Built with care.
Haunted by design.
Hills of Unrest brings a family’s love of Halloween to a quiet stretch of 51st Avenue in Oak Lawn.
A Halloween tradition with room to grow.
Public coverage of Oak Lawn’s 2024 decorating contest describes Joe Merkle and a father-and-son tradition of decorating, with the display extending into a neighboring yard. A bell tower was added that season—a detail that became part of the display’s public story.
The 2026 Chicago Haunt Builders listing describes Hills of Unrest as a mostly handmade yard haunt with some surprise scares. The result is a scene to appreciate through its lighting, figures, textures, and details. Our guide to handmade displays offers a few things to look for when you visit.
The display is free to visit, with donations accepted. It remains a neighborhood experience, so the people who live around it are part of every visitor’s evening too. Follow the viewing and parking guidance, give others room, and enjoy the work from the permitted areas.
A little neighborhood
notoriety.
Second place
Oak Lawn Halloween house decorating contest.
See the real display.
The gallery uses real photographs and footage from the official Instagram account. Archive images are labeled by season; individual props and layouts may change from year to year.
Come when the light fades.
For 2026, the confirmed dates are October 2–31, dusk–10 p.m. Find directions and visiting details, or browse the Halloween field guide to make a wider evening of it.
Small stories.
A very large imagination.
The archive is full of moments that make the yard feel inhabited. A storykeeper has an audience. An organist sits ready at the keys. Witches gather around a cauldron, while a dragon changes the silhouette of the whole cemetery. These are separate little scenes that invite you to look beyond the first impression.
The daylight photographs reveal faces, placement, and texture. After dark, colored light brings different features forward and lets the spaces between them recede. Explore the illustrated guide to the creatures and scenery, or compare the daytime and nighttime photographs for yourself.
Come for a scare.
Stay for the craft.
A home display has a particular kind of closeness: the familiar scale of a house, the surrounding street, and something extraordinary assembled where everyday life usually happens. Hills of Unrest invites visitors to appreciate that transformation at a neighborhood pace.
Give yourself time to notice the work. Follow the posted viewing arrangements, make room for other visitors, and keep the surrounding homes in mind. Admission is free, and donations are accepted. The Visit page has the 2026 schedule and address; the film room offers a glimpse of the yard after dark.