Looking for some terrifying activities to round out the Halloween season? Here are some of the best scary sites to visit or read about that will keep you up at night.
Schweppe Mansion
The tale has it that Schweppe Mansion, a house built in 1917 on the lake in Lake Forest, was bought as a wedding present for Laura Shedd and her husband Charles Schweppe in the 1930s. Not long after, in 1937, Shedd died from a heart attack. Four years later, in 1941, Charles Schweppe was found with a bullet wound in the head and a note that read, “I’ve been awake all night. It’s terrible.”
Schweppe was known to have struggled with insomnia and was isolated from society in the 24,500-square-foot mansion. After their passing, the house sat on the market for 50 years without any buyers until 1987. When put on the market again for $18 million in 200, the house sold for $8.5 million in 2020.
13th Floor Haunted House
The 13th-floor haunted house in Chicago is found in Schiller Park, IL, and is in the “top 5 most terrifying haunted houses in the USA,” according to USA today. This thrilling haunted house consists of many monsters and jump scares throughout the tour of the building, and the franchise slogan is “Halloween Lives Here.”
This year’s attractions are known as The Deadlands and Depths of Darkness and a 5-minute escape room. In The Deadlands, a virus is affecting all of humanity, and it’s your mission to uncover the truth of the blame, but the question is, who will believe that truth? In Depths of Darkness, a thunderstorm in a small town on the water awakens a deep-sea creature who sings eerily to invite people to join in her suffering. These seemingly accurate simulations make this haunted house one of the scariest in the country, so don’t miss it!
Fort Sheridan
Since the late 1880s, the buildings of Fort Sheridan have been spread out all throughout Lake County. The former military base is known to have been the site of executions and has a cemetery on the property, which many people believe means there are spirits. Legend has it that people have seen ghosts there, and some have reported seeing the spirit of a little boy walking around on the property. Either way, the haunting past of this building will definitely make you think twice.
Not only is the building said to be haunted, but Sheridan Road just south of Lake Forest is infamously known after the death of 18-year-old Marion Lambert. Her body was found in the woods just off the road in 1901, and it’s a mystery to this day whether the death was suicide, a murder from her ex-boyfriend at the time, Will Orpet, or some other unknown cause. After Lambert’s death, motorcyclists on the road mentioned notable ghost sightings on the road, and the Chicago Inter Ocean newspaper in 1902 said that many “hard-headed men of affairs” wouldn’t “be tempted by any amount of money to travel the Sheridan road late at night.”
Dungeon of Doom
According to USA Today, the Dungeon of Doom haunted house in Zion is another top-rated haunted house, ranking in the top 10 best and scariest . This “dungeon” has many attractions, such as The Sanctuary, The Underworld, and The Slaughterhouse. This haunted house is 45,000 square feet and has been running for 27 years.
The haunted house, being the longest in both Illinois and Wisconsin, takes one hour to get through. Once you’re in there are no lines, and it’s a consistent walk throughout the entire building. It’s definitely a hit during the halloween season.
