8 Must-Visit and Unique Haunted Tours in Illinois To Book in 2024

Looking for some plans this weekend? What about a few haunted tours in Illinois? 

In this post, I will share 8 must-visit and unique ghost tours to experience while in Illinois, whether you’re a visitor or a local! 

I’ve lived in Illinois for a few years, and while I sometimes think I have seen it all and done all there is to do in this midwestern state, I get reminded around this time and season that some things are not exactly discovered all the way. 

Exploring a city’s sights is great, but discovering its haunted past through a few haunted tours and ghost stories is definitely a different and fun experience—whether it’s chilly October or summery July. 

So without further ado, here are 8 of the must-visit and unique haunted tours in Illinois you must check out! Clear your calendar, put on your comfiest walking shoes, and get ready to dive into some creepy haunted tours!

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1. Chicago: Gangsters and Ghost Walking Tour

⭐️ Rating: 5/5 Stars |  ⏳Tour Length: 2 hours | 🏛️ Check Tour Date Availability

Al Capone made Chicago his stomping ground in the 1920s as one of Chicago’s most infamous historical characters.

Known as one of the most notorious residents of Chicago during the prohibition era – a gangster, bootlegger, and murderer.

The Chicago Gangsters and Ghost tour will take you to some of the most infamous crime scenes, where gruesome murderers and sneaky deals were committed.

The tour will also take you to the most famous showdown between two gangster rivals: the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

This is a ghost tour as much as a historical one—making it even more interesting!

Join historians for a two-hour, 1.5-mile walking tour throughout the Loop downtown, stopping at all these places, and get ready to step into 1920s prohibition-era Chicago. 

I really enjoyed this tour. There were so many interesting facts I learned about Chicago and its history. It’s a great way to walk downtown and see parts of Chicago you would never go to and explore. The tour guide was very informative and fun.

Read more reviews here

👻 BOOK tickets for the Gangsters and Ghost Tour

>> Read More: Where To Find The Best Deep-Dish Pizza in Chicago

2. Chicago Evening Crime Tour by Bus

⭐️ Rating: 5/5 Stars |  ⏳Tour Length: 2-2.5 hours | 🏛️ Check Tour Date Availability

If you would rather hop on a bus and see more faster, then check out the Chicago Evening Crime Tour by Bus!

This tour offers a 2 – 2.5-hour tour to some of the city’s most notorious historical crime scenes, ghost sighting sites, and other sites that witnessed hundreds of lives lost in Chicago.

From the site of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre to entering one of Chicago’s most famous bootleg tunnels, the creepy stories that still haunt the Biograph Theater, and much more!

There is much to see, and on a comfortable bus, you can you’ll also get to take in the sights of the city at night.

Our guide was knowledgeable, relatable and kept the group moving along this adventurous and historical path through Chicago’s dark history. Bonus, the weather cooperated with a mysterious fog and best of all was ending with a Chicago original.

read more reviews here

👻 BOOK the Chicago Evening Crime Tour by Bus

>> Read More: 13 Unique and Weird Chicago Tours To Experience in 2024

3. Awesome Ottawa Tours

⭐️ Rating: 5/5 Stars |  ⏳Tour Length: 1-1.5 hours | 🏛️ Check Tour Date Availability

Step outside of the city and into Starved Rock country, where you can explore a bit of true crime and haunting tales.

Join one of Awesome Ottawa’s spooky ghost tours, including the famous “Graveyard Stories: Heroes, Hobos, & Murderers Unearthed” tour and the other successful spooky tour, “Deadly Prescriptions: Ottawa’s Healers Who Killed.”

Our Shining Lives- The Radium Girls of Ottawa, Illinois: a haunted tour that recounts and revisits the sites where girls of the Starved Rock area became poisoned by a luminous watch dial plant that moved into their neighborhood and killed the majority of the population with radiation and contamination from the plant in the 1920s. 

Ottawa Obscura Bike Tour: This amazing haunted tour option takes you faster along Ottawa’s infamous sites of death, crime, and creepy ghost sightings. They claim to have stories that not even Google knows about, which is bold but definitely alluring! You can bring your own bike or rent an electric one from them. 

Each tour runs for about a 1-mile long tour (around 1.5 hours long).

👻 BOOK tickets for the creepy Awesome Ottawa Tours

Speaking of creepy, haunted tours in Illinois, what about a haunted tour through the creepiest roads and bridges to drive through in Illinois?

Maybe you don’t have time for a full 2-hour tour or would rather explore some of these haunted sites in your own car – I got you!

Download this FREE 3-page guide to the creepiest roads and bridges in Illinois (I’ve also included maps for a better idea).

Make sure to fuel up first, though, in case you need to speed out of there…

>> Read More: 28 Of The Best Fall Festivals in Illinois That You Need To Check Out

4. Chicago: Ghosts & Hauntings of the Windy City Walking Tour

⭐️ Rating: 4.4/ 5 Stars |  ⏳Tour Length: 1 hour | 🏛️ Check Tour Date Availability

Get an expansive haunted tour of Chicago with Chicago: Ghosts & Hauntings of the Windy City Walking Tour

They offer a little bit of everything, from haunted tales of gangsters and bootleggers to the tragedy of the Chicago Fire and more.

This tour will extend outside of downtown and into Lincoln Park to continue the haunted tour of Chicago ghosts. 

On this walking tour, you will also be allowed to go inside some of the haunted houses and sites, such as the Lion House inside Lincoln Park Zoo, which has been reported to see a woman dressed in Victorian dress standing behind people washing their hands in the bathroom.

Get spooky and enjoy Chicago history and some Chicago hauntings on this tour!

I have been on this tour, and I have to say that I enjoyed it! As a local, I got to see Chicago in a different, spooky way, almost like a tourist visiting a new city.

There were no jump scares; the stories were just that creepy. 

It was fabulous! As we went during the winter months it was just us on the tour, even then our guide made great conversation and was very engaging! She was descriptive and made all the stories sound spooky and eerie! The walk around is super manageable and the area is lovely. 10/10 would highly recommend ! Best bit is the Dillinger story 👀

read more reviews here

👻 BOOK tickets for the Chicago: Ghosts & Hauntings of the Windy City Walking Tour

5. Amelia’s Galena Ghost Tour

⭐️ Rating: 5/5 Stars |  ⏳Tour Length: 1.5 hours | 🏛️ Check Tour Date Availability

Time to bust out the EMF detector and spirit box to connect with the ghost of Galena’s past, and hop on this haunted ghost bus tour by Amelia’s Galena Ghost Tour, which will take you throughout some of Galena’s most ghostly and haunted sites, and listen to documented and researched and authentic ghost stories from locals who have experienced weird things.

Now, if you want to walk around the spooky town at night, don’t forget to consider Amelia’s other haunted activities, such as Amelia’s haunted pub crawl, which will take you to a variety of pubs within Galena’s historic center, while listening to workers and local’s ghostly tales of encounters with spirits – both drinks and apparitions. 

I’ve been on the haunted walking tour before, and it’s one of my favorite things to do in Galena, which is different from other activities and things to do in this little historic town.

It’s definitely spooky and worth doing if you’re spending a chilly night in Galena.

👻 BOOK tickets for Amelia’s Galena Ghost Tour

>> Read More: 7 Interesting Facts About Galena, IL. You Probably Didn’t Know

6. Springfield Hauntings Tour

⭐️ Rating: 5/5 Stars |  ⏳Tour Length: 2-2.5hours | 🏛️ Check Tour Date Availability

What do you get when you mix in Abraham Lincoln’s hometown and are surrounded by endless cornfields and farms? A recipe for the perfect ghost tour! 

Springfield Hauntings Tour offers well-researched, creepy, and authentic spooky tales and occurrences from when Abraham Lincoln lived in Springfield, before that, and beyond. The ghost tour specifically details President Lincoln’s interesting stories and activities, such as seances, spiritualism, and the infamous grave robbery! This is a walking tour, so come prepared with your shoes and an open mind to enjoy it best.

Other notable and interesting tours they offer include Weird Chicago and Haunted Decatur – all of these tours, except for Weird Chicago, are located in Southern Illinois – so if you’re down there or you’re from there, make the intention this fall season to sign up for one of these interesting ghost tours! 

👻 BOOK tickets for the Springfield Hauntings Tour

>> Read More: 12 Amazing Long Weekend Getaways To Experience In The Midwest

7. Alton Hauntings

⭐️ Rating: 5/5 Stars |  ⏳Tour Length: 3 hours | 🏛️ Check Tour Date Availability

When you look up haunted places in Illinois, you will most likely run across the small town named Alton.

In fact, it may be considered one of the most haunted towns in the United States.

This town is filled with restless spirits, from haunted hotels to old gathering places and homes to remnants of the Civil War, disease, and tragic deaths.

Nowadays, Alton invites people from all over the world to swing by and discover for themselves why it is considered one of the most haunted towns in the U.S. – and wow, do they have a few events to entertain you with!

Everything from the famous Haunted Alton ghost tour, actual ghost hunt adventures with tools and special equipment, and events with Troy Taylor, the original author of the book Haunted Alton – recounting all of Alton’s creepy history, haunted houses, haunted history, and people’s experience with the spirit world throughout time in Alton. 

Some of these events include themes such as Edgar Allan Poe Evening, St. Louis Exorcism Evening, Evening with Lizzie Borden, and Evening of American Ax Murders, hosted throughout the town.

With this tour, you’re in for a real treat – it’s worth a drive and weekend trip!

👻 BOOK Alton Hauntings Tour tickets

8. Naperville Ghost Tour

⭐️ Rating: 5/5 Stars |  ⏳Tour Length: 1 hour | 🏛️ Check Tour Date Availability

The last tour on the list of haunted tours in Illinois is in Naperville, Illinois.

Join a real paranormal investigator on this haunted ghost tour of Naperville, which claims that you will see or hear something from the ghosts, especially as this year, they are including the use of an EVP audio recorder which will record sounds and any communication coming from ghosts.

Take a break from the Chicago ghosts and see what other spirits wander around Illinois with this tour.

This is also a walking tour that will take you through Naperville’s spooky sights at night and will also give the right amount of history tour and hauntings tour, so definitely check it out if you’re interested in seeing Naperville in a slightly different, creepy way!

👻 BOOK the Naperville Ghost Tour

>> Read More: The Prettiest Small Towns To Visit in Illinois

Concluding thoughts on the best and most unique haunted tours in Illinois

Creeped out? At the very least, do you think you’ll be joining one of these tours this fall?

I know I will!

This isn’t an exhaustive list of all the haunted tours offered in Illinois, but it is definitely a good starting point!

Fall and ghost stories go together very well, and I hope that if you’re like me and you’re wondering how to enjoy this fall season even more – whether you’re staying in Illinois or you’re visiting – you now have a good idea of what haunted tours you can do in Illinois this October.

Remember to get your FREE 3-page guide to some of the creepiest, haunted roads and bridges in Illinois to really get into the full Halloween spirit!

Which tour is your favorite or one you think you’d like to do? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time.

To more spooky travel moments like these,

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