If you’ve spent any time exploring Wisconsin’s darker history, you’re already familiar with the names Jeffrey Dahmer and Ed Gein. Both Wisconsin serial killers are part of the sprawling collection behind Serial Killer: The Exhibition, which arrives in Chicago on September 5, 2026.
The traveling exhibition brings more than 2,000 authentic artifacts connected to serial killers from around the world, spread across more than 40 immersive rooms covering criminal psychology, forensic science, investigations, crime-scene reconstruction, and the history of serial murder. Among the artifacts are Jeffrey Dahmer’s glasses, while material connected to Ed Gein offers another disturbing link to Wisconsin’s most infamous criminal cases. The collection was assembled through more than 15 years of research involving collectors, historians and institutions around the world.
For Wisconsin true crime obsessives, the Dahmer and Gein material is probably the biggest reason to make the trip. Dahmer murdered 17 people between 1978 and 1991, with most of his crimes committed in Milwaukee, while Ed Gein’s 1957 arrest in Plainfield exposed one of the most horrifying crime scenes in Wisconsin history and helped inspire fictional killers including Norman Bates, Leatherface and Buffalo Bill.
The Chicago exhibition also has a distinctly local focus, with dedicated material on H.H. Holmes and John Wayne Gacy, including Gacy’s original paintings, investigative evidence and historical documents. Rather than presenting the cases strictly as a collection of grisly curiosities, the exhibition says it examines how investigators solved serial murder cases, how forensic science developed, and the lives and lasting impact of the victims.
There’s also a fitting bit of cinematic darkness to the venue itself. The exhibition is being staged at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, a massive production complex in North Lawndale that helped earn Chicago its “Hollywood of the Midwest” reputation. Cinespace has been home to productions including The Exorcist, Fargo, Shameless, The Chi, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med, while feature-film credits include Divergent, Captive State, Widows and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
For a Wisconsin Frights reader, that makes the location almost as interesting as the exhibition: you’ll be walking into a working piece of Chicago’s film history to explore the real-life crimes that have inspired generations of horror movies, television and true crime.
Serial Killer: The Exhibition Chicago Details
Dates: Begins September 5, 2026 – Tickets Available Now
Location: Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, 2428 W. 15th St., Chicago, Illinois
Duration: Approximately 90–120 minutes
Age recommendation: 14+
Format: Self-guided indoor exhibition with authentic artifacts, crime-scene recreations, forensic evidence, interactive exhibits and VR content
Parking: Paid parking is available at 2406 W. 15th St.
