Halloween is becoming a bigger holiday every year, it seems, and Connecticut attractions are offering a variety of spooky fun to entertain children and adults this October. Here are my picks for some of the best Halloween events and haunted attractions in Connecticut for 2007. Visit them all... if you dare!
Graveyard Productions' 17th annual Haunted Graveyard is back for its eighth year at Lake Compounce amusement park in Bristol, Connecticut. The Halloween attraction stakes the claim of being New England's largest and scariest Halloween event, and there's plenty of horror in store for 2007.
From chilling ghost tales to tours led by spirit guides, spine-tingling fun awaits at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut, this month. Be sure to purchase your tickets in advance for these special evenings of Halloween mischief, scheduled for October 12-13, October 19-21 and October 26-28 in 2007.
Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, hosts two nights of ghostly Halloween fun on October 26 and 27, 2007. Enjoy trick-or-treating, glowing jack-o-lanterns, the spooky Haunted Seas and special Halloween shows. This family event is designed to be appropriate for all ages.
When Halloween rolls around, ConneCTions offers several public tours of haunted places in Connecticut. This inbound tour operator also leads groups to spooky spots year-round. Book one of their four haunted itineraries for your group; you can even dine at a haunted restaurant!
If Mark Twain was alive today, he'd surely have something humorous to say about our obsession with Halloween. On October 27, 2007, the Mark Twain House and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford team up to offer Halloween-themed fun, including a 45-minute Spooktacular show presented by Mad Science of Western New England. Kids can also enjoy pumpkin painting, storytelling, music, puppet shows and more. For adults, there's also a Friday evening séance on October 26 at the Stowe Center.
Want to hear spooky tunes at midnight on Halloween? Then be glad you live in Connecticut, where each year, the Yale Symphony performs a Midnight Halloween Concert at Woolsey Hall in New Haven. Purchase tickets in advance for this unique performance.
Climb aboard a vintage train at the Danbury Railway Museum Yard in Danbury, Connecticut, for an old-fashioned pumpkin picking outing. Halloween Pumpkin Patch Train Rides will be available Saturdays and Sundays from October 13 through October 28, 2007.
Visit Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport on Sunday, October 28, 2007, and children 12 and under dressed in their Halloween costumes will be admitted free with a paying adult. Special events will include music, games, crafts, treats and a magic show.
The Windsor Chamber of Commerce sponsors its annual Nightmare on Broad Street in
Windsor, Connecticut, on Wednesday evening, October 31. The free event features face painting, fortune telling, children's games, hay rides and trick-or-treating at Windsor businesses. You can also have your picture taken with a ghoul.
On Friday, October 26, 2007, tour Hartford's historic Cedar Hill Cemetery by lantern light. Tickets will be sold on-site that night, and "spirited" tours will depart every 15 minutes. Bring a flashlight! While you're waiting for your walk among Hartford's departed, sip hot cider and have your fortune told.