Halloween is a holiday filled with scares, frights and trips to haunted attractions with friends. For many people, Halloween is the perfect time to visit a haunted house and get your adrenaline running. But if you’re like me –– Halloween usually is not so fun. I am someone who is terrified of scary movies and refuses to walk through haunted houses out of fear, making the holiday a little boring to celebrate.
This year I started to wonder why fear and fun are so closely intertwined in celebrating Halloween?
To counter the connection between fear and fun, I decided to come up with a list of spooky season fun, minus the frights! Here’s a series of events happening on and off campus to celebrate Halloween:
- Fall Foliage:
The first thing I thought of when thinking about fall in Boston was the changing leaves. Finally, as we enter mid-October, the leaves are starting to morph into beautiful red and orange hues.
From the Green Line, you can find various accessible hiking trails and other ways to enjoy the outdoor scenery. Halloween is the perfect time to see newly changing leaves. While planning a hike, I also found that Red Apple Farm continues seasonal picking — like apples and pumpkins! — and hosting events throughout the autumn season.
- Painting Pumpkins:
After hiking, you could always paint pumpkins with your friends.
Painting pumpkins is the perfect dorm activity, as it creates less mess than carving pumpkins but still is a great way to celebrate the season. Pumpkins can be found at the Star Market on Commonwealth Avenue, along with paints and paintbrushes right next door at the Dollar Tree.
While you paint, it’s fun to turn on your favorite Halloween movie. Personally, I would definitely play the 1993 film “Hocus Pocus.”
- Live Shows:
If you’re looking to see a show but fear the jump scares in scary movies there are numerous options within the city. On campus, “The Addams Family” is running weekends through Nov. 19 at the Wheelock Family Theatre at 180 Riverway. Boston This would be such a fun way to spend a Friday night, enjoying the spooky season without actually being spooked.
If you’re looking to see a show in the city, the AMC in Boston Common at175 Tremont St is hosting a live performance of the Rocky Horror Picture Show every Saturday (and occasionally Friday) night with special performances the weekend before and on Halloween. Be sure to order tickets well in advance, as this event seems to sell out very quickly!
- Zoo Lights:
And if you’re still looking to go to more Halloween festivities in the city, Franklin Park Zoo is hosting “Zoo Lights.” The zoo will be lit up through Oct. 29 showcasing a Lantern Experience, which includes dancing, lights and music.
College students can also receive a $7 discount on tickets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On the discounted night, the Zoo runs a nightly free shuttle from the Forest Hills T stop to the entrance of the Zoo.
- Salem:
No Halloween list would be complete without the mention of the City of Salem. Salem is filled with a notable history and hosts numerous Halloween activities to celebrate the spooky season without fear.
I recently visited Salem and walked through a lively decorated town with shopping and food catered to the Halloween season. If you visit Salem the weekend after Halloween, you can be sure to avoid most of the crowd of tourists.
This spooky season I’ve decided I do not want to miss out on any of the fun. I think fear and fun can be mutually exclusive so that Halloween can totally be celebrated without frights.
If you’re feeling scared during the spooky season just remember what Max said in “Hocus Pocus,” “It’s all just a bunch of Hocus Pocus!”
