Halloween in Salem

At the beginning of October, we posted about Salem. Well, the weekend we've all been waiting for is finally here! Hope you have your pumpkins carved and sitting on your doorstep. Take a trip over to the most haunted city in Massachusetts for a weekend full of tricks and treats. Salem will be the place to be, especially if you just want to go check out some of the crazy, scary, sexy, and wild costumes. What are you being for Halloween? Leave us a comment and let us know!

As we said in our last post, the Terror Trail and the Witch Trial Trail are running regularly along with several other walking tours around the spooky city. Haunted Happenings has all the details you need for this weekend. Halloween will culminate with fireworks on Halloween night at 10pm over the North River.

Happy Halloween from Basically Boston!

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Spookyworld/Nightmare New England

Halloween is only 6 days away! This week head to America's Horror Scream Park- Spookyworld Nightmare New England at Mel's Funway Park in Litchfield, New Hampshire. This terrifying theme park will be open this Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and on Sunday for Halloween. Don't miss out on seven acclaimed haunted attractions all at one location!

The attractions are: The Catacombs, The Colony, Torment, Raven's Claw, House of Eternal Darkness, Freak Show 3-D, and Sleep Stalkers. Food and Beverages are available at stands throughout the park. But beware of the freakish characters roaming around.

Waiting in lines to enter the Haunted Houses can be very long, but Spookyworld has a team of frightening characters that provide entertainment while you wait. While in line, these characters walk up to people and directly interact with the audience. Although none of the actors are allowed to touch you, they can get very close to your face, come up behind you, and even start calling you by name (if they hear whoever your with state your name). Their main goal is to scare people and keep the crowd involved. If you're lucky, you may even be able convince one of them to pose for a picture with you. As displayed on the left, I took a picture with a creepy clown with sharpened teeth! Glow stick necklaces were thrown out into the crowd, along with black and orange beach balls for game of volleyball which gets started up throughout the people in the packed lines. A man will come by and make announcements from time to time offering people to upgrade their ticket to the VIP package, which includes a significantly shorter wait period to get in the attractions.

Hiking in the White Mountains

Hiking during foliage is awesome.

While hiking right now, you´ll see the last leaves amazingly colored on the trees. Passing lakes, streams and the wilderness offers great views of landscape.

For a short day hike to a shelter or a hut, I recommend hiking on the Wild River Trail to the Perkins Notch Shelter. The trail is really diversified including the difficulty level. If it has rained, it can get muddy and the streams are hard to cross but if the weather is nice, this trail is amazing. Next to the shelter is a pond where you can get your water and you can even have a campfire. This campfire helps you to stay warm if you face freezing temperatures at night. Therefore make sure you have good equipment.


So, think of spending one unforgettable weekend in the White Mountains to relax and enjoy the beautiful nature of New England.

Save money while shopping at Wrentham, MA

Do you also need trendy winter clothes but don´t want to spend a lot of money on it?

Then, Wrentham Village Premium Outlets is perfect for you. You´ll find all your favorite brands in one of the 170 outlet stores.

Furthermore, find impressive savings at nearly all the stores. Just grab one of the brochures lying around and find discounts up to 20%.

Besides, there are in-store promotions including savings over 50% this October.

Do you still wanna save more? Check also out Ready, Set, Save.

Fright Kingdom

This October, visit a place that's been voted One of America's Best Haunted Attractions! Fright Kingdom is located in Nashua, NH at 12 Simon St. It's only 50 ft off the highway and provides patrons with FREE PARKING! Fright Kingdom features 3 terrifying attractions: Bloodmare Manor, Vampire Castle, and Psycho Circus 3-D. All attractions are indoors, including the waiting area. Therefore, this can still be a fun outing even if it rains!

Children are welcome at the discretion of their parents or guardians*. Ticket prices for adult admission are: $17.00, and junior admission tickets are: $13.00 (for ages 12 & under). There is also a VIP Admission option available which costs $25.00 and includes: no wait, front of the line access to the 3 haunted attractions and a personalized death certificate. If you plan on going with a group of 12 or more, Fright Kingdom offers a group rate discount of $4.00 per ticket; making the group admission tickets $13.00 each. Make sure to text 'FRIGHT' to 41411 to receive a $2.00 off admission coupon. You can also visit their website to print this coupon.

*Fright Kingdom does offer a Hardly Haunted attraction on Sunday, October 24th from 1:00-4:00PM. The admission for this event is $7.00. This is ideal if you would like to treat your children or younger siblings to a less spooky daytime experience.

Please visit Fright Kingdom's 2010 Operating Schedule for dates and hours of operation. You're in for a scare!

Image via here

Salem, MA in October

October is the most exciting time of the year for Salem, MA. World famous and full of history, the town tells the tales of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Visit the Salem Witch Museum for the complete story of the nineteen hangings, one man who was crushed to death, seven who died in prison, and countless accusations. The Salem, MA calendar of events is loaded for the month of October, peaking on the 31st with Halloween. Here are some featured events but check out the calendar for all the happenings in Salem!

Witch Trial Trail - A 1 hour candlelit walk departing at 7pm Tuesday through Sunday until October 31st. $12 for adults, no reservations required. Experience the sites of the Salem Witch Trials first hand and hear the stories from Jim McAllister, a well known local historian.

Terror Trail - A 1 hour and 20 minute candlelit walk every night from October 2nd until October 31st. Your tour guide will bring you throughout the roads of Salem, sharing the bizarre witchcraft stories, stories behind murders, and all you need to know about Salem ghosts and hauntings. Reservations required, $12 per person, Book your tour today, the dates are filling up fast!

Salem Chamber Haunted BizBaz Street Fair - A two-day event in Salem this Saturday & Sunday (9th & 10th). There will be over 100 vendors, live music and entertainment, and lots of food!

The Annual Psychic Fair and Witchcraft Expo - Every day in October, from 10AM until 10PM. The most gifted psychics of Salem offer everything from tarot card readings to crystal ball readings, if you've ever wanted to try visiting a psychic, there couldn't be a better time or place than in Salem in October!

So, there are these events and many more ongoing throughout the month of October to keep you busy while you wait until the 31st! The countdown to Halloween is on! Do you have your costume yet?

images via here and here

Topsfield Fair photo

Giant Pumpkin Contest Winner

Grown by: Steve Connolly of Sharon, MA

This pumpkin weighed in at: 1,674 pounds!

Enjoy the last warm days

Sometimes, work is overwhelming and you are longing for a short trip outside the intense city life. As long as it is still warm, Cape Cod offers a great place to flee from work and stress.

Do you like boat tours? Then take the fast ferry leaving from the Aquarium and head to Provincetown in 90 minutes. Lean back and enjoy the great view of Boston´s skyline. Don´t forget your $10 discount as a student.

Provincetown is a very nice and idyllic harbor town. In summer, it is packed but from September on, it is a great place to relax and enjoy the beautiful landscape.

First, you should go to the Pilgrim Monument to get an overview and enjoy an amazing view of the town and all the surrounding beaches.

If you look for some sports activities, you may explore the beaches and sand dunes by a rented bike.

Lots of bars and restaurants are located on the commercial street. If you stay over night in a bed and breakfast place, go to one of the very diverse bars and enjoy the lively atmosphere.

Have you ever eaten lobster before? If not, you can try it here. Near by the sea, you´ll find lots of sea food restaurants.

An amazing restaurant - also for vegans and vegetarians - is the South African restaurant Karookafe. Here, you´ll get great and fairly priced food and beer in a South African atmosphere.

So, until the middle of October the ferries are still running. Take a day off and enjoy the last warm and sunny weekends until fall finally arrives.

Tell us about your experience there!

October Shows

The month of October is one of my personal favorites. It's probably due to my obsession with apple cider, Halloween, and football season being in mid swing. However, it's also the time for midterms and realizing how much work you still have to do before Christmas break. No worries though. Put down the books and take a night out on the town to see two (very different) concerts that are coming to Boston and are sure to be awesome.




Grab your hipster friends, put on your skinny jeans and come see France's finest import, since..Well in a long while. Phoenix will be performing at Boston University's Agganis Arena on Monday, October 18th. Show starts at 7:30







For those who prefer hip-hop, R&B and ex-Degrassi stars, do not miss JAMN 94.5's Monster Jam on Monday, October 25th. JAMN is putting on an all star set at the TD Garden with everyone from Drake to B.o.B. The show starts at 7 and will surely go on all night. Don't be suprised if special guests appear!