Photo essay: Evanston’s haunting Halloween houses 2022

Editor’s note: Thanks to everyone who sent in these scary shoots of boo-tiful and haunting Halloween decorations. If you want to send along pictures of your costumed trick-or-treaters, we’d love to see them too! Just send the photos with their names and ages to news@evanstonroundtable.com.

There’s a wizard with an evil laugh, guarded by two dragons, next to a haunted cemetery on the corner of Greenleaf Street and Hinman Avenue. If you dare to wave your hand over the crystal ball out front — the wizard will tell you your future.

Here are the dragons and the cemetery the wizard watches over in his house on Greenleaf Street and Hinman Avenue.

And just up the street on Hinman Avenue, north of the wizard, is a formidable witch flying out of the garden with her broomstick in hand. Nancy Myers caught her in all her glory on a perfectly cloudy day. (She is huge!)

Mary Mrugalski found these guys playing bare-bones poker on South Boulevard just west of Custer Avenue.

And Mrugalski also netted these fishermen sailing along on the 700 block of Ridge Avenue. (Be careful if driving by to see them as the fishermen and the traffic are deadly!)

“A House, Haunted” is open and awaiting you at the Artists Book House at the Harley Clarke Mansion, 2603 Sheridan Road. Open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., guided tours are available Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon through the end of October, and 4 to 7 p.m. on Halloween for trick-or-treating. (But you can always walk past at night, when the windows are lit up.) 

If you want to find a scary cluster of neighbors, drive west on Monroe Street starting at the Elmwood Avenue. A the southwest corner, no bones about it, there’s a skeleton fire pit fest.

And heading east to the 800 block of Monroe Street will get you to several houses where the lawns have been taken over by Stranger Things, organ-playing skeletons, poker-playing pirates, ghastly graveyards and Michael Myers sitting with his friends on a bench, just poised to greet you.

John Straus caught this guy just hanging around.

Teresa Parod sent in a picture of her beautiful decorations – a Dia de Los Muertos celebration as well as an artistic masterpiece on the 2300 block of Thayer Street.

Alan K. Cubbage grabbed a lively shot of this deadhead party at 2505 Park Place.

You’ll find this group in the 2600 block of McDaniel Avenue, thanks to Cubbage.

Don’t expect to sneak quietly past this home at 2316 Bryant Ave. The clowns and werewolves are motion-activated and will howl at your every move!