Halloween isn’t just a time for decorating the house, carving pumpkins and handing out candy to Trick-or-Treaters. It can also be a great time to travel to haunted destinations all across the country. And I have compiled my top 5 list of the scariest haunted places to be.
1. New Orleans! Between the haunted French Quarter, tales of vampires and witchcraft, can this city be anymore perfect for Halloween? And VooDoo Fest runs November 1-3, with Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails and The Cure headlining.
2. Take a Sleepy Hollow tour. For $139 per night, you can book a room (call 914-694-5400) at the Renaissance Westchester in New York, and receive a copy of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving, hot apple cider for four in the Hive Living Room + Bar and a map of the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. For an additional charge, you can visit Sunnyside Manor (Irving’s home) and take Sleepy Hollow cemetery tours. Don’t forget to cross the Headless Horseman Bridge!
3. In Orlando, you can book at Gory Getaway package on select nights through November 2 which consists of a 3 night hotel stay, along with tickets to Universal Studios and Halloween Horror Nights, home of The Walking Dead haunted house. Scary!
4. Go see where witches were burned at the stake during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 in Salem, MA. Horror-loving people travel from all over the world to celebrate Halloween in Salem, but try to get there earlier in the day as it becomes jam-packed at night. Many of the historic homes have tours and haunted houses, and there are plenty of watering holes to get your ghoulish groove on!
5. OK, so maybe this isn’t the scariest place to be, but it is definitely one of the most festive. The West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval draws around 500,000 people and is free from 11AM-11PM on October 31st on Santa Monica Boulevard. Festivities include live music, lots of food and of course, some of the best costumes you will see. This is an all-ages event, so no alcohol will be served on the street, but there are plenty of bars and restaurants to stop in along the way.
