The Spooky Time of the Year

Pumpkins and cornstalks. Hayrides and haunted houses. Apple cider and doughnuts. Bobbing for apples and Halloween costumes. Ghouls and goblins, oh my!

So what's your Halloween costume this year? Is it a corny Crayola Crayon? A Barrack Obama mask? Or maybe you've chosen to be a sexy witch or handsome vampire (that gives me the chills).

With Halloween on a Saturday, you could wear that costume all day long. You could become that character. How would you like to be Richard Nixon for a day? Or Elmira?

My personal favorite--Spider Queen with a big fat spider clinging to my forehead and black spider webs dripping from my outstretched arms--always gets the kids' attention when I hand out candy. Trick or treating at my house means getting close to the Spider Queen. I might wear that to the grocery on Saturday and see how it feels to be the Spider Queen.

It's time for some serious planning. What are you going to do during the day? What about after the trick or treating is done when the night's still young and you've had a cup of warm cider spiked with rum?

You can carve a pumpkin or two and eat some candy (but only the chocolate). Or you can get out and party. The possibilities range from daytime festivals to nighttime parties. Things could get a little wild that night.

For daytime fun, check out Pirates of the Apple Orchard at Mapleside Farms on Route 42/Pearl Road just south of Strongsville. The corn maze is a scavenger hunt for pirate swords, eye patches (http://www.mapleside.com). Enjoy an old fashioned hayride at Rockin' R. Ranch on Route 252/Columbia Road in Columbia Station, where a fun house, pumpkin patch, pony rides, and haunted house are also available until 11:30 (http://spookyranch.com/). Rocky River Reservation of the Metroparks will rev up the kids with scavenger hunts, storytelling, and live animals from 1-4 (http://www.clemetparks.com). Don't miss your local farmer's markets and greenhouse events, like the Halloween activities at Dean's Greenhouse in Westlake which offers a playland and hayrides and many-colored mums and pumpkins to brighten front porches.

I have never been to the Haunted Houses at the Berea Fairgrounds, but check out the website for 7 Floors of Hell at Berea Fairgrounds (http://www.7floorsofhell.com) and you'll want to their “7 All New Houses Like None Other” and get scared between 7 pm and midnight--if you don't go, at least check out their really cool website. Another notable haunted house can be found in Sheffield Village where the Haunted Forest of Carousel has taken over the old Carousel Dinner Theater space (not recommended for children under ten), open until Midnight.

If you visit the Broadview Haunted House at 1010 Towpath Trail in Broadview Heights, all proceeds will go to charity. Support the community while having fun at a Halloween charity auction sponsored by Partners in Prevention of Brunswick and the Angel House of Strongville to benefit the sponsoring organizations and the Zentner Family which requires help with medical bills; the event takes place at the Strongsville Holiday Inn, starting at 6:30.

Parties will be held at MANY local drinking establishments. For a casual and laid back evening, get yourself to The Tremont Tap House for a bring-your-own Jack-o-Lantern contest and costume contest on their patio. The BarRoom downtown is giving away cash prizes and tickets to Browns and Cavs games on Saturday night. The Phantasy Concert Club is trying to bring people in with promises of a $500 prize to the person with the best costume at Sister Morphine's Halloween Party. Admission is free at the Grog Shop if you show up in costume and are prepared for a haunted house and psychic readings--the party starts at 10.

Check the websites of some of your favorite websites to find out what's going on this weekend. Many parties are happening on Friday night as well to avoid the trick-or-treating dilemma.

Or maybe the best thing to do would be to get on your computer and send an invitation to all your friends to come over to your house on Saturday night. You provide the spooky movie and spiked cider and they can bring the snacks. Costumes are mandatory.

Photo of pumpkins at Holden Arboretum by Thomas Mulready

From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia Taller, whose passion for words has led to creation of the Lakeside Word Lover’s Retreats, an outgrowth of her work with Skyline Writers. Her favorite foods are red wine, salmon, ice cream, and chocolate. She loves to read, write, tour wineries, ride her bike, ease into yoga, and cook gourmet meals for friends. Find her at http://www.claudiatallermusings.blogspot.com.