Zombies, ghosts and psycho killers don't just haunt horror movies. This Halloween season, they're all over Chicago stages providing scares, laughs and a few racy thrills. If you dare, you can get up close with the creatures of the night at these 14 shows.
"A Nightmare on Backstreet"
In this parody of Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street," baby killer Teddy Crooner was burned alive and now stalks the dreams of heartsick teenagers with his back-up dancers using Backstreet Boys songs and choreography. It's up to one brave teen to avenge her friends by learning the secret her drunk mother is hiding from her.
Go: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday Oct. 17 through Nov. 1 (plus a bonus Halloween show at 11:30 p.m. Oct. 31) at The Public House Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St.
Tickets: $15. 800-650-6449; pubhousetheatre.com
"The Halloween Show"
The comedy show features themed sketches and songs in the first act, including a version of the dating game where an audience member must choose between Dracula, Frankenstein and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. For the second act, the cast performs an improvised horror movie based on a title suggested by the audience. The show ends with the cast performing the "Thriller" dance and on Halloween night, zombies will chase the audience into the theater's event room for a dance party and costume contest.
Go: 10:30 p.m. Friday through Oct. 31 at iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury St.
Tickets: $14. 312-929-2401; ioimprov.com
"Spooky Boobs"
The Gorilla Tango Burlesque Geek Girls--the brains behind "The Rack of Khan: A Star Trek Burlesque" and "Holy Bouncing Boobies! A Batman Burlesque"-are putting on a one-night-only spooky and sexy tribute to Halloween incorporating Frankenstein, mutant turtles and dancing zombies.
Go: 10:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Tickets: $28. 773-598-4549; gorillatango.com
"All Girl Edgar Allan Poe"(pictured above)
The Chicago Mammals presents adaptations of "The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Heart,""The Pit and the Pendulum" and other classic works from the poet and author incorporating a mix of music, monologues, poetry and movement along with sci-fi, horror and fantasy themes. The production is directed, choreographed and performed entirely by women.
Go: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday Oct. 17 through Nov. 8 and Monday Nov. 3 at Zoo Studios, 4001 N. Ravenswood Ave.
Tickets: $20. allgirlpoe.brownpapertickets.com
"Peek-A-Boo: An Ooky Spooky Halloween Revue"
Kiss Kiss Cabaret's first show was "Peek-A-Boo," which ran at Greenhouse in 2009 and has returned every year since. The final number, where dancers' bodies are revealed through black light-reactive paint, has stayed the same, but you'll also catch plenty of new numbers involving witch, ghost, ghoul and goblin costumes.
Go: 11 p.m. Friday through Nov. 7 at Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.
Tickets: $20-$25. 773-404-7336; kisskisscabaret.com
>>MORE: Read about 'Evil Dead: The Musical'
"Musical of the Living Dead"
After five years, Cowardly Scarecrow Theatre Company presents its Halloween show-which parodies both zombie films and musical theater-for the last time. The action follows 10 survivors of the zombie apocalypse and incorporates rapping undead, tap dancing and gallons of fake blood that splatter the front rows.
Go: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 8 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.
Tickets: $15-$25. musicalofthelivingdead.com
"Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe"
ColorBox Theatre presents Eric Coble's play, which imagines Poe locked in a mental institution where his hallucinations bring his short stories and poems to life, including "Silence,""The Bells" and "The Fall of the House of Usher," all performed by actors in period costumes. "It's going to take a dramatic approach to presenting five of Poe's most famous pieces in a very eerie and kind of Halloween-ish way," said artistic director Kurt Konow.
Go: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday at The Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St.
Tickets: $25. 312-988-9000; theroyalgeorgetheatre.com
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"(pictured above)
Porchlight Music Theatre presents Stephen Sondheim's Tony-winning musical about a vengeful barber who kills the people who separated him from his wife and daughter-and disposes of their bodies with the help of a meat-pie maker looking for cheap ingredients.
Go: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 9 (no performances Oct. 9 or Nov. 6) at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.
Tickets: $39-$45. 773-777-9884; porchlightmusictheatre.org
"Nightmares on Lincoln Avenue 666: The Exorcism of Rosemary's Omen"
Corn Productions' sixth annual BYOB Halloween show pays homage to the horror movies of the late '60s to mid-'80s. The comedy follows eight strangers at masquerade party in a possibly haunted mansion; one of them is the child of the devil.
Go: 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday Oct. 9 through Nov. 1 at Cornservatory, 4210 N. Lincoln Ave.
Tickets: $7-$15. 773-650-1331; cornservatory.org
"Zombie Genius"
Humans have won the zombie apocalypse and zombies are now treated as second-class citizens in this comedy, which follows a rare talking undead who goes on a quest for civil rights. But falling in love with a human might endanger his entire mission.
Go: 8 p.m. Wednesday through Oct. 29 at The Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave.
Tickets: $15. 773-697-9693; theannoyance.com
>>EXTRA: Halloween party guide
"Hack/Slash"
Strangeloop Theatre presents an adaptation of the horror comic book series by Chicago artist and writer Tim Seeley that follows a girl and her disfigured sidekick who travel the country fighting "slashers," who refuse to die even after being shot, impaled and burned.
Go: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday through Nov. 1 at Chemically Imbalanced Theatre, 1422 W. Irving Park Road
Tickets: $15. brownpapertickets.com
"Resurrected"
Theatre-Hikes presents a progressive outdoor play that takes audience members between scenes to see performances of Chicago-centric ghost stories, including a tale of a devil baby born in the Hull House and a beautiful young woman hitchhiking by the cemetery.
Go: 8 p.m. Oct. 25 and 26 at The Pullman State Historic Site, 11057 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
Tickets: $15. 872-202-4963; theatre-hikes.org
"Hell House" and "The Zombie Diaries"
Under the Gun Theater presents a riff on the evangelical Christian haunted houses meant to show visitors sins and get them to convert, complete with actors offering audience members cookies and juice and asking them about their faith. Then they're putting on "The Zombie Diaries," where the undead will share their woes through 5- to 8-minute pieces inspired by "The Vagina Monologues."
Go: 8 p.m. Thursday through Oct. 30 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31-Nov. 1 ("Hell House") and 7:30 p.m. Saturday Oct. 18-25 ("The Zombie Diaries") at Under The Gun Theater, 956 W. Newport Ave.
Tickets: $8. undertheguntheater.com