now through Oct. 31, dusk to 11 p.m.
Winnetka
Spider-Dum, 988 Lake Street in Winnetka–Rhonda Kochlefl and her family have been hosting a Halloween haunted house fo close to 20 years. They don't do it every year anymore, but we will be doing the full haunted house this season. The residential haunt features a large purple spider, a field of zombies, a graveyard with a dragon, a vampire room, haunted mansion, a pirate room, mad scientist room, a chorus of pumpkins and a witches coven. The inside rooms are only open on Halloween.
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