Halloween 2025: Submit Your Haunt For Patch's Tour O' Scary Yards

OAK LAWN, IL — It’s beginning to look like Halloween, with ‘Augtober’ displays already popping up or being assembled. If your 12-foot skeleton is still wearing an Uncle Sam hat from the Fourth of July, take it off and put on a spooky chapeau because it’s time to start putting together the Patch tour o’ scary yards.

If goblins, crazy clowns, butchered bodies and zombies are your thing, Patch is compiling its annual Halloween list of yard haunts that are worth gaping at.

We’re also interested in kid-friendly, whimsical Halloween displays where little ones aren’t likely to be traumatized by a maniac with a chainsaw.

Patch will be compiling its 15th annual – yes 15th! – Scary Yard Tour. Shoot me an email, lorraine.swanson@patch.com, if your yard is worth a look this Halloween.

We'll keep adding to the 2025 tour o' scary yards leading up to Halloween, which this year falls on Friday, Oct. 31.

IMPORTANT: By submitting a photo, you're giving Patch permission to publish it for this feature and future stories.

In years past, Patch received so many submissions that we may organize entries by county so we don’t break the internet again. To list your haunt, please reach out to Lorraine Swanson at lorraine.swanson@patch.com.

Please include the following information and follow these guidelines:

- We prefer that the homeowner submit his or her own yard, or at least an immediate neighbor or close relative.

- Include the exact address of the yard haunt and your phone number (not for publication) in case we need to get in touch with you.

- Have we featured your house before? May we use photos from prior years? (If you're changing up your display, we can insert the new ones later.)

- Let us know the date when your yard haunt goes live and when it shuts off for the evening, so looky-loos aren’t bothering your neighbors.

- Does your yard haunt have a name? Be sure to include it, or we can help you make one up.

- Will you be planning anything special for your display, like actors, walk-throughs, popcorn machines, etc.?

- Tell us what makes your yard haunt special.

- Does your display have a Facebook page or website? Be sure to include the links.

- Most importantly, what kind of candy will you be passing out to trick or treaters.