The Bates Motel
Arasapha Farm
1835 Middletown Rd.
Glen Mills, Pa.
http://thebatesmotel.com
$40 for all 3 attractions, $75 for a VIP pass (skips the line)

Arasapha offers three of the nation’s scariest Halloween attractions: the 25 minute Haunted Hayride, the Haunted Corn Maze and of course, the famous Bates Motel. Both the Haunted Hayride and the Bates Motel are regularly ranked among the creepiest of the creepy in haunted attractions nationwide, and all three attractions feature live actors, tons of “scenes” (an insane asylum, a western ghost town and—ugh—a slaughterhouse, for example) and lots of gore. Not for the youngins’, the faint of heart, or the tight with cash.

Terror Behind the Walls
Eastern State Penitentiary
2027 Fairmount Ave.
Philadelphia, Pa.
www.terrorbehindthewalls.com
$20-30, Quick Passes available online

The vibe at Eastern State Penitentiary is eerie as it is, but at Halloween, the historic prison takes on a decidedly spooky air. One of the nation’s best haunts, the prison offers six attractions. New this year are The Gauntlet, an outdoor maze, and Break Out!, which puts you smack dab in the center of a chaotic prison-break.

Best of all though, is the newly-returned ESP After Dark VIP Tour ($79 or $99), which is short on special effects and all the creepier because of it. During the hour-long tour, you’ll explore the dark cell blocks in small groups with only a flashlight…and a guide, of course. After the flashlight tour, you’ll be able to skip to the front of the line for the six Terror Behind the Walls attractions.

Oh, and since this year is TBTW’s 20th anniversary, they’re celebrating with a special encore performance post-Halloween. On Nov. 12, guests can mix and mingle with haunted house/tour operators from all over the country, meet celebs from paranormal TV shows and get their scare on inside the Terror Behind the Walls tour ($99).

Frightland
309 Port Penn Rd.
Middletown, Del.
www.frightland.com
$20-25, $50 VIP pass

Frightland offers eight (yes, eight!) haunted attractions that’ll have you screaming, including the Haunted Woods, Ghost Town and The Attic. There’s also an amusement park with rides, games and concession stands, plus live entertainment some nights. One tip though: The ticket booth is at the far end of the park.

Horrorfest
Shady Brook Farm
931 Stony Hill Rd.
Yardley, Pa.
www.shadybrookfarm.com/horrorfest
$15-35, $50 for VIP pass

Pastoral Shady Brook Farm goes ghastly after dark with Horrorfest, a haunt fest that will have you jumping—with fear, not joy—as you trek through all four attractions. There’s the Hayride of Horror, the Barn of Horror (sensing a theme here?), 3-D Alien Encounter and the aptly-named Carnage. Just don’t bring kids under 10 (or maybe even a little older!) to that last one—it’s super-graphic.

Sleepy Hollow Hayride
881 Highland Rd.
Newtown, Pa.
www.sleepyhollowhayride.com
$14-30, $45 for VIP pass

Like Shady Brook, Active Acres may be peaceful by day, but it’s scare-tastic Sleepy Hollow by night. Take a 1 ¼ mile hayride through the haunted woods, or travel by foot through the Field of Fright, a disorienting corn maze. There’s also the Haunted House in the Hollow, with 17 rooms and an expansive graveyard of the undead. Survive the three attractions, and you’ll be treated to a bonfire, Halloween-themed activities and refreshments.

Fright Factory
2200 S. Swanson St.
Philadelphia, Pa.
www.frightfactory.tv
$30, $40 for VIP pass

With sweet costumes, great props and an A-plus effort from the actors, Fright Factory, set in a decrepit warehouse inside city limits, is a spook-tacular alternative to Terror Behind the Walls. With four haunted offerings, the experience is just frightening enough to satisfy those looking for scares, but also packs the right amount of cheese for visitors who were reluctantly dragged along by friends or family.

Jason’s Woods
99 Stehman Rd.
Lancaster, Pa.
www.jasonswoods.com
$25 or $45, $40 or $60 for VIP pass

Lancaster’s already got that “Children of the Corn” thing going on, and that feeling is amplified every Halloween at Jason’s Woods. With seven attractions like the Barn of Terror, Pirate’s Revenge and of course, the namesake attraction Jason’s Woods, this haunted set-up will keep your heart beating the entire time. A word of warning, however: If you’re scared of clowns, do not—I repeat, do not—enter the Carnival of Fear!

Night of Terror
Creamy Acres Farm
448 Lincoln Mill Rd.
Mullica Hill, NJ
www.nightofterror.com
$30-35, $60 for VIP pass

Ah, Mullica Hill—quaint lake town during the summer, Halloween fright-fest in fall. Head to Creamy Acres, conveniently located in the Middle of Nowhere, for a six-attraction night of scares, including the Ride of Terror Haunted Hayride and the 3D Fun House. Hungry after all that screaming? Fill up on yummy carnival food like hot dogs, funnel cake, french fries and even baked potatoes.

Cockroach

Other than a bedbug, what could be scarier to apartment dwellers like myself? Sure, you could go for bedbug, but you’ll likely encounter tears and stories of great tragedy instead of tequila shots. To make this costume, just conjure up a cardboard box, tape, a headband, safety pins and a brown non-toxic marker. Draw and cut the wings out of the cardboard and safety pin them to the black or brown t-shirt of your choice. Create additional legs and safety pin them to your clothing. Cut out a pair of antennas and duct tape them to your headband. Lastly draw two brown marks on your cheeks so that people understand that you’re really going for it.

A Glitter Bomb

Normally there is nothing more annoying than glitter. But Halloween is the perfect time to indulge in the sparkly substance. Glitter bombing—primarily conducted by non-violent activists and drunk girls wearing obscene hats at bachelorette parties—is when you run up to someone and dump a ton of glitter on their heads. For this costume, dress up in all red , perhaps using a red shirt you no longer care about. Write a random countdown time onto your shirt. Find a piece of rope and artfully place this somewhere on your body—this will be your fuse. Buy a ton of red glitter and sporadically cover yourself in it. Finally, create a small pouch to carry around a bunch of red glitter. This way you can literally glitter bomb your friends. Though this costume will probably cause your friends to laugh at your inner-prankster, you’ll also ensure that everyone around you has to take a nice long hangover shower the next day.

Kim Kardashian

Friends are going to snap your photo all night, so why not dress up as everyone’s favorite celebutante? Then you can pretend the flashing cameras are the paparazzi documenting your night of fame. Take this occasion to wear that sequined super-tight tube dress you bought for New Year’s Eve but never wore. Stuff your tights with extra padding around the bum to resemble her famous derriere. Find some fake jewels and a black wig, and coat on the bronzer and eyeliner. With enough photos of you posted on Facebook, you may just land your own reality show by the end of the night.

Sexy-Whatever

Creating the Sexy-Whatever is like playing a game. Come home after work, pour yourself a drink and look around your home. Find the very least sexy thing you can. Is it a spatula, a shower curtain or a box of tampons? Now go into your closet (or if you’re a guy, the closet of a girl you know) and pick out the most scandalous outfit. This should be something you’d never be caught dead wearing in public… stripper heels and ruby red lipstick, for example. Now somehow connect the two. The spatula can be a dangling necklace. The shower curtain can be a cape. And the tampons can be duct taped onto your outfit. Now you have a sexy costume full of dichotomy and humor.

Maude Standish is a writer who lives in a tiny coach house in Brooklyn. She is currently working on a screenplay and blogs daily about trends at The (t) Files.

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

One of the all-time classic holiday specials, Charlie Brown and the gang’s trick-or-treating adventures are almost half a century old now. But some things will never change. Charlie ends up with a bag full of rocks. And Linus believes in the power of the Great Pumpkin. It’s a touching display of naive stubbornness that speaks just as well for kids today as it did back then.

Trick or Treat

The first-ever trick-or-treating on screen happened with none other than Donald Duck. Nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie try and get candy from their uncle, who decides to prank them instead. In turn, the boys get help from a friendly witch and payback with interest on their stubborn uncle.

The Haunting

Modern horror movies rely on the gruesome, but shock, blood and gore don’t necessarily make for more chills. In this 1963 classic horror, four people spend a few nights in a house to determine if it’s haunted. Scary sounds, a woman losing her sanity and only one special effect make this movie’s creepiness pretty timeless.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

This classic collection of stories is comprised of familiar tales, or new spins on old concepts. While Alvin Schwartz does a terrific job with the phrasing, it’s up to you (or whoever is brave enough to be the storyteller) to really get the whispers, the long pauses and the big scary shouts just right. Stephen Gammell’s extra scary pencil drawings add another layer of terror for your audience.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack

There’s plenty of tired old music choices for you to listen to. Thriller? You know the moves by heart. “Monster Mash“? Not again! But Danny Elfman’s terrific score for The Nightmare Before Christmas stands the test of time.

The Pumpkin King Jack Skellington’s discovery of Christmas and his completely distorted take on it make for a great musical concept. “What’s This” combines a Christmas tune with spooky lyrics like “there’s children throwing snowballs/instead of throwing heads/they’re busy building toys/absolutely no one’s dead!” Danny Elfman adds new life to the Halloween song.

Dan Morgridge is a writer from Chicago. He has switched to pumpkin butter and jelly sandwiches for the fall.

Spider Cupcakes

Supplies:

* 12 cupcakes

* 1 can white frosting

* A few drops black food coloring

* 2 feet of thin black licorice string

* 24 red hot candies

Instructions:

1. Make cupcakes or buy prepared cupcakes.

2. Mix white frosting with black food coloring. Spread on cupcakes.

3. Cut black licorice strings into 3-inch pieces. On either side of the cupcakes, insert the licorice for legs, 4 on each side, and bend them so they look like they have knees.

4. Place red hots where the eyes would go.

5. Cover with wax paper. Place in fridge to keep fresh until serving.

Bloody Banana Finger Pops

(Makes 12 pops)

Supplies:

* 4 bananas

* 1 cup chocolate chips melted (optional)

* 1-1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

* 4 sliced or whole almonds

* Tube red food coloring gel

* 2 teaspoons black frosting

* 4 popsicle sticks

* Wax paper

Instructions:

1. Take 1/3 of a banana. Trim it into the shape of a finger (thinner). Insert a stick in the bottom through the center about an inch up.

2. Roll the banana in chocolate and then shredded coconut (or just coconut if you don’t want to use chocolate), pressing down so it sticks.

3. Color the almonds with the black frosting and press the sliced or whole almond at the tip for the “nail.”

4. Place on a plate covered with wax paper.

5. Place in freezer for 2 hours.

6. Once the banana is frozen, ooze on the red gel to look like blood.

7. Serve cold as popsicles.

Eyeball Cake Pops

(Makes about 30 pops)

Supplies:

* 1 cake mix (any flavor) or a store-bought cake

* 1 can chocolate frosting

* 2-pound bag candy melt discs, white or yellow (can get at party store)

* Lollipop sticks

* A piece of Styrofoam or old egg carton (to hold cake pops)

* 1 tube black decorating frosting (Duff Goldman makes a good one)

* 1-2 tubes blue decorating frosting

* Red decorating gel

Instructions:

1. Make a 13×9 cake (homemade, box mix or store-bought). Let it cool.

2. Crumble the cake in a large bowl. Then stir in in 3/4-1 can of frosting until combined and thick enough to make balls, but not too goopy.

3. Freeze for 15 minutes.

4. When cold, form cake mixture into balls and place balls onto wax paper on cookie sheet.

5. Freeze the mixture for 15 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, melt your candy melt discs in a double boiler.

7. Dip lollipop stick into candy melt.

8. Dip candied stick into the cold cake ball.

9. Dip each cake pop into your melted candy melt discs.

10. Place the cake pop stick into a Styrofoam block or old egg carton while the shell hardens.

11. Spread a little blue frosting on the tips and create a circle. Surround the circle with a thin outer circle of black frosting and place a dot of black frosting in the center to make it look like an eye.

12. Drizzle red decorating gel down the white eyeball to look like veins.

English Muffin Mummy Pizza with Eyes

Supplies:

* 1/2 English muffin, preferably multi-grain

* 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

* 2 sliced black olives

* 2 small pimento pieces

Instructions:

1. Toast the multigrain or white English muffin.

2. Then, sprinkle white mozzarella cheese in the same direction horizontally, all over the toasted muffin except for one 1/2″ strip near the top of the muffin. Make sure there is some cheese melted above the blank strip.

3. Melt the cheese by placing the muffins back in the toaster oven or oven.

4. Remove when cheese is melted and place two sliced black olives in the blank spot for eyes. Fill the olives with small pieces of red pimento to make the eyes look scary.

Alma Schneider is a licensed Clinical Social Worker helping individuals overcome their psychological and practical obstacles to cooking and parenting on her blog and consulting business, Take Back the Kitchen. She is a native New Yorker transplanted to the suburbs with her husband, four children and loving yet stubborn Beagle Shiloh.

Floating Eyes in a Blob

Supplies:

* Empty clear bottle/jar (with or without a lid, but with a lid is safer!)

* Corn syrup

* Green, blue or yellow food coloring

* Plastic googly eyes from craft store

Instructions:

1. Pour corn syrup into your jar. Fill an inch or two away from the top.

2. Add 2-3 drops of food coloring and stir.

3. Drop in the googly eyes, which will float.

4. Cover if you don’t want a mess!

Spider Hats

(Can also double as a costume worn with a black outfit )

Supplies:

* Black foam visor or foam cut out in a long strip like a headband

* Hole puncher

* 4 black pipe cleaners

* Glue or tape

* Googly eyes

* Red construction paper

Instructions:

1. Take your hole puncher (or just stick the pie cleaner through) and make 4 holes on each side of the hat/headband.

2. From the inside of the hat/headband, thread the pipe cleaner through one hole and out the other, then back through to the top again. Use 2 holes for one pipe cleaner.

3. Bend each pipe cleaner to make it look like the legs have knees.

4. Add tape or a dot of glue to the back of each eye, and then place the eyes on the front of the hat/headband.

5. Optional: Cut out a mouth from construction paper and glue or tape that on as well.

Scary Hands

Supplies:

* Black construction Paper

* Yellow construction Paper

* Glue stick

* Scissors

* Glitter (be careful with this!)

* Crayons

* Optional: Chewed up gum (for nasty warts)

* Optional: Nail decals or small stickers

Instructions:

1. Trace hands on green paper and cut out hands.

2. Draw and cut out fingernails on yellow paper.

3. Draw warts or use chewed-up gum on the hands.

4. Decorate the fingernails with glitter and glue/decals/stickers to the hands.

5. Hang as decorations on your door or in windows.

Balloon Ghost Decorations

Supplies:

* 2 round balloons

* Black construction paper

* Clear tape or glue

* White string or yarn

* Old white sheet or big old white t-shirt (cut up to look like a sheet)

* Scissors

Instructions:

1. Blow up balloons. Tie off with string or knot the balloon itself.

2. Cut up a sheet to size of your desired ghost body.

3. Place balloon in the center, wrap sheet or t-shirt around the head and tie off a knot with the string or yarn at the bottom of balloon so sheet hangs freely below the balloon head.

4. Cut out eyes with the construction paper and tape, or glue on the covered balloon where you would like the eyes to go.

5. Tape the balloon to your front door or hang with string from nearby tree or bushes.

Orange Spider Decoration

Supplies:

* 2 black pipe cleaners

* 1 orange

* Plastic vampire teeth

* 1 red hot or Skittle candy

* 2 googly eyes

* Tape, glue or frosting

Instructions:

1. Cut pipe cleaners into 3-inch pieces.

2. Insert 4 pipe cleaner pieces into one side of the orange and bend the legs at the midpoint. Do the same on the other side.

3. Tape, glue or frost the eyes to the front of the orange.

4. Place a dot of frosting under the eyes for the nose, and place a red hot or Skittle candy.

5. Make two small slits with a knife at the outer edges of the vampire teeth, and stick the teeth into the orange where the mouth should be.

6. Prop up the orange on a little cup, and place anywhere as a decoration.

Alma Schneider is a licensed Clinical Social Worker helping individuals overcome their psychological and practical obstacles to cooking and parenting on her blog and consulting business, Take Back the Kitchen. She is a native New Yorker transplanted to the suburbs with her husband, four children and loving yet stubborn Beagle Shiloh.

The Salem Witch Trials

Perhaps the most underplayed event in American history, the Salem witch trials and the large number of executions to follow, gave Colonial America its first few tastes of the supernatural. In the 1500s, hundreds of women were burned, hanged, drowned or beheaded after accusations of witchcraft. Though historians would later attribute the panic and outbreak to a bad crop during harvest, documented reports suggest these women possessed powers associated with the dark arts. From casting homemade spells to taking flight to falling into fits, there is a legacy of unexplained events. Now a tourist hot spot during autumn, Salem still possesses an eerie energy. Were these witch trials the result of settlers adjusting to a new world? Or did the early colonial women uncover something darker that had already been there lurking?

Bigfoot

Perhaps the most famous of the modern American legends, Bigfoot (sometimes referred to as Sasquatch) has been a topic of conversation for years. Biologists and animal experts have gone on record a number of times saying that it is possible for a creature like this to both exist and survive in the heavily wooded areas of our country. Since these areas are uninhabited by humans on a regular basis, it is not unlikely that a creature could live untouched by man. Many photos, footprints and reports of personal encounters have been proved to be hoaxes. However many other stories cannot be disproved and therefore must remain mysteries.

The Stanley Hotel

Often hailed as one of the most haunted places in the country, The Stanley Hotel was the inspiration for Steven King’s novel The Shining. Reports of paranormal activity are daily occurrences, especially in the ballroom. Guests have reported seeing people walk the hallways and then suddenly disappear, hearing the sounds of children laughing in empty sections of the hotel and having objects move completely on their own. Many ghost hunting teams and researchers have done specials on the Stanley and come out with different and contradictory conclusions, meaning the cause of these events has yet to be determined. Keep this in mind next time you fall asleep in a strange bed far from home and hear something go bump in the night.

The Jersey Devil

The woods of New Jersey hold many secrets, one of which is the legend of the Jersey Devil. Though there is no solid accurate description of what this entity looks like, it is often portrayed as a winged creature with demonic features. The legend states that an unknown woman gave birth to a child, who she immediately offered to the devil. Shortly thereafter, the child grew wings and flew off screaming into the night, where it has remained ever since. Every year, hundreds of eye witnesses report a flying creature in the Jersey woods. Some even say that it has claimed the lives of lost hikers and campers who wander too far. Whether or not you buy into the story, it’ll make you think twice about that evening woodland stroll.

Tyler Paterson is a writer and performer out of Chicago who can be seen touring with his critically acclaimed comedy band The Shock T’s. Currently, he is working on a book documenting his family’s haunted history. It’s possible he’s a medium, but he’ll never admit it.

Going for Distance

Pumpkin Chunking is the flinging of pumpkins for distance using some sort of mechanical contraption. Slingshot, trebuchet… you name it, it’s probably been tried. Competitions happen all over the United States every fall, usually after harvest time. Now in its second decade, Delaware’s Punkin Chunkin’ contest is the gold standard for tossing pumpkins as far as backyard scientists can manage. (The current world record is 5,545.43 feet!)

Pumpkin Destruction

While some people fling pumpkins for distance, others use them for for more destructive purposes. Ever wonder how much damage an 1100 pound pumpkin falling out of the sky would do to a car? You’re about to find out.

Some people just want to celebrate the majestic pumpkin as one of the glories of Mother Nature. Watch this pumpkin grow to half a ton in size over the course of a summer. And then watch it blow up.

Body by Pumpkin

We consume a lot of calories around Halloween with all the candy and other treats. But the pumpkin has got you covered. This versatile gourd can help keep you thin and make your workout a little more festive in the process.

Pumpkin Picasso

Pumpkins are for carving. But all pumpkin carvers aren’t created equal. Some people, like Ray Villafane, are regular Picassos of the trade. This guy can turn an average pumpkin into a masterpiece. And he’s spent the last 15 years perfecting the art of pumpkin carving, with amazing results.

Mad Scientist Pumpkin Carving

Art isn’t everyone’s strong point. Steve Spangler adds a little mad science to his jack-o’-lantern to create an oozing monstrosity perfect for any porch.

Dan Morgridge is a writer from Chicago. He has switched to pumpkin butter and jelly sandwiches for the fall.

Bowman’s Hill
1635 River Rd.
New Hope, Pa. 18938
215-862-2924
http://www.bhwp.org

The countryside in Bucks Co. is beautiful all year round, but it’s absolutely gorgeous in the fall. Take the scenic drive along Route 32 (River Rd.) from Washington Crossing to New Hope, but make sure to stop at 134-acre Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve for a walk to the tower, where you’ll get a 360-degree view of nature at its most colorful.

Fairmount Park – Wissahickon Gorge
206 Lincoln Dr.
Philadelphia, Pa. 19144
www.fairmountpark.org

Hands down, Wissahickon is the best part of the city’s Fairmount Park system. As you meander (or bike, or jog, or hike) along one of the densely wooded park’s 57 miles of trails, the city smog and crowds will seem miles away. In their place, birds will be chirping, fallen leaves will satisfyingly crunch beneath your feet, and sunshine will filter softly through the branches of multi-hued trees. Sound lovely? It is. And you know what makes it even better? A hot chocolate or apple cider at the adorable Valley Green Inn post-walk.

Longwood Gardens
1001 Longwood Rd.
Kennett Square, Pa. 19348
610-388-1000
www.longwoodgardens.com

Love, love, loooove Longwood. Take a day trip out to this magical place any time of year, and you’ll find 1000+ acres of gardens, meadows and fountains to explore. Venture there in autumn, and you’ll also find “Autumn’s Colors,” a seasonal paradise of gold, orange and crimson colored foliage. And FYI: Head to Longwood between October 29 and November 20, and the colors of fall will be even more amped up during the annual Chrysanthemum Festival, featuring thousands and thousands of fall’s signature bloom, the mum.

Morris Arboretum
100 E. Northwestern Ave.
Philadelphia, Pa. 19118
215-247-5777
www.business-services.upenn.edu/arboretum/index.shtml

Philly’s Morris Arboretum is set on 92-acres of land and knows how to make learning fun. More than 13,000 of their plants and trees are labeled, and they offer a Great Trees Tour on Sundays in October—so you’ll actually know that that yellow-leaved stinky tree you’re looking at is a gingko, thankyouverymuch.

Ridley Creek State Park
1023 Sycamore Mills Rd.
Media, Pa. 19063
610-892-3900
www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/ridleycreek/index.htm

Nestled in Delaware County just 16 miles from Center City, you’ll find Ridley Creek State Park, perfect for a low-key day of taking in the fall foliage. The park has more than 2000-acres of woodlands and meadows and is decidedly less crowded than some of the other places on this list, so nature lovers who want true peace and quiet can enjoy biking, hiking, fishing, walking or horseback riding along the park’s many trails, or a pretty photo-op in the formal gardens near the park’s office.

Tyler Arboretum
515 Painter Rd.
Media, Pa. 19063
610-566-9134
www.tylerarboretum.org

For a fall treat, take a stroll through Tyler Arboretum’s Native Woodland Walk, or hike along more than 20 miles of trails, where you’ll catch a periodic glimpse of the historic ruins that dot the area through the colorful foliage. And, on Sundays, take a Wildflower Walk and learn about some of the arboretum’s late bloomers—flowers, that is.Want to take the fall fun even further at Tyler? The Pumpkin Days Celebration (Oct. 15 – 16) includes live music and dancing, pumpkin sales, scarecrow building, a bake sale, the Haunted Barn and of course, hay wagon rides throughout the arboretum’s grounds for a look at fall’s colors.

Valley Forge National ParkVisitors Bureau
1000 First Ave., Suite 101
King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
610-834-1550
www.valleyforge.org/nationalpark

Valley Forge in autumn can only be described as hauntingly beautiful. That beauty is clear to anyone who visits the 3600 acres of meadows, woodlands and rolling hills, transformed into a living landscape painting by fall. But it’s juxtaposed by the fact that more than 2000 men died here during the long, hard winter of 1777-78, when George Washington’s Continental Army camped in what’s now the park. Amble through the vividly colored forests and stumble upon 18th century relics—like Washington’s headquarters or the reconstructed log cabins of his men—and its hard not to feel the pull of history. So yes, while Valley Forge is truly beautiful in fall, it’s also haunting—in a good way.