Haunted houses, the Arts in the Dark parade, theater that communes with the spirit world and a chance to shoot zombies from a monster truck. Is Halloween a great holiday or what? The Tribune has run our haunted house guides annually since 2011; this year we open up our usual dishonor roll to include all kinds of events, including a couple for Día de Muertos. HAUNTS Old Joliet Haunted Prison: Created inside the gothic towers and high stone walls of the former Joliet Correctional Center, built some 160 years ago. Old Joliet Haunted Prison is put on by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group. There are two different haunts this year — Inmates Row and Carnage in Cell Block 13 —  plus mini escape games, Zombie Laser Tag and the Neon Cowboy Secret Bar (ages 21+). Open through Nov. 2, adding weekdays beginning Oct. 10, at 401 Woodruff Road, Joliet; tickets $19.99 to $89.99 and more information at hauntedprison.com HellsGate Haunted House: Off the beaten path in a mansion in the woods, put on by Zombie Army Productions. You take a shuttle bus into the Hellsgate grounds from the free parking lot in Lockport. Inside, expect multiple floors and a giant slide. Also for 2024, follow Hellsgate on Instagram, find that night’s “key master” and you’ll win a key for free admission. For a $160 Hell Pass, says Hellsgate, “we will mark your friend or family member as our personal target for the entire tour.” Open through Nov. 3 at 301 W. 2nd Street, Lockport; tickets from $40 and more information at 605-301-4283 and hellsgate.com Dungeon of Doom: This sprawling haunted house in Zion boasts 45,000 square feet and has been running for decades, with an upgraded entrance and waiting area this year. Blackout Nights are Nov. 8-9 and Sub-Thermal Nightmare is coming in December. Open through Nov. 9 at 600 29th St., Zion; tickets from $34.99 and more information at 847-262-3666 and dungeonofdoom.com Basement of the Dead: This popular haunted house near the Hollywood Casino in Aurora is open for plenty of weeknights as well. Select Wednesdays in October have Nights of Isolation from 7-10 p.m., with just the haunt, no actors. Open through Nov. 3 at 42 W. New York St., Aurora; tickets from $19.99 and more information at basementofthedead.com Inside the of Dungeon of Doom haunted house in Zion in 2019. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) 13th Floor Haunted House: This is the 11th season in the Chicago area for the big-budget haunt put on by the Denver-based Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group. Attractions for 2024 include Alien Autopsy, Lycan’s Curse, a zombie shoot and mini escape games. Plus theme cocktails in the Krakken’s Cup bar (ages 21+) and available afternoon Behind the Screams tours, with the scoop on how the haunt gets put together. Open through Nov. 9, including most weekdays from Oct. 9, at 5050 River Road, Schiller Park; tickets $19.99-$89.99 and more information at 13thfloorchicago.com Fright Fest at Six Flags Great America: Come for the scares, stay for the rides. The park is family-friendly until 6 p.m., then the monsters come out. In addition to the Scare Zones, rides and Monstertainment live shows, there are five haunted houses this year, including a new one based on the Netflix series “Stranger Things.” Customers ages 15 and younger must be accompanied by an adult chaperone. Open through Nov. 3 at 1 Great America Parkway, Gurnee; tickets including a Haunt Pass start at $90, plus  more information at sixflags.com Disturbia Haunted House: Disturbia is back for 2024 in Downer’s Grove, a warehouse-like companion haunt to Basement of the Dead. Select Wednesdays in October have Nights of Isolation from 7-10 p.m., with just the haunt, no actors. Open through Nov. 3 at 1213 Butterfield Road, Downers Grove; tickets from $19.99, and more information at 630-896-2466 and hauntedhousedisturbia.com Midnight Terror Haunted House: This haunt is in a warehouse space just across from Chapel Hill Garden South Cemetery, with scare zones Black Oak Grove, Factory of Malum and Chainsaw Alley. Lights-on family trick-or-treating from noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 26, Blackout night from 7-10 p.m. Nov. 3, Clown Takeover from 7-10 p.m. Nov. 8-9. Plus escape rooms and axe throwing. Open through Nov. 9 at 5520 W. 111th St., Oak Lawn; tickets $30-$75 (limited $20 tickets for Midnight Terror’s 10-year anniversary) and more information at 708-571-0266 and midnightterrorhauntedhouse.com At the entrance to Hellsgate Haunted House in Lockport in October 2018. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) The Massacre: This longtime west suburban haunt has some 30,000 square feet of space, all indoors, plus Mind Trap Escape Rooms and Bull & Bear Axe Throwing. Open through Nov. 2 at 299 Montgomery Road, Montgomery; tickets $19.99-$64.99 and more information at 708-320-3327 and fearthemassacre.com Nightmare on Clark Street: Back for its third Halloween season inside the Bamboo Club in Wrigleyville, Nightmare on Clark Street is spread out over three floors and is one of few haunts in the city. Plus a year-round bar and restaurant. Open through Nov. 3 at 3505 N. Clark St.; tickets from $15 (ages 16+, anyone under age 18 must be accompanied by a paid adult), and more information at nightmareonclarkst.com Park After Dark: Just announced for 2024, a haunted house to benefit the After-School Teen Program. Open Oct. 18-27 in Chase Park, 4701 N. Ashland Ave. (use Ashland entrance); tickets $13-$15 online only at www.chaseparkafterdark.com Realm of Terror: A longtime haunt, running for more than 20 years. You can walk through without scare staff on Oct. 20; Family Frights are 2-5 p.m. Oct. 26-27. Plus carnival games and mini escape rooms. Open through Nov. 2 at 421 W. Rollins Road, Round Lake Beach; tickets from $19.99 and more information at 847-270-8061 and realmofterror.com Evil Intentions: Evil Intentions has a new location out in the wilds west of St. Charles, dubbed Forsaken Hollow. Plus Monster Purge is a paintball zombie hunt from a jacked-up monster truck bus (more at monsterpurge.com). Open through Nov. 2 at 45W050 Beith Road, Maple Park; tickets from $35 and more information at eihaunt.com Hayride of Horror: In the outdoor attractions Hayride of Horror and Curse of the Bayou in Dellwood Park in Lockport, journey by wagon or on trails by foot through the darkness — darkness interrupted by monsters, mazes and strobe lights. There are Not So Scary Hayrides on Oct. 13-14. Weather permitting, and you can wait your turn by the bonfire or watch scary movies on an outdoor screen. Open through Oct. 27 at 199 E. Woods Drive, Lockport; tickets from $15 and more information at lockportpark.org John J. Kim/Chicago TribuneA member of the scare staff at Old Joliet Haunted Prison in October 2022 in Joliet. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)John J. Kim/Chicago TribuneThe Old Joliet Haunted Prison in Joliet in 2022. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)John J. Kim/Chicago TribuneJack Moynihan and Sloane Goodwin navigate the Old Joliet Haunted Prison on Oct. 14, 2022, in Joliet. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)John J. Kim / Chicago TribuneA roaming monster at Old Joliet Haunted Prison on Oct. 14, 2022. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)John J. Kim / Chicago TribuneA ghoul in costume at Old Joliet Haunted Prison in Joliet on Oct. 14, 2022. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)Show CaptionJohn J. Kim/Chicago Tribune1 of 5A member of the scare staff at Old Joliet Haunted Prison in October 2022 in Joliet. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)Expand THEATER “The Spirit Cabinet”: Magician Dennis Watkins presents a special limited engagement in place of his usual “Magic Parlour” show, inspired by classic spiritualist magic theater, where unseen forces are there in the room with you in Petterino’s basement. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 and 8 p.m. Oct. 31 at 50 W. Randolph St.; tickets $95-$125 at themagicparlourchicago.com “House of the Exquisite Corpse”: Back for its fourth October, this horror experience with puppets and illusion by Rough House Theater has six different environments, each themed around a superstition this year. Audiences enter in small groups via timed entries. “Once inside,” according to Rough House, “they brave its dark halls for about an hour, stopping at each room to spy through keyholes, cracks, and hidden doors to see the horrors happening within.” Through Nov. 2 in Steppenwolf’s Merle Reskin Garage space, 1624 N. Halsted St.; tickets $21-$46 at roughhousetheater.com “The Mystery of The Haunted Bush”: Subtitled “The Golden Girls Meet The Skooby Don’t Gang,” this brand new Hell in a Handbag show is written by David Cerda and brings together two Handbag parodies in the way only Handbag can. Oct. 10 to Nov. 3 on the Chopin Theatre Mainstage, 1543 W. Division St., tickets $29-$60 at www.handbagproductions.org “Day of the Dead LIVE”: Presented by the Chicago Public Library to celebrate Día de Muertos, an hour-long musical with puppets for all ages starring Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner. Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 in the Pritzker Auditorium at Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St.; free, more information at chipublib.bibliocommons.com “Bell, Book and Candle”: A supernatural comedy by John Van Druten, in which a witch casts a love spell that gets complicated. Presented by Saint Sebastian Players. Oct. 18 to Nov. 10 in the lower level of St. Bonaventure, 1625 W. Diversey; tickets $35 at 773-281-6588 and saintsebastianplayers.org Puppet by Grace Needlman and Pablo Monterubio, with puppeteer Lindsey Ball in “House of the Exquisite Corpse” in Steppenwolf’s Merle Reskin Garage. (Yvette Marie Dostatni) “Sweeney Todd in Concert”: The cast of Kokandy Productions partners with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra to return to Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s macabre masterpiece in a concert staging. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at Governors State University’s Center for Performing Arts, 1 University Parkway, University Park; tickets $45-$90 at govst.edu/sweeneytodd “Becky Nurse of Salem”: Shattered Globe Theatre has the Chicago premiere of local playwright Sarah Ruhl’s darkly comic story of the Salem witch trials’ legacy. Through Nov. 16 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave.; tickets $15-$47.50 at SGTheatre.org “Splatter Theatre 2024”: A Halloween tradition at Annoyance Theatre for almost 40 years. The formula is simple, start each performance with freshly painted white walls and a stage ready for anything. Enter cliché horror movie characters, “each murdered in wildly creative and bloody ways.” For fans of slasher films in particular. Saturdays at 7 p.m. through Oct. 26 and 8 p.m. Oct. 31 at Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave.; tickets from $25 at theannoyance.com EXPERIENCES Arts in the Dark: The 10th annual Halloween parade by the nonprofit LUMA8 will take over State Street for a family-friendly procession of floats, spectacular puppets and all forms of creative performance. This year’s parade will honor “10 Creative Spirits” including jazz singer Dee Alexander, tap dancer Bril Barrett, performer and playwright Sandra Delgado and others. 6-8 p.m. Oct. 19 on State Street from Lake Street to Van Buren; free, more information at artsinthedark.com Ballet Folklorico de Chicago performers in the 2022 Arts in the Dark parade on State Street in Chicago. (Raf Winterpacht) Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns: Walk through a display of more than a thousand artist-carved pumpkins for 10 autumn nights in October at the Chicago Botanic Garden, with LED lights to illuminate the darkness. Timed entries between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. on select nights Oct. 16-27; tickets from $23 plus parking at chicagobotanic.org/halloween  “Nosferatu Live”: The silent horror classic “Nosferatu” gets a multimedia collaboration with English composer and prog-rock musician Paul Bielatowicz and band. 8 p.m. Oct. 25-26 at the Athenaeum Center, 2936 N. Southport Ave.; tickets from $24 at athenaeumcenter.org Bloody WHIM: The ticketed experience and bar in the former Stage 773 space dons a Halloween look again this year. Through Nov. 2 at WHIM, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.; tickets $35-$40 at whimchicago.com Haunted Halsted Halloween Parade: From the costumes to the fire performers to the Lakeside Pride Marching Band, this Halloween-night extravaganza in Chicago’s LGBTQ Northalsted neighborhood doesn’t disappoint. 6:30 p.m. Oct. 31 on Halsted from Belmont to Brompton; free, more information at northalsted.com “Día de Muertos, Where the Past is Present”: The popular annual exhibition in the main gallery at the National Museum of Mexican Art this year is dedicated to Chicago muralist Ray Patlán (1946-2024). Curated by Dolores Mercado. Through Dec. 8 at the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W 19th St.; free, more information at nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org Chicago Seadog Haunted River Boat Tour: Themed, 75-minute cruises on the Chicago River delve into some of the city’s scandalous and spine-tingling past. 5:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October, plus Oct. 31, from Navy Pier; tickets $50-$55 and more information at cityexperiences.com “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”: The R-rated movie starring Tim Curry, the deeply R-rated audience participation, the shadow cast playing along on stage, you know what to expect. Or don’t tell me you’re a “Rocky Horror” virgin? This touring show will bring Barry Bostwick, aka Brad, to town for one performance only at the Cadillac Palace. Oh, the antici … 7 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.; tickets from $53.50 at broadwayinchicago.com [email protected] … pation!