Haunted Chicago

Three local stops that will scare the wits out of you this Halloween season

By Brenna Ehrlich

It’s that time of year again. Fall comes, summer dies, and we start looking for signs of that something after death that gives us pause. In short, we want the-you-know-what scared out of us. Yes, it’s Halloween season, and there are plenty of chances to jump out of your skin here in Chicago. Just make you can get back in, or else you might be the next addition to Chicago’s most haunted.

The Raven’s Grin Inn
If you have a car — and a day to spare — take a trip out to beautiful Mount Carroll, Illinois, and visit The Raven’s Grin Inn. My friend and I recently embarked on that journey, winding through cornfields and backroads, past houses straight out of Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood.”

“We take the time to care,” claims Mount Carroll’s website. While that may be true, the sleepy, idyllic town is straight out of a David Lynch film. Next to a Civil War memorial in a lovely little square, convicts in orange jumpsuits sun themselves on the court house’s barred-in porch. You think that’s strange? Wait ’til you visit Mount Carroll native, Jim Warfield, and his towering mansion of weird — the Raven’s Grin Inn.

Built in 1870, the house has been a hotel, inn and tavern, boardinghouse, a bordello, a schoolhouse, an apartment house, and an Oldsmobile dealership. Warfield bought the house during the late 1980s and began creating the creep-house that stands today — a macabre masterpiece that has gained nationwide acclaim. It’s been written about in such publications as the Chicago Tribune and National Geographic World and featured on shows like HGTV “Extreme Homes” and Comedy Central’s “Travel Sick.”

Junked cars stand outside the mansion, overhauled by Warfield to come equipped with fangs and other creepy embellishments. Warfield himself emerges from the dwelling through the front door, which opens like a drawbridge, dressed in camo gear and toting a rifle.

The first word that comes to mind when confronted with Warfield’s personality is manic; the second, caffeine. The man has boundless energy. In a lengthy monologue peppered with sexual references and off-kilter jokes, Warfield tells the group about the 37 ghosts that haunt the house, including a “lady in white” and a little red-headed girl who once kissed his forehead.

The house isn’t so much scary as impressive. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ll say that there are German-expressionist hallways, Nazi babes, a hearse and a slide that’ll make you scream like a little girl (or like me, same deal). The slide, which is built into a canopy bed called the “Bad Dream Bed,” sends you down several floors into the pitch-black wine cellar, the most haunted room in the house. Many have seen floating orbs traveling up the walls, or witnessed the “lady in white” flying through the ceiling.

“It’s my own personal working art and theatrical project,” says Warfield of the Raven’s Grin. “I try not to give any duplicate tours. All the hauntings in the house have actually happened, so it’s not creative in that respect. It’s creative how I tell it.”

Still, the most terrifying part of visiting the Raven’s Grin is trying to find your way home through the dark cornfields. Somehow, we kept ending up back in Mount Carroll, leading me to wonder, did the house want to up its occupancy to 39?

The Raven’s Grin Inn is located at 411 N. Carroll St. in Mount Carroll, Ill. (815) 244-4746. It’s open Monday - Friday, 7 p.m.-midnight (except Wednesdays); and Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m.-5 p.m. and 7 p.m.-midnight. Admission is $12, and please call first.

 

Excalibur Nightclub

Now a popular Chicago nightclub, Excalibur was once home to the Chicago Historical Society. Built in 1892, it’s a prime spot for supernatural activity. In fact, it’s known as one of the most haunted spots in Chicago.

Neil Tobin, a famed necromancer who puts on a show at the club called “Supernatural Chicago,” says “the area is thick with feeling.” Glasses and bottles have been thrown from the shelves, and a little girl has been seen on the balcony of the Vision Nightclub, which is part of Excalibur. He’s not sure which ghost haunts the building, but some believe that John Lalime, Chicago’s first white settler, may now reside at the club.

After Lalime was killed by his bitter rival, John Kinzie, the Chicago Historical Society made his bones part of its collection. The bones, along with the structure, were destroyed in the Chicago Fire. Tobin thinks that Lalime’s wrongful death and improper burial are legitimate reasons why he might hang around. Some also suggest that a lawyer who committed suicide in the building might haunt the place.

At any rate, there are more spirits in Excalibur than those in the club’s cocktails. Tobin, who believes that we all have the capacity to get in touch with the other side, makes it his job to prove just that. His show, a combination of ghost stories, spirit contact, ESP and audience participation, is sure to bring you closer to the world of spooks. He stresses that ghosts are not necessarily evil —they can actually be a comforting presence. What really scares us is the fear of the unknown.

“Chicago is a city built upon the site of its own cremation,” says Tobin, explaining why the city is so replete with ghouls.

Well, Lalime and the rest can’t be any more creepy than most of the guys you’ll find at bars, so I say give them a visit.

“Supernatural Chicago” is performed at 7:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday night at Excalibur Nightclub, located at 632 N. Dearborn in Chicago. Call (312) 266-1944 or log on to www.supernaturalchicago.com for more information. Admission is $25 and includes two complimentary beverages plus general admission to Excalibur Nightclub for the evening.

 

The Music Box Theatre: Watch a horror movie and see a ghost all in the same place!

Whitey has been the manager of the Music Box for almost 90 years — talk about work ethic. Granted, he took on a lesser role since he died 30 years ago, making him the resident ghost at the Music Box Theatre. The Music Box opened in 1929, and Whitey was the manager until Thanksgiving eve, 1977. That night, he lay down for a nap on one of the lobby’s couches and never woke up.

Area children loved Whitey, except when they ended up in his “rogue’s gallery,” an array of instamatic photos taped to the cashier’s station depicting kids banned from the cinema. Even in death, the manager attempts to keep order, dropping the draperies on a sub-par organist and roaming aisle 4, the area where children used to sneak in.

Come visit Whitey for a matinee or midnight movie, or better yet, come for the third annual “Music Box Massacre,” a 24-hour long horror movie fest held on Oct. 13. Hosted by Rusty Nails, the show features live music, a costume contest, guests, prizes and, of course, a wide selection of creepy flicks. Just don’t sneak in, or you’ll end up in the rogue’s gallery with the rest of the degenerates.

The Music Box Theatre is located at 3733 N. Southport Avenue in Chicago. For more information, call (773) 871-6604 or log on to www.musicboxtheatre.com

These are only three of the many of Chicago’s many haunts. Visit them at your own risk, as you might be possessed with a desire to delve even deeper into the city’s other, more spirited community.

Click here for more Features