Nightmare on Chicago Street 2022

Nightmare on Chicago Street
Chicago Street and surrounding area
Elgin, Illinois
https://www.nightmareonchicagostreet.com/
Visited on Saturday, October 22, 2022

Vital Signs:
Year opened: 2011
Number of seasons to date: 10
Number of attractions: Everywhere!
Number of actors: Too many to count
Setting: Throughout several block radius of downtown Elgin
Parking: Free, on-site (Public Street)
Fun Fact: This is the largest Halloween festival in all of the Chicagoland area!
Even More Fun Facts: This is part of the Elgin Haunt Central group that promotes THREE amazing haunted events in Elgin that provide Fear, Festival, and Family!

MANY of you know about this event. MANY of you have told us we NEED to attend this. We have seen the advertisements, been asked to attend, and even seen our friend Svengoolie attend. But, because it is a one-night only event on the 4^th Saturday of October, it took us nine years to make it work. But, finally, for their 10^th anniversary, the stars aligned and we were finally able to join the festival of fright that is: Nightmare on Chicago Street!

Now, we had been told what the event was. We watched the marketing and trailers. We spoke to event organizers and honestly, it just sounded like a Halloween-themed block party. This is the understatement of the century! This is not just some town festival. We were not prepared for what we were about to see…

How can we describe this? The Lollapalooza of Halloween Parties. First, the party isn’t just on Chicago Street, as you would imagine from the name. it also stretches down Grove and Spring, and across Fulton and DuPage. Second, there are FOUR entrances to this festival. (AND the lines are LONG!) Third, there are THREE fully equipped stages with various musical acts and other smaller stages scattered throughout. Fourth, there is a “Mad-Max” inspired Thunderdome with attractions that are definitely not from your father’s era. Meanwhile, there are countless vendors and food and beverage stations all accented with thousands of adults of all ages -many in costume, having fun, laughing, and loving Halloween!

While all of this sounds like a just a big town Halloween party, then comes the icing on the cake… the entertainment. Scattered throughout the event are hundreds of actors and actresses who are performing routines, skits, and stunts in all corners and nooks of the festival grounds. Look over here, and there is a mannequin bride who has awoken inside the window display of her store and is trying to break free. Over here, security trying to rescue trapped personnel who are being attacked by zombies. The hitch? He is rappelling down the side of the building! In this corner, zombies are coming up through the sewers, and in this one they just crashed a plane! We were shocked to even see a crashed school bus filled with zombie kids (actors) – and the bus just about to turnover just as the Zombie Defense Initiative comes in for the save.

The Bottom Line: The people are great, the food is delicious, the mood is fun and inviting, the music is entrancing, and the actors/actresses put everything right over the top to become one of our favorite Halloween experiences yet. The only bad part is that it is only one night a year, for only 5 hours. But I promise you, now that we have had taste, we won’t be missing out on this event ever again!

Don’t just take our word for it, check out media from our visit: