Patch's Best 2025 Halloween Yard Haunts: Lake and McHenry Counties

LAKE-McHENRY COUNTIES — If you're looking for new zombie graveyards, body parts, floating ghosts and devil's playgrounds to explore for Halloween, you've come to the right place. Patch has assembled its annual scary yard tour for 2025, created by some of Chicagoland’s most imaginative and demented exterior decorators.

Given the scary yard tour’s past history of breaking the internet, we have organized the 2025 list by county. So click on the link for the list of scary yards near your house, or go crazy and visit them all.

• Cook County/Chicago
• DuPage/Kane Counties
• Lake/McHenry Counties
• Will/Kendall/Grundy/DeKalb

GET ON THE LIST: We LOVE reader submissions, so we'll be updating the list every FRIDAY leading up to Halloween. So send in your pictures and tell us why your yard haunt is worth a drive-by to lorraine.swanson@patch.com.

ALSO, check out these lists for more scary yards throughout the Chicago area: Chicago Haunt Builders, Haunted Illinois Directory, Illinois Haunted Houses and We Love Halloween. There's free fun to be had in the days leading up to Halloween, so set your GPS for these spooky standbys and nightmarish newbies.

LAKE COUNTY

Deerfield

Chainsaw Manor, 1042 Gordon Terrace, Deerfield –Kevin Friduss puts a lot of effort into making his display a theatrical presentation. The yard haunt features mostly static, creepy props. “My whole thing with Halloween is that it’s meant to be scary.” To make it less fearful for his young children, he lets them name the chainsaw maniacs. One is named "Mr. Poopie Head." There are live actors, fog, lasers, fun, music and excitement. Visitors can look from the sidewalk. The display does not operate in rainy conditions. Friduss is collecting donations for Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital NICU. Hours are dusk to 10 p.m.

Highland Park

Bone-a-Palooza, ON THE GREEN BAY TRAIL just BEHIND 1356 St. John’s Ave., Highland Park – Once again, Kitty Fishman has outdone herself. Now in its 5th year, her over-the-top skeleton display has become a fall favorite for families, nannies with strollers, and cyclists cruising Highland Park’s Green Bay Trail (Robert McClory Path).

This isn’t your average front-yard décor. Kitty stages dozens of life-sized skeletons in hilarious, spooky-not-scary scenarios — walking the dog, hula-hooping, skateboarding, barbecuing, crocheting, playing baseball, soccer, golfing with eyeballs, or even a contorted game of Twister. You’ll also spot a full skeleton band, swimmers splashing in an inflatable pool, and old ladies in curlers using a walker or taking out the recycling. Tots love playing with the barbecuing skeleton’s toy food.

McHENRY COUNTY

Algonquin

Dark Chapel, 1490 White Chapel Lane, Algonquin – Fans of the haunted Westbury Manor and Cemetery in Algonquin will now find mastermind Darren Rich’s yard haunt at a new location, now named Dark Chapel. He's brought all his spooky decorations and creepy animatronics along. Rich's yard haunts have been haunting Algonquin for eight years now. It's been picked as Algonquin's spookiest house twice now. The yard haunt will remain open until 9:30 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, through Halloween.
Dark Chapel, 1490 White Chapel Lane, Algonquin.

Cary

637 Rawson Bridge Rd, Cary – Matt Mabus lives on the Fox River, so he has front yard and beach decor. This year, he did the Pennywise/It-theme in the front yard. For Christmas Matt does Santa and flamingos.