It’s almost Halloween! I love this time of year, and spend weeks getting into the spirit (mostly by watching a lot of scary movies, but also with decorations and other spooky activities). There are lots of fun ways to celebrate Halloween, and here are a few of my personal favorites (both old and new):
Activity Pick: Haunted House
A few weeks ago, I posted a preview of my upcoming activities, and last night I checked one off by going to a haunted house. I was pretty nervous about this, because I haven’t had great experiences in the past, but it was a lot more fun than I expected. Even though there are lots of haunted houses in the St. Louis area, we chose to take a 90 minute drive to a place in Illinois called Raven’s Curse, because we’d heard great things about it. Also, they have a Halloween themed escape room, and we couldn’t pass that up.
We were a little bummed that we weren’t able to go through the haunted maze, which was closed because of heavy rain (it’s an outdoor attraction), but we did the escape room and went through the indoor haunted house, which is, of course, the main event. While I didn’t love the jump scares, the overall experience was well worth it. I was especially impressed with the quality of the makeup and the electronics, which included lots of automated monsters and some really awesome video effects, which were set up on screens that were designed to look like windows into other parts of the building.
I didn’t get any pictures, because they aren’t allowed inside, and the rain kept the actors from roaming around outside like they normally would. If you want an idea, though, here’s the promo video for the attraction:
Much to my surprise, I had a great time and will probably head back next year for the haunted maze.
Movie Pick: The Cabin the the Woods
The Cabin in the Woods offers a satirical look at horror tropes while still taking itself completely seriously and providing genuine tension for the characters and the audience. The main plot is deliberately cliche-riddled in the best possible way, and the underlying subplot (which I won’t discuss because of my no spoiler policy) adds a whole new dimension. Despite skirting the edges of parody, it’s definitely a horror movie, and one of the most creative, original, and engaging examples of the genre I’ve ever seen. This is a movie I’ve watched again and again, and enjoyed every single time.
Candy Pick: The Reese’s Peanut Butter Halloween Collection
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are hands down my favorite candy, and they have so many cute Halloween options! Any candy is likely to make trick or treaters happy, of course, but I love going the extra mile and giving out treats with the holiday theme. Monster Mania miniatures are available at Target, and the wrappers are just adorable. Other options include bats, ghosts (for white chocolate lovers), pumpkins, and eyeballs, which I’m pretty sure are new this year. The latter have been filling my special candy dish (click here for my post on making the dish) for the last couple of weeks, and they’ve been quite a hit.
I definitely stayed up past my bedtime last night, so over to you. What are your Halloween favorites?
My favorite thing about Halloween kind of is and isn’t about Halloween. When the Harvest moon rises, at first it’s huge and orange and looks just like a jackolantern. It’s also my official beginning of fall.
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Fall is such a beautiful season, and nothing beats the harvest moon. I love this time of year.
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If only we went back to spring afterwards…
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That would be awesome. Around here, we get the full weather spectrum: incredibly cold winters and beastly hot summers. I cherish spring and fall…
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We usually get summer, late summer, post summer. Then presummer and back to summer again!
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I could definitely live without extreme cold…
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I’ve actually grown fond of cold weather! 😁
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I’m glad you faced your fear and did the haunted house thing. I’m not into that, but you are spot on about Halloween candy. Wow, what a variety. Really though, I’m boring in my choice of candy, Every year it’s the same 3. Reese’s PBC’s, Kit Kat and Milky Way. Makes me fat and happy.
Our tradition was always going out with our 3 grandchildren and borrowing some of their haul. But this year, Halloween will find me on Amtrak, chugging toward St. Louis for a 3 day Word Camp by WordPress. It’s my first Camp so I don’t know what to expect. I understand that hundreds will be in attendance at the Convention Center with workshops, vendors and free lunch provided. Good deal for $50. I still don’t know much about this platform that I’m paying for and I’m up for renewal in December. I’m expecting some great info.
So have a wonderful Halloween, Amanda.
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I actually thought about going to the Word Camp, since I live in St. Louis, but it just didn’t work with my schedule. I hope you enjoy your visit and get to see some of the city!
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My oldest and I used to do haunted mazes and Six Flags New England’s Fright Night, as well as the Trail of Terror, which almost made me pee myself once (no shame). It was a different time and things were fun and not as scary in real life. I’m not sure if it’s because I changed or if my girls are just so different but my youngest doesn’t enjoy them so with her we just dress up and go trick or treating. She doesn’t do scary so we’ve not yet embarked on anything like haunted houses. She’s only 11 so we’ll see if that changes.
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I went to Six Flags Mid America’s Fright Night a few times as a teenager.
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My daughter was a teenager when we went. We didn’t think it was a great as Trail of Terror, which had both a haunted hayride and an outdoor, walking trail that was haunted with the most amazing makeup and characters ever… I truly believed I would die the first year. She loved all that stuff and I loved her so I enjoyed myself too. In my older age, I may have lost my desire to be scared because even roller coasters lost their appeal to me.
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As always a great post. Thanks so much for sharing!
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I agree on the Reese’s Halloween candy; however, I have to contend that the best Halloween movie is “The Ring”… or, the Japanese, “Ringu”…
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Both are really good.
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I am not a fan of horror movies, and your pick of ” the cabin in the woods” looks particularly scary to me. Funny story, last year we went to visit Gatlinburg in Tennessee and I prefer to rent a hotel instead of a cabin because I was terrified to be in the middle of nowhere with the kids 😩
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Definitely not the right movie for you, then.
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Lol, I know right
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