Halloween New England Top Picks for October 18th - 24th, 2017

This is one of the biggest weekends of the season for Halloween thrill-seekers, haunt-goers, ghostly tale lovers, Halloween and costume partiers, adults, kids, and absolutely everyone in between. We have dozens of wonderful events listed for this week on our website but our hand-picked state-by-state highlights are listed below.

Darkness Unleashed at Barrett's Haunted Mansion Returns!

Turn out the lights, pack a house with monsters, and head inside --designed for the bravest of thrill-seekers and adrenaline junkies!
If you didn't have to nerve to go last week, you still have one final chance to check out Barrett's Haunted Mansion in Abington, MA next Tuesday, October 24th to experience their high-intensity Lights Out night. 

Top Event Picks for the Upcoming Week

Massachusetts 

Much is brewing in Mass this weekend! Thursday starts you off with Gedney Glows where you'll be treated to a lantern-lit historical home tour of the Gedney House in Salem. While in the Witch City, book your tour with Salem's Haunted Footsteps offered nightly at 8pm Monday through Friday. On Tuesday night in Salem you can buy tickets to a Graveyard Conjure with hoodoo worker Sen Moise.
On Friday, witches, warlocks, ghosts, and vampires will roam the streets of Newburyport for the annual adult-friendly Witches Night Out. For more ghostly fun and libation, this Friday and Saturday is the 21+  Tales and Ales social event at the Swett-Isley House in Newbury. Running every Friday through the end of October is Frightful Friday Ghost Stories in the Gore Mansion in Waltham.

On Friday night in Worcester you can enjoy the outdoors at the Halloween Hike at Boo Meadow Brook. Saturday in Haverhill is the all-day Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival where artists, filmmakers, and writers gather annually to celebrate spooky fiction. This is a free event but you will need to reserve a spot in advance. On Tuesday afternoon in Cohasset you can find a daytime performance of Lizzie Borden and the Forty Whacks by the Delvena Theatre Company.
Lots of family-friendly events lined up this week too! Saturday brings you Halloween at Hutch in Milton, MA and on Sunday in New Bedford you can find Ghosts in the Garden - a children's scavenger hunt for little ghosts hiding in the garden and featuring plenty of Halloween games and pumpkin decorating and more--costumes welcome!
Bird Park in Walpole welcomes kids for an After-school Pumpkin Carving Party in the Park on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. In Dorchester, there's a Kids' Halloween Hunt at the Adams Street branch of the Boston Public Library.

Connecticut

This state is positively bustling with wonderful events this week--here's a number of our favorites: If you love ghost tales and walks, consider Halloween: Ghostly Sightings at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in Norwalk and candlelight ghost stories at Things that Go Bump in the Night at Hale Homestead in Coventry. You can get Up Close and Creepy: Witches and Tombstones at the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield on Saturday and Sunday, and bring your flashlight to A Haunting at Mill Hill in Norwalk on Friday and Saturday. In New London on Saturday, the Hempstead Houses are hosting Hempstead Halloween ghost tales and treating you to S'Mores.
For family-friendly fun, it's the ninth year for Farmington, CT's annual Haunted Miniature Golf kicking off this weekend and held Thursdays through Sundays through the end of the month. Kiddos will love the self-guided Spooky Nature Trail held Friday and Saturday in Mystic. Friday is the Daddy-Daughter Costume Dance fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club in Bristol. Opening this Friday and running the next two weekends is the family musical "How to Be a Good Witch" at the Milford Center for the Arts.  On Saturday, October 21st it's Scarecrows and Cocoa to accompany the garden scavenger hunt in Norwich.

Rhode Island

In Pawtucket on Thursday and Friday is the Mills & Mysteries event where you can visit three historically landmarked buildings led by a paranormal investigator. It's also the last few days to catch Vortex --the Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Film Fest in Providence. On Saturday and Sunday, Providence is also host to the annual H.P. Lovecraft Walking Tour. 
On Saturday is the Ground-Penetrating Radar Demonstration & Gravestone Iconography event at Tower Hill Cemetery in Saunderstown which is associated with the South County History Center's series "Eternal Rest: Death, Mourning, and Memorials." In Kingston on Tuesday, October 24th is What Lies Beneath: A Look Below Rhode Island's Historical Burial Ground where an archaeologist will discuss nineteenth-century burial practices show familiar istoric artifacts recovered from graves in that time.
For a special splurge on Saturday is the annual Boo at the Zoo Family Overnight at the Roger Williams Zoo where you can pack your sleeping bag and have access to VIP Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular, ice cream, a movie with popcorn, and a private zoo tour in the morning.

New Hampshire

Saturday is the annual Halloween Town event in Madison to benefit the Laura Foundation - a kids-focused festival with Halloween-themed spooky cabins, games, trick-or-treat trail, and more.

The Monadnock Pumpkin Festival also returns on Saturday to Swanzey which delivers fireworks along with pumpkin catapults, a spooky maze, jack-o-lanterns, and amusement rides. If you are in the Lake Winnipesaukee area Saturday night seeking some adult-only reveling, spend the evening on the water at the Halloween Masquerade Ball which leaves from Weirs Beach in Laconia.  

Maine

Grab your flashlight and head to Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant on Friday to get lost in their night maze! This Saturday and Sunday are the first of two weekends you can take a ride on the Pumpkin Train at the Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Portland. Also in Portland on Saturday is the annual Ghoulwill Ball which is a lively costumed fundraiser (lots of prizes!) to support Goodwill of Northern New England. Saturday, October 21st is the only chance to catch the annual celebration Ghostport which is a lively costumed fundraiser (lots of prizes!) to support Goodwill of Northern New England. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are the days to take the Ghostly Bangor Walking Tour filled with tales of murders, mysteries, and history.
For a little vintage enjoyment, Tuesday, October 24th is the screening of the silent film version of "The Phantom of the Opera" in Portland.

Vermont

Our highlight in Vermont this week is a mid-week event on Wednesday, October 25th: stop by the Essex Junction Halloween Celebration for some costumed fun, kids spooky maze, trick or treating and games.

Weeknights are the rare chance to see a haunted attraction in a more personal setting and with fewer crowds. Get the most from October by making your way to a haunt on a weeknight. The closer we get to October, the more options you have! the short season, you'll be glad to know which haunted attractions are open on Monday through Thursdays with our Guide to Haunted Attractions are Open WEEKNIGHTS.

Veteran haunt-goers know to get the most out of the season by visiting haunted attractions on as many off-peak nights as possible. You're in luck--we have your Guide to Haunted Attractions Open SUNDAY NIGHTS.

It's unfortunate that Halloween falls on a Tuesday because not every haunted attraction will be open. However, we've got your list of NINETEEN New England haunted attractions who will be OPEN Halloween night and waiting celebrate with you with screams and scares! Here's our  Guide to Haunted Attractions Open HALLOWEEN Night!

We've got a NEW contest for a four-pack of tickets to Fright Haven (CT) and a chance to win a  four-pack of Zombie Paintball tickets at Field of Screams (RI) open on Halloween New England right now. Stay tuned for our final contest to win a pair of tickets to see Fear Town Haunted House in Seekonk, MA. Our ticket contests are wrapping up soon to give you a chance to go so enter while you can! 

Recent Contest Winners

Congrats to Crystal Murray and Sherry Miranda who each won a pair of combo tickets to see The Haunted Graveyard!  Tiffany Preedom and Jessie Lyon were winners for the Vengeance in the Valley (VT) tickets and Megan Reed's name was drawn in the Costumania (NH) $20 gift voucher contest. Deltra Kroener won the Creeperum tickets and the four-pack of Jack o"Lantern Spectacular tickets went to Lawrence Silver, Justin Woelfel, and Courtney Frost. Ashley Bonneau won a pair of tickets to Haunted Acres and Diane Fontes and Sonath La won the 13th World four-pack!

Where has Halloween New England been lately?

What a busy week of screams it has been! Last week we swung through Witch's Woods in Westford, MA, spent Friday the 13th with a scream-filled double-header at 13th World in Cumberland, RI and Fear Town Haunted House in Seekonk, MA and wrapped up our weekend at Nightmare Acres in South Windsor, CT to check out their new trail and location. The weather was perfect and it was good to bring out the scarves and gloves for a night or two that finally felt like fall!

Where is Halloween New England headed this weekend?

We start up again on Thursday this week with our New Hampshire road trip where we plan to visit Haunted Overload in Lee and Haunted Acres in Candia. We hope to fit in a 3rd adventure at The Dark Crop Haunted Corn Maze or possibly Fright Kingdom--we'll let you know where we end up!

Haunted Houses and Trails Opening Friday, October 20th:

Haunted Somerville (MA)
Nightmare Vermont (VT)
Pittsford Haunted House (VT)

*as always, if the weather is lousy it's wise to double check that the event is open as some may close for inclement weather

In case you missed it... Haunted Houses, Trails, Haunted Hayrides, and Night Corn Mazes already open:

Creeperum (CT)
Legends of Fear (CT) – Trail and Haunted Hayride
The Haunted Graveyard at Lake Compounce (CT)
Trail of Terror (CT)
Fright Haven (CT) 
Haunted Overload (NH)
Haunted Acres (NH)
Fear Town (MA)

Barrett's Haunted Mansion (MA)
13th World (RI) 
Field of Screams Haunted House and Hayride (RI)
Vengeance in the Valley (VT) Haunted Hayride and Haunted Corn Maze 

The 7-1-5 Haunted House (MA)
DementedFX (MA)
Haunted Halloween Havoc (MA)
The Monster Mash Haunted Hayride (MA) - Haunted Hayride 
Marini Farm Corn Maze (MA) – non-haunted Flashlight Corn Maze
FrightFest at Six Flags New England (MA)
Factory of Terror Worcester (MA)
Factory of Terror Fall River (MA) 
Witch's Woods (MA) - House and Haunted Hayride
Ghost Ship Harbor (MA) 
13 Nights at Jiminy (MA)
Century Hayride and Spooky Walk (MA) 
Lakeville Haunted House (MA)
Hysteria at Connors Farm (MA) – Trail and non-haunted Flashlight Corn Maze
Hammond Castle (MA)
Harvest of Horrors (MA) - Trail and Haunted Hayride
Fortress of Nightmares (RI)
Harvest of Haunts (NH)
Fright Kingdom (NH)
The Dark Crop (NH) - Haunted Corn Maze
The Ghoullog (NH)
Screeemfest at Canobie Lake Park (NH)
Harvest of Haunts (NH)
Fright Kingdom (NH)
Nightmare New England / SpookyWorld (NH)
Beans and Greens Farm Haunted Corn Maze (NH)
Coppal House Farm (NH) – non-haunted Flashlight Corn Maze
Haunted Tunnel at Slater Park (RI)
Haunted Labyrinth (RI)
Seven Cedars Haunted Hayride (RI)
Fortress of Nightmares (RI)
Factory of Terror West Warwick (RI) 
Dead North (VT) - Haunted Corn Maze
Nightmare Acres (CT)
The Haunted Isle (CT)
Dark Manor (CT)
Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm (CT) – non-haunted Flashlight Maze

Fright at the Fort (ME)

We're thrilled to have teamed up again with New England's own uber-talented The Pixel Perfection: After Dark whose incredibly creepy and inspiring haunt photos populate the guides again this year. As always, we know you love their photos...just please don't steal their photos! Why not just follow them on Facebook instead or hire them to capture your Halloween attraction or event?

Halloween New England Top Picks for October 22-28th, 2015

Top Event Picks for the Upcoming Week:
This is a HUGE weekend for Halloween events for kids and adults alike. Whether you are looking for date-night ideas, an adult costume contest, or something your whole family can enjoy together, there are dozens of great options coming up this weekend. Here are our state-by-state highlights from this week's events calendar:

Connecticut has a number of special event tours and performances happening this weekend. Check out "Things that Go Bump in the Night" at the Hale Homestead in  Coventry, CT on Friday and Saturday, October 23rd & 24th. 

The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield, CT rolls out their "Witches & Tombstones Tours" on Saturday and Sunday, October 24th & 25th.

For some family-friendly musical comedy with a Halloween twist, see "Dractastic! The Musical" featuring Dracula as a rock star. Performances run Oct 23rd-Nov 1st at the Milford, CT Center for the Arts.  

For more adult, interactive fun, the  Halloween Murder Mystery Cruise might be just what you are looking for. The 3.5 hour cruise leaves from Haddam, CT this Saturday, October 24th, 2015.

Maine is host to two community haunts you may want to visit this weekend. In Mexico, ME you will find the Wicked Haunted Walk taking place Friday and Saturday this weekend and next.

For a twist on a haunted hayride, at the Zombie Invasion Halloween Ride in Hebron, ME you'll hop on a 5-ton Army truck with other "refugees" as you try to avoid being eaten by the Zombies.  The Zombie Invasion will be infesting Hebron Friday and Saturday through Halloween. 

This Saturday the 24th is the last chance to see the Lincoln Haunted Trail. 

Massachusetts features a variety of Halloween-themed events this weekend worth checking out.

It's opening weekend for Nightmare Marlborough's 2015 attraction "The Asylum". Nightmare Marlborough is a family-run, home haunt whose small admission fee benefits the Marlborough Community Cupboard. They run their full show on this Saturday and Sunday night from 6:00pm-9:00pm (plus next Friday and Saturday), They even host a lights-on/no-actor hour this Sunday, October 26th 5:00-6:00pm.

Somerville will be hosting the Homegrown Horror Movie Fest on Sunday, October 25th (day and night) and Wednesday, October 28th at the Armory. Make a full day of horror on Sunday or pop in Wednesday night to check out and support New England horror filmmakers and see what kind of work they are up to.

It hardly needs to be written that Salem is pulsing with Halloween events day and night! Check out the Salem Historical Tours and Gallows Hill Witchcraft and Ghost Experience for some memorable fun!

Classic Horror fans should check out Evil Dead: The Musical which runs Friday and Saturday through Halloween in Turners Falls, MA 

Halloween Kids Fest at Tony Andrew’s Farm in East Falmouth, MA will take your family on a tram ride around the property for some Halloween fun! Pumpkin picking, tractor rides, a family-friendly haunted forest, and a jack-o-lantern obstacle course are some highlights of this annual festival taking place Saturdays and Sundays, October and 24-25th, plus October 31st 2015.

If you have little ones who haven't yet figured out just how much fun the costumes and scares can be, you may want to swing through The Un-scary Halloween Party at the Soule Homestead in Middleborough, MA this Saturday, October 24th where they'll enjoy games, crafts, refreshments, and story time.

If you have an incredible costume lined up for this season, show it off at King Richard's Renaissance Faire "Adult Costume Contest" this Saturday October 24th in the afternoon (Rain date: Sunday, 25th) and features a Cos Play / Time Traveler / Steam Punk theme.  

New Hampshire is always a destination for pumpkin festivals and there are two good ones to consider for this weekend. If you are looking for a fun festival that is also manageable in it's size, the Monadnock Pumpkin Festival  Swanzey, NH on Saturday, October 24th might be up your alley. This annual festival will offer family fun, pumpkins of course, fireworks, non-profit food vendors, amusement rides, a haunted maze, a pumpkin catapult competition, displays from regional artisans, baking contests, hayrides, live entertainment, kids’ activities, and more.

When it comes to pumpkin festivals if it's go-big-or-go-home for you then make note of the new name and location for the NH Pumpkin Festival (formerly the Keene Pumpkin Fest) which is now being hosted in Laconia, NH this Saturday, the 24th. 

Families may enjoy  Halloween Town in Madison, NH which is a benefit for the Laura Foundation. This kid-focused Halloween event has a amusement rides, a carnival, food court, petting farm, a Halloweenie Walk (non-scary trick-or-treating), a trick-or-treat trail, bouncy house,  face painting, storytelling and other fun.

Saturday and Sunday are the last two days for the Halloween Storybook Hayrides at DeMeritt Hill Farm in Lee, NH 

In Rhode Island you'll find the last few days of  Providence's week-long "Vortex: Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Film Festival" wrapping up on Saturday and we round into the final two weeks of the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Park and Zoo.  For a daytime event at the zoo, this is the Spooky Zoo weekend on both Saturday and Sunday, October 24th & 25th which offers seasonal activities, music, costumed characters, games, creepy crawly animal encounters, and pumpkin treats for the animals.

Another interesting option for Saturday in Providence is the 90-minute  H.P. Lovecraft Walking Tour where you can see the site of the writer's former home, as well as the sights mentioned in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Haunter of the Dark, The Shunned House, and The Call of Cthulhu. Lovecraft's own words offer a most amazing literary, historical, and architectural walking tour. 

Lanterns and Legends Tours will share local stories of brazen murders, gruesome executions, and vampire lore. These lantern-led tours take place Thursday, October 22nd and Saturday, October 24th in Kingston, RI. Tours are held at night but circle the 6pm tour if you are looking for a family-friendly version.

Vermont will be hosting the family-friendly Spooky Woodstock Saturday, October 24th and Essex Junction will hold their annual Fall Pumpkin Fest and Great Pumpkin Walk also this Saturday evening.

The Shelburne Museum presents their Trick-or-Treating Haunted Happenings on Sunday October 25th for families.

Dare to Scare - A New App for Haunt Fans...and a Contest too!
Halloween is coming and you'll want to check out this fascinating new app Dare to Scare which allows haunt fans to participate in the action at a haunted house without even being at the attraction! With this app, you can watch live video feed from real haunted houses and you remotely activate props and scares to trigger the customers' reactions--all from an app on your phone.

 If you are one of those folks who loves to scare people (or you  wanted to get a taste of what it would be like) this app was  developed for people like you. Dare to Scare allows you to prompt  scares from  wherever you are via a live remote video feed within a  participating haunted attraction. It’s your chance to get a taste of  what it is like to be a haunt actor but you cut directly to best part –  scaring the living crap out of people!

 The app is free to download and you can get a feel for it by clicking  on their promo video above. The per-scare fee (.33 each) is an  optional in-app purchase only if you decide you want to try your hand  at scaring some unsuspecting haunt-goers this weekend--and we  think you won't be able to resist trying it!

Dare to Scare is giving away a treat this Halloween where you can win a $25 Dunkin Donuts gift card. Visit Halloween New England's home page for contest details.

Congratulations to  Jillian Beckford, Nicholas Ludlow,  Tim O'Donnell, Caitlin Reilly, and Patricia Walden winners of Haunted Overload tickets, Leanna Belgrove, Aaron Wieber, Pam Johnstone, Robert Chase, Stan Gurlewski, and Dan Decosta won the tickets to Haunted Acres' virtual reality experience!

Who is open on weeknights? Who is open on Halloween? 

Though waiting in line at a haunted attraction can be the atmospheric "appetizer" which sets the stage for the thrills to come, we definitely understand that you just can't fit in as many haunts per season if you spend all your time going on the busy nights! Halloween New England has you totally covered to help you know who is open on off-peak nights where you'll typically find the lines move faster and the attraction can spread out the groups for a different kinds of experience.

Bookmark our Guide to Haunted Attractions Open on Weeknights for your Thursday scares this week (and planning ahead for next week) and check out our Guide to Haunted Houses, Trails, Hayrides, and Corn Mazes Open on Sundays to extend your weekend fun.
Making your Halloween plans is very easy with our list of Haunted Attractions Open on Halloween!

Haunted houses, trails, haunted hayrides, and haunted corn mazes opening Thursday, October 22nd:

Nightmare Vermont (VT)

Haunted houses, trails, haunted hayrides, and night corn mazes opening this Friday, October 23rd:

Armory of Horror (MA) - Haunted House
Throckmorton Manor (VT) – Trail and Haunted Hayride
Emery Farms (NH) - Haunted Corn Maze and non-haunted Hayride

*as always, if the weather is lousy it's wise to double check that the event is open as some may close for inclement weather