Halloween Happenings

  • Visit North Central

Halloween may conjure up visions of supernatural things that go bump in the night — but for most who celebrate the holiday, thoughts are more likely to turn to cartoon characters or light-hearted ghosts and goblins.

And those creepies, creatures and just plain cuties will be out in force throughout Johnny Appleseed Country in mid- to late October.

Want to join in the fun? Here’s a sampling of frightful festivities the whole family can enjoy.

Nothing says Halloween like a gaggle of scarecrows filling a field! Try your hand at crafting your own stuffed creature… at the Harvest Festival at Sholan Farms in Leominster or the Phillipston Fall Fair & Pumpkin Weigh-in, both on October 10-11, or the Pumpkin Festival on October 29 on Templeton Common.

Halloween HappeningsFor more spooky fun, you can carve a pumpkin — which will be lit up for all to see — at the Templeton festival, too.

Want to see what’s “hot” in costumes this year? The frightful, and not so frightful, will be filling the streets in Leominster on October 22 or Fitchburg on October 29 for the Halloween Parades.   Become your favorite character, hide behind a horrible mask,  become a kid again in this afternoon event that celebrates the spooky season.

Halloween HappeningsGardner’s Falloween Stroll on Friday, October 28, is a family-friendly event, with downtown businesses inviting pre-schoolers to “trick or treat.”  The season isn’t too scary for the younger set, either, at Davis Farmland in Sterling, where MooMoo holds the farm’s “Fright Free” Halloween Party weekends.

Get Courageous

Feeling a little brave? Swing by the Shirley Town Common on October 29 for the an-nual Ghost Walk and Halloween party.  Brace yourself, as you’re led by lantern light on a narrated walk, complete with local folk lore and ghost stories.

Try a visit to the Haunted Gazebo on Templeton Common on October 31. You never know what you might find — or what might find you — inside! Each year, the Templeton Lions Club transforms the town bandstand, and welcomes families
for an evening of trick or treating fun.

Or head out to Athol, where, for years, the Lions Club has been carting stalwart folks around Silver Lake on a Haunted Hayride that’s always full of fright-filled surprises!  The mid-October rides begin at dusk, and run until about 11 pm — just in time for you to head home for a good night’s sleep. Or not.

Not scary enough for you? How about experiencing “Fright Night” at Davis MegaMaze in Sterling? A mild-mannered, if confounding, cornfield by day, the Maze takes on a new life when the sun goes down. Be prepared — this one is not for the faint of heart. Bring a flashlight — and a friend. And be prepared to be afraid.