Halloween Haunts: 15 Spooktacular Yard Displays

‘Tis the season when your neighbors display their darkest fantasies on their front lawns. The Southland’s favorite haunters are going all out again this year, expanding their Halloween yard displays with lavish gore and fiendish animatronics.

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

We’ve compiled a guide of nearby Halloween decorated yards that are bound to elicit a few 911 calls or give you brief heart palpitations when a pneumatic-controlled Freddie Kruger lunges at you from the bushes like a punching bag.

If you’re looking for cheap thrills or something to do during the week 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.

Fortunately we didn’t see a girl in a flowing ballgown hitching a ride or we would have turned right around and gone home.

1. RESURRECTION GRAVEYARD, 9421 S. COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE, EVERGREEN PARK - Open 7-11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday in October, and every night up until Halloween. Don’t touch the live performers. Donations to Ronald McDonald Association to enter home haunt.

2. CORNER OF THE CURSED, 5841 W. 88TH ST., OAK LAWN - 6-10 p.m. weekends and Oct. 31 (Halloween). Features a real coffin and actors. Lots of realistic gore on this huge corner lot. Read the Patch writeup.

3. THE DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, 6646 W. 87TH PLACE, OAK LAWN - dusk to 10 p.m. through Oct. 31. Our favorite is the guy in the electric chair.

4. TO NEW TO BE NAMED, 9112 LYNWOOD AVE., OAK LAWN - Now in its second year of horror, this work in progress started out with a few dollar store tombstones and couple of crows last year. The yard haunt has now tripled in size and includes a homemade eight-foot-tall grim reaper, music and fog.

5. SPIRITS ON SPROAT/GALLERY OF THE DEAD, 9028 S. SPROAT AVE., OAK LAWN - 7-11 P.M. Fridays and Saturdays; 7-10 p.m. Sundays and each weeknight the last week of October. The front yard is a Hollywood movie set of famous horror flick monsters waiting for their closeup. Svengoolie’s favorite haunt.

6. TERROR ON TULLEY, 8729 S. TULLEY AVE., OAK LAWN - Sunday through Thursday, 7-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday throughout October, 7-11 p.m. We drove by. It looked pretty terrifying.

7. THE BONE YARD, 5904 W. 97TH ST., OAK LAWN - Sunday through Thursday, dusk to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, dusk to 11 p.m. Neighbors gather to scare the pants off other neighbors in this creepy yard o’ bones. Hands out really good candy on Halloween. Read the writeup on Patch

8. 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.

9. THE NEPHILIM, 8211 S. MULLIGAN AVE., BURBANK - 7-11 P.M. Fridays and Saturdays; 7-10 P.M. Sunday throughout October; and 7-11 P.M. Oct. 29-31. Hell must be missing a few fallen angels; will poke you.

10. NIGHTMARE ON CRONIN, 7729 CRONIN AVE., JUSTICE - 6-10 p.m. through Halloween. There is no justice for the dead.

11. ENDLESS ROAD, 7350 S. BANKS, JUSTICE - 6-10 p.m. through Oct. 31. Speed kills.

12. FRIGHTMARE ON FORESTVIEW, 13155 FORESTVIEW LANE, CRESTWOOD - 7-10 p.m. Oct. 25, 26, 27, 31. Say hi to Mayor Lou Presta for us.

13. FRANKENSTEIN’S WEDDING, 16409 GEORGIA AVE., OAK FOREST - Open 5-10:30 p.m. Haunted House open Oct. 28-31. We’re still trying to shake the image of Elsa Lancaster as Frankenstein’s bride out of our heads.

14. MOE’S GRAVEYARD, 6961 W. 156TH PLACE (156TH PLACE AND OAK PARK AVE), OAK FOREST - Open dusk to 10 p.m through Oct, 31,

15. GRAVEYARD ON ROY STREET, 16411 ROY STREET, OAK FOREST - Weekdays, 6:30-10 p.m.; 1-10 p.m. weekends, through Oct. 31.

CHECK OUT these websites for more South Suburban Halloween yard displays:

• Haunted Illinois
• We Love Halloween
• The Horror Tourers

Set your GPS to:

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