Spooky Halloween Day Trips In New Jersey, Connecticut, Westchester
Ahead of October 31, we've rounded up the biggest, baddest, most fun Halloween celebrations in the Tri-State area. Some are scary, some are family-friendly and all are designed to get you into the spirit of All Hallows' Eve. By Jessica Allen.
Brighton Asylum
2 Brighton Avenue
Passaic, NJ 07055
(201) 716-2827
brightonasylum.com
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According to legend, Brighton Asylum housed "mentally unstable and psychologically damaged individuals" way back in the 1940s. Today you can wander the Tunnel, dark, decrepit, and accessible via creaky, ancient elevators; visit what's left of the asylum, or try your luck in an interactive escape room. Each area is loaded with state-of-the-art animatronics, custom-made special effects, and sets that move as you do.
The Glow
Monmouth Park Racetrack
175 Oceanport Avenue
Oceanport, NJ 07757
(203) 308-5515
http://theglowjackolantern.com
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If you've ever wondered how many pumpkins a person could situate along a quarter-mile walk, or have admired the artistry behind jack-o'-lanterns, then The Glow is most definitely for you. Monmouth Park Racetrack gets transformed into a Halloween haven, filled with some 5,000 carved and illuminated pumpkins. One large section is dedicated to Jersey greats and famous faces, including Chris Christie and Bruce Springsteen. Elsewhere you can gaze up at 16-foot-tall dinosaurs and admire a glowing, gourd-based pirate ship. It's a self-described "pumpkin wonderland."
The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze
Van Cortlandt Manor
525 S Riverside Avenue
Croton-On-Hudson, NY 10520
(941) 271-4781
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One of the most popular -- and largest -- celebrations of Halloween in New York State, the annual Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze features more than 7,000 hand-carved, illuminated pumpkins, styled in various displays. Each year artists take over the storied Van Cortlandt Manor, a lovely, riverside 18th-century mansion, and re-imagine it as a nocturnal destination. Visitors can amble along the Pumpkin Promenade, hop aboard the Circus Train, cross the "Pumpkin Zee" bridge, mark the time on a "working doomsday grandfather clock," and pose for photos with the Headless Horseman.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Tours
540 North Broadway
Sleep Hollow, NY 10591
(914) 631-0081
http://bit.ly/2erRKsh
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Whatever else you might want to say about The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, it sure has staying power. The story by Washington Irving has inspired movies, television shows, and untold nightmares. You can visit Sleepy Hollow and its eponymous cemetery any time of year, but the area takes on a particular poignancy during Halloween. Heighten the eerie factor by reserving your spot for a nighttime tour by lantern, which visits the final resting places of a murder-suicide, the scene of a grave robbery, and the grave of an entrepreneur once known as the "wickedest woman in New York."
Trail of Terror
60 North Plains Highway
Wallingford, CT 06492
http://trailofterror.com
Wisely, the folks behind the Trail of Terror bar infants and very young kids from attending. Indeed, they urge parental discretion for any child, because this haunted attraction is—to put it mildly—pretty gosh darn horrifying. It's also commonly known as the best haunted house in all of Connecticut, and maybe even all of New England. You'll walk from scene to scene, from one disquieting ensemble to another, featuring some of the world's freakiest characters. Think blood, guts, gore, and more. There will be plenty of peering from between one's fingers, for sure.