On October 29, 2011, the staff of HauntedIllinois.com was on hand to witness Elgin's first annual zombie street festival,  "Nightmare on Chicago Street".  Boasting an impressive attendance of more than 4,000 people, this event filled two full blocks of Chicago Street in Elgin, stretching from Villa Street to Douglas Avenue.  The entire area was themed as the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse.  In the middle of the street there were several overturned, smashed-up cars.  Also, the windows of numerous businesses were boarded up and in several areas, there were barricades, caution tape and debris on the street.  

Live musical entertainment was provided by local bands Kashmir and ARRA (featured in the pictures below).  Local Chicagoland TV horror movie host Svengoolie was in attendance to emcee the costume contest and afterward, he signed autographs for his fans.  There was also a celebrity appearance by Victoria Price, daughter of horror movie icon Vincent Price.  

This city-sponsored event was promoted by Mitchell Wells of the Horror Society, who has put together many successful horror-related events in the past.   Kudos to everyone involved on a job well done.  This event was a blast and we look forward to attending next year!