House of the Exquisite Corpse V: Blood and Puppets is currently sold-out!
WAITING LIST/STANDBY PROTOCOL
There is no advance wait-list for House of the Exquisite Corpse. However, we will be building a list for standby tickets at the door!

Because of the unique rolling entry of the show, each night will have three unique standby groups.
> We will be accepting names for the waiting list beginning on the hour 7pm, 8pm, or 9pm.
> Standby members will either be admitted to the show or released by 45m after the hour (e.g. 7:45)
> Because our lobby gets crowded, we are not able to accept people before the hour for the following hour's standby list.
> The standby list for each hour is first come, first served
> We are not able to hold a reservation of multiple spots on the standby list; each person holds their own spot on the list, in the order of arrival

Due to the nature of the show –viewing peep-holes + individual headphones – the capacity for Exquisite Corpse is strictly limited; as much as we would like to, we are not able to "squeeze" additional people in. Thank you for your understanding!

Rough House Puppet Arts presents, House of the Exquisite Corpse, Chicago’s one and only puppet haunted house, returning for its fifth Halloween season with a new, immersive horror experience sure to make your blood run cold. Recommended for audiences aged 13 and over.

House of the Exquisite Corpse V: Blood & Puppets runs October 9-November 1 at Steppenwolf Theatre’s Merle Reskin Space. Six teams of Chicago artists will bring life to six unique puppet terror experiences, tapping a new vein of horror – Blood – for its unifying theme in 2025.

Directors this year are Chicago puppet artists Felix Mayes and Corey Smith, veterans of House of the Exquisite Corpse and the haunt’s first-ever guest directors.

Entry/Exit Chambers: INSTALLATION DESIGN/FABRICATION Jacqueline Wade • PERFORMER Miguel Long
Room 1: Blood and Miracles CREATORS Casey Doe & Quinn Kempe • PERFORMERS Alexander Ferguson, Abby Palen, Khalil Smith, Camille Mitchell
Room 2: Blood and Transformation CREATORS Saskia Bakker & Emilie Wingate • PERFORMERS Rachel Hartmann, Leah Lara, Saskia Bakker, Emilie Wingate
Room 3: Blood and Ruin CREATORS Justin D’Acci & Vim Hile • PERFORMERS Twan, Tanima, Justin D’Acci, Vim Hile
Room 4: Blood and Memory CREATORS Chih-Jou Cheng & Charlie Malave • PERFORMERS Tia Pinson, Richie Whitehead
Room 5: Blood and Letting CREATORS madigan burke & Nina D’Angier • PERFORMERS Sam Lewis, Amandatron 5000
Room 6: B|O̸OD̸ and ₵ØⱤⱤɄ₱₮łØ₦ CREATORS Pablo Monterrubio & Fletcher Pierson • PERFORMERS Lindsey Ball, Ruby Que

DIRECTION Felix Mayes & Corey Smith • PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT Anastar Alvarez • DRAMATURGY Molly Sharfstein • PRODUCTION SUPPORT Claire Saxe •  LIGHTING DESIGN Quinn Chisenhall & Brendan Marble • ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN & TECH DIRECTION Pei-Yu Hung & Melissa Schlesinger • ENVIRONMENTAL DRAMATURGY Jackie Berland • ENVIRONMENTAL ART Ken Buckingham • SOUND DESIGN Mike Meegan • ASSOCIATE SOUND DESIGN Joey Meland • PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGEMENT Kacey Lindeman • STAGE MANAGEMENT Lenny Fritsch • ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGEMENT Mallory Kimbrell • BOX OFFICE MANAGEMENT Lucy Wirtz • GRAPHIC DESIGN Raul Delgado • ROUGH HOUSE MARKETING Kimzyn Campbell • PUBLIC RELATIONS Jay Kelly
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Regarding Refunds and Exchanges:
• Because of the limited number of tickets available for the remainder of the run, exchanges to a different performance date/time may not be possible.
• We are typically not able to process refunds requested less than 24 hours before the ticketed show time.
Thank you for your understanding!

Tickets are Pay What You Can

Pay What You Can lets you choose how much to pay for a ticket. Nothing should stand between between you and great puppet art, least of all a brutal social construct like money. Suggested prices can be found by selecting different ticketing options on this page. For more info on how we make Pay What You Can work, click here

Be prepared to move during this show!

Audiences enter, if you dare, in small groups via timed entries. Once inside, you must brave its dark halls for approximately 50 minutes, stopping at each room to spy through keyholes, cracks, and hidden doors to see the horrors happening within.

You will be mostly on your feet for the ~1 hour production. Chairs are available for those with difficulty standing for long stretches.

Facilities & Accessibility

 Let us know how we can help make your experience more easeful and complete!
Rough House is committed to making Exquisite Corpse accessible to everyone who wants to be there! The venue and the show are equipped with the following accessibility features:
• Fully accessible entrances and restrooms
• Accessible Seating
• Audio Descriptions
• Plain Language Summaries
• Print-outs of Spoken Text
• (Every audience member receives personal audio through headphones, so additional additional assistive listening devices are not necessary for this production.)

If any of these accommodations will help you experience this show, let us know! 
Give us a heads up of any accessibility needs at boxoffice@roughhousetheater.com
When possible please communicate requests at least 48h prior to your show.

Sensory Warnings

For attendees with sensory sensitivities, please be aware that our show may include:

• Fog and Haze
• Flashing Lights
• Loud Noises
• Depictions of Puppet Violence

Parking

Self-parking is available in the Steppenwolf parking garage at 1624 N Halsted for $17.

Accessible parking spaces are located in Steppenwolf’s valet parking lot at 1700 N Halsted, one block north of the theater. Patrons who park here may pay the standard rate of $17 at Steppenwolf’s café in Front Bar.

Come Vaccinated. Masks recommended.

For the health and safety of our audiences and especially our performers, we suggest that all audience members wear a mask and we ask that everyone be vaccinated unless you have a medical exception.

Exchanges & Refunds
If you need to swap your tickets to another ticket time, email boxoffice@roughhousetheater.com
We'll try our best to help you out, but because of the limited tickets available in this show, we may not always be able to meet your requests. We are typically not able to accommodate exchange requests at less than 24 hours notice.
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FAQs

What is an “Immersive Puppet Haunted House”?
There are 6 haunted ‘rooms’— large boxes that contain a ~6min puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the sides of the box.You will be assembled in a small group according to your ticket time. You approach the first box, find a hole at a comfortable height, view the show, and when it is done, proceed to the next box and find your spot. The next group will be right behind you. Stationed at each hole are a pair of headphones (cleaned at frequent intervals) for you, the viewer, to hear the audio that accompanies the puppet show.

COVID-related Cancellations & Exchanges
If you or someone in your party shows any sign of illness or COVID-related symptoms, please stay home! Email us! We'll exchange your ticket for a time when you're healthy! boxoffice@roughousetheater.com