Haunted Holiday Tours Return to The Rave
Christmas meets Halloween at the music venue for 'a scary good time.'
Haunted Holidays Tour at The Rave, 2401 W. Wisconsin Ave. Photo taken Dec. 5, 2024 by Sophie Bolich.
You’ve heard of Elf on the Shelf. Now, get ready for The Rave‘s take on the holiday tradition: Ghouls in the Pool.
The multi-venue music hall at 2401 W. Wisconsin Ave. is decked out in festive lights and eerie decorations for the month of December, offering a one-of-a-kind Haunted Holiday Tour for those brave enough to enter.
The self-guided experience, first held in 2020, invites guests to explore every corner of the 1920s-era building, including the green rooms and haunted pool, which are rarely accessible to the public.
Tours begin on the top floor of the building, in the expansive Eagle’s Ballroom. The cavernous space is ringed with tall columns, each illuminated in red and green, with Christmas trees displayed throughout. Among the glittering snowflakes and colorful garlands, an enormous hooded wraith overlooks the dance floor, holding glowing glass ornaments in each skeletal hand.
Guests can take in the ballroom from the balcony before descending a flight of stairs to explore the space up close. The stage area is accessible for photo-ops.
From there, the tour descends another level to The Rave Hall. The room’s wide-open dance floor, typically crowded with screaming fans, glows with flashing holiday-themed lights, dazzling Christmas trees stand like sentries around the perimeter and an upper-level balcony wraps the venue. On stage, a projector screen cycles through festive photos while a crouching, winged demon overlooks the room.
Beyond the stage, guests will find dressing rooms tailored to the needs of touring artists and their teams. The first room is sleek and professional, showcasing a red-and-black color scheme and a formal office space. The adjoining green rooms, in contrast, have walls and ceilings draped in patterned fabric, eccentric lamps, LED lighting and piles of plush pillows.
After navigating the maze of green rooms, guests can swing through the smaller basement venue before making their way to one of the most iconic—and perhaps most restricted—areas of The Rave: the “haunted” pool.
Last used in the early 80s, the tiled, in-ground pool now serves as a life-sized yearbook, its walls adorned with the signatures and farewell messages of thousands of bands and artists who have graced the stage at the music hall over the years.
In its haunted holiday state, the pool is filled with skeletal pirates and cloaked phantoms swooping overhead. Screams and groans echo across the empty swimming pool, whose shining tiles reflect the warm glow of two nearby Christmas trees. Guests are welcome to wander around—but not inside—the pool, getting a close-up look at the notes scrawled by past performers.
The tour concludes at The Rave Bar, where beer and cocktails flow freely as Christmas movies play on the projector.
Haunted Holidays at The Rave is both festive and frightful—though not overly so—offering an unconventional twist on Christmas tradition. While the decor acts as a timely draw, the tour primarily provides a chance to explore the deepest corners of The Rave, uncovering music history, architecture and other hidden elements that often take a backseat to the performances of the day.
Tours, open to all ages, will be held Dec. 13 through 15 and 19 through 22. Tickets include a commemorative laminate and holiday cocktail and are available to purchase online for $40 (Thursdays) or $45 (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays). The first 500 tours purchased include a limited edition Haunted Holidays ornament.
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