NEW YORK, October 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
The nights are getting shorter, the
leaves are changing color and pumpkin patches are ready for
harvest-that means the wait for Halloween is almost over! While Halloween festivities originally began hundreds
of years ago as part of a Celtic harvest festival known as All
Hallow's Eve, today it's a backbone of American culture. Cities
from coast to coast celebrate the ghost and ghoul season with
festivals, costumes, haunted tours and spine-tingling rituals that
provide entertainment to revelers of all ages. For those who want
to make the spooky season last a bit longer, Día de los Muertos
(literally Day of the Dead) is celebrated on November 2nd and has grown in
popularity outside of Latin
America in recent years thanks to its colorful parades,
iconic sugar skulls, ubiquitous marigolds, fanciful costumes and
fiendish face paint.
But how to choose from such an abundance of frightening
activities? Don't panic! Whether you want to frolic in an
extravagant costume or summon the haunted spirits of the night,
Booking.com has harvested the 13 best locations to celebrate
the spookiest time of the year.
1. New Orleans (Louisiana)
With its hoodoo and voodoo, New
Orleans is one of the top destinations for Halloween. Visit one of the many haunted houses
or book a cemetery tour to admire the gorgeous tombs of the city.
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, the oldest and most famous cemeteries in
the city, is the final resting place of voodoo queen Marie Laveau. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 is
featured in Anne Rice's novels and
is the location of the vampire Lestat's fictional grave. Lovers of
vampires can't miss the Vampire Ball which is part of the
Halloween festival Endless Night that
takes place from October 28th to the
30th. The Voodoo Festival also takes place during the Halloween weekend, this festival is more about
music and arts than the occult, but that doesn't mean it can't be
magical!
2. Orlando (Florida)
The theme parks are usually the first to kick of the Halloween season, with Disney's Magic Kingdom in
the lead. Their Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party already started on September 2nd and will last right up until
Halloween. The name says it all, this
is a family-friendly affair and entertainment includes a
"Boo-to-You" Halloween parade, an
undead barbershop quartet, a Scream-o-Ween dance party and "Happy
HalloWishes" fireworks. SeaWorld and Universal are other
Orlando-based amusement parks with
Halloween celebrations.
3. Laconia (New
Hampshire)
Pumpkins and Halloween are
inseparable. In fact, it is hard to imagine that jack-o'-lanterns
were once made of potatoes and turnips. There are many events that
celebrate these smiling orange beauties, but the one you shouldn't
miss, is the New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival in Laconia on October
22nd. The festival started in Keene and holds the world record for the most
lit jack-o'-lanterns displayed, at an impressive 30,581. In 2015,
the festival moved to Laconia,
which will also host it this year. Events include a pumpkin
run/walk, a pumpkin parade, carving demonstrations, a pumpkin
express, PumpCANALly and of course the pumpkin tower. You can even
register your own pumpkin for the tower! Who knows, it might help
break the record!
4. Salem (Massachusetts)
Many associate Halloween with
witches, and when it comes to witches, there is no better place to
go than Salem, home of the
notorious witch trials. During the entire month of October, you can
enjoy the Haunted Happenings which include the Annual Psychic Fair
and Witchcraft Expo, the show Ghostbusted at the Haunted
Dinner Theater, performances at the House of the Seven Gables, the
Official Salem Witches' Halloween
Ball and a huge party on Halloween
night. Of course there are also haunted houses, for example the
Corwin House, as well as haunted walking tours, harbor tours and
trolley tours.
5. Sleepy Hollow (New
York)
For a long time, Sleepy Hollow was
actually known as North Tarrytown.
However, since 1997, the original name of the village, which was
immortalized in Washington Irving's short story The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow, was reinstated. Festivities last until
November 13th and include
taking a lantern-lit guided tour over Sleepy Hollow's cemetery and visiting the
graves of Irving, William Rockefeller and Elizabeth Arden. You can also visit the
300-year-old Philipsburg Manor for a terrifying evening with the
Headless Horseman, vampires, witches and ghosts. In Croton-on-Hudson you'll find another manor you
shouldn't miss-the Van Cortlandt Manor, where you can admire an
amazing display of 7,000 illuminated, hand-carved jack o' lanterns.
This event is hugely popular, so make sure to reserve in
advance!
6. New York City (New
York)
The biggest Halloween event in the
Big Apple is the Village Halloween
Parade that takes place on Halloween
itself. For a truly authentic experience, you can dress up and
march along with thousands of New Yorkers in the 43rd
edition of the parade, which runs straight up 6th Avenue
from Spring Street to
16th Street. Of course you can also just watch this huge
event from the sidelines, which includes hundreds of giant puppets,
dozens of bands, artists and dancers. The parade starts at
7 p.m. but try to get there early if
you want to watch. There are also several Day of the Dead
celebrations in New York City,
like the festival at Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta School
on Staten Island on October 23rd, and the festival organized by Mano
a Mano in St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, which takes place from
October 28th to the 31st. There's
also a celebration on November 1st at
SacredWaters in Queens. Every
festival has an ofrenda, a traditional altar where
you can leave photos of deceased loved ones, flowers and
offerings.
7. Anoka (Minnesota)
Anoka, also known as the
Halloween Capital of the World, is
said to be the first city in the States to organize a Halloween parade. The organizers were sick and
tired of the tricks the kids pulled during Halloween, so they decided to treat the
youngsters to a large celebration to keep them busy. This was in
1920, and the festivities have only evolved since then. In
Anoka, the Halloween season starts on October 14th with the Pumpkin Bowl, a traditional
football game, and is followed by the Orange Tie Ball, pumpkin
carving contests, a costume contest for pets, the Spooktacular
Carnival, a bonfire and several parades including the final Grand
Day Parade on October 29th.
8. Chicago (Illinois)
Fans of Children of the Corn should check out the corn mazes
near Chicago! Some open as early
as September. With 33 acres, Richardson Adventure Farm claims to be
the world's biggest corn maze and will leave guests wandering and
wondering for hours. Looking for something a bit scarier? Heap's
Haunted Corn Maze is filled with ghosts and ghouls and can only be
visited at night… enter if you dare! Looking for some downtown fun?
Then head to the haunted Congress Plaza Hotel that will host the
Haunted Halloween Ball on
October 29th. On Halloween you can enjoy or join the infamous
Northalsted Halloween Parade, which
is celebrating its 20th birthday this year.
9. Houston (Texas)
Everything is bigger in Texas and
Halloween in Houston is no exception! The festivities start
with the Museum of Madness and Mayhem Haunted House at the Houston
Museum of Natural Science on October
21st and 28th. The HMNS is also the host of the family
friendly Magical Maze and Goose Bumps Haunted House on October 22nd and 29th. October 29th is also the day that zombies will
roam the streets during the Houston Zombie Walk. The same day,
Something Wicked, a huge dance event with headliners like
Diplo and Hardwell, will also commence. On November 5th, there's a zombie charge
at Tank's Paintball in Richmond
and on December 3rd you can start
celebrating Christmas with Krampus, and before you know it, it's
Halloween again!
10. Seattle (Washington)
Movie buffs can eat their hearts out at the futuristic EMP Museum
during their 31 Days of Horror. Visit the exhibition
Can't Look Away: The Lure of Horror Film and marvel at
artefacts from horror movies like the axe from The Shining,
the interrogation chair from Hostel and the facehugger from
Alien. You can also watch horror movies in style with scary
drinks, join Howl-O-Ween or go to the Fashionably Undead Prom with
its 'Under the Sea' theme. For those who prefer to see some real
sea creatures, check out the Seattle Aquarium. In the weekend
before Halloween, you can also enjoy
events like Underwater Pumpkin Carving and Ominous Octopus Feeding.
Looking for a Halloween dance event?
Then travel to Tacoma and visit
the 20th edition of FreakNight on October 28th and 29th, with famous DJs Martin
Garrix, Armin van Buuren and
Paul van Dyk.
11. Hollywood (California)
Universal Studios' "Halloween Horror
Nights" in Hollywood is definitely
not for all ages and certainly not for the faint of heart.
Exclusively for the occasion, horror filmmaker Eli Roth created a new attraction, the Terror
Tram, which will introduce guests to a murderous clown knows as
"Hollywood Harry". Additionally, there are scare zones and mazes
based on horror productions, like The Purge: Election Year,
Krampus and American Horror Story. Zombie lovers can
visit The Walking Dead attraction. The Halloween Horror Nights goes until October 31, which is also the day of the West
Hollywood Halloween Carnaval, which
takes place on the Santa Monica Boulevard.
12. Birmingham (Alabama)
Of course you could visit one of the many parties during
Halloween weekend in Birmingham, but save some energy for the Día
de los Muertos Festival by Bare Hands Gallery. On November 2nd, the 14th edition of this
event will take place at Cahaba Brewing Co. During the event, the
dearly departed will be commemorated with ofrendas.
You can bring photos, flowers, pan de muerto, sugar skulls
or candles for the altars and shrines, and there will be a memorial
roll call. The festival is a happy celebration of life with good
food, music, art and laughter, and the dress code is fiesta fierce,
with bones and sugar skulls. Not sure how to do the make-up for a
sugar skull? No problem! You can visit one of the face painters at
the festival.
13. San Diego (California)
Being so close to the Mexican border, it's no wonder there are so
many Day of the Dead celebrations in San
Diego. They start as early as October
20th with the Sherman Heights Día de los Muertos and last
until November 2nd with the 21st
Annual Día de los Muertos Festival at the Art Center. In between,
there are festivals in La Vista Memorial Park, Old Town San Diego,
Encinitas, South Bay and Oceanside. Many celebrations are traditional,
with ofrendas, altar blessings, sugar skull
decorating, music, folk dancing and traditional food. However,
there are also art-making workshops, face painters, classic low
rider cars, and several contests, like the altar contest and a
La Catrina contest, where you can win by dressing up as this
iconic elegant skeleton created by José Guadalupe Posada.
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