All Hallows’ Eve is around the corner!
It’s safe to say that the spookiest day of the year will be a tad bit stranger than usual this 2020. But there are still plenty of stay-at-home and socially-distant activities to take part in this Halloween that will totally lift your spirits!
That’s why we’ve come up with 14 spooktacular ways you can still, safely, celebrate Halloween in Washington DC this year. Check them out!
1. Howl at the Moon
While plans on the ground have taken a scary turn and most major Halloween events have been canceled, nature will be stepping in to put on a spooky show of its own. If you’ve ever wondered how the saying “once in a blue moon” came about, it was coined from the unique celestial phenomenon where we get two full moons in one calendar month or the third of four full moons in a season. The second full moon in a month (or third of the season) is called a Blue Moon. This happens every two to three years and the next one is happening on October 31, 2020.
2.Dine with Dracula
Where: Your home
When: Friday, October 9
One hundred years after Dracula’s demise, the descendants of his destroyers reunite to commemorate the event. But plans change when one of the partygoers exhibits signs of turning into a vampire! Who is transitioning from life to undeath, and which room of the castle holds the solution? During this Virtual Murder Mystery Clue Chase, a dinner party that takes place in real-time, you’ll play a character and work together with your fellow dinner guests to find the vampire and either help them regain humanity or seal their fate… all before dessert!
Tickets: $25, grab them here!
3. Freak your friend out
Where: Your home
When: Anytime
Scare Your Friend is a bundling of two of Psycho Clan’s wildly popular blindfolded haunted houses – The Empty Place and A Dark House. Now, they are available to the public as audio downloads that come with digital how-to manuals that guide you in staging these unique horror experiences safely in the privacy of your own home! Your personal surroundings and your own imagination will bring the whole experience alive. Both shows can be done at home and should be done either with one other person or with small groups of people who you live with or with whom you have formed social cohorts. You can share the download up to 20 times! If you are tired of participating virtual experiences on a screen, this is safe…but will raise the hair on the back of the neck. This is a Halloween treat (or beyond) that gets you up and on your feet!
Tickets: $15, grab them here!
4. Pick out the perfect pumpkin
Changing leaves aside, is there something more autumnal than pumpkins? Probably not. Pumpkins are the predilect fruit of Fall (apart from apples), they’re in our lattes, our pies, cookies and even donuts sometimes. Nor is there something quite like a perfectly carved jack-o-lantern to get you into the mood for the spooky season. The versatile orange fruit is a total staple of Fall.
5. Roam the streets of Jack the Ripper’s London
Where: Your home
When: Every Saturday through November 28 at 2 p.m.
Hit the streets of East End London without leaving your couch! This interactive Jack the Ripper walking tour will take you back to the dark and mysterious world of 1888 Victorian London as you try to suss out suspects and solve some murders. You will virtually “meet” your live tour guide in the impoverished neighborhood of Whitechapel, where you will be assigned a suspect card with which you can investigate the alleged perpetrators. Learn more about Jack the Ripper, his victims, and the suspects on this virtual tour—it’s a must for all murder mystery fans!
Tickets: $6, grab them here!
6. Admire the changing leaves
With fall foliage in the DMV to reach its peak in the coming weeks, DC’s trees will soon burst into spectacular hues of gold and auburn and you know what that means–It’s time for some leaf-peeping!
7. Break out the popcorn for a terrifyingly fun movie night
Get the popcorn ready, brew up your favorite potion and settle in because…”It’s showtime!” We’ve found tons of terrifyingly fun movies and series on Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime and Disney + that will totally get you into the spooky spirit of the season. Plus Freeform’s bringing back its 31 Nights of Halloween for a thrilling month-long marathon of Halloween classics!
8. Bring your painting skills to life!
Where: Your home.
When: Saturday, October 31.
This 1.5-hour course is led by an expert artist to guide you through the creation of a spooky painting inspired by Halloween. Release your creativity while painting along. No experience needed. List of recommended supplies: a canvas or canvas board, a big brush, a skinny brush, a water cup, paper towel, a plate, a pencil and an eraser, paint (blue, yellow, red, black, and white), and an apron or painting clothes.
Tickets: $45, grab them here!
9. Head outdoors for a haunted hike
Buried deep within Patapsco Valley State Park, along the Buzzard Rock trail, lie the ruins of an abandoned gazebo popularly known as ‘Hell House.’ The ruins are actually the remnants of a church belonging to the old St. Mary’s College–also in ruins–an old seminary school, and have inspired many a ghost story and legends involving Satanic rituals and ghosts. Yikes!
10. Check out what’s strange in the neighborhood
Washington DC is known as the birthplace of the U.S. worldwide. But with history comes mystery and strange happenings and so our beautiful city is said to be plagued with ghouls and ghosts of times past. Some evidently spooky, others not so much, we’ve found ten of the most haunted spots in DC–a city which is said to be rife with paranormal activity. Check these out to get in the mood for this spooky season, if you dare!
11. Discover London’s most gruesome secrets
Where: Your home.
When: Every Saturday through November 28.
Go on a delightfully horrible adventure and learn about London’s love affair with the macabre! From the plague pits of Green Park to the Tower of London—the most haunted building in the UK—walk through a myriad of gruesome locations without leaving your couch. Learn about the Penny Dreadfuls of the Victorian era, and try to get the highest score in a fun quiz on their titles. Your live guide will talk you through London’s horrible past and tell you the ghost stories that have captured people’s imaginations for over 100 years!
Tickets: $6, grab them here!
12. Try your hand at pumpkin chucking
Roaming through a pumpkin patch to find the perfect gourd sure is fun, but have you ever considered trying pumpkin chucking with a cannon? Well, let us introduce you to Hormone Blaster, Rock Hill Orchard’s award-winning “Punkin Chunkin” machine! This pumpkin-throwing cannon uses compressed air to chuck pumpkins into a nearing field where the farm’s cows will usually hang out looking for a pumpkin snack or two.
13. Spend the night at a haunted farm in Gettysburg
Located in Gettysburg just a short trip away from DC, The David Stewart Farm has seen many a guest come and go throughout the centuries, but it would seem like some of them never made it out. Rest easy though, none of those are recent guests and most have been lodging at the house for several hundred years, so you know you’ll be making it out of the farm exactly the same person as you entered it–or will you?
14. Revive the spirit of Halloween with the Mad Hatter and his friends
Where: The secret location is yet to be unveiled!
When: Starting December 17
Dust off your Halloween costume and revive the spirit of Halloween later this year when The Mad Hatter arrives in DC with his infamous gin and tea parties! In this immersive, theatrical cocktail experience you’ll enjoy a menu of delicious concoctions in the most psychedelic of settings. Costumes are welcome, but if you don’t have time to put your outfit back together don’t worry— the Hatter will be lending out some of his craziest hat creations! Want a seat at the tea party table?
Tickets: $60-65, grab them here!
See also: This Awesome Map Shows When Fall Foliage Will Hit Its Peak Around DC
[Featured image: Unsplash]