When are Lincoln Park Zoo's haunted history tours this October?
Lincoln Park Zoo's Haunted History Tours run Tuesday and Wednesday nights in October. See the remaining dates, prices and what's sold out.
If you’re fitting a fall night out around your schedule, the remaining Lincoln Park Zoo Haunted History Tours are on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in October. The next tours are Oct. 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 and 28, with 7 p.m. tours throughout and added 8:30 p.m. times from Oct. 13 through Oct. 28.
The early October dates have passed, and some upcoming spots are already scarce. Check the remaining times before you make plans.
The answer
Lincoln Park Zoo’s Haunted History Tours run Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with six dates left in October: Oct. 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 and 28. The 7 p.m. tours run throughout the season; 8:30 p.m. tours are also scheduled from Oct. 13 through Oct. 28.
The season began Sept. 29 and 30, and the Oct. 6 and 7 tours have already taken place. As of Oct. 8, the 7 p.m. tours on Oct. 13 and 14 are sold out. The 7 p.m. tours on Oct. 20 and 28 are nearly full, while the 8:30 p.m. slots have the most room.
Check the zoo’s event page for tour details and the October calendar for scheduled times. You can also review current ticket availability before choosing a date. Availability can change, so check the ticket listing close to booking.
Price, length and age
Tickets cost $35 for nonmembers and $28 for members, plus an online fee; the nonmember total is $36.60. Each tour lasts about 75 minutes and is for guests ages 16 and up.
You must buy tickets online. They are not sold at the gate, so plan ahead before traveling to the zoo. The online ticket page lists the available sessions.
Tickets are nonrefundable. If your plans change, you may give your ticket to another person who is at least 16 years old. Check the age requirement and transfer details before you purchase, especially if you’re booking for a group.
Who leads it
Adam Selzer, host of Mysterious Chicago Tours, leads the Haunted History Tours. His work centers on Chicago history and the stories associated with the city’s places.
Selzer is also the author of The Ghosts of Chicago, Graceland Cemetery: Chicago Stories, Symbols, and Secrets, and H.H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil. The zoo’s tour brings that local-history focus to Lincoln Park, where the site’s cemetery past forms the backdrop for its haunted stories.
The history underneath
Lincoln Park Zoo stands on ground that began as Chicago’s City Cemetery, where cholera and smallpox victims were buried in shallow graves near the lake. In 1860, the city set aside 60 acres as “Lake Park.” After the Lincoln Park Commission was created in 1869, crews dug up bodies and moved them to other cemeteries.
The Couch Tomb, built in 1858 and located behind the Chicago History Museum, is the cemetery’s last above-ground remnant. You can read about the landmark in the Chicago Park District’s Couch Tomb history.
WBEZ reported that research by Pamela Bannos suggests about 12,000 bodies may never have been moved. That estimate gives the cemetery’s history a particular weight as you walk through the park after dark.
The zoo itself began with a donation of swans. Its origins and the cemetery story make the grounds part of the tour’s subject, alongside the ghost tales connected to Lincoln Park.
Night-of details
Meet at The Patio at Café Brauer near the zoo’s southwest end, where staff scan tickets before the tour. Once the tour starts, you cannot re-enter, so arrive ready to stay with the group.
Animal houses and zoo food stands are closed during the tour. In bad weather, the tour moves indoors. Parking is available at the zoo lot at Fullerton and Cannon.
For rideshare, use the drop-off outside Café Brauer at 2021 N. Stockton Dr. You can also reach the zoo from the CTA Armitage or Fullerton stations, or by buses 22, 36, 151 and 156.
If it’s sold out
If your preferred zoo tour is full, check Adam Selzer’s Mysterious Chicago Tours for other guided history walks. Block Club’s guide to October ghost walks also lists alternatives, including the Lincoln Park Ghost Tour from the Chicago History Museum, scheduled Oct. 7 to 28 for $37.40.
Check dates and availability before you head out, since tour schedules and open spots can change.
Photo: Lincoln Park Zoo Entrance Sign -- Chicago (IL) September 2014 by Ron Cogswell, BY 2.0.