After spending the first 10 months of 2009 being scared for real (crazy-ass Republicans, swine flu, the economy, South Carolina, Iran, Iraq, Fox News, Carrie Prejean, etc. ), it’s nice to take an evening to be scared just for fun.
It’s another fun-filled Halloween in Philly thanks to the holiday falling on a weekend this year. So here’s a rundown of all the sensational and spooky happenings around town. (Well, just the ones we wanted to include.)
If you’ve got little ones to consider, the UniverSoul Circus is ringing in Halloween under the big top with a trick or treat “Safe Zone,” instructors from the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts leading special craft-making sessions, a haunted house, costume parade, face painting and games for the whole family at noon and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at Mann Center for the Performing Arts, 5201 Parkside Ave. For more information, call (800) 745-3000.
Montgomery County Cultural Center presents a Halloween Haunted Theater Tour featuring a scary evening of ghosts, goblins, witches and black cats, through Oct. 31, 208 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call (610) 279-1013.
Stenton Mansion is going for the old-school creepy vibe with Ghost Tours, 1-4 p.m. Oct. 31, 4601 N. 18th St. James Logan died there in the 1700s and, it is said, his ghost just keeps coming back. For more information, call (215) 329-7312.
If you want to give the kids a more cultured experience, check out Halloween Haunts with the Philadelphia Orchestra as it performs ghostly classical melodies, 11:30 a.m. Oct. 31 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 240 S. Broad St. For more information, call (215) 790-5847.
Another spooky throwback is Haunted Poe, a Brat Productions theatrical haunted house experience with an immersive celebration of the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth, at Haunted Poe Warehouse, 38 Jackson St. For more information, call (800) 838-3006.
If you want to rock out on Halloween night, there are a number of concerts worth checking out. Philly-bred punk group The Dead Milkmen kick out the jams at 8 p.m. in the appropriately spooky confines of the Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; (215) 922-5483. Hide the candy as you go see Snoop Dogg with Method Man and Redman, 9 p.m. at the House of Blues, 801 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, N.J.; (609) 236-2583: There will probably be enough secondhand smoke in the venue to make you devour every bite-sized candy bar you can get your hands on after the show.
Of course there’s plenty of adult entertainment on Halloween as well.
The most over-the-top festivities will, as usual, be at the Henri David Halloween Ball, with its numerous prizes for best costumes, DJs and hundreds of partygoers ready to make a splash, 9 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Sheraton City Center Hotel, 17th and Race streets. For more information, call (215) 732-7711.
Not to be totally outdone, Burlesque Barbarians From Beyond Infinity is aimed squarely at Dungeons & Dragon/Conan the Barbarian fetishists with a night of naughty entertainment inspired by the fantasy art of Boris Vallejo and Philadelphia’s own Julie Bell and David Palumbo, at 8 p.m. at Walking Fish Theatre, 2509 Frankford Ave. For more information, call (215) 427-9255.
New Hope gets in on the action with Halloween in Emerald City, a costume party featuring prizes and DJ Michael Decero, at 7 p.m. at Harlans at The Nevermore, 6426 Lower York Road; (215) 862-5225.
It’s a crime if you can’t find a screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” anywhere, but if you absolutely have to do the time warp again, catch “The Rocky Horror Show” when it comes to life on stage, 7:30 and 11:30 p.m. at Barnstormers Theater, 402 Tome St., Ridley Park; www.ticketleap.com.
If you want to go all “Law & Order” or “Scooby Doo” for Halloween, check out the Halloween Murder Mystery Cruise and get your sleuth on, 7 p.m. aboard the Spirit of Philadelphia, Columbus Blvd. at Pier 3. For more information, call (866) 455-3866.
You have no excuse to sit home sulking and eating candy corn. Get out there!
Larry Nichols can be reached at [email protected] is a Ouija board isn’t handy..