Before too long, there will be chills. Questionable hair and makeup. Perhaps a witch. And when it’s all over, you might be terrified. Yep, it’s election season. But for now, let’s just focus on Halloween.
An electric chair, jail cells... and Ted Bundy’s car: not a bad way to spend Halloween. The National Museum of Crime and Punishment is turning the lights down and filling its halls with fog, fake blood and the ghosts of those who perished in the chair (okay, they’re actually actors). If you see John Walsh, he is not a ghost.
Time to dig out your spectacles and top hat, because the Woodrow Wilson House is throwing a 1920s-themed costume party to celebrate Wilson’s vetoing of the Volstead Act, which enforced Prohibition. (He was sadly overruled.) Think flapper dresses, ragtime and tours of Wilson’s illicit wine cellar. We think tippling was mentioned somewhere in the Fourteen Points.
Think of this as Cinco de Mayo with a few extra nurse costumes. The Passenger will be pouring an evil cocktail called El Zombie (mezcal and high-proof rum) out of a makeshift laboratory all night, while the kitchen roasts a pig for tacos and a mariachi band plays. Because nothing soothes the undead like mariachi music.
You’re holding a flashlight and wandering around the ruins of an allegedly haunted women’s institute. So far, a typical autumn evening. Only this time there’s a performance of Titus Andronicus, the Bard’s bloodiest play. You’ll move from room to room as the scenes progress, or until you see a ghost.
For this DIY-style excursion, you’ll want to gather a horror-movie-style posse and make your way through some woods off the highway. There, you’ll be on your own amidst Forest Haven, an utterly abandoned mental hospital—rundown buildings containing medical equipment, patient files and the occasional creepy noise. Wear a hockey mask for extra effect.
