Halloween is looming, and in this space for the next two weeks we'll be giving you a preview of some Halloween events, leading up to our big Halloween Events issue on the 28th. This week -- places to go if you want to be scared.
Jason's Woods (99 Stehman Road, Lancaster, Pa. www.jasonswoods.com) * This spot has nine different attractions. The most popular is probably their Horrifying Hayride, but this year you can also take a walking tour through Jason's Woods. It's $25 to get into five of the attractions, individual attraction prices range from $3-$15. If you don't want to wait in line, you can buy a $40 express ticket, which will get you into five attractions with no waiting.
Frightland (309 Port Penn Road, Middletown, www.frightland.com) * In addition to eight different scary attractions, Frightland has a whole carnival where the scaredy cats among us can wait, ride on the rides and gorge ourselves on funnel cake. Tickets range from $15 for unlimited amusement rides, to $20 for a selection of the scary attractions, to $30 for entrance into all haunted attractions and carnival rides. The no-line express pass is $50, and keep in mind that it's $4 parking per car.
Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride (1835 Middletown Road, Glen Mills, Pa., www.thebatesmotel. com) * There are only two attractions, but they've been rated as some of the scariest by USA Today and are only 25 minutes from Wilmington. Tickets for individual attractions are $12-$15, a combo pass is $30 and the no-waiting ticket is $60.
Eastern State Penitentiary (3900 West Girard Ave., Philadelphia, www.easternstate.org) * It's scary because it's an actual prison, where there may be real ghosts, if you believe in that sort of thing. Park in one of their lots for $10 and ride the Ghost Trolley, where there will be a storyteller to scare you on the ride to the pen. In addition to parking, tickets are $20-$30.
NEW YORK CITY
GEEK CHIC: It's hip to be square at this weekend's festival celebrating all things comic book and beyond, at the Big Apple Comic-Con in Manhattan. For the uninitiated, Comic-Con is where nerds (like us) come to congregate and pay homage to anything and everything having to do with comic books, from meet-and-greets with creators and characters, to autograph signings, memorabilia auctions and the buying and selling of back issues. This year's NYC guest list includes Bill Shatner, Willem Dafoe, Adam West and, for some reason, Yogi Berra. (Guess it's because baseball cards and comic books share a similar nerdship.) Tickets to the Friday-Saturday-Sunday event are $25 per day, or $45 for a weekend pass. Call 212-502-8728 or go online to www.wizardworld. com to get yours.
OVER THE BRIDGE: Head to Brooklyn's hipster hood this weekend in Williamsburg, where The Gaslight Anthem will be fusing punk and rock at the Brooklyn Bowl on Friday night. This is a sold-out show, as this band is gathering a lot of popularity of late, so hit up Craigslist or Stub Hub and search away.
BALTIMORE
BEER ME: Ask us what great mind in history we'd like to hang out with for a day, and our answer would certainly be Ben Franklin. The man was good with gadgets, was a social man-about-town, and loved his beer. (Even wrote the great quote, "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.) We'll drink to that this weekend in B-more, where the awesomely alcohol-fueled Baltimore Beer Week is taking place through Oct. 18. Beer specials will be on tap at the Wharf Rat and Clipper City, to name a few. Log on to www.baltimorebeerweek.com to check out the list of events for each day.
BOO BEER: Yes, more beer. But this time, with a creepy catch. Check out the Fells Point neighborhood in Baltimore with a Haunted Pubwalk about town. The group meets Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. outside Max's on Broadway and hits all the old port bars while telling spooky tales along the way. Tickets to the crawl are $20 per person and, naturally, this is a 21 and older event. Log on to www.fellspointghost.com to make your reservations and learn more about the tour.
PHILADELPHIA
POE ON PARADE: Surely anyone who made it through high school English class will remember the haunting tales of one of America's greatest poets, Edgar Allan Poe. Well, this month a group called Brat Productions is celebrating the wordsmith with Haunted Poe, a real life look at some of the more memorable and haunting chapters of Poe's works, including "The Raven," "The Tell-tale Heart," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and "The Pit and the Pendulum." The haunted house of sorts takes place in a riverfront warehouse on Jackson Street in South Philly all this month. Tickets are between $10 and $25 depending on the day you go. Get yours by calling 215-627-2577.
FALL FEST: Get outside and enjoy the foliage and crisp weather this Saturday at the Fall Festival courtesy of the Friends of Schuylkill River Park. There will be a ton of food and live music to occupy your time, along with raffle tickets and prizes. And the best part about it is that admission is free and they welcome any and all who are looking to enjoy the fall. The festival goes from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Entrance is right off of Spruce Street heading toward West Philly.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
IT'S 9:30 - DO YOU KNOW WHERE GOOD MUSIC IS? In honor of our favorite D.C. rock club, we're devoting this entire blurb of space here to the week of shows at the 9:30 Club. As usual, there's tons of goodness going on, beginning this Saturday with a double dip of wonderful tunes. To get things started, miss Colbie Caillat brings here pop guitar to the stage for a 5:30 p.m. show, during which she'll very likely play "Bubbly," "Realize," and "The Little Things," all of which cracked the Billboard Hot 100 in 2007, when her debut album, Coco, was released. Tickets are $35. Stick around or simply show up later for the 10 p.m. late show, featuring Built To Spill. Although the indie rock group from Boise has been around since the early '90s, we're just getting around to discovering them. Check out their seventh LP, just released on Oct. 9, called There Is No Enemy and decide for yourself. Tickets are just $25. Finally, if you've got any gas left in the tank, head down for a Monday night show featuring The Tragically Hip. They're performing two sets, and once again ticket prices are a mere $25. Go to www.930.com to reserve your passes.
