No one does Halloween quite like America. From the extravagant costumes, outrageous parties and haunted houses that bring your nightmares to real life.
Here is a roundup of the spine-tingling events taking place in America this Halloween:
Ghost Tours of Anchorage
Ghost Tours of Anchorage are filled with history and mystery. Some of its best stories are told with help from past residents who are not entirely departed. No special effects or cheap tricks are used; no one will jump out at you from a dark corner. No matter your views on the paranormal, the story of Anchorage will take on a whole different meaning.
Las Vegas Celebrations
Nightmarish themed shows, haunting concerts and Fremont Street’s annual monster party – OktoberFrightFest (combining Oktoberfest and Halloween for a month-long street festival), make Las Vegas the freakiest city to spend All Hallows’ Eve.
For the true thrill-seekers, visit the aptly named Fright Dome, rated one of the scariest attractions in the US and crafted by “hauntrepeneur” Jason Egan. Consisting of 250 square feet of chilling mazes, heart-pounding rides, frightening live shows, as well as the unveiling of six new haunted houses, six scare zones and many more spooky antics for the 2018 edition, Las Vegas isn’t for the faint-hearted.
Los Angeles Horror Made Here
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood presents an all-new immersive experience created especially for horror fans. Horror Made Here will transform the famed backlot into a festival of frights, taking guests into the most spine-tingling moments from some of Hollywood’s greatest horror movies.
Memphis Woodruff-Fontaine Mansion
Each year, Woodruff-Fontaine Mansion hosts a Halloween fundraiser known as Haunted Happenings with live music, food, games, a dark tour of the haunted mansion and a live paranormal investigation.
Also, Historical Haunts Memphis will be hosting its regular events each weekend around Halloween (excluding Halloween night). Events include the Haunted Memphis Bus Tour, Haunted Pub Crawl, and Woodruff-Fontaine Ghost Tour.
For those who want more than just a tour and are fans of the many paranormal TV shows out there, there are also some special ghost hunts. These are lights out, full investigations similar to those you would see on TV! Ghost hunter hosts bring their full ghost hunting gear and guests can bring any handheld gear. The group is split into smaller groups set off to investigate some amazing haunted locations.
New England salem Haunted Happenings
Salem Haunted Happenings welcomes monsters of all shapes and sizes to Salem, Massachusetts this October. Formally kicking off with the “movie monsters” themed Haunted Happenings Grand Parade on Thursday, October 6, visitors can celebrate their little monsters during new “Wicked Wednesdays” family programs, visit Kirk Hammett’s classic movie monster movie posters collection at the Peabody Essex Museum, and come face to face with little maritime “monsters” in Sea Shuttle’s onboard aquarium.
New York City The Village Halloween Parade
Image: The Verge
The Village Halloween Parade might be New York City’s biggest party. Millions of people show up to join the spooky jamboree: 60,000 march while a whopping 2 million watch from the sidelines.
Ralph Lee started the event in 1974 as a puppet parade for his kids and their friends in the far West Village. The route has changed a number of times as the parade has grown from a community event into an institution; in 1982, artist Jeanne Fleming took the reins—officially becoming the organizer in 1986, after Lee departed—and still runs it today.
Texas, Dia da Los Muertos
Image: Trips to Discover
Halloween would be amiss without DĂa de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and its colourful celebrations that take place all over Texas, with the biggest festivities taking place in the Lone Star State’s capital, Austin.
The city of Austin doesn’t do things by halves, with spooky decorations, eerie alters and brightly- coloured piñata’s adorning its streets in preparation for the annual festival’s famed procession to honour the dearly departed, and street parties that follow. Celebrating the Day of the Dead has been a part of the local traditions in Texas for centuries, and the celebrations get bigger every year.
New York State, Haunted Property
Hinsdale House Surrounded by colourful fall foliage, New York State celebrates Halloween in the best kind of way with historical castles, haunted trails and maybe even a bit of paranormal activity. Not content with watching from the sofa, then a haunted house stay could be right up your alley.
Perhaps the most famous haunted house in New York State, the Hinsdale House has a history of spirits visiting, unexplainable events and multiple exorcisms. Featured on the Discovery channel and now used as a research facility for paranormal activity, the house is busiest at Halloween with overnight stays and ghost hunts being the spookiest of the experiences.
Santa Monica, All You Can Carry Pumpkin Patch
For an idyllic Santa Monica Halloween tradition, head over to the Downtown Santa Monica Farmers Market for its annual “all-you-can-carry” pumpkin patch shopping event. Grab as many pumpkins as you can carry and pay one price.
Walk the red carpet to show off your haul. Costumes are encouraged. After you’ve wrangled your pumpkins, head over to the kid-favorite no-carve decorating event at Main Street and Pico Boulevard Farmers Market!
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