Patch's Best 2026 Halloween Yard Haunts: Will, Kendall, Grundy Counties

WILL-GRUNDY-KENDALL COUNTIES—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 expensive regular unleaded gas. 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:

• DuPage/Kane Counties
• Lake/McHenry Counties
• Cook County/Chicago
• Will/Kendall/Grundy/DeKalb Counties

GRUNDY COUNTY

Gardner

Gardner Spooky House, 401 N East St., Gardner–Get your kicks on Old Route 66! The Gardner Spooky House began in 2020 by a husband-and-wife duo. Rebecca and Justin Wheeler's mix of DIY creations and animatronics turned a small display into a community Halloween tradition, thrilling visitors each year with spooky fun and creative frights on Old Route 66.

Minooka

THE NIGHTMARE HAUNTED HOUSE/MALICE IN WONDERLAND, 509 E. HUNTER LANE, MINOOKA — This home haunt is as close to pro you can get and was rated one of Haunted Illinois' “Top 10 Halloween Events.” Michael Peters’ walk-thru from hell features 10 highly themed rooms and yard displays with over 25 actors nightly. We raise cash donations for Shorewood HUGS, Team Make a Difference and Haunters Against Hate. Michael’s last time on the list was 2020. “What makes us special is we have been highly acclaimed and rated by multiple professional haunted house review teams such as The Scare Factor, Haunted House Chicago andHaunted Illinois. A five-minute mini escape room nightly as well unless you disappear to the other side. Your kids will run screaming down the sidewalk. Lights are on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 6 to 10 p.m.

Morris

Ghost Lake, 6010 Pearl Road, Morris–”We’re ready for our closeup, Mr, DeMille!” Holly’s display features all your fave characters from 1980s horror flicks. Definitely worth a look if you’re out driving the dark roads of Grundy County. Don’t pick up any hitchhikers. They’re all zombies.

WILL COUNTY

Bolingbrook

Glen Lake Cemetery, 129 Glen Lake Drive, Bolingbrook– You might see a few ghosts going bump in the night and the dead coming to life in Raymond Kackert’s front lawn bone yard.

252 Laurie Circle, Bolingbrook—Susan offers a nice mix of blow molds and inflatables in her suitable-for-small-children, not-to-scary-friendly haunt. You don't have to worry about a maniac chasing your 7-year-old with a chainsaw.

Frankfort

7716 Pineview Lane, Frankfort—Frankfort has some of the sickest displays on the Scary Yard Tour. Brittany and Kyle are no exception. Brittany picked up her love for Halloween decorating from her grandfather. They'll be ready for Halloween with full-sized candy bars for the youngsters.

Fear on Acorn Ridge, 20650 Acorn Road, Frankfort–Anthony Chiaro and Sarah DeAngelis’s display may look innocent by days, but at night all those monsters come alive, with fog and lights. The walk-thru is bigger than ever. Every year is different.

Haunts On Jon-Kill Lane, 20248 S Jonquil Lane, Frankfort—The McMahon family has been decorating their yard, expanding their collection each year. The McMahons have changed things up a bit, including a frightening circus sideyard show and creepy cemeteries for people to walk through. Dozens of terrifying animatronics jump out at you, filled with both animal and human creatures that will give you a fright.

Red Death Manor, 23054 Lakeview Estates Blvd. Frankfort–Nicholas Signore’s home display has been years in the making. Over 50 percent of the display is homemade decor and animatronics. “We have creepy crawlers, ghostly ghouls, and vomiting maniacs,” Nicholas said. “The display has flashing, lasers, and extensive lighting throughout. Red Death Manor is a graveyard full of sickness, decay, and horror.” Sounds like a good time.

Harvest Haunt, 7901 Harvest Drive, Frankfort – Nothing says Halloween more than corn and animatronics. The yard is lit from dusk to 10 p.m. through Oct. 31. is a cemetery and corn field display with animatronics (more on the weekend) that will start on Oct first and run through Halloween. Starts at dusk until around 10 at night. Will be handing out standard candy on Halloween.

7429 W. Hawthorne Lane, Frankfort—Julia Alber says her display is a labor of love for her family, including a mix of inflatables for the littles, props and animatronics, like a 6-foot-tall mounted spider, and a towering phantom. Be prepared for the Chuckie, Sam and Michael Myers jump scares. Lights up 5 to 10 p.m. daily through Nov. 1. Animatronics will not be running if there is bad/rainy weather.

Homer Glen

Midnight Hallow, 14621 S. Mustang Drive, Homer Glen

Joliet

3612 Leominster Ave, Joliet—This is Anna's and Mike's first year on the list. Their ghoul-fog filled year even looks scary in the daytime.

Terror on Timberlake, 2703 Timberlake Drive, Joliet–Halloween is 17-year-old Justin Kenny’s passion. His mom, Shannah, tells us that her son is “Halloween 365 days a year!” Halloween decor is Justin’s most requested gift for birthdays and Christmas. He even took a part-time seasonal job at Spirit Halloween. Justin’s haunt has grown to 35 animated props, with creepy clowns occupying one side of the yard, and a graveyard full of gravestones on the other side that will make you scream. New stuff gets added every week.

The Witches Garden, 513 Cornelia St., Joliet–Joliet artist Amber Hunter’s witches' garden always comes to life this time of year, with witches casting spells and neon skeletons, dancing up a jamboree. Even the headless horseman comes by now and then. “Halloween for me started back in the 90s with my mom, Georgina Hunter, making life-size monsters for us when we were kids and it just grew from there,”Amber says. “All my monsters in my front yard are handmade by me except for the animatronics. I have about 30 life-size monsters in my front yard. Each one has their scene and they’re very unique. I also have a goat that spits out water into a bucket . My lights are on from 4 to 10. A fog machine runs on the weekends, depending on the weather.” Please view from the sidewalk and take as many pictures as you want. For Halloween Amber goes all out, dishing out lots of candy and dressing up with music going on in her yard. “Halloween for us is tradition. And it’s a tradition that I get to do with my kids and passed down to them.”

616 Tana Lane, Joliet–We love Freddie Cruz’s spooky mid-century home.

Witches Dispute, 1306 Campbell St., Joliet—We don’t know if Stan Wasik is a lawyer, but we love the arguing witches overseen by a cackling pumpkin. We hope the witches settle their dispute.

Lockport

ST LUCIFER'S GARDEN OF LOST SOULS, 312 EDINBURGH DRIVE, LOCKPORT—Every Halloween season, Nanci Gonzalez’s front yard sprouts lost souls. Her fifth year on the scary yard tour, she's been turning her lawn into a cemetery, which features a walk-thru display with spooky music. There is no gore, so young children will love whistling through this graveyard enjoying the static and animatronic props. A donation box is up for the Oinking Acres Farm Rescue & Sanctuary. Nanci is switching things up this year. The yard haunt is open daily from dusk to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; and dusk to 11 p.m. Visitors are welcome day and night. Featured on WGN and Fox 32.

Manhattan

Holiday House Projections, 24361 Shawnee Drive, Manhattan—Michael Hesser's yard haunt is a technological marvel, done entirely with computers. Michael starts programming and editing weeks in advance, using a technique called 3D mapping creating 3D projections across the front of the house. The Hessers also have a Christmas show. The audio is broadcast over FM radio, so people can watch from the safety and comfort of their car. To keep things fresh, new scenes are added throughout the month leading up to Halloween. “We have received unbelievably kind letters from families from across Illinois letting us know our house has become a family tradition,” Hesser says. “The letters are usually addressed to ‘The Halloween House’ or ‘The Christmas House’ since we do displays for both, we decided to name our display 'Holiday House Projections.'” Michael is already at work on new Christmas scenes. He’s also been using his 3D printers around the clock to make little Jack Skellington keychains and Oogie Boogie figures to hand out to the crowds on nights he’s out there. This year, the Hessers are collecting for Misophonia research.

525 Thelma St., Manhattan—A fabulous handmade haunt. We’ll take Manhattan.

Mokena

Hessling’s House of the Dead, 10647 Westport Way, Mokena—Halloween is taken VERY seriously at the Hessling house! Their popular haunt has placed three ties in Mokena’s House of Frights Halloween House Decorating Contest, and this year they’re bringing the haunt back from the dead bigger, darker, and creepier than before. The Hessling haunt comes alive from dusk to 10 p.m. through Oct. 31.

The Bone Brigade, 10900 Bryant Rd, Mokena 10900 Bryant Rd, Mokena–Bridget and Kevin Haag’s display is special because they’ve got quite the crew of skeletons posed in cute, creative scenes–stacked, lounging, crawling out of the ground, and more. Playful and well lit at night. Bridget and Kevin will be handing a variety of great candy for Halloween.

New Lenox

812 Westwind, New Lenox—The skeletons are having a funeral before the worms start playing pinochle in their mouths in Lisa Murphy’s Halloween display.

Halloween Town, 514 E. Joliet Highway, New Lenox—Check out the Cuthberts’ “Nightmare Before Christmas” themed yard haunt.

Plainfield

The Dead End of Pembrook Court 1807 Pembrook Court, Plainfield—The barrier between Pembrook Ct. and Hawkins has been shattered, unleashing the Upside Down in this yearly Halloween graveyard display. Demogorgons claw their way from portals, Demodogs lurk in the shadows, and Demobats soar overhead. Matthew Navas’ display is mostly handmade, with 3D printed life-sized statues and modified animatronics. Pop-up shop (we don’t know what he’s selling) 6 to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Pumpkin Riot, 1702 Whispering Oaks Drive, Plainfield – Brian and Kate Hunter have changed up their display to give people the greatest experience possible, going with a “Harvest Hollows” theme. ‘Tis the season of the Pumpkin Witch. The display also features an evil pumpkin patch infested with scorched witches and giant pumpkin creatures who overlook the whole display. This year's haunt has grown again with new animatronics, new static props, our biggest pumpkin patch yet, and a mystery monster waiting inside the barn. The Hunters will be handing out an assortment of candy and treats this Halloween.

Zink House of Horrors, 2205 Cedar Lakes Ct., Plainfield—The Zink family offers a walk-thru haunted harvest tent, creepy carnival side show, possessed playground, giant monster battles, torture chamber, zombie cemetery and swamp monsters in this unique homemade horror haunt. Officially open Oct. 10.