Recommend. I made reservations online, and just needed your email receipt. We did the three o'clock Speakeasy tour on a Saturday. We hopped on the tour bus at McDonalds and took off. Our guide, Eric, was fabulous. Being a high school history teacher was a big plus in his knowledge and exciting presentation. Only ten people are on a tour, so the group is intimate and easy to get through the old buildings. You buy your own drinks at the bars, or don't drink at all. There is no food. We had a good time learning some history of Prohibition. As fun and something touristy to do, this event is a bit cheesy, Hubby wanted me to add. We laughed. It was fun. read more

See all

We did the 7pm - ghost and gangsters tour. Tour guide was very knowledgeable, great ghost stories around the city! We were on a bus and got off at stops to take pics, look around. I wish they would have taken us inside a spooky room, inside the Jane hull house or inside theater. It would have given more depth to tour. We try to take our teens somewhere different and this was something they had never done before. I recommend it. read more

Weird Chicago Tours - In the alley learning about theater fire and hauntings - Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Usually the only spirits I believe in are produced by the distillation of grains or fruits, so, "supernatural spirits" means we're having really natural organic vodka or gluten-free whiskey. While I may not put much stock in ghosts and ghouls, I do believe our tour guide believed in the paraspooky stuff. About half-way through the Haunted History Tour, our two belief systems collided with a stop for a drink at the bar in the haunted Congress Plaza Hotel. Weird Chicago Tours was as entertaining as it was weird. At each of the stops (and on the bus between them), we learned about the ominous and shadowy history of the city. Spooky stops included: * Couch's Tomb at Lincoln Park (the old city cemetery) * Congress Plaza Hotel where America's first serial killer hunted * The Chicago River site of the SS Eastland disaster * Death Alley behind the Oriental Theater (aka Iroquois Theater) Our guide was super into the supernatural, so, it was no mystery why we enjoyed experiencing the creepy and chilling side of Chicago. The eeriest part of the evening may of been that I was fully entertained throughout ... whether it was drinking a distilled spirit or hearing about spooky spirits. read more

Weird is putting it mildly. We should have realized when the bus driver didn't know what tour we were on, we were in trouble. We booked the Devil in the White City tour and I truly believe our guide didn't know there is a book of the same name. Several times during the tour we asked questions, and even tried to open conversation, to be met with, " I don't know'" or "I'm not sure". Guys, give your guides a script and have them stick with it. Book with caution. .. read more

Not something I would normally do, but I'm visiting, and it was offered as an option at the conference I was attending. That said, it's a fun, tourist entertainment experience. Our guide, Eric, brought us to sites of disaster, burial grounds, gang violence, serial killers, and mass death. He had impeccable timing with his delivery and gallows humor, and was a repository of weird historical information. I might have made different choices as far as where the bus stopped (the mausoleum or John Hancock building would have been spookier than the empty parking lot), but Eric made all of the sites interesting and engaging for the group. They allowed beer on the tour, which was great, and they offer other tours, like a focus on mob violence or serial killers. read more

See all

We had a great time with our guide, Eric, on "The Devil & The White City" tour. He enthusiastically and passionately gave a lot of great Chicago history. The tour could have easily lasted another hour and I don't think anyone would have minded. A few sites on the tour included The Rookery, Congress Hotel, Chicago Fire Academy, Chicago Stockyards (which I found to be the most eery), 63rd & Wallace (Murder Castle site) & Jackson Park. I highly recommend Weird Chicago Tours (particularly this one) to anyone visiting the area or even Chicago natives. These definitely aren't your typical tours of Chicago. Would love to return for the Serial Killer tour. Well worth the $. read more

See all

Did the Devil in the White City tour with my girlfriend.We recently did the tour; it was 8 degrees out. Brrr. We found the tour to be well-paced. Our tour guide, Eric, was very knowledgeable, and enthusiastic about the material. Fortunately, Eric didn't keep us outside too long. Interesting fact. Each tour guide writes their own tour. So no two tours are ever the same. In the future, I would suggest incorporating a bathroom stop. read more

Weird Chicago Tours - Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

I thoroughly enjoyed this tour. My mom and I picked the haunted history tour and we were not disappointed. We learned about and were brought to the locations of the Eastland disaster that killed over 800 pple, an upscale theater that was locked from within and killed a couple hundred, a peaceful looking park which actually sits on an UNEMPTIED cemetery, a hotel that gangsters used as a gathering location AND happened to be the site where infamous serial killer H.H. Holmes used to abduct victims...those are some teasers. We visited mainly downtown and north Chicago areas. How cheesy or corny does the haunted theme get? Yea, I know what you mean. Some pple really enjoy ghost histories or sightings/stories, even if some of it seems dramatized. Personally, I do believe in spirits/ghosts, but I'm not that eager to actually find them and I'm not that into taking pics to see if I get some floating head in the pic. I would say this tour was a good balance to the spectrum of ghost believers. Even if you don't believe in ghosts/hauntings, it's a pretty decent history tour if you like learning about the darker side of Chicago history. And for those who are ghost hunters, our guide was excellent and actually was a ghost hunter for 12 years prior. She encouraged photos and questions. Most of the tours are at night; the upsides are that the city isn't as crowded, the atmosphere is better for our theme, and it's a cool way to end the day. The downsides are that it can be pretty tiring after a long day to have the energy to pay attention, going into the winter months it can get pretty windy/cold, and you're gonna feel like some kid again sitting on a yellow school bus roaming around the city They've got different tours themes you can choose from - from focusing on haunted areas in Chicago, to mob/crime locations, to prohibition/red light district. Would definitely recommend! read more

Weird Chicago Tours - Our first stop...Pretty for it being the site where over 800 pple died, right? *cue dramatic music* - Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

My brother and I took The Devil & The White City tour on a Saturday afternoon in June, and we enjoyed ourselves. It was hot and rainy, but our tour guide did a great job accommodating throughout. Things I enjoyed on the tour: -Hearing lots of history about Chicago and HH Holmes -Seeing parts of the city I had never been to before -Our tour guide- he was very funny and enthusiastic, and also knowledgeable about Chicago history Things I think could be improved: -Some food or beverage somewhere along the stop would be great (it is a long tour without a lot of opportunity for breaks) -A lot of what is covered on the tour is also in the book- so if you have read the book, know that some information will be repeated (though new info definitely included too) -Big group to load and unload of the bus- took a lot of time. I hope to try another tour with this group in the future- it was definitely a good first experience. read more

My mom, future sister-in-law, & I had a fun tour on Sunday for Mothers Day! It was the inaugural "Hell Hath No Fury tour," celebrating the wild, wicked, & wonderful women of Chicago. Our tour guide, Clarence, and driver, Greg, were both excellent. The tour was fun, informative, funny, and made stops at both a bar & a pizza joint: thumbs up. The only draw back of this particular tour is that they may need to flush out the "woman" aspect a little further. While we did discuss Oprah, Jane Addams' Hull House, the first female serial killer, Mrs. O'Leary, & the women partly responsible for Dillinger's demise, some of the tour was more about women married or related to powerful or famous men (like Mrs. Daley is behind the greening of the city and Ivanka Trump finished up Trump Tower after Bill Rancic left and sells her jewelry line there). If that stuff was cut & they talked more about the rest of the women, or add in a different woman, it would be perfect. It's a little squat bus, so buy tix in advance. We had a full tour with about 14 people. Also, FYI, although they said to arrive 10-15 early, there is no marked area to wait in & the staff at the Hard Rock has NO IDEA what's going on with the tours. We got there about 30 minutes early, and wandered around aimlessly looking for a bus or a sign. The bus got there at about 2:50 for our 3:00 tour. It pulls right into the lot, in front of the entrance to Hard Rock. So, hang outside & it will get there. I can't wait to try the Weird & Haunted tour! As long as I don't have to sit on the cooler/makeshift seat in the back. read more

Took the devil in the white city tour today and we had such a good time. The bus was easy to find in front of Mcdonalds and they were on time. They will email you all of the meeting information. Three hours sounded like a long time but it went by so fast. We stopped at a location approximately every 10-15 min and got to get off the bus. Only the first stop had a restroom and none of the locations sold food/drink. Our tour guide eric was amazing- very funny and informative, he was such a great character and you could tell he was extremely passionate and knowledgeable about the tour. I learned so much and had such a good time. Definitely recommend it for anyone that enjoys history. The bus was a mixture of people who read the book and didn't- and he modified it so everyone knew the background and learned something new. read more

If you're looking for a "ghost tour", The haunted history bus tour is not for you. It's literally a tour of gangsters and murders in Chicago. Overall it's decent but absolutely not what I was expecting for a "haunted tour" so I was slightly bored and annoyed since I'm familiar with Chicago history. read more

Wonderfully weird tour of Chicago based on Devil in the White City! The tour guide was knowledgeable & entertaining! He made it easy to imagine what it was like to have attended The World's Fair! Although the chartered school bus used for the tour was a bit cramped, it did provide a nostalgic field trip vibe, LoL. You'll see parts of Chicago you may not see otherwise like the site of the former H.H. Holmes "Castle", The Stockyards, Midway Plaisance, Garden of the Phoenix & so much more! Hear stories of the demented life & mind of H.H. Holmes - America's 1st serial killer, intertwined with awe inspiring tales of the events, exhibitions and complicated creation of The World's Fair! I highly recommend this tour if you are looking to learn about a different side of the White City & the devil that terrorized it during The World's Fair. read more

See all

Our daughter got us the Devil in the White City tour which we finally booked for this past Sunday. Lucked out with the weather. We're familiar with the book and the city, so we figured we knew a lot about the topic already. But our very excellent and very entertaining guide also put in a lot more material about the World's Fair, and included details we didn't know. Even hearing stuff we already knew, but told by a great story-teller, was a blast. Made some interesting stops, including the site of the HH Holmes hotel. The bus is extremely comfy. The host is talking non-stop, and is very showy. As much as we thought we knew, we learned a bunch more. One of the stops was the Congress Hotel, and the wife wants to go back there, after hearing the stories. We stopped in the rebuilt McDonalds on Clark right before the tour, and I hadn't been there since 1979 (to see Steve Dahl). Anyway, highly recommend for people who like hearing interesting stories told by a guy who knows how to tell them. read more

My cousin and I went on the History tour in 2016 and decided to do the Devil in the White City in 2017. The tours were significantly different. I am glad I had the 2016 tour 1st cause I wouldn't use this company again if the 2017 tour was my 1st taste. It was a hot hot October Saturday 2017. The bus we rode on this time was an old school bus. Literally a school bus. The seats are not made for adults, I am 6' tall and was super uncomfortable. The A/C didn't work and it was 80 in October so everyone was melting. Also, the radio was broken and couldn't be turned off, so our guide basically didn't talk on the bus because we wouldn't have been able to hear her . Now the 1st stop is 20-30 mins away so we just sat on a hot bus melting for the 1st part of the tour. We stopped at several locations and the info we received was lacking compared to that of the Chicago History tour. I learned way more about HH Holmes on that tour. I think since the guide couldn't talk on the bus, we missed a lot of info. The tour seemed to be more about the World's Fair than HH Holmes himself. Crystal was our guide, she was quiet and didn't have a big personality like our last guide had. Overall I was disappointed in this tour. I hope they redeem themselves on the next one. read more

Two stars due to an experience which could have been avoided by doing damage control from the start and if it wasn't for the great tour guide and bus driver I would have given 1. A family was on the tour that was completely inebriated prior to boarding the bus. During the whole entire tour they were absolutely obnoxious and inappropriate. It definitely was NOT funny and no one was laughing... if anything people were mortified. With each stop we lost more and more participants due to folks annoyed and not wanting to deal with the family. If I was the family I would be embarrassed about the behavior and for the tour guide and bus driver - I understand it is a business and they are paid attendees, but please save the rest of the group from torture. I found them allowed on the tour disrespectful to not only the tour guide and bus driver, but to the attendees as well. **Our tour guide was a really kind gal and her personable nature and knowledge was great. I felt that the disruptive inebriated family interrupted her flow and trains of thought during the tour which led to her delivery of information to not be brief, more engaging and concise. The locations taken to were awesome and to hear the stories come to life from what you read is amazing. My advice to the business: Since alcohol is not allowed on the bus, please do not allow drunk and wasted people to get on either. It makes for a miserable and un-enjoyable experience for all. The 3 hours seemed like 6 and we were exhausted at the end from what we had to put up with. Attendees pay to be on the bus and for the experience, please also respect their money spent. read more

We took the "Devil in the White City" tour. Plusses: * The tour guide (Eric) was knowledgable and told a generally interesting and educational story. * Several interesting stops (not directly related to the White City) such as the stockyards memorial, the De Koven St Fire Academy and Hull House. Frequent opportunities to leave the bus and walk a little. * The route takes you through neighborhoods that most people will not see on their own. Minuses: * A school bus ! Seats built for 6 yr olds and very uncomfortable, with occasional wafts of exhaust fumes inside ! * The tour guide could back off on the "schtick" a little, and some quiet time here and there would be nice. No need for non-stop chatter. * There were no bathroom breaks ! This was tough on quite a few people who can't go 3 hrs without one. (I used a tree). Apparently the tour relies on the Park District facilities for this, which are often locked up...they were. If your expectations are modest, you'll be alright. read more

Unfortunately I can't even review the tour, since the bus left without us and made no attempt to even account for all of its patrons. My girl friend and I arrived at the Hard Rock about 6:20PM on a Friday for a 7PM tour. Seeing it was terribly cold out, we had a beverage at the bar. We got to talking with the bartender, who assured us that the tour would not leave without us, and the driver would usually make one or two swoops throughout to make sure all participants were accounted for, or at the very least, wait for five minutes out in the parking lot out front. I realize that it is not the bartender's responsibility to make sure we get on the tour, but with her assurance and past experiences, we had no reason to think otherwise. We kept an eye out for the bus to stop in the parking lot, or someone to come inside and poke their head around, but no one ever did. My girlfriend saw the bus, out the window, drive quickly around twice, not stop, and then that was it. By the time we made it outside, and I can tell you we hustled the 50 feet or so, the bus was nowhere to be found. There were other patrons at the bar who we learned were on the same tour as us, and I can only imagine they left too with the same unhappiness. She tried calling the number, but there was no answer. I find it terribly disconcerting that a tour we collectively paid $80 for didn't have the respect to come inside, wait for two minutes in the parking lot, or make a discernible attempt to find the participants. Had we known we would have to wait in the parking lot, outside, so we could jump on the bus, we probably would have wait to have scheduled the tour until the weather was nicer. As of now, the situation is not rectified. I had a lot of friends also interested in how this tour went and possibly booking future tours, but I will recommend against a company that doesn't deliver. read more

What a fun tour! After (finally) reading "Devil in the White City," I knew my Chicago experience would not be complete without a Weird Chicago tour. We took the 3-hour hauntings tour, lead by our hilarious and talented guide, Eric. To be honest, my friend and I were a bit worried about the length of the tour, but in reality, we were surprised how quickly it went! We visited many haunted spots in the city, the highlight being "Death Alley" behind the former Iroquois Theater (now the Oriental). Almost everyone who took pictures had something weird about the way the photo turned out. The stop for a drink at the Congress Hotel was also a nice touch - AND for the use of the bathrooms! Speaking of drinks, one of the tie-ins to the story about Adolf Luetgert, sausage king-turned-murderer, was to a bar he once owned, now called the Drinkingbird. This piqued my interest, and I will be returning for a haunted pub crawl soon! I hope Eric is our guide; he really was great - so dramatic! read more

Break out the Klingon-to-English dictionary. Break out the pizza stained, holey shirt. Break out the thick glasses with tape on them! This might be the geekiest thing that I've ever done since moving to Chicago. And that includes multiple They Might Be Giants concerts and a Windy City Comicon (to be fair, my girlfriend at the time was an indie comic artist who was displaying her work there - and we totally made out in front of everyone)! *heh heh heh* *snort* Yeah, I took a ghost tour! And, if geeky means awesome, than it was super geeky! Weird Chicago allowed me to embrace my inner superstitious, Nostradamus special watching self nicely with through Groupon. The good folks at Weird Chicago included their special Resurrection Mary Tour, only offered a few times a year (and ordinarily $40) with their regular tour offerings ($30) and I jumped at the chance to explore this bit of Chicagocana. When I first arrived at the short bus across from the Hard Rock (honestly, the chariot for the evening is a short bus, GEEKY, I mean awesome), I was worried about how interesting the tour was going to be. The handlebar mustache and rockabilly look to the greeter made me think this was going to be run by a bunch of punk rockers taking the squares (and geeks) for an expensive ride. But the guide on this particular tour, while tatted up to the extreme, was the world's foremost expert on the Resurrection Mary legend. The old phrase, "wrote the book on it," well, he did. As well as 70 other occult and true crime books. And he still finds time to be married. Yikes! And it wasn't some quickie tour either. The guide let us know that sometimes the tours go as long as four hours on nights he felt especially long winded. Ours went about three and along with seeing all the places associated with the two girls assumed to haunt as Resurrection Mary (their houses, where they died, etc.), we explored much of the supernatural history of Chicago's southwest side as we wound our way down Archer all the way into the suburbs, learning about Chicago's Polish and Irish history along the way. No drinks were included (it's technically a family tour, even if the guide sometimes curses), though drinking is allowed to add to the fun. However, there is only one bathroom stop (at a coffee shop in Willow Springs), so I'm glad I did it dry. Oh, and if all this sounds too geeky (and, again, by geeky, I mean awesome), they have Gangster and Sex Tours (it's not that kind of tour, they show you Chicago's infamous X-Rated haunts,) as well. These guys have hooked me (not in that kind of way, it's not that kinds of tour) and I'll be back. Now I just have to sell my old Dungeons & Dragons collection to come up with the money! read more

I paid $30 for a "Devil in the White City" tour, hoping to hear story after story of HH Holmes gore. The man killed anywhere from 100 to 500 people and built his own *murder castle* so there's plenty of gore to go around. I knew the castle was no longer there, so I was curious how they were going to fill three hours, but I'm fascinated by the story of HH Holmes so I was willing to give it a shot. Instead, I got a tour mostly about the Columbian Exposition, with a few stories about HH Holmes and a couple of completely unrelated ghost stories. (For reference, I'd say it was 25% HH Holmes, 60% Columbian Exposition, and 15% unrelated ghost stories.) The HH Holmes parts were interesting, because he was an interesting guy, but I have no interest in the Columbian Exposition. I don't care that the stories happened simultaneously. And I don't really care to hear so much about the Ferris Wheel while I'm supposed to be hearing about MURDER. The tour needed to be one hour shorter and $10 cheaper, and instead of going on and on about the stockyards, talk about some more of the torture and murder chambers in his castle. read more

Pretty entertaining, great guide, funny and interesting. The mafia tour was great. But don't expect to see actual mafia memorabilia and most of the buildings are gone. What really matters is the stories told at the tour. I would do it again, for sure. Cheers read more

Halloween is my very favorite holiday - and this year I hadn't made any decent plans for dress-up, so I decided to "treat" myself to the Weird Chicago Ghosts, Gangsters and Ghouls Tour on Halloween. So glad that I did! The bus was very comfortable - kept at a nice temperature -- which you never know about when it's cold outside. Some people like to crank that heat up so high you wonder how anyone can breathe. Not the case here -- just right. I realize that's a personal preference - but not only was it perfect, but our host, Jennifer checked to see how everyone was doing. She also pointed out where the bathroom stops were -- which was a really good idea -- this is a three hour tour, so there is a good chance you'll need to use the restroom! Jennifer was a fantastic guide and is very, very good at what she does (and the driver was cool, also). I was really looking forward to this adventure, because, despite being a native, I'd been gone for many years - and, I really wanted to learn more about its very rich history. In fact, it's hard to believe how she keeps all that interesting, very detailed information together. It probably helps that she is a paranormal investigator - as I understood it -- so she has a great passion for her work. Her storytelling ability is top-notch and very inclusive - she involves members of the audience which really livens things up! I've read a lot of material about Chicago -- out of curiosity and as a writer and I STILL learned a great deal on this tour - things I know I probably never would have found out if not for this tour. This tour was jam packed with many historical facts and lots of very interesting tidbits about the city. For anyone looking to find out more about Chicago -- whether you're a native or a visitor -- this tour is not like a classic sight-seeing tour - it is far more in-depth and you can learn about all of the very colorful characters that gave Chicago the reputation it still has today! read more

I would love to review the tour I prepaid $180 for, however myself and my party of six (including my two out of town parents) never had the opportunity to take our Saturday evening tour since (despite our arrival at 5 minutes to 7) the bus left without us. Imagine my surprise when I tried calling the phone number provided in my confirmation email, but was directly forwarded to a voicemail service informing me that I was calling outside of business hours.... So there we were, all six of us, having driven from one of the far south suburbs into the city, to pay $30 to park, and then left standing on the street next to a fancy McDonalds wondering what to do next. Oh... Did I mention that I am now out $180? Yeah, awesome. Don't worry though, there was another family of 3 that was also left high and dry waiting for the SAME tour.... So at least we weren't alone. Dear Weird Chicago... I understand your "prompt departure" of 7pm... Which is why we arrived promptly BEFORE 7pm. Didn't anyone think it was odd that you were missing an entire party of 6? Moreover, if you are going to be offering tours outside of normal business hours, wouldn't it be beneficial to provide a phone number for guests to call that would actually reach a person? I hate to ramble, but I am extremely disappointed and dissatisfied by this entire ordeal. Our Saturday evening was ruined. My father was very much looking forward to the tour and it broke my heart to tell him "sorry, it left without us and no the phone number does nothing for me... Maybe next time you travel all the way here from New York, I can spend another $200 and we can try again". Dont get me wrong, I'm not whining just to obtain a refund... In fact, I am even more than willing to accept credit towards the booking of another tour at a later date. I just have to say that I find it to be extremely poor business to charge someone $30 per ticket and then not make any sort of effort to make good on their end of the deal. read more

This was probably the worst tour that I have ever taken. We booked the American Hauntings tour and it was a major disappointment. To begin with, our guide, Clarence, was outside and we found him right away at the pickup spot, which was on the street by the hard rock cafe (don't make the mistake that we made and go to the hard rock hotel) and rock 'n' roll mcdonalds. He was pleasant and upbeat, which was very promising to start. Once on the bus, we were one of the first ones there, but a few minutes later came an obnoxious group of seven who sat right behind us and next to us. This was the beginning of the downfall (though this wasn't really any fault of the tour company's). When we got going, Clarence told us that Happy Dave (sitting in front) was training with him and would be telling our first story. The first stop was right by the chicago river and happy dave pulled us in and told a boring story that we could barely hear. The obnoxious seven were standing in the back talking to passersby and being distracting. Once that boring story was finally over, we got back in the bus and Clarence took over (thank god). We drove through the streets of downtown, stopping a couple of times and hearing some gangster/ghost stories. As the night went on, my partner and I started losing interest. The last stop was a LONG, boring drive out of the city, while we listened to all of Clarence's stories (I was half asleep). Willie, our driver, got lost a dozen times. By the time we finally got to our destination, it was this pub, where we had a bathroom break and were led outside to the back patio to hear some more boring stories about the pub. Then, after all of that driving, we got back on the bus and headed back. The obnoxious seven were really getting on our nerves at this point and we couldn't wait for the tour to just end. No scary ghost stories...just long, boring gruesome gangster stories with a LONG bus ride to stop for ten minutes. The bottom line: don't bother. read more

I recently went on the True Crime and Serial Killer Tour. Our guide was Ms. Sunny Megatron. She was absolutely awesome. I wasn't sure how good a three hour tour would be but she kept it really interesting. She was very passionate about the history and stories of Chicago and kept you in suspense the whole time. The tour is a mixture of bus and walking to various sites which the bus will drop you off by. I saw some low ratings on Yelp and I don't know what these people are thking unless hey were hoping to see the real killers.This tour is amazing and overall it has mostly high reviews by other Yelpers. These legends are dead so this is as close as you can get to the real stuff! We discussed HH Holmes, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer's hangouts and ties to Chicago. You'll also get to see some of the bars where these guys hung out that are still in operation today. What's great is along the way Sunny will surprise you with cool sites that you'll get a chance to see and visit. The money is well worth it and I highly recommend the tour. You WON"T be dissappointed!!! read more

We booked a private Weird Chicago Tour as part of our wedding day for our guests, many of whom are from outside Chicago. Gus, the bus-driver picked us up right outside our hotel, and Sunny, our tour guide, was absolutely fantastic. We opted for a mixed bag of stories and stops from Weird Chicago's various tours including gangster tales, ghost stories, tragedies, and just plain random weirdness. Sunny's stories were absolutely fascinating and when she announced that we were heading for our final stop, we didn't want it to end! Our guests raved about the experience and, quite frankly, so did we. Thank you to Sunny, Gus, and the rest of the folks at Weird Chicago for being such a great part of our special day! read more

I booked a private tour with Weird Chicago as part of our office's holiday outing and was more than satisfied with both the tour and the planning process. Weird Chicago was great with making a few changes to the tour and was very responsive to questions prior to the tour. We did a Blood, Guns and Valentines Crime tour and our tour guide Sunny really made our afternoon. Hilarious, engaging, and full of conspiracy theories, she made sure we all had a great time, and allowed for us to ask questions and offer our own theories and stories. I also loved her because she's a serial killer buff, which several people in the office also sheepishly owned up to at her prompting. Myself included obviously. We didn't participate in any of the bar crawl activities which they offer on their tours, but I totally would on future tours. I'll probably do the Devil in the White City one one of these days. My one small gripe is that the bus can be warm and stuffy, but I'm always overheated and thought about wearing shorts to work today. It's December. read more

I wasn't sure what to expect on this tour. I hadn't read the book and my sister said she wasn't a fan of it. I wanted to take a haunted type of tour and this was the only one i could fit into our schedule. We were pleasantly surprised. The tour guide, Kevin, was very nice and knowledgeable about the city, and the history of H.H. Holmes. We learned a lot of different things and got to see plenty of sites I would have never gone to if it weren't for the tour. You stop at the meat packing district, the Japanese gardens and the former site of the Holmes Hotel,(it's a post office now) among other stops. This is an on/off tour not just riding around for 3 hours. If you are looking for a "creepy" tour (which I was), you may want something else but overall it was fun, relaxing and insightful. read more

See all

If it has the name "WEIRD" in the title I'm there! My Countess & I took this tour of the veird and supernatural locations in Chicago late last year but, the memories are still as fresh as a newly dug grave. (Ahh, sveet earth!) Our tour guide Ken Melvoin-Berg vas very knowledgeable about his history of the places ve stopped at and explored. As my Countess already stated ve vere in on the "Ghost Hunter's Thursday" (Vho you gonna call?!) special tour vhich has more of a supernatural theme to it. They have other theme tours such as true crime, gangsters and even underground adult establishments (Yes, "dirty places" for you pervs!) to enjoy in exploring and taking pics! The usual haunted locations such as the site of the Eastland Disaster, the Oriental Theatre, the "death alley" of John Dillinger and adjoining Biograph Theater vere discussed and explored. However, ve vere treated to a few new places such as the site of 3 bloody axe murders in the Liar's Club upstairs VIP room (It had a chill up there for sure! Brrr!), the Luetgert Sausage Factory murder site and the basement of Old Town Tatu tattoo parlor! Plus, as a bonus to end off the tour ve stopped at the infamous Virgin Mary image or as I called it the "homeless person's pee vall" at the Fullerton Avenue underpass beneath the Kennedy Expressway! This tour also differs from others in that you get 2 "pit stops" to take a vashroom break and grab a beer (I don't drink vine!) to keep those "spirits" floating! *vink* My favorite ghost/veird/supernatual.tour claws down! I give it 2 fangs up or in this case 5 stars! The ghouls at Weird Chicago know how to give a good show! read more

So I went on my first tour on weird Chicago with a bunch of my girlfriends on Halloween. Our tourist was Jennifer & she was AWESOME!!!! She took us to places & would give us details to how everything happened and would pretend with some of the passengers on the bus to be that specific person we were talking about. She made us feel like we were there. Now it is true that when the tourist tells you to take pictures, don't just take one. Take a few back to back so you can see if anything did or did not appear. However, if you don't see a ghost or anything appear in your photos. Not everyone does. Some of the things she was guiding us with kind of put some goosebumps to myself. What freaked me out the most was the Congress Hotel :-X ....... Over all experience I would say to try it out & learn about the historics on Chicago. It's only $30 and they give you a tour for almost 3 hours which is not bad. They do let you take food on the bus which is a plus :) .... I went on a crazy cold Halloween day and Jennifer would tell us part of the story so that we wouldn't have to be outside in the cold to long. read more

We went on the Redlight District Sex tour...This tour was a disaster from the start. We registered and paid online for the Weird and Haunted Tour for June 24th at 7pm. I printed up my email confirmation and brought it with me.We showed up for the tour at 6:45 pm like the instructions told us to. The gentleman tour guide looked at his list and said we were registered for the tour on June 25th. I showed him my email confirmation. There was no doubt according to the confirmation that I had appeared at the time I was registered for. He contacted the office, who continued to insist we were on for June 25th. He said that we could wait for no shows or get a refund, or come back on the 25th, or go on the Sex tour if they had no-shows. So...we waited. about 15 minutes AFTER 7 a group of 5 showed up and filled the bus. So, we decided to go on the Sex tour. What a mistake! Sunny was our guide. She was friendly and well spoken. But...the tour was not so much about Chicago's red light districts as it was about Sunny's personal sex life. First, she had us all introduce ourselves and tell complete strangers what our "fetish" was. I consider myself open-minded, but I frankly have no desire to hear about strangers fetishes. Some were frankly disturbing. Sunny is apparently some sort of sex "educator". We were forced to listen to her sexual preferences, her experiences with different machines, and her very graphic experiences with equine medical equipment. I am in the medical field and frankly her descriptions disgusting and completely unecessary. We did NOT see the original Playboy club, as the website stated we would. We drove around an area of town where supposedly prostitutes frequent, but did not see any, probably because it was June and still light out at 8pm. We did see an S&M dungeon, found out that Sunny owns a "St. Christopher's cross" (?) as well TMI!!!. Also we went to a run-of -the mill sex shop. One of the stores that sells risque lingerie and toys that can be found in ANY city. We drove and drove, while listening to Sunny's graphic descriptions of her sex life. Finally we came to some historical areas. The historical discussion was very brief, and since NOW it was dark, we could not see what she was talking about. Unless you are part of the fetish lifestyle, this tour is NOT for you. I you are looking to learn offbeat history about Chicago, this tour is NOT for you. My recommendation for the tour to improve itself so it will have SOME redeeming quality is to drive by the historical sites early and then drive to the "redlight" districts to see the prostitutes. I am really upset I just didn't ask for my money back instead of going on this sickening tour. read more

We did the assassins tour. Clarence did a wonderful job!!! He lives and breathes assassins and murder and conspiracy theories!!! I think its wonder that there is someone so passionate about their job. I'm not a big history buff, but he definitely made this tour interesting and kept me from ever falling asleep! He was THAT good. If you love history and all the mysteries Chicago holds, check this tour out! read more

Went on my third trip with Weird Chicago Tours last night. They customized a private tour for my company, Mingle Around. It was part sex part haunted but all "weird". My group LOVED it. Our tour guide was Sunny- honestly the best tour guide I've ever had, anywhere. Her honesty and personality makes the tour comfortable and fun. The bus was a nice 23 seater. We were able to drink (and we drank alot!) on the bus. which makes the trip so much more fun! I'd share this company to anyone looking for any type of tour of Chicago, they really know their history. -Jill read more

I'm a total skeptic, and Ken makes me want to believe. He also makes me want to do all kinds of things not fit to print, and learn how to make quick-dry cement shoes. This is the kind of indulgence you mull over for months, wondering if it's worth it, if you're just going to be uncomfortable, if this is going to be the kind of thing you're ashamed to tell your friends you did. No, no, no. Weird Chicago is the best of the best, bringing genuine personality, thorough knowledge, and a truly twisted host of minds to bear on all the things in Chicago that you're hesitant to explore. Is it a bizarre experience? Absolutely. Are you going to end up flirting with strangers? Happily! Are you going to come back, slavering and eager, for more? Uh-huh. Can't recommend these people enough. read more

This past Halloween weekend, a friend and I decided to take the "Blood, Guns, and Valentines Crime Tour" with Weird Chicago and it was a fun and unique way to spend the afternoon! The guide really knew his stuff! He had a half spooky, half humorous way of telling the information, which made the tour more of a "light"experience despite the heavy subject matter. Without giving too much away, the tour took three hours, and discussed sights in the South Loop, the Loop, Gold Coast, and Lincoln Park. The tour group gets off at some sights, while at others, the bus drives by for a look. I didn't know anything about the gangster history of Chicago going in, so I was surprised to discover the sinister past behind many mundane-seeming locations that I pass by regularly! Tour booking is done online, and make sure to book early because the tours tend to sell-out! read more

Myself and three friends went on the Serial Killer tour on a Friday evening. Ken, the owner/tour guide, was fantastic. He's super knowledgable, answers any questions you have (within reason) and schooled us on some things we didn't already know about Chicago serial killers. The four of us have been on a rival company's ghost tour and frankly, it wasn't nearly as fun and entertaining as this was! I like the fact that there are two bar/bathroom stops along the way that encourage chatting with the other guests, as well as the guide. In fact, on our tour Ken learned about Andrew Uridales through one of the other guests! (The guest explained that Uridales worked as a security guard at his office building and that he was "a nice friendly man who would walk women to their cars in the parking garage"...creepy!) Now Ken has another serial killer to add to the tour! When I got home that night, I had to look up some of the killers mentioned on the tour to get more info. It turns out that the "Lipstick Killer" dumped a body in my neighborhood (yikes!) and that the "Ripper Crew" were as disgusting as Ken said they were (ick). This was our first tour with Weird Chicago Tours, but it most definitely won't be our last! Thanks Ken and Happy Dave! read more

I purchased a Devil in the White City tour for my mom for her birthday. She just got done reading the book, so I thought it was applicable. Also, I'm terrible at giving gifts. Anyway, I really liked our tour guide. He was funny, quirky, strange, excited and knowledgable. His mic broke about 10 minutes into the tour so he had to adjust his spiel, and he executed it phenomenally. Instead of just standing in one place in front of everyone, he walked up and down the aisles and made the experience much more personal. He did a great job. The content of the tour? Eh, it was alright. I feel like if I had read the book, things would have made a whole lot more sense. Nothing our tour guide said really connected, meaning we would talk about the World's Fair, then H.H. Holmes, then back to the Worlds Fair, then somehow Jane Austin was brought up for a while (not his fault, that's just the way his tour was set up). Also, we fact-checked a few of of the things we were told, and they definitely weren't all correct. I get that it's entertainment, but that doesn't mean I want to be listening to fictional re-iterations of the past, ya know? That being said, I did learn a fair amount about the city of Chicago, H.H. Holmes, and the world's fair. But I probably wouldn't do one of these again. read more

I went on the True Crime & Serial Killer Tour & on the Haunted Chicago tour. Both were wonderful. The guides truly have a passion for this, and most of all engage you. I enjoyed every moment, got emotional & had fun! I'd say leave the kids at home, this is for adults. Eric, was our guide for the Serial Killer tour. Great job! read more

Weird Chicago Tours - Suicide Alley in Chicago's Theater District - Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Let me start off by saying that our guides were really nice. They seemed organized and they started on time. Now here is were I was a little disappointed....We I arrived I was 15 mins early. The only problem was everyone made it there before me which means I got the torcher seat on the bus. What is a torcher seat must you ask....well it is the place on the bus where there is a hump on the floor right where your feet are supposed to go. Now I got lucky because I am short, but if I was a tall person the ride would be even worse. I sat half of the ride with my knees to my chest. I know I must have hit the gentleman that was sitting in front of me with my knees like 20 times. Lucky for me and him during the middle of the tour I figured a way to squeeze my leg underneath the seat in from of me just between the seat and the hump....Does that sound complicated....well it was. Now for the tour. I signed up for the "Haunted Ghost Tour" which you would think that you would learn about the haunted places in the city, but instead we only talked about 3 haunted stories, which were very short and the rest of the 3 hr tour was about killing and the mob. I thought it was going to be like Paranormal Activity, not the Godfather. Don't get me wrong it was interesting, but I was prepared to be scared, instead I was mostly grossed out during our discussion of the hundreds of ways a person can die and be killed. If you are looking for a good tour about the gangsters and crimes than you should definitely take this tour and make sure to get there early so that you don't get the torcher seat. If you are looking to learn about where spirits lurk and haunting of Chicago's building then this might not be the tour for you. read more