Elgin’s “Nightmare on Chicago Street” 2016!

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There was still sunlight when I arrived at the Elgin Safe Zone for their annual Nightmare on Chicago Street this past Saturday evening. This year I’d be attending alone as most of my friends were back home watching the Chicago Cubs play in a historic baseball game that would see them heading to the World Series for the first time in over seventy years. Under those circumstances, their absence was understandable…and what better reason to skip a zombie Apocalypse than for the possibility of watching Hell freeze over instead? In my world, however, the Nightmare on Chicago Street IS the World Series and there was no place I’d rather be.

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Chicago Botanic Garden’s Unforgettable “Night of 1,000 Jack-O’-Lanterns!”

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During a recent visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden, my friend Elizabeth and I noticed they were planning a special Halloween attraction that neither of us wanted to miss out on. Their “Night of a 1,000 Jack O’ Lanterns” promised guests a cornucopia of expertly carved pumpkins they could peruse after hours during one very special weekend. It was their first year doing something like this and Elizabeth was immediately captivated while I (having attended Roger Williams Park Zoo’s amazing Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular) remained cautiously optimistic. After all, New England’s premier Halloween event is unlike anything I’d ever seen in the Midwest (or anywhere else for that matter) before and I’d praised its grandeur on both this site as well as a 2012 issue of Scary Monsters Magazine.  Sadly, my chances of seeing it again and somewhere between slim and none. The other Terror Dave works there and as his responsibilities around that event increased, my October visits came to an end. For the last several years my admiration of JOLS has been relegated to cell phone pictures he’ll send me every once in awhile. Needless to say, the notion that Chicago was now doing something like this seemed too much to hope for.

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HALLOWEEN NOVELTY SONGS: Music To Die For! Volume 6

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Welcome to yet another edition in our very popular series, Music To Die For! Each entry covers an assortment of audio cd’s specializing in music to help get you in the mood for the Halloween season. This is actually the sixth entry and features 8 new cd’s (and a surprise bonus track available for download) that I came across that I recommend for all Halloween music libraries! I initially started this series in September of 2011 (see original post HERE) and it is nice to see that five years later there is still enough material out there for new editions! As of this writing all of these discs are available for purchase on Amazon!

THE BEST OF HORROR

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This first entry is definitely a great starter collection with 75 songs on three cd’s. There is enough music here, all by original artists, to keep a Halloween party rocking well into the midnight hour! Most of these songs can be found on other releases but this collection, by IMS Distribution, is perfect if you are just getting into Halloween-themed songs.

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Svengoolie & the Costume Contest of Nightmare on Chicago Street!

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Photo courtesy of Jim Roche

Photo courtesy of Jim Roche

Svengoolie was given new headquarters at this year’s Nightmare on Chicago Street, and a classier one at that. Side Street Studio Arts is yet another reason to love the city of Elgin, Illinois; providing residents an opportunity to express their creative side and a venue to display their work. Consequently, the national TV horror host would find himself sitting amid sinister, yet beautiful, works of art; all part of their Something Wicked: A Dark Arts Exhibit. The line outside to see him started forming almost as soon as the event began and for good reason as he’d only be signing for an hour before hosting the annual costume contest

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Elgin Celebrates Five Years of “Nightmare on Chicago Street!”

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I no sooner said goodbye to the ladies of Midnite Mausoleum  before earning myself a speeding ticket trying to zoom back east for Elgin’s Nightmare on Chicago Street. If you’ve ever attended one of these in the past than you’d understand my exuberance as well as all the hyperbole I’ve used to describe it over the years; both on this site as well as in the latest issue of Scary Monsters Magazine.

Picture several city blocks created to look like a zombie apocalypse; complete with militia roaming an undead “Safe Zone” while garnering inspiration from their own macabre Uncle Sam; national TV horror host, Svengoolie.  You can’t blame me for making this my favorite stop during the Halloween season, nor for having a led foot while trying to get there.

In this regard, I’m far from alone. Now celebrating its fifth year, Nightmare on Chicago Street has fast become Chicagoland’s premiere Halloween experience with last year’s attendance reaching over 12,000 people!

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