Aura Haunted House
Haunted house set inside a historic former state psychiatric hospital.
9 haunted experiences in Pekin and nearby.
Pekin's haunted season offers experiences both close to home and a short drive away. For a local scare, consider Aura Haunted House in Bartonville, while Farmer City Haunted Forest provides an outdoor adventure in a nearby town.
Explore these and other frightful attractions to find the perfect level of terror for your autumn outings.
Sign and Sing story time, trick-or-treating, and activities for families.
Central Illinois’ celebration bringing the Munich Oktoberfest experience to the RiverFront.
Search the library for hidden ghosts of dead books for prizes.
See all haunted houses, trails, and scare attractions in your area.
Book a mid-evening timed slot, eat dinner first so the queue isn't hangry, and pick one flagship haunt plus the midway rather than a four-attraction death march. Shared adrenaline is the whole point: the queue is the conversation time, so skip fast passes on a quiet night. End somewhere warm and lit for the debrief, and check closing times before planning dessert.
Closed-toe shoes with real tread are non-negotiable; trails are dark, rooted, and often muddy after rain. Add layers you can zip while standing in outdoor queues, and skip dangling scarves, heels, and anything you'd mourn if it snagged a cornstalk. Leave costume masks at home, since most haunts ban them for guests, and keep hands free for railings and unexpected sprints.
Haunts send guests through in pods of 4-8, so a group of 12 will get split; pre-sort your pods so nervous friends aren't stranded with strangers. Pick a lit landmark as the regroup point after each attraction, since phones are useless inside. Buy tickets in one order for the same time window, and agree on the night's attraction order before anyone queues.