15 minute read
Northeast States
Seaside Shadows Await on Haunted History Tours
There are many questions to be answered regarding this pathway through Downtown Mystic. Where does the famous giggling ghost of Mystic visit dining guests?
What curse haunts the landscape of Mystic? What historic artifacts and headstone engravings have been found in Mystic’s antiquated burial grounds? Who keeps watch over the town’s Civil War Office awaiting the arrival of her lost love? Who is the lady calling for her long-lost love on the wind? How did colonial people store their dead?
Hear the answers to this along with more legends and spooks when you take a Seaside Shadows Downtown Mystic tour or Mystic Moonlit Graveyard Tour. Courtney McInvale Reardon and her team will take you by lantern light on the tour of your choice where they will answer all of these questions and more.
Starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, The Seaside Shadows Downtown Mystic tours go through the bustling landscape of shops and restaurants surrounding the famous drawbridge. On Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 7 p.m., Seaside Shadows Mystic Cemetery Tours allow guests to walk through the Whitehall Burial Ground associated with the famously sighted ghosts of this burial ground.
Halloween week, the last week in Oct., additional tours are available. For instance, join Seaside Shadows guides for a walk through Mystic’s Water Street on Oct. 28 and hear about the haunting tales of your favorite local pubs and taverns. This tour will feature stops at some of your favorite local pubs. The tour includes a total of three beers!
Tickets for all Ghostly Tours are $25 per person in October and $20 during the rest of the year.To reserve online or for more informaiton, visit https://www.seasideshadows. com
Theme Paint Along
Oct. 3 /CAPE PORPOISE -Local artist and amazing teacher Hope and her child Kai will show you how to paint an amazing Halloween themed painting. Open To all ages, a great family activity! $35.
Pumpkin Harvest Festival
Oct. 23//SACO -The community is gearing up for Saco Main Street’s Annual Pumpkin Harvest Festival to be celebrated on Main Street in Saco. Some of the events are a spectacular line up of local businesses with children’s games, food vendors, music, arts and crafts. 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Masquerade Party
Oct. 30 /OGUNQUIT -One of the biggest nights of the year is back for 2021. Join us on Saturday, at 9 p.m. featuring two dancefloors with Resident DJ’s AGA & KEN and of course our annual COSTUME CONTEST! http://www.mainestreetogunquit. com
Haunted Hearse Tours
PRESQUE ISLE - Join Presque Isle Historical Society to hear about lingering spirits and ghosts at 13 sites around downtown Presque Isle based on findings by the Maine Paranormal Investigative Team. Tickets $10 per person. Departs from Historic Fire Station, 11 Church Street. Reservations REQUIRED. Rain or Shine! FMI, contact Presque Isle Historical Society at pihistoricalsociety@ hotmail.com or 762-1151. All tours at 7:00 pm EXCEPT on Halloween October 31. For October 31, tours will be given at 6:00 pm, 7:30 pm, and 9:00 pm. Price is $10.
Haunted Grandview Manor
LEBANON - For Halloween thrills, visit the Haunted Grandview Manor in Sanford. No one will leave this house the same!!! This haunt has been visited by hundreds of people, with nothing but great remarks!!! Open from 7-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays in Oct. For more information, visit online at www.hauntedgrandviewmanorcom ‘‘
WICKED
MEXICO - The River Valley Haunted Walk. With more than 15 different rooms and nearly 9,000 square feet of space, WICKED is one of Maine’s largest and scariest haunted houses! See paranormal investigators from the web series Haunt-Me (http:// haunt-me.com/) investigate the old Mexico High School building, where WICKED and the River Valley Recreation Center are located. Tickets are $8! Doors open at 6 p.m. and the first walk starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are sold by time slot, so reserve early Refreshments will be available at the snack bar prior to your entry time, and entertainment will be provided in the gymnasium. Bring your friends and find out who is WICKED brave, and who isn’t! hwww.facebook.com/RiverValleyWicked/
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People to See The Honey Dewdrops
Baltimore Americana duo, The Honey Dewdrops, will take the Weinberg Center stage Thursday, October 7, 2021, at 7:30 PM as part of the Tivoli Discovery Series, an emerging artist concert series featuring up and coming artists.
Tickets are $10 online or pay-what-you-want at the door. Tickets may be purchased online at WeinbergCenter.org, by calling the box office at 301-600-2828, or in person at 20 West Patrick Street.
Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish, together known as The Honey Dewdrops, have long felt the push and pull between their original roots in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia and their current home in Baltimore, Maryland. Artistically, Wortman and Parrish are inspired by American folk and traditional music and their sound expands on that style and showcases the dynamism and intimacy of musical duos. The Honey Dewdrops have released six albums and toured internationally since 2009, with over a thousand shows under their belts on stages such as A Prairie Home Companion, Merlefest, Celtic Connections (Glasgow, SCO) and the Bluegrass Jamboree (Germany). The duo’s latest collection of songs, Anyone Can See, was released in March 2019. Baltimore Magazine says “…their sincere, stripped-down songwriting is just the kind of music we need more of.” They plan to release a new album of original songs in the spring of 2022.
ABOUT THE WEINBERG CENTER FOR THE ARTS
The Weinberg Center for the Arts is one of the region’s premier performing arts presenters, offering film, music, dance, theater, and family-focused programming. Located in the historic Tivoli movie theater in downtown Frederick Maryland, the Weinberg Center strives to ensure that the arts remain accessible and affordable to local and regional audiences alike. Weinberg Center events are made possible with major support from the City of Frederick, the Maryland State Arts Council, Plamondon Hospitality Partners, and other corporate and individual donors.
A complete listing of artists and performers scheduled for the 2021-2022 season can be found at WeinbergCenter.org.
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Go, Do, See Halloweentown
Salem is a small New England town just 16 miles north of Boston and is most famous for the Salem witch trials of 1692.
Throughout the entire month of October the ultimate Halloween experience is celebrated everywhere in this unique town and the fun and excitement are without equal! So if you get goosebumps just thinking about the eerie month of October, abandon all hope and surrender to the spell of Salem!
Salem brews up more Halloween activities than you can shake a broom at.Here are just a few of our favorites:
Peabody Essex Museum
161 Essex St. 866-745-1876. More than 300 years after the Salem witch trials, the personal tragedies and grievous wrongs that occurred still provoke reflection. Learn more about factors that fueled the storied crisis and explore two creative responses by contemporary artists with ancestral links to the trials, speaking directly to the historical trauma evident in the authentic 17th-century documents and objects on view to provide a powerful connection between past and present. Information and Tickets
Kids’ Fun Fest On Salem Common
Kids Fest will be October 23, 24, 30, and 31. Salem Common. 11am-5pm. The Salem Common Neighborhood Association invites you to this year’s Kids’ Fun Fest! A yearly tradition held on the Salem Common in October, the Fun Fest has lots of great family activities for kids of all ages. Bounce houses, slides, rides and fun houses will be onsite as well as face painting and fall activities. Pricing information TBD. The Kids’ Fun Fest is run by the Salem Common Neighborhood Association, a non profit and sponsored by Fiesta Shows. Kids Fun Fest
Hollowed Harvest – Wicked Labyrinth
Hollowed Harvest211 Bridge St. Sept. 17-Oct. 31. The magic of Halloween awaits you at the Hollowed Harvest: Wicked Labyrinth featuring 1,000 intricately carved JackO’-Lanterns that offer a new twist on the magic of the Hol-
By Lisa Brant
lowed Harvest. This new version is a different experience than the outdoor variety and is only offered in Salem this year. Information and Tickets
Salem Horror Fest 2021
Starting October 1. Immerse yourself in the darkest delicacies of horror from the Halloween capital of the world. This year’s program features more than twenty five premieres in addition to ROMERO LIVES, a celebration and retrospective of the life and legacy of the Master of Horror featuring a curated month-long series of screenings and special programs in partnership with The George A. Romero Foundation. Info and Tickets Haunted Happenings Marketplace
Witch Dungeon Museum
16 Lynde St. (978) 741-3570
Considered the most exciting experience in Salem, the mood is set from the moment you enter the Witch Dungeon Museum. You are there – in Salem Village in 1692, and you are guaranteed a unique educational experience with a chill or two. You’ll experience the acclaimed performance of a Witch trial adapted from the 1692 historical transcripts. Professional actresses in repertory reenact the electrifying scene. For more information, visit http://www. witchdungeon.com/
The Salem Haunted Magic Show – Hysteria X
with All New Magic, Mind Reading & Frights! Each performance piece will take you on a trip into the bizarre & unusual. New magical illusions, incredible mind-reading, and hauntingly creepy experiences make the show immersive, participatory, and appropriate for audiences of all ages! The 2021 season will be no exception! This year we’ve even crafted a few additional surprises to really make this show memorable when you leave! Information and Tickets
Hocus Pocus at Ropes Mansion
Ropes MansionRopes Mansion, 318 Essex St. Free event. The Ropes Mansion will be decorated as it appeared in the popular Salem-based film Hocus Pocus. You won’t have to bob for apples during this visit to Allison’s house but this is a must-see for any fan this October! No reservations required. Hocus Pocus at Ropes Mansion
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New! Westerntown Paintball
Welcome to Pumpkintown. It’s a destination for seasonal activities and fun for all ages! This family-fun attraction offers more than 20 different fall attractions. There is a petting zoo, a corn maze, a spook shack, haunted house, sports zone, and play area with a giant slide and pumpkin themed games. Special guest attractions each weekend have included live chainsaw carving, magic shows, Halloween costume contests, and visits from local service groups including the K9 search and rescue team.
An antique tractor show will be held Oct. 3. The special attraction Oct. 10 will be helicopter rides.
The food shack on the 53-acre premises offers many varieties of food & desserts. Don’t miss the delicious pumpkin donuts and apple cider, a favorite among repeat customers.
Other things to do are pony rides, gem mining, apple cannons, hay wagon rides, riding the cow train, sliding down a giant slide, face painting, and giant jump pads. Pumpkins are for sale and prices depend on the size chosen.
New to the 2021 season are nightmare hayrides on Friday & Saturday evenings, The Field of Screams is now open from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Also among the new additions to Pumpkintown this year is Westerntown Paintball. Come check it out for yourself and join the fun!
“We are a family run and operated business that started in 2018,” said owner Eric Andrews. “We add new attractions yearly and plan to expand with each coming season!
The cost is $12 for adults and children, ages 3 and up; seniors 65 and older are $6; veterans and active military with I.D. are free. Free for children 2 & under.
Open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. throughout the month of October.
For more information, visit http:// pumpkintownwny.com/ or on facebook at https://www.facebook. com/pumpkintownny
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Places to Go: Old Jail Museum
JIM THORPE - In 1877, seven members of the Molly Maguires, a secret union of Irish coal miners, were imprisoned and executed at Jim Thorpe’s Old Jail Museum.
Today when you tour the jail, you can wander along the Old Jail’s cold hallways. Peek inside the cell 17 in the preserved building, where a Molly Maguire member left a dirty handprint before his hanging as a declaration of innocence (mysteriously visible after the wall was washed, painted, and plastered). Stand under the gallows ahsds fhe accused were put to death! Creep into the eerie dungeon. Hear stories (in Small Groups) of actual experiences visitors have had in the jail Don’t forget to check out the book that tells more of the story, “Ghosts of the Molly Maguires?” It is a collection of visitors’ firsthand accounts of strange happenings in the Old Jail. Historians today feel the Molly Maguire trials were a surrender of state sovereignty.
Resembling a fortress standing guard over the town of Jim Thorpe (formerly known as Mauch Chunk), the historic Old Jail Museum is a beautiful two-story stone structure. Containing approximately 72 rooms, this magnificent structure shouts to all “Be good”!
The building has 27 cells, plus basement dungeon cells used as solitary confinement until 1980, women’s cells on the second floor, and the warden’s living quarters across the front of the building.
Yes... there are ghosts in this jail - although they are considered friendly. They usually make their presence known to tourists who aren’t looking for them. Sometimes, they appear during a regular daytime tour. You never know if your group will be one of the lucky ones for their visit.
Ghost tours are scheduled every Saturday through October starting at 6 p.m. and last tour ending at 9 p.m. Admission tickets are $15 per person. For more information, visit http://www. theoldjailmuseum.com/
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WOODSTOCK – The Billings Farm & Museum presents the Voices from the Land exhibition by celebrated Vermont photographer Jim Westphalen. The exhibition, in partnership with the Woodstock Inn & Resort, is open now through October 20.
The Voices from the Land will tell the story of Americans who have forged, and continue to forge, a life from the land. There will be 22 large-format photographs created with Jim’s vintage 4x5 view camera that he’s adapted for digital capture. Each picture tells a story, through indelible images of rural structures and landscapes of Vermont. The featured images will be available for purchase, with a portion of the proceeds supporting the Billings Farm & Museum.
“It’s an honor to host this special exhibition,” said David Simmons, Executive Director of the Billings Farm & Museum. “Billings Farm & Museum is a natural venue for Jim Westphalen’s striking and stunning images of rural America.”
As a professional photographer for more than 30 years, Jim Westphalen documents scenes of human occupation within natural surroundings, with images of aging farms, barns, and other rural structures across America. Born and raised in Long Island, New York, he moved to Vermont in 1996 to be closer to the rural landscape he loves, and it has been home ever since.
The Voices from the Land exhibition is included with admission to the Billings Farm & Museum. Guests of the Woodstock Inn & Resort receive complimentary admission to the farm and exhibition. Find more information here. The Billings Farm & Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October 31 and weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during November through February. Admission rates, hours, and events can be found by visiting www.billingsfarm.org. For the continued safety of our staff and guests, all guests over the age of 2 are required to wear a face covering in all indoor spaces. For outdoor spaces, mask wearing is optional for fully-vaccinated persons; unvaccinated persons must wear masks when around people and unable to maintain 6’ physical distances. No entry is permitted without a face covering. Visit www.billingsfarm.org/safety/ for details.
About Billings Farm & Museum
Located in Woodstock, Vermont, the Billings Farm & Mu-
seum is an operating Jersey dairy farm that continues a 150-year tradition of agricultural excellence with a museum offering programs and exhibits that explore Vermont’s rural heritage and values. Find more information at www. billingsfarm.org.
About the Woodstock Inn & Resort
Located in idyllic Woodstock, Vermont, the Woodstock Inn & Resort defines country sophistication in one of New England’s most charming and popular year-round vacation destinations. The 142-room, AAA Four Diamond Resort, and a member of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts LVX Collection, offers award-winning dining in two restaurants, ranked among the finest in New England. The Woodstock Inn & Resort is owned and operated by The Woodstock Foundation, Inc. Proceeds from Resort operations support The Woodstock Foundation and Billings Farm & Museum education and conservation programs. For more information about the resort visit: www.woodstockinn.com.
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