Halloween Events in Boston, Massachusetts
Trick Or Treat Musical Performance
On October 29th, at 2:00 PM, dress up for the Musical Halloween Party at the Tsai Performance Center. This performance oriented event, conducted and commentated by Rob Kapilow from the New England Philharmonic, fit with possible ghosts and goblins meandering around the halls will showcase eerie works like Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, Dukas’ Sorcerer’s Apprentice from Disney’s Fantasia, and Bach’s Toccata and Fugue. 685 Commonwealth Avenue. 2:00pm .
Halloween Parade on the Common
Look in the newspaper for information on the annual Official Boston Halloween Parade On Boston Common, where people from all over Boston and surrounding areas will enjoy festivities, and trick or treat type of fun adorned in various crazy costumes. Not much information is available on this as of yet, so the event is tentative, but more than likely it will still take place. Inquire further at your favorite news resource closer to Halloween.
Halloween Haunted Halls
The Boston City Hall will feature live reptiles like snakes, alligators and toads to add to the spookiness. There will also be treats for all members of the family, face painting and spooky story telling. See local news source for more information on times and tickets.
Spooky World
Haven’t really spent that much time in Boston for Halloween Holiday, I was not aware but apparently Spooky World is an infamous Halloween attraction. Just visit their website and ghoulish music will greet you after a loud chant of “SPOOOKY WORLD!!” It almost made me jump. The Indoor arena is home to six fright night attractions that are claimed to be for the whole family to enjoy though id proceed with caution if you have little ones.
617-474-6541 info@halloweeninboston.com Spooky World is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in October. Discount coupons are available at Tedeschi Food Stores: Tedeschi Store, Store 24 and Lil Peach. Located at the Bayshore Expedition Center in Boston at 200 Mount Vernon Street, Columbia Point. Adult prices are $24.50, Kids 4-12 are $18.50 and children 3 and under are free though I do not imagine this would be a good place to bring the youngins. But to each his own. An outline of the attractions are as follows
Creature Feature Haunted Mansion Typical haunted house with infamous monsters from past and present walking around dead, alive, or I suppose half and half.
Catacombs– A journey into the ancient world of decrepit heads and ghoulish monsters that look dead despite their freaky open eye sockets. Pictures are available to view snapshots from this crypt of horrors ahead of time so you can at least get some clue as to what you are getting into.
Experiment– It is not defined exactly what experiments will be going on but I gather this is some kind of show that Spooky World puts on. To quote them, “They measure your reactions”. From the photos available the audience members either look possessed or as if they are dressed in alien suits and struggling frantically to get out of them. Yikes!
International Monster Museum– This seems the least scary and more of like a game of sorts. You will walk through corridors where classic Hollywood horror creatures lie in their tombs or walk among you and your job is to guess which ones are alive or dead. I’m imagining you’ll know by which ones jump out to startle you silly. The infamous cult heroes Jason and Freddy are among the Hollywood monster icons.
The Horrorwood Walk Of Fame– The website tries to make this sound scary but how scary can a hall full of memorabilia from old movies be, fit with things such as autographs, old clothing worn, and fake weapons? Definitely interesting, especially if you are a movie buff, but I wouldn’t worry about freaking out for this one.
Coolidge Corner Cinema Midnight Madness
The Coolidge Independent Cinema often has midnight madness showcases and during Halloween the themes are pretty self explanatory. The site as well as the cinema is under mild renovation right now so best to call their box office or check back on their site closer to late October. They are located in Coolidge Corner on Harvard Street in Brookline. In past years they’ve been known to show Mad Monster Party, Mad Love, Masque Of The Red, Death, Young Frankenstein, Carrie, Halloween, Cemetery Man and many classic trailers and shorts.
Ghosts and Gravestones Tour
Take the Ghosts and Gravestones Tour of Boston- A trolley will take you through some of Bostons very old 17th Century graveyards and burial ground areas and you will enjoy an eerie ride enriched with narratives that supposedly no other tour will give you. These include the “real” story about Lizzie Borden, information and plots where people from the Boston Massacre were killed, information about the Boston Strangler, etc. You may even see a ghost or two. Some of the gravestones are in fact the eeriest of the whole excursion, with cryptic inscriptions on them. You will drive by the Granary
Burial Ground and Copps Hill Cemetary. Finally, toward the end, just when you are ready for a little stretch, the trolley conductor will allow you to wander around a bit in the same spot where the infamous John Hancock, Paul Revere, Cotton Mather, and the parents of Benjamin Franklin and Robert Newman finally lay down for their final rest. These burial grounds are some of the very oldest in the entire US, very historical and no doubt, watched carefully by those lurking spirits! (617) 269-3626
Franklin Zoo
Rumor has it that even the zoo will be hyped up for the Halloween Spirit. The pathways will be lined with spooky decorations, kids can trick or treat and play some interactive games. The zoo will be enjoyable for the whole family as normally is but an extra bonus for the occasion is that attendees get to see whether or not the animals have a taste for pumpkin, for they will be fed bits and pieces of it as treats throughout the day.
Adult tickets are $9.50, Seniors 62+ and Children 2-12 are $8.00 and children under two or members of the zoo are admitted free. Parking is also free
617-541-LION (5466)
The Castle Of The Damned
The Castle of the Damned Carries a lot of history and is a beautiful piece of architecture and property. The Hammond Castle Museum every Halloween is transformed by movie directors and film professionals into the “Castle of the Damned”. While it’s not your traditional things jumping out at you haunted house, past attendees say it really plays with your mind. The castle features various rooms of careful and elegant decoration and themes (gothic and rennaisance) and their goal is to get you to try and figure out what is real and what is not. This event each year, apparently, is the only opportunity one gets to roam through the dungeon of this ancient novel inspired castle. Ghosts are said to haunt the area frequently. The tour is 25 minutes and it is rated PG-13.
Located at 80 Hesperus Ave in Gloucester Mass, the haunted castle begins its tours on the 14th of October. See website for directions and transportation options.
978-283-2080
