Ahlgrim Acres miniature golf course has unusual home – a funeral parlor basement

Halloween is usually a busy time of year for a miniature golf course in northwest suburban Palatine.

It's a classic course with a macabre theme.

But you'll never guess where it's located.

The hazards are horrific and the greens are frighteningly fast, but there's no groundskeeper, just a grim reaper.

But Doug Alhgrim knows – in his bones – mini golf doesn't get any better.

"We have named it Ahlgrim Acres," he said.

Doug's dad, Roger, started building the nine-hole course by hand in 1964.

"When I come down here, it reminds me of him," Doug said.

Down here happens to be the basement of the family business.

"I'm a funeral director upstairs," Doug said. "I did not have to go into the funeral business. That's what appealed to me. That's why I'm here."

Ahlgrim Family Funeral Services began as Ahlgrim Undertakers in 1892, but it was Roger Ahlgrim who grew the business – and changed its course.

Granddaughter Lucy Ahlgrim can't imagine it any other way.

"Yeah, to me, it's totally normal. My friends definitely think it's a little odd, but they have a ton of fun getting to come down here and hang out a lot," she said.

Alghrim Acres is open to the public – between funerals, of course. People actually come specifically to visit the mini golf course.

"Yeah, we've had people that have actually come from even from another country, and they're touring the United States. They don't come just for us, but we're on their itinerary."

The course might scare away good scores, but at Ahlgrim Acres, it's not all grim.