October in Chicago is a not so subtle reminder that we live in a truly spooky and haunted town. From a vivid and violent gangster past to a bevy of tours exploring the spooky supernatural side of Chicago, it’s no surprise we can get a creepy vibe from the most mundane places around our city. Here are some of the places that unintentionally send a chill up our spine.
Union Station. Weird black ooze drips from the ceilings and you constantly hear those eerie, incessant audio reminders at each gate (usually simultaneously).
The Pedway. Even when crowded, the Pedway has this weird dystopian underworld vibe, like we're hiding out in tunnels under the city.
Wrigleyville on a Saturday night at 2:30am. After the bars close, it's just like a scene out of a zombie movie with less brains and more crying drunk girls sitting on the sidewalk.
Fireside Bowl on a Tuesday. The lanes are empty, and no music can be heard. The bottles behind the bar are dusty and glow yellow thanks to an old neon light. The bartender stands with his arms crossed, trading stares between you and the wall, but mostly just you.
The Monroe red line station. The dripping ceiling and weird lights make it seem like it actually closed 50 years ago.
A deserted Navy Pier at night. Empty ships bobbing up and down, a creepy and silent Ferris wheel (or the skeleton of a ferris wheel) and who knows what lurking under the actual pier.
Being the only person on your CTA car. Sure, when you’re the only person on a CTA bus it's pretty baller, like you’ve got your own personal driver. But on the train it feels like the setup to a bad slasher flick, as you wait for the menacing bad guy to hop on at the next stop.
The Loop after 10pm. After all the big-box shops shut down and the tourists turn in for the night, downtown is lit up like a Christmas tree but still pretty desolate compared to daytime, giving off an end-of-days vibe.
Sportsman Club. We don't have a problem with this local spot, but we do have a couple of friends who think the mounted animal heads and narrow, cramped layout is kind of creepy.
Blommer Chocolate Factory. The scent of chocolate silently floats on the wind into the Loop, River North or River West, silently crushing your dieting plans. Near the factory, men in white onesies and hairnets stand outside like sanitary ghosts, as a tube lays coiled on the sidewalk pumping a mysterious substance (chocolate?) into a parked semi's gigantic tank, eerily similar to the trucks plastered with "hazardous waste" stickers warning you of lethal contents.
Passing by an empty exhibit hall at McCormick Place. The buzz of McCormick during C2E2, the Chicago Auto Show or the Chicago Marathon expo is exciting and full of energy. But when you’re walking to the Metra and pass a dark and vacant hall, every little noise suddenly feels like something lurking in the back corners of the convention center.
The swimming pool room at the Chicago Athletic Association. This preserved space at the hotel looks like something out of The Shining. Why did they dismantle the pool and leave only the tiles? Did someone die here? (Someone definitely died here).