La Grange's Skeletons Disappeared for a While. This October, You Get to Rate Them.

Through the end of October, each costumed skeleton outside a downtown La Grange business is also a ballot. Scan the QR code next to one, and the La Grange Business Association's check-in form asks you to score that skeleton from 1, labeled "Meh," to 5, labeled "Amazing." That leaves nine days to walk the route and cast your votes before Halloween falls on Saturday.

Older versions of Skeletober worked differently. In its 2021 coverage, Patch counted that year as the event's sixth. More than 40 skeletons, dressed as everyone from Fred Astaire to Princess Diana, were on display across the downtown business district from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31. People followed a walking map, posted photos to Facebook tagged to the business association, and entered random prize drawings. At some point the skeletons stopped appearing. The business association now says they "came back to La Grange last year," and 2026 is the second October since the return.

Every Skeleton on the Map Was Paid For

What sets this October apart is how the displays get there. The business association's sign-up page for businesses charges $50 for LGBA members and $100 for non-members. The fee covers QR signage outside the business, a custom landing page telling the skeleton's story, a spot on the printed and mobile maps, and full participation in the scavenger hunt.

The skeleton itself costs extra. Each business supplies and decorates its own. The association offers to buy one on a business's behalf from Horton's Ace Hardware for $80. The rules call for skeletons that are life-size or close to it and publicly accessible, and any outdoor display has to be weather-resistant and fastened to something stable. A participant without a good spot of its own can get help finding a public location elsewhere in town.

So every skeleton on the map represents somewhere between $50 and $180 in direct cost before any decorating, plus the time spent dressing it. The association pitches it to businesses as a way "to bring traffic to your business, have a little fun, and become part of a fall tradition that's quickly taking on a life of its own." Each check-in on that QR form is that traffic.

The Check-In Is a Ballot

The 2026 entry form is short, and it works like a scorecard:

1. Find a skeleton and scan the QR code posted beside it.
2. Enter your first and last name and an email address. The form allows one vote per valid email and deletes duplicate entries.
3. Confirm your age. Participants must be 13 or older, and if someone between 13 and 17 wins, a parent or guardian claims the prize.
4. Rate the skeleton from 1 to 5.

The 2021 version asked people to find a skeleton and post a photo. The 2026 version asks them to grade it. Everyone who walks the route becomes a judge, and every decorated skeleton becomes an entry in a contest among the businesses that paid to be on the map.

Where the Skeletons Are Standing

The Skeletober page carries an interactive 2026 map. It warns that not every skeleton appears on it, "because we can't give you all the answers now." The published list of display sites still covers enough to plan a walk. Among the named stops:

• Barrel House Social
• Becca's Kitchen Cafe
• Blackberry Market
• Cold Stone Creamery
• Horton's Home Lighting
• Jack's West End
• JAYNE
• La Grange Art League
• La Grange Public Library
• Milk Money Brewing
• Santiago's Mexican Restaurant

The full list names 27 display sites, including a pilates studio, a dance studio, a tutoring center, a senior living community and a school. In 2021, Patch counted more than 40 skeletons downtown. The map's own note says there are more out there than it shows, so the real count this year sits somewhere above 27.

The business association also promises themed drinks and seasonal treats from restaurants, along with photo opportunities and special events through the month. Barrel House Social, Milk Money Brewing and Santiago's are all on the display list, so a walk can end at a table.

Why Downtown Wants the Foot Traffic

The Skeletober check-ins land on a downtown that has spent 2026 turning storefronts over. A paid hunt that pulls people down La Grange Road and Burlington Avenue matters most to the businesses that are newest or still on the way.

Take 23 S. La Grange Road. On July 24, the La Grange Design Review Commission approved a new facade there for a restaurant called My Sushi, after a heated exchange over whether the design matched the look of downtown. As La Grange Daily reported, commission chairman Kurt Volkman, an architect, defended the approval. "We're not Disney," he said at the meeting. "Modern architecture has a place in every community." The storefront has had three tenants in recent years: The Art Stop, Urban Mutt and SoTish. None of them stayed. Wheelys Coffee Lounge next door has stayed open through all of that turnover. My Sushi's owner told Patch the goal was a September opening.

Two more restaurant projects were announced this year a short walk away:

Crepas Culichi, 50 S. La Grange Road. This Mexican and French-inspired restaurant applied this spring to open in the former Forbidden Noodles space. Sisters Yency and Estefany Garcia founded it in Berwyn in 2019, and its flagship now sits at 1101 Lake St. in Oak Park, according to La Grange Daily. Patch also lists Lorena de la Torre as an owner. It reported that the owners told village officials they planned breakfast, brunch and lunch to start, would add dinner if demand warranted, and would open seven days a week. Patch reported a July target that depended on construction.

Woow Hot Pot, 37 La Grange Road. This table-side hot pot restaurant is connected to Woow Sushi next door and was planned for the former Steak + Vine space. In June, Patch reported that renovation had started, with a goal of opening within three to four months.

Farther south, Balkan Bakery at 541 S. La Grange Road finished a renovation this summer that added indoor and outdoor seating, a patio with a pergola, and artisan display cases. It stayed open the whole time. Owner Marija Pejkovic told Patch a larger menu with sandwiches, salads and snack bowls was planned for September, and the longtime staples would stay.

None of these spots is on the Skeletober display list, but they all sit on the same blocks the hunt sends people walking.

The Last Nine Days

Several other downtown events wrap up on the same timeline. The La Grange Farmers Market has run on Thursdays since May 21, and Oct. 29 is the last scheduled market. That leaves two Thursdays, including the day this post comes out.

The library is also on the Skeletober display list, so a kids' program there can double as a stop on the hunt. At the market, the Oct. 1 vendor lineup included Gigawatt Coffee Roasters, Jimmy's Bagels, Katich Breads, Buttercrumb Bakery, Aracely's Bakery, Skibbe Farms, Jake's Country Meats and Botanical Honey Farm. The business association notes that lineups can change without notice.

One Thursday morning can cover a lot of it. Get coffee and bread at the market, walk north and south along La Grange Road scanning QR codes, and check the storefronts at 23, 37 and 50 for open doors. The Skeletober map and the 2026 entry form are both on lgba.com, and the hunt's updates come through its Facebook page.

At Angela Walker Homes, we follow downtown La Grange block by block, from which storefronts are filling to which events bring people out walking. If you own a home within walking distance of La Grange Road and want to know how this market values that location, request a free home valuation and we'll walk you through the numbers.