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Halloween Happenings

by Sabrina Weiss

photography courtesy of Diego Pereira Cardoso

Students spend much of October stressing over studying for midterms, booking flights home for Thanksgiving and, of course, searching for the perfect Hallo-weekend costumes! Take a break from the autumnal stress by going to some of the fun Halloween events around Boston. Here are some spooky and entertaining options coming up!

Halloween Pet Parade

Starting at noon on October 27th, you can go to Faneuil Hall Marketplace to watch a herd of pets strut around in costumes! Pets of all kinds will be adorned in outfits and judged by a panel. Viewers without pets are also welcome to stop by and watch adorable animals parade and compete at the marketplace. Also, the location makes it a fun stop to see costumed pets, eat some food from Quincy Market and purchase any last elements of your own Halloween costume. This event only happens once a year so be sure to mark your calendar!

18th Annual Halloween Horror Marathon

The Coolidge Corner Theatre offers old, scary films most weekends as a part of their “Coolidge After Midnite” program, but their annual Halloween Horror Marathon is a special experience! Beginning October 27th at midnight, the theater will be playing 12 hours of horror movies on 35mm film. The event will begin with The War of the Worlds and then Alien. Afterwards, there will be 5 additional films shown, but these titles will not be disclosed until you are already at the charming movie theater. Just be sure to purchase the $25–30 tickets ahead of time!

Old Town Trolley’s Ghosts and Gravestones Tour

For the history buffs in the area, Old Town Trolley’s Ghosts and Gravestones Tour is a fun Halloween-inspired activity for you! The tours are offered every night and for $40 you can ride a trolley around Boston to enjoy the ghost stories and sightings around the city. In addition, the tour guide speculates over the scariest crimes of the city, including tales about the Boston Strangler, while stopping at each spooky spot. The trolley also stops at two different cemeteries to visit the graves of famous Boston historians like Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere. Take the trolley for a night of scares and fascinating Boston history!

Ghost Ship Harbor

The Ghost Ship Harbor is a haunted attraction on a paranormal ship! In fact, the Ghost Ship Harbor is the only haunted attraction on a navy ship on the East Coast and this ship, the USS Salem, has been featured on the television show Ghost Hunters. With tickets starting at $35, you get to try to survive the plague taking over the world with virtual reality, guides, and, if you’re really lucky, ghosts that haunt the USS Salem. The Ghost Ship Harbor is held October 12th–14th, 18th-21st, 25th–28th, 31st, and November 2nd and 3rd, so purchase your tickets now if you’d like to attend.

Activities like these make Halloween last more than just one evening! Be sure to take advantage of the various spooky events that Boston has to offer in the weeks leading up to October 31st!

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