Statesville Haunted Prison
For 25 years, Statesville was one of the defining names in Chicagoland haunted attractions. It started in 1996 and closed after one final season in 2021.
Chicago haunt history
HAUNTS WE MISS
Chicago has had some incredible haunted attractions over the years. Some are gone. Some are sitting out a season. All of them helped make this one of the best haunt markets in the country.
Gone, but remembered
THE NAMES HAUNT FANS STILL KNOW.
This is not a graveyard for competitors. It is a little appreciation for attractions that mattered to Chicago-area haunt fans.
Dream Reapers
Dream Reapers ran for 13 seasons in Melrose Park and became one of the best-known Illinois haunted houses of its era before closing permanently after 2012.
Fear City
Fear City brought a large-scale, production-heavy haunted attraction to Morton Grove and became a memorable part of the early-2010s Chicago haunt landscape.
Missing from 2026
NOT HERE THIS SEASON.
These names are different: they are not being treated as permanently gone. They simply are not expected to operate in their familiar form for the 2026 season.
Old Joliet Haunted Prison
The haunted attraction operated inside the former women’s prison at the Old Joliet Prison complex beginning in 2020. The City of Joliet did not renew the haunt operator’s lease for 2026.
Evil Intentions
Evil Intentions has said it will not open for the 2026 season after its planned Elgin move fell through. The attraction has explicitly said this is not the end and is looking toward a return.
From one haunt to another
WE MISS THEM, TOO.
Haunted houses come and go, but the good ones leave a mark. If one of these was your October tradition, we hope Realm of Terror earns a spot in your rotation.