Forget Christmas, Halloween is the greatest holiday of the year. If you are planning to take your family for a fright they won’t soon forget, consider a few of these destinations. Many of you skeptics out there will argue that these manufactured scare fests are for the naïve. You might even assert that ghosts and haunted houses are caused by an over active imagination or the power of suggestion. If you are one of these naysayers then you are completely missing the point, which is to just let your cynical self fall away and get into the true spirit of Halloween.
Sleepy Hollow, NY. The first thing that most people will think of when they hear the name "Sleepy Hollow" is either the Washington Irving tale or the Tim Burton film of the same name. Either way, Sleepy Hollow is in reality a quiet little village in Westchester County, New York. The town does hold a few Halloween themed activities, but the real attraction here is the centuries old Sleepy Hollow cemetery, the final resting place of Irving.
The 13th Gate, Baton Rouge, LA. Read any "best of" list for Halloween attractions, and at the top you will find the 13th Gate. This is a haunted house of epic proportions. The set design, Hollywood caliber makeup and effects, and the attention to detail in this manufactured scare-a-thon are not to be missed. My only problem is the price of admission. General admission is $20 and for $30 you can obtain a VIP pass which entitles you to skip ahead to the front of the line. Other than that, this impressive 40,000 square foot homage to Halloween is a great getaway, but not recommended for the faint of heart.
The Myrtles Plantation, Saint Francisville, LA. If you are looking for a real haunted, supernatural experience this Halloween, visit the Myrtles Plantation. The story behind this haunting is based around a slave named Chloe. In an attempt to steer clear of the hard conditions of the fields, Chloe devised a plan to make herself seem indispensible to the owners of the plantations, the Bradford family. She intended to make the children ill by baking a cake laced with oleander, a very poisonous substance. Instead of making herself the heroic nursemaid, Chloe inadvertently killed the two Bradford children and the matriarch of the home, Sara Matilda. When the other slaves learned of this poisoning, they hanged Chloe from a tree and threw her weighted body into the Mississippi. Her ghost is said to wander the halls of the main house. She is the most famous spirit, but there are others, including a Civil War Soldier who apparently died on the plantation land. You can either tour the plantation grounds during the day, or spend a night in one of the house’s many guest rooms, if you are feeling particularly bold.
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If you don’t have the money to spend on one of these haunted holidays, why not attend a few homegrown Halloween festivities? You can even host a party or put together your own haunted house. Either way, throw on a costume, grab your little ghouls, and have fun playing a few tricks this October 31st.