Puppeteer Jacky Kelsey performs “A White Bird in the House is an Omen of Death” for an audience at Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Performer Chio Cabrera rehearses “If You Lie…” under a large puppet in the shape of a mouth before an audience arrives for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Performer August Boyne prepares a projector before an audience arrives for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Jacky Kelsey picks up “Tiny Nightmares,” a horror anthology which inspired the owl and old man puppet they created for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house in Chicago, at their puppet-making studio in their apartment in Chicago on Oct. 25, 2024. “A lot of the stories [in “Tiny Nightmares”] were bizarre and surreal and not really explained which is in line with the Exquisite Corpse,” Kelsey said. Kelsey is a creator and performs as the old man in “A White Bird in the House is an Omen of Death” at Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
The theater is empty before an audience arrives for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Entrance docent Emily Mange adjusts their sleeve before the final night of Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Nov. 2, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Perfomer Alexander Ferguson rehearses “Step on a Crack, Break your Mother’s Back” before an audience arrives for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Performer Abby Palen rehearses in a life-sized old woman puppet costume in “An Ill Fate Befalls Those Who Pluck from Fruit in their Dreams” before an audience arrives for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Audience member Carly Cara watches “An Ill Fate Befalls Those Who Pluck from Fruit in their Dreams” at Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteers, creators and production crew disassemble the set inside the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater on Nov. 3, 2024, the day after the last performance of Rough House Theater’s show, House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house in Chicago. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Attendee Dan Farace and puppet Scot the Squirrel wait to enter Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Farace brings Scot the Squirrel everywhere. “Puppets are scary anyway to a small degree, moving the dead eyes kind of thing,” Farace said. “So if they’re trying to make them scary, it’s going to be ultra-scary.” (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Audience members Arthur Shemitz, left, and Ishita Batra, right, watch “Evil Can Be Scared Away By Its Own Reflection” through a mirror at Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteer Emilie Wingate performs for an audience in a wolf puppet costume in “An Ill Fate Befalls Those Who Pluck from Fruit in their Dreams” at Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteer Emilie Wingate reattaches a plastic reinforcement, which is made out of a dog shampoo bottle, that makes up the ankle joint on their puppet, Ophelia, at their home in Chicago on Oct. 30, 2024, ahead of the final weekend of Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions. Wingate has focused on hyper-realism and anatomical accuracy, having studied animal anatomy their whole life. “Normally you’d have a list of kids names but that list has become my puppets’ names,” Wingate said. “I remember specifically one night [as a child] when I couldn’t fall asleep because I was just thinking of ways to have my stuffed animals have joints.” (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Partners and puppeteers Sion Silva, left, and Emilie Wingate, right, perform repairs to Silva’s puppet, The Hermit, at their home in Chicago on Oct. 30, 2024, ahead of the final weekend of Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater. The pair met in 2022 while they were interns at the Chicago Puppet Studio. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteer Rachel Hartmann, center, reaches for puppeteer Emilie Wingate’s, right, hand after stretching before the final night of Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Nov. 2, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteer Sion Silva, left, technical director Parker Callais, center left, and puppet creator Fletcher Pierson, center right, clean out the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater on Nov. 3, 2024, the day after the last performance of Rough House Theater’s show, House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house in Chicago. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteer and creator Justin D’Acci cleans out their puppets from the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater to bring home on Nov. 3, 2024, the day after the last performance of Rough House Theater’s show, House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house in Chicago. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
A car is loaded with creator and puppeteer Justin D’Acci’s puppets from the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater to be brought to their home on Nov. 3, 2024, the day after the last performance of Rough House Theater’s show, House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house in Chicago. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteer Jacky Kelsey performs “A White Bird in the House is an Omen of Death” for an audience at Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Performer Chio Cabrera rehearses “If You Lie…” under a large puppet in the shape of a mouth before an audience arrives for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Performer August Boyne prepares a projector before an audience arrives for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Jacky Kelsey picks up “Tiny Nightmares,” a horror anthology which inspired the owl and old man puppet they created for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house in Chicago, at their puppet-making studio in their apartment in Chicago on Oct. 25, 2024. “A lot of the stories [in “Tiny Nightmares”] were bizarre and surreal and not really explained which is in line with the Exquisite Corpse,” Kelsey said. Kelsey is a creator and performs as the old man in “A White Bird in the House is an Omen of Death” at Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
The theater is empty before an audience arrives for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Entrance docent Emily Mange adjusts their sleeve before the final night of Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Nov. 2, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Perfomer Alexander Ferguson rehearses “Step on a Crack, Break your Mother’s Back” before an audience arrives for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Performer Abby Palen rehearses in a life-sized old woman puppet costume in “An Ill Fate Befalls Those Who Pluck from Fruit in their Dreams” before an audience arrives for Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Audience member Carly Cara watches “An Ill Fate Befalls Those Who Pluck from Fruit in their Dreams” at Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteers, creators and production crew disassemble the set inside the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater on Nov. 3, 2024, the day after the last performance of Rough House Theater’s show, House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house in Chicago. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Attendee Dan Farace and puppet Scot the Squirrel wait to enter Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Farace brings Scot the Squirrel everywhere. “Puppets are scary anyway to a small degree, moving the dead eyes kind of thing,” Farace said. “So if they’re trying to make them scary, it’s going to be ultra-scary.” (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Audience members Arthur Shemitz, left, and Ishita Batra, right, watch “Evil Can Be Scared Away By Its Own Reflection” through a mirror at Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteer Emilie Wingate performs for an audience in a wolf puppet costume in “An Ill Fate Befalls Those Who Pluck from Fruit in their Dreams” at Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Oct. 17, 2024. Attendees walk to six different large boxes that each contain a six minute puppet show, which is viewed through peep-holes cut in the side of the box. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteer Emilie Wingate reattaches a plastic reinforcement, which is made out of a dog shampoo bottle, that makes up the ankle joint on their puppet, Ophelia, at their home in Chicago on Oct. 30, 2024, ahead of the final weekend of Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions. Wingate has focused on hyper-realism and anatomical accuracy, having studied animal anatomy their whole life. “Normally you’d have a list of kids names but that list has become my puppets’ names,” Wingate said. “I remember specifically one night [as a child] when I couldn’t fall asleep because I was just thinking of ways to have my stuffed animals have joints.” (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Partners and puppeteers Sion Silva, left, and Emilie Wingate, right, perform repairs to Silva’s puppet, The Hermit, at their home in Chicago on Oct. 30, 2024, ahead of the final weekend of Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater. The pair met in 2022 while they were interns at the Chicago Puppet Studio. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteer Rachel Hartmann, center, reaches for puppeteer Emilie Wingate’s, right, hand after stretching before the final night of Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater in Chicago on Nov. 2, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteer Sion Silva, left, technical director Parker Callais, center left, and puppet creator Fletcher Pierson, center right, clean out the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater on Nov. 3, 2024, the day after the last performance of Rough House Theater’s show, House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house in Chicago. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Puppeteer and creator Justin D’Acci cleans out their puppets from the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater to bring home on Nov. 3, 2024, the day after the last performance of Rough House Theater’s show, House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house in Chicago. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
A car is loaded with creator and puppeteer Justin D’Acci’s puppets from the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theater to be brought to their home on Nov. 3, 2024, the day after the last performance of Rough House Theater’s show, House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, an immersive puppet haunted house in Chicago. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)