A Freaky Halloween Festivity: Chicago’s Haunted Tour

During the Halloween holiday we think of pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and cute costumes for the kids, but sometimes you need to kick it up just a bit. How about an authentic ghost tour for the whole family? If you’re in the Chicago area, especially around Halloween and in the mood for a good fright, check out their ghost tour downtown. For years Chicago has held nationally acclaimed ghost tours in the city and surrounding suburbs. So this fall, look into this fun and freaky opportunity before its fully booked. www.chicagohauntings.com

Chicago is arguably one of the most haunted cities in the world, boasting an exciting, but disturbingly dark and violent past ever since the city itself was inhabited. Many of the sites on our tours are notorious all over the world for their hauntings and paranormal activity. Others are not as well known, not even to the city’s locals. The stories behind many of these hauntings range from the truly terrifying to the light-hearted and slightly happy.

These tours are not your boring, fake tours either. Chicago’s haunted tours are more than just your average history exhibits. The tours provide a fun, thrilling, and especially exciting ride for the whole family. The tour exposes excitement that’s hidden in the walls of a building, behind the gates of a cemetary, and even in empty streets. Every site and story on the tour is based on fact and observation. Some of the sites include, but are not limited to: Fort Dearborn Massacre site, Iroquois Theater & Death Alley, the Eastland river disaster site, haunted Streeterville, death site of Resurrection Mary, Hull House, Harpo Studios, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre site, Graceland Cemetery, Candyman’s Cabrini Green, the Tonic Room, and the Biograph Theater. The guides are also known for taking side routes to new sites that are just being paranormally investigated, so you may never know what new attraction you will see with your guide.

The tour itself is complete with a 3-hour long tour on Chicago’s only “ghost bus”. The tour is not on the bus the entire time either. Instead the tour group departs the bus several times and gets to walk through the haunted sites. The guide of the tour is not some average historian either, but a real ghost hunter. Many of the guides on the tour work with paranormal investigations in the city and surrounding areas to provide you with the truest and most historical information possible. The tour itself is based off Ursula Bielski’s book about Chicago Haunting. Ursula herself is a 20-year veteran of the paranormal study too. She and her book helped mold the tours and the attractions. As an addition she is in charge of the tours and often is one of the guides.

Tours operate year round and nightly Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 7pm, with additional Friday and Saturday tours at 10pm. Tours are especially hot during the October month and Halloween, so reservations are being booked and filling up very quickly. Making reservations is extremely suggested for the tours. To make reservations call the toll-free number anytime: 1-888-GHOST-91. Reservations are also available at their website (www.chicagohauntings.com) Tickets are $30 per person, or $20 for children ages 8-12. The ticket prices are well worth it. Tours are also available to private groups including family gatherings, class trips, halloween parties, etc.

So this coming Halloween and fall, come to Chicago and enjoy on Chicago’s haunted tours. There is no guarentee you will see ghost, or that you won’t. There have been weird happenings on past trips. Come with an open mind and a burning curiousity to discover the secrets of Chicago. Remember digital and video cameras are always welcome!