Halloween is wonderful

It’s low key, no mad dash to buy gifts, decorate or not, buy candy for the kids who trick or treat, or keep your lights off…..It’s still a splendid time of year.  The spooky theme?  I love it.  The weather is great here and the leaves on the trees add a beautiful backdrop.  Many communities host festivals and ghostly tours and ours is no different.  Out of curiosity, I started looking at what spooky events were being hosted around the US and was shocked at what I found.

Year Round Entertainment

Not only is Fall a popular time for spooky stuff, but there are many businesses who offer ghost and paranormal tours and events year round.  Quite a few entrepreneurs have carved a space into this niche in the travel industry.  The popularity of this genre has been propelled by the Travel Channels “Ghost Adventures” and SCFY’s “Haunted Highway”, among others.

Author Tobias McGriff does after-life research and is considered an expert on paranormal phenomena.  He shares that paranormal tourism thrives in educated, literate, high tech societies; these people are looking for more, something more spiritual.  These tours offer them a ‘fix.’

Travel Industry Niche

Looking for a cool other worldly experience this Halloween?  Below are some sites that look like they’d be spooky and spectacular at the same time.

Savannah, Ga

This is one of my favorite cities to visit. It was a great place to tour as a young single, to walk the historic boulevards and squares with my children, and to explore day and night as an adult.  A good bit of the historic downtown area claims to be haunted and only the most fearless among us (clothed in garlic and crosses) would dare to object.  Savannah’s ‘Blue Orb Tours’ owned by  Tobias McGriff has a magnificently weird web site that’s well worth a visit all by itself.  For a Halloween treat this year,  Savannah, America’s most haunted city, will definitely have its ‘spook’ on.  Watch for shadows.

Estes Park, Colorado

It’s not mere shadows but ghosts who lurk in Estes Park, Colorado.  Estes Park is home to the stately Stanley Hotel, also know as  The Shining.  Stephen King stayed in room 217 and wrote the book afterwords.  “Ghost Hunters”, the Scyfy network TV show, has filmed there.   Thousands visit yearly for an other worldly experience at the hotel known as the most ghost ridden building in the country.  What a cool place to be on the Ghostly night of Halloween.

Alcatraz

Apparently it is possible to have ghosts even without a grave site.  Alcatraz, judging strictly by the pictures, has to be the most forbidding and isolated of spook tours.  Run by the US Park Service, there are no ghost tours, but thrill seekers flock to the island for the guided night tours. With the tour size limited by the size of the ferry, the isolation and foreboding of the place are compounded in the eery hours after the sun goes down.   There are reports of unexplained crying and moaning coming from the walls and certain cell blocks.  Now really, can you imagine going inside this stark structure in the dark?  In a thunderstorm? Guide or no guide?  On Halloween?  Shudderrrr.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

My family toured this most hallowed of American battle grounds on a beautiful August afternoon.  Even then, with bright sunshine and a lovely blue sky over head, one could feel the ghosts lurking in this revered burial ground.

The place is a natural for those seeking spirits left behind and sure enough Gettysburg has an International Museum of Spiritual Investigations and many bed and breakfasts that boast all kinds of ghostly tenants.  Though there are tours and events all year round in Gettysburg, they go all out in October leading up to Halloween.

Ooooh, sounds spooky to me.

Reader Questions:

So, what do you think?  Ready to go ghost hunting?  Ready to be spooked and reach out for the not quite normal?  Do you and the kids trick or treat? Do you still decorate your home if your kids are grown?

Tags: ghost tours, halloween, paranormal experiences, spooky tours, where to go halloween night

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 25th, 2012 at 6:30 am and is filed under Quality of Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.