Welcome to the third annual Halloween edition of GO. Since 2010, we have tried to provide the most comprehensive and entertaining Halloween event planner for our readers, and I hope you agree that the GO staff really hit the pumpkin out of the patch this time.

Inside these pages, you will get the skinny on haunted attractions and cemetery tours, horror films and ghost stories, parties that are family-friendly, parties for adults only, zombie pub crawls, dinners with psychics and much more. You’ll even learn how to make your own Halloween-themed specialty cocktails.

One thing Maine doesn’t have is a spooky experience combined with an amusement park. Lucky for us, there’s just such a place across state lines in Salem, N.H., where Canobie Lake Park is hosting its annual Screeemfest.

I took my family to Canobie last weekend, and it’s got enough to make people of all ages happy. There are five haunted attractions, including a fog-filled cornfield maze (where more than corn is reaped), a slaughterhouse (mystery meat!), a “fun house” (coulrophobia sufferers beware) and a lake populated by cannibals (Jason Voorhees, eat your heart out — literally). Various ghouls, goblins and people in various states of dismemberment wander the park to harass people waiting in line.

For tamer fare, you can ride most of the park’s attractions before and after dark, munch on international cuisine at the Oktoberfest area or take in a stage show, including a Madonna impersonator and a KISS tribute band consisting of little people. (If you go, take time to see Mini KISS. Trust me on this.)

Two words of advice: Allow for plenty of time to experience the haunted attractions, because the lines can get LONG — like, an hour’s wait or so. And if you’re averse to strobe lights or prone to claustrophobia, you’re probably better off avoiding the indoor haunted houses altogether.

Advertisement

Screeemfest continues 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday, with the outdoor haunted areas opening at 6:30 each night. Admission is $28.99 to $32.99 ($17.99 for children under 4 feet tall and seniors ages 61 and older). Children ages 3 and under get in free. Go to canobie.com for more info.

DON’T FORGET to send in your Halloween photos to enter the GO Halloween Costume Contest and become eligible for four free tickets to a Portland Pirates hockey game.

To enter, email a photo to features@pressherald.com by noon Nov. 1 and include the following:

Your name and town of residence.

Your phone number. (This will NOT be posted online.)

The name of the person or pet in the photo.

Advertisement

The age of the person in the photo if under age 18.

Name of a parent or legal guardian if the person in the photo is under age 18.

Entries will be posted online at www.pressherald.com/life/go. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Nov. 2.

Deputy Managing Editor Rod Harmon may be contacted at 791-6450 or at:

rharmon@pressherald.com

Twitter: RHarmonPPH

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: