(Pixabay / Mayur Gadge)

This weekend, nearly 80 sites across the greater Chicago region will be collecting pumpkins for composting, part of a nationwide push to keep food waste out of landfills.

(Pixabay / Peggychoucair)

The scariest thing this Halloween is the weather forecast for trick-or-treaters.

Barn owl. (Lubos Houska / Pixabay)

From carnivorous plants to blood-sucking sea creatures, nature serves up plenty of frights, lots of them found right here in Illinois.

(Ana Krach / Pixabay)

The National Weather Service isn’t even trying to sugarcoat the forecast for Halloween. It’s all downhill from here.

(PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay)

Chicago police on Wednesday announced Mario Munoz, 34, has been arrested and charged with a felony count of arson and a misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property.

Banana, a 4-year-old pygmy hippopotamus at Brookfield Zoo, takes a bite out of her Halloween treat. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

Caretakers will pass out more pumpkins to animals during Brookfield's “Boo! at the Zoo” event Saturday and Sunday.

(PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay)

According to police, the person initially ignited several sidewalk autumn or Halloween displays along with some street corner garbage cans. The last three fires have been set with decorations on the front porches of homes.

(Courtesy of The Old Joliet Haunted Prison)

Find your own darn pumpkin patches and corn mazes. This is a list for adults who love the spooky season just as much as those costumed kids with their candy bags.

The Catacombs at St. Pascal Catholic Church (WTTW News)

The tunnel of gory scenes snaking through the northwest side church basement is one of, if not the, longest-running haunted house experiences in Chicago. What began in 1979 with just a few classic horror characters in the St. Pascal’s boiler room has transmogrified into a 15-minute tour of terror run entirely by volunteers in support of the parish school.

(Public Domain Pictures / Pixabay)

Attention chocoholics: Chicago has announced a citywide Halloween costume contest, with 10-pound bars of chocolate being dangled as the top prize.

Russell Duffer shows off a Cubs-themed pinstripes-and-ivy paint job courtesy of makeup artist Colleen Jones. (Erica Gunderson / Chicago Tonight)

Ghouls, wounds and zombies are just another day at the office for an Albany Park special effects shop.

Retail therapy comes with vintage flair at this weekend's Randolph Street Market Festival. (Courtesy Randolph Street Market)

Halloween parties, scary movies, vintage finds and even some creatures of the night usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Artists of the New York-based company Rise of the Jack O’Lanterns can spend up to 15 hours on a single gourd. (Courtesy of Rise of the Jack O’Lanterns)

A plethora of pumpkins, eerie mind games and Dr. Ruth usher in the weekend – and Halloween. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

(William Warby / Flickr)

Halloween is here! As you put the finishing touches on your kids’ costumes (or your own—who said grown-ups can’t get into the spirit, too?), we share some safety tips for trick-or-treating.

Rob Zombie made a name for himself as a purveyor of monstrous rock ‘n’ roll and scary movies. He also helps create haunted houses around the country. We speak with Zombie on location in west suburban Villa Park, the site of his "Great American Nightmare." 

Rob Zombie made a name for himself as a purveyor of monstrous rock ‘n’ roll and scary movies. He also helps create haunted houses around the country. We spoke with Zombie on location in west suburban Villa Park, the site of his "Great American Nightmare."