Guide to Annual Halloween Activities in Springfield, IL

Small towns are a surprising source of Halloween entertainment. Some of the towns in the Springfield, Illinois area have Halloween parades with all of the expected participants: floats, bands, politicians, and of course lots of locals in costume. Many of the parades are held during the day because previous nighttime scheduling led to vandalism and crime. It’s a shame that the few spoil it for the many. There are still a few Halloween parades held at night, and there are a lot of other terrific Halloween activities in the Springfield area, as well.

One neat local activity is the haunted house in Rochester, a small town about four miles east of Springfield. It’s put together by volunteers from the community, and it’s a really good haunted house. They’ve been doing this for several years, and have made some great costumes and special effects. During the course of the evening, when they have people who really don’t want to be scared to death, they use flashlights to light things up and the actors are friendly rather than frightening. This is a really good local haunted house that even the kids can enjoy.

The Springfield Jaycees also put on quite a Halloween celebration. They rely on the generosity of local businessmen to donate a space for the haunted house, so the location changes each year. This makes it somewhat difficult to have a consistently good production, since some locations are better suited to making really creepy haunted houses than others. The costumes and special effects are usually pretty good, though, and it’s well worth going through.

One other major haunted house is found in Petersburg, a small town about 18 miles to the northwest of Springfield. Called “Terror on the Square,” this haunted house has a major reputation for miles around. It’s located in the same Victorian house every year, and the producers of this haunted house have it down to a very spooky science. Amazing costumes, elaborate special effects, and a generally well-run operation all make for an awesome haunted house. They usually have some extra activities during October, other than the evening haunted house tours. Included are some non-spooky activities for kids. This one is a must-see if you’re in the Springfield area during October.

Finally, there’s Carter’s Stables. They have a huge bonfire with logs and straw bales for seating; this is where you sit and wait for your turn on the Haunted Hayride. This isn’t just any haunted hayride, though. They load you up in open farm wagons, and take you through the local fields, forest, and along the Sangamon River. On nights without a moon, it is pitch black along the ride and scary enough even without the “haunted” stuff. But when they add the ghouls and goblins who pop out from behind trees and bushes (triggering very creepy lighting), horrifying screams (who can actually make those sounds?!), and a headless horseman (after all, it’s held at a stable!), this haunted hayride is enough to scare the most fright-hardy of us all. While some of the ghouls are the same from year to year, they are placed in different spots each year, so you never know where or when any of them will pop out. The Carter’s Haunted Hayrides are held on Fridays and Saturdays throughout October, from dark until quite late at night. Get there early and enjoy the bonfire, because these rides are extremely popular and fill up fast. They try to take a wagonload of younger, more easily frightened kids on a ride before it gets dark each night. But to really enjoy the essence of Halloween, you need to go on a night ride. And look out for that headless horseman.