GET YOUR FREAK ON: CHICAGO GOES ALL IN FOR HALLOWEEN!
Chicago doesn't mess around when it comes to Halloween. The city goes full freak mode with over-the-top costumes, glowing parades, haunted happenings, pumpkin-packed pop-ups and enough spooky-season energy to wake the dead. Whether you're looking to get scared, get weird, show off your costume or just soak up all the October vibes, Chicago has plenty brewing. Here are a few of our favorite ways to do Halloween in the city.
1) GET LOST: JACK'S PUMPKIN POP UP
Pumpkins? Obviously. Forget the wholesome little pumpkin patch. Jack's Pumpkin Pop Up takes fall, spikes it and turns the whole thing into one big Goose Island playground. Get lost in a massive corn maze, snag a pumpkin, hit the carnival games, grab some eats, knock back a cocktail and work those ridiculously Instagrammable photo ops. It's pumpkins, partying, and full-on spooky-season energy—all mashed into one gloriously over-the-top fall fest-themed meet-up! Running through November 1, you've got plenty of time to get your Boo on.
Good new, It's a ten minute Uber from ACME!
2) SCENIC. SPOOKY. SLIGHTLY UNHINGED: TAKE THE CREEPY CRUISE
Chicago's famous architecture cruise gets a spooky season twist with Chicago's First Lady Creepy Cruise. Cruise the Chicago River after dark while diving into the city's stranger side, Forget the polite architecture tour, this after dark creepy cruise down the Chicago River digs into the city's darker sideof ghosts, scandals, disasters and enough twisted Chicago history to make you rethink that shadow you just saw move. You'll get the killer skyline views, only this time they come with stories that are considerably less postcard-friendly. Bundle up, grab a drink and climb aboard. Chicago after dark just may leave you sleepless.
It's a short walk to and from the boat launch from ACME. Grab a bite on the Riverwalk after the cruise, and maybe take a dip in our giant hot tub at Bunny Slope. You might need the warmth after all those chills!
3) BAR HOP WITH THE BOOS: GHOST CITY TOURS
Turns out Chicago's ghosts have excellent taste in bars. Chicago's Haunted Pub Crawl takes you through some of the city's most storied watering holes, where stiff drinks come with even stiffer ghost stories. Think shady characters like Al Capone, Prohibition Era stuff, dark history, unexplained happenings and a few spirits that definitely aren't on the cocktail menu. Grab a drink, follow the weird and see just how haunted Chicago gets after last call.
Worst case? You get ghosted. Best case? You return to ACME and hit the Berkshire Room for a nightcap (no ghosts allowed). Either way, book ACME and stumble—I mean, retreat—back to your room when the spirits are done with you. The starting point is straight down Michigan Avenue, close to ACME.
4) 24 HOURS. ZERO CHILL. MUSIC BOX OF HORRORS
Think you can handle 24 straight hours of horror? Prove it. The Music Box of Horrors takes over Chicago's legendary Music Box Theatre for an all-night-and-then-some binge of horror flicks, cult classics, cinematic freak shows and WTH-did-I-just-watch moments. Come for one. Stay for six. Somehow make it to sunrise. No judgment. Just bring your nerve, grab the popcorn and prepare to get seriously weird. And the setting? Killer. Open since 1929, the Music Box is one of Chicago's last great independent movie houses, complete with an old-school marquee, vintage interiors and enough history to make it feel like the perfect place for things to get a little creepy.
Book ACME for a few nights and sleep during the day - vampires do it. Your bed will be waiting—assuming nothing's under it.
From ACME, hop on the Red Line, transfer to the Brown, and it's a two block walk from Southport. Grab a bit at one of the many great restaurants on Southport!
5) GO BIG: HAUNTED HALSTED
Northalsted is ground zero for Halloween. Haunted Halsted is celebrating 30 years of getting gloriously weird this October 31, kicking things off with live music, street performers, food, drinks and plenty of daytime mayhem. When the sun goes down, things really go off the rails with its legendary Halloween parade. Expect fire from the Chicago Full Moon Fire Performers, big sound from the Lakeside Pride Marching Band, and a parade of outrageous, over-the-top, how-the-hell-did-they-make-that costumes. Come dressed to impress—or prepare to be seriously outdone. All this in a neighborhood that absolutely commits to the assignment. From ACME, jump on the redline around the corner, and your 15 minutes away.
Chicago doesn't just do Halloween. It owns it. So pack the costume, bring your weird side and prepare to make some questionable decisions. Haunted cruises, 24-hour horror binges, freaky-good cocktails, outrageous costumes and enough after-dark action to keep you out way past your bedtime.
And when you finally call it? ACME is right in the middle of it all in River North—your crash pad for whatever the night throws at you. Translation: Pack the costume. Chicago has plans for you.
Book ACME now. You can sleep when you get here.