Patch's Best 2024 Halloween Yard Haunts: Lake And McHenry Counties
LAKE-McHENRY COUNTY — 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 2024, created by some of Chicagoland’s most imaginative and demented exterior decorators.
Given the scary yard tour’s past history of breaking the internet, we have organized the 2024 list by county. So click on the link for the list of scary yards near your house, or go crazy and visit them all.
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 list. If you participated in years past and didn’t get an email from us, send Patch your info.
Find out what's happening in Grayslakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Also, check out these lists for more scary yards throughout the Chicago area: Chicago Haunt Builders, Haunted Illinois Directory, Illinois Haunted Houses and We Love Halloween. There’s free fun to be had in the days leading up to Halloween, so set your GPS for these spooky standbys and nightmarish newbies.
See what other counties are doing:
Find out what's happening in Grayslakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Check out these slick yard haunts in Lake and McHenry Counties:
Deerfield
Chainsaw Manor, 1042 Gordon Terrace, Deerfield –Kevin Friduss puts a lot of effort into making his display a theatrical presentation. The yard haunt features mostly static, creepy props. “My whole thing with Halloween is that it’s meant to be scary.” To make it less fearful for his young children, he lets them name the chainsaw maniacs. One is named “Mr. Poopie Head.” There are live actors, fog, lasers, fun, music and excitement. Visitors can look from the sidewalk. The display does not operate in rainy conditions. Friduss is collecting donations for Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital. Hours are dusk to 10 p.m.
Highland Park
The Green Bay Trail behind the 1300 block of St. Johns Ave., Highland Park — The trail has transformed into an annual Halloween hotspot, drawing trick-or-treaters and visitors alike. In 2020, when traditional Halloween was interrupted by COVID, a neighbor (Emily) created a new tradition by encouraging her St Johns neighbors to decorate the Green Bay Trail behind their homes so the local children could trick-or-treat safely outdoors. Many were delighted to participate, and the result is a spooky, yet festive block-long Halloween celebration that has continued.
The showstopper is on the Green Bay Trail at the north end, where a sprawling display awaits behind Kitty Fishman’s home at 1356 St Johns (just south of Lincoln Avenue). It bursts with dozens of whimsical skeletons engaging in all sorts of spooky fun. Each year, new skeletons join the party, with some animated to add an extra thrill. This entire block-long Halloween spectacle has become a must-see destination for Green Bay Trail hikers, bikers, and Highland Park families.
The Green Bay Trail behind the 1300 block of St. Johns Ave., Highland Park
McHenry
CarnEvil of Terror Cemetery, 1701 Rogers Ave., McHenry – Matt Mabus has a home haunt walk-thru featuring scary fun for all ages. On weekends he has live actors and after your 7-year-old gets chased by a monster, there are homemade cookies, popcorn and drinks for all to enjoy, plus carnival games and prizes for kiddies. It’s definitely worth the visit.
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