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October 29, 2009
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A ghoulish good time Halloween for everybody There’s more to Halloween than trick or treat or parties at your local watering hole. If you’re looking for a different way to celebrate this spooky season, here are a few events in the area that offer fun for all ages. For the kids • Make Halloween Pinwheels (ages 6 to 10) at the Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St., www.tinyurl.com/nplkid, on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. Open to cardholders only. • The Hollis Social Library, 2 Monument Square in Hollis, 465-7721, www.hollis.nh.us, will throw a costume tea party for ages 2 to 5 on Friday, Oct. 30, at 11 a.m. Wear costumes and have tea and cookies. • The Nashua Parks & Recreation Dept. will hold its Annual Halloween Fright Night on Friday, Oct. 30, 6 to 8 p.m. at Greeley Park. There will be haunted hayrides, scary walk-through mazes, inflatibles and games for all participants. This is a free event for Nashua area residents, recommended for ages 5 to 12. • The Halloween Howl middle school dance at the Concord YMCA is for sixth- through eighth-graders only on Friday, Oct. 30, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Admission is free with food bank donation. There will be prizes for best dressed. Students are required to have parent’s permission to attend by signing them in or with a written note. • The Lowell Memorial Auditorium, 50 E. Merrimack St. in Lowell, Mass., 978-937-8688, www.lowellauditorium.com, will hold a Pumpkin Party on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 10 a.m. See pumpkins decorated at Disney Live! characters. • Southern New Hampshire University, 2500 N. River Road in Manchester, 645-9635, snhu.edu, will hold the first ever SNHU Pumpkin Festival on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 1 to 7 p.m. The festival will feature pumpkin-carving, music, face-painting, coloring contests for kids, and many other attractions for all ages. This event is open to the public. Pumpkins will be available at the event; visitors can bring their own to display. For additional event information please visit http://www.campsunshine.org/pumpkinfestival. • West Manchester Community Library, 76 N. Main St., will hold a Halloween Party on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m. The event will include Halloween treats, activities and cupcake decorating. Kids are encouraged to wear their costumes. Registration is required; call 624-6560. • The Haunted Hollow will run on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 6 to 8 p.m., on the Piscataquog River Trail between South Main and Douglas streets in Manchester. The trail will feature volunteers dressed as ghosts and goblins handing out candy to kids in costume. A free shuttle service will take guests from the end of the trail back to South Main Street. For more information, contact Phil Greazzo at 669-0494 or philgreazzo@yahoo.com. For all ages • The Halloween Howl in downtown Concord will run from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30. This free event will feature live music in Bicentennial Square starting at 5 p.m., free crafting led by the Concord Arts Market (which will dress up Eagle Square on Saturday for the Day of the Dead), trick-or-treating from store to store from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., horse-drawn wagon rides at the corner of Capitol and North Main streets ($2 per person), star gazing on the Statehouse lawn, a costume parade led by WJYY’s Nazzy starting at 6 p.m., a dance for middle schoolers at the Concord YMCA and Halloween movies at Red River Theatres (see www.redrivertheatres.org for admission prices) and more. See www.mainstreetconcord.com. North Main Street from Centre Street to Pleasant Street will be closed to vehicles from 4 to 8 p.m. • The NH Chapter of the American Guild of Organists presents a family-friendly concert of seasonal music for the pipe organ, Pipescreams Spooktacular, on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. at South Congregational Church, 27 Pleasant St. in Concord. Several Guild members along with other guest artists will play, sing and dance at music, both popular and classical. Free admission but donations accepted. Call 424-4743. • D Acres of NH, 218 Streeter Woods Road, Dorchester, NH (786-2366, dacres.org), will hold at Halloween Bash on Friday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m. The Crunchy Western Boys will play, and open-mike participants will be given stage time during CWB intermission. Bring any instrument, poem or story to share; schedule your time slot when you arrive, or call ahead. Costumes are highly recommended for having a good Halloween time. Potluck drinks and snacks are welcome. • The Amoskeag Fishways, 6 Fletcher St. in Manchester, www.amoskeagfishways.org, 626-3474, will hold a program all about pumpkins on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. Participants will taste a traditional pumpkin recipe, learn why squash was a favorite food for Native Americans and carve a jack-o-lantern. Cost is $5 per family. Advance registration with payment required. • It’s Woofstock, a Halloween party for pets to raise money for the Greater Derry Humane Society and Feline Friends, on Saturday, Oct. 31, from noon to 4 p.m. The event will feature pet portraits ($5 per photo), pet psychic readings ($5), costume contests for pets and kids (cost is $5; event begins at 3 p.m.), trick-or-treat for candy and dog bones, raffles and more. Woofstock will take place at Derry Meadows Shoppes, 35 Manchester Road in Derry. See www.derrymeadowsshoppes.com. • Double Midnight Comics, 245 Maple St. in Manchester, 669-9636, www.dmcomics.com, will hold Double Midnight Tricks and Treats Day on Saturday, Oct. 31. The day will feature tournaments and a sneak peek of the new Yu-Gi-Oh: Stardust Overdrive. From 1 to 4 p.m., there will be a trick or treat for kids in costume, who will receive free comics and candy. Adults who come in costume will be entered into a contest for gift certificates, limited-edition comics and more. • It’s a Halloween Costume Contest on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Chris’s Cards & Comics, 919 Lafayette Road in Seabrook (474-2283) or 341 S. Broadway, Route 28, in Salem (898-4151), chriscardscomics.com. Winners get gift certificates to the store and everyone in costume receives 20 percent off their purchase. • As always (for 15 years now), the Portsmouth Halloween Parade takes place Oct. 31, rain or shine. Muster at the South Mill Pond across from City Hall at 6 p.m.; parading starts at 7 p.m. Learn all about it at Spookyportsmouth.com, which says it best: “Hundreds march in costume, thousands cheer from the sidelines. ... Open flames are forbidden (pitchforks are OK). Don’t throw rocks. Or candy.” This is a true community event, paid for (insurance, permits, etc.) by various community fundraisers, and “EVERYONE is invited!” No motorized vehicles are allowed, nor corporate logos or banners, and parade-goers are asked to leave their political or commercial agendas at home. As for costumes, “As you consider your wardrobe, remember that there will be young folk, old folk, freaks and, well, police officers all walking with you.” The parade is generally PG, and parents should think carefully about bringing children (see the Note to Parents on the Web site). After the parade, you might want to rock out with Humpmuscle at 9 p.m. at Coat of Arms, 174 Fleet St. (donations encouraged) or groove to the “funkiest superhits” with the “costumed throng” at the Jumbo Circus Peanuts Halloween Bash at 8 p.m. at Portsmouth VFW, 238 Deer St., $5, with “funkiest superhits” for $10 — “Sorry, no live snakes.” The Seacoast Family Food Pantry will accept donations as of 6 p.m. at the South Mill Pond, and have a donation box on Daniel Street, so bring non-perishable food for trick-or-treat in reverse. Nature • See the strange side of nature at the Weird and Wonderful Wildlife live animal presentations on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 11 a.m. at Massabesic Audubon Center, 26 Audubon Way in Auburn. Admission fees go toward animal care. Cost is $5 per person ($3 for Audubon members), $15 per family ($10 per Audubon member family). • The Massabesic Audubon Center (26 Audubon Way, Auburn) presents The Ups and Downs of New Hampshire’s Bats, a program about the state’s bats and the latest research about white nose syndrome (WNS), the most recent threat to the bat population, on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 3 to 4 p.m. and Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 10 to 11 a.m. New Hampshire is home to eight species of bats, six of which are species “of conservation concern.” This program has been prepared in cooperation with NH Fish & Game. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to NH Fish & Game for white nose research. Pre-registration is required. Call 668-2045. Cost: $6 NH Audubon members, $9 non-members. • Hike by the light of the full moon on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. at Peabody Mill Environmental Center, 66 Brook Road in Amherst, 673-1141, www.pmec.org. The cost is $8 per person, $20 per family ($6 per person and $15 per family for Amherst residents). For the grown-ups • Enjoy pumpkin from soup to dessert at Cotton, 75 Arms St. in Manchester, on Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31, 5 to 10 p.m., when the restaurant will hold its annual Pumpkin Dinner. In addition to the regular menu, the restaurant will serve a menu of pumpkin items. Call 622-5488 for reservations. • Slam Free or Die at the Bridge Café in Manchester presents the second annual Dead Authors Slam and Halloween Open Mike with a special feature by performance poetry legend Jack McCarthy on Friday, Oct. 30. Doors open at 6 p.m. and there’s a $5 cover charge. The sign-up sheet for the open mike goes on the counter around 6 p.m. and the open mike itself will begin as soon as the list is full. The Dead Authors Slam will have competing teams of four members facing off, with a special Halloween theme. Costumes and originality rules will be relaxed so that participating poets can slam as their favorite dead authors (not limited to poets). Teams are organized by cause of death: Suicide, Murder, Tragic Mishap, and Natural Causes. Among the authors already signed up to slam are Sylvia Plath, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Allen Ginsberg. Jack McCarthy (www.standuppoet.net) was a member of the Boston team at the 1996 National Poetry Slam and a member of the Worcester team at the 2000 National Poetry Slam, where he finished as the 10th ranked individual in the country. Slam Free or Die at The Bridge Café is produced by Russian Roulette Productions. For more information, contact Mark Palos at mark.palos@gmail.com or call 858-3286 or visit www.facebook.com/slamfreeordie on the Web. The Bridge Café is located at the corner of Bridge and Elm at 1117 Elm St., Manchester, 647-9991. • Sample pumpkin ales, Oktoberfest beers and other fall brews at the third annual Great Pumpkin Halloween Ball on Friday, Oct. 30, 6:30 p.m. to midnight, at the Crowne Plaza, 6 Somerset Parkway in Nashua. The event will include seasonal food, a costume contest, pumpkin bowling, music with DJ Matty Z, prizes and more. The event is 21+ and tickets cost $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Buy tickets at www.beerencounters.com. • The East Coast Transcommunication Organization, or ECTO, a seven-member paranormal group based in Massachusetts and New Hampshire (ectoparanormal.com), is holding an evening of ghost-hunting on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31, from 7 to 10 p.m., Team ECTO will present evidence gathered on the site in the past and a brief lecture on ghost-hunting, followed by an investigation on the America’s Stonehenge grounds with instruction and pointers from members of the team. Cost is $30 per person. Reservations are required. Call America’s Stonehenge at 893-8300 to reserve your space. Participants will need to bring a flashlight and should also bring a camera, tape or digital recorder and any other equipment desired. • Wear your best costume and come out dancing at the Queen City Ballroom’s Halloween Costume Dance Party on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 7 to 10 p.m. Pre-dance beginner lesson is 6:15 to 7 p.m. Cost is $9 per person. Lesson and dance cost $15 per person. Small prizes will be awarded for best costumes. Light refreshments. Singles and couples of all levels welcome. Studio is at 21 Dow St. in Manchester. Call 603-622-1500 or visit www.queencityballroomnh.com. Break out the sexy costume When it comes to Halloween, everyone’s a kid at heart. Between Halloween’s Saturday placement on the calendar this year and Sunday morning’s end of Daylight Savings Time (an extra hour to sleep in — woo hoo!), there’s a witch’s brew of fun to be had — costume contests running the gamut from family-friendly to outright risqué, music in a multitude of styles, and even offbeat activities like the downtown Manchester scavenger hunt/pub crawl sponsored by a Vermont brewery. More than 60 establishments plan ghoulish happenings on Saturday night (most events are 21+ unless otherwise stated): • Alan’s (133 N. Main St., Boscawen, 753-6631) will feature the band Jamantics, a costume contest with $200 to first place, and giveaway like key chains, T-shirts and hats. • Alpine Club (175 Putnam St., Manchester, 623-8202) The Groove Cats will play funk, classic rock, R&B, swing, jazz and Motown at a party with prizes for best costume. Event starts at 8 p.m. • Alpine Grove (19 S. Depot Road, Hollis, 882-9051) Supplication (supplicaton.net), a Grateful Dead cover band, will play at a party featuring a costume contest with three best-costume winners. The cost is $10 in advance; $12 at the door. • Amber Room (53 High St., Nashua, 881-9060) will feature DJ Sizzahands with dance music. There will be cash prizes for best costume. Doors open at 9:30 p.m. • Auburn Pitts (167 Rockingham Road, Auburn, 622-6564) will feature music by Smoked Kielbasa playing R&B and blues. Must have a costume to enter and prizes will be given for the best outfit. • Barley Pub (328 Central Ave., Dover, 742-4226) This one goes to 11, with the specially formed “Spinal Taps” (with Steve Roy, Mike Effenberger, Jim Rudolf and Russ Graham) covering Spinal Tap. Dan Blakeslee opens. There is a costume contest with gift certificate prize. Cover is $4. • Black Brimmer (1087 Elm St., Manchester, 669-5523) Jimmy’s Down will play energetic top 40 and rock classics. The costume contest includes prizes for man, woman, couple, sexiest, best overall — good stuff, too, like iPods, gift certificates, a gym membership and one-year VIP passes. • Blackwater Grill (43 Pelham Road, Salem, 328-9013) DJ Lenny hosts a costume party fundraiser including a food pantry drive, so bring nonperishable items. The $10 cover is donated directly to the cause. • Blue Mermaid Island Grill (on the hill at Hanover and High streets, Portsmouth, 427-2583) Fling will play a mix of eclectic original tunes and classic/alternative rock favorites; there is a $5 cover for the show. There also will be a costume contest. • Breezeway Pub (14 Pearl St., Manchester, 621-9111) will feature dancing with DJ Shawn McKay. Costume contest will feature a prize of a $50 bar tab gift certificate for most original, scariest and best look-alike. There will be a Spooky Food appetizer table. • Brewery Lane Tavern (96 Brewery Lane, Portsmouth, 433-7007) will feature a costume party with a DJ and dancing. The party starts at 10 p.m. • Brookstone Grille (14 Route 11 E., Derry, 328-9250) will have a Tricks and Treats party with customers judging staff costumes. • Burgundy’s Billiards (35 Manchester St., Derry, 437-6600) will have a costume contest with cash prizes — $150 for first and $100 for second. Categories include sexiest, funniest and most original, but if something defies category, they’ll make one up. The very popular Redline plays ’70s covers and there will be an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet. The cost is $10 in advance; $12 at the door. The party is 18+. • Chandler’s Grille & Bar (1181 Elm St., Manchester, 836-5115) has a costume contest with prizes from Red Lotus Spa, Chandler’s gift certificates and more. The staff is dressing up, and the Tom Dixon Band plays a unique brand of “rock hard country.” The venue celebrated a grand re-opening on Oct. 8, so everything’s shiny and new. The event starts at 9 p.m. and is 21+ • Club 313 (93 S. Maple St., Manchester, 628-6813) DJ Bob spins dance music at the annual costume contest hosted by Monique, with cash prizes of $500, $250 and $150. There is a $10 cover and the event is 19+. • Club Liquid (23 Amherst St., Manchester, 645-7600, www.myspace.com/clubliquid) will host a Pimps & Ho’s Halloween bash hosted by Renegade Sound Station. There is a $10 cover; the event is 21+ after 11 p.m. • Dover Brick House (2 Orchard St., Dover, 749-3838) You’ll be doing it for love at the “Dead Rock Star Zombie Groupie Party,” as there’s no costume contest but the Brick House management wants everyone to dress up anyway. The ’80s cover band Comarajuana provides the music. The show starts at 9 p.m. and there is a $8 cover. • Element Lounge (1055 Elm St., Manchester, 627-2922) will have a DJ and a costume party with cash prizes for the winners. There is a $5 cover. • Fody’s Tavern (9 Clinton St., Nashua, 577-9015) The Swamptones play classic rock covers and dance music and there will be a prize for the best costume. The show starts at 10 p.m. and there is a $3 cover. • Gas Light Co. (64 Market St., Portsmouth, 431-9122) A DJ will spins top 40 and hip-hop, and there will be a costume contest with prizes for most original. The show starts at 9 p.m. • Gate City Pub (56 Canal St., Nashua, 598-8256) will have a Hung Over After Party; come in after taking the kids trick or treating, relax and enjoy DJ music. • Green Martini (6 Pleasant St., Concord, 223-6672) The Rooftop 4 play upbeat jazzy music, featuring a sax player, and there will be a costume contest. • Holy Grail Food & Spirits (64 Main St., Epping, 679-9559) Family Affair, a husband and wife team, will provide the evening’s music. There will be a costume contest, with prizes for best overall ($250), funniest ($150) and scariest ($150). • J.W. Hill’s (795 Elm St., Manchester, 645-7422) The Elm Street watering hole is another pub taking part in the Magic Hat Scavenger Hunt, with a DJ playing a tasty mix of music. There will be a costume contest with cash prizes. The party begins at 9 p.m. • Jillian’s Billiard Club (50 Philippe Cote Dr., Manchester, 626-7636) The Magic Hat scavenger hunt/pub crawl stops here, with local faves the Slakas providing music. There’s a psychic in a haunted basement with a Ouija board, and a costume contest with cash prizes — $150 for best and scariest, and $50 for sexiest (less because sexy is its own reward). The Grand Prize is a very cool VIP Tour of the Magic Hat brewery in Vermont. The tour comes with all-you-can-drink samples, overnight accommodations and a little pocket money. The cover is $5. • Johnny Bad’s (542 Elm St., Manchester, 222-9191) DJ Timber spins tunes, with a costume contest both Friday and Saturday nights. The event starts at 9 p.m. and is 18+. • Johnny’s Pizzeria (11 Tracy Lane, Hudson, 934-5382) The Project Mess Band will play classic rock and a costume contest is planned. • Kelley’s Row (421 Central Ave., Dover, 750-7081) House band Gazpacho will play starting at 9 p.m. and customers are encouraged to come in costume. There is a $5 cover. • Linda’s Sport Bar (2B Burnham Road, Hudson, 886-0792) Horizon & Crave will play a mix of rock music starting at 9 p.m. There will be a costume contest with prizes. • Loudon Road Restaurant and Pit Road Lounge (388 Loudon Road, Concord, 226-0533) Mother Hubbard covers everyone from Alice Cooper to ZZ Top, and there’s a costume contest with prizes handed out all night long. There is a $5 cover; event starts at 9 p.m. • Margate Resort (76 Lake St., Laconia, 524-5210) Local favorites Quick Decision will play; others may join in. This is an all-ages party, with a costume contest. The cover is $5 with a costume; $7 without. The party runs from 7 p.m. to midnight. • Mark’s Showplace (Route 3, Bedford, 668-7444) There’s a costume contest with cash prizes and giveaways for patrons, but perhaps the biggest draw is the competition between the exotic dancers, judged by customers. Naughty nurses, Catwomen and Elvira look-alikes should dominate. Regular entry fees apply. • McGarvey’s (1097 Elm St., Manchester, 627-2721) They’re calling tonight’s festivities “Scary-oake,” so if you’ve been dreaming of singing “Monster Mash” to a roomful of adoring fans, here’s your chance. It’s a combination of singing and costumes, so Elvis garb and “Jailhouse Rock” is perfect. Judging is based on both sound and style, with assorted prizes. The party starts at 9 p.m. • Milly’s Tavern (500 Commercial St., Manchester, 625-4444) Studs, spikes, body paint — it’s a hard rock show at Milly’s Halloween Bash and Costume Party featuring music from Streamline, Into Apathy, Of Hope and Rescue, Permanent Holiday and Novus Dae. Doors open at 8 p.m. and there is a $15 cover. • Murphy’s Taproom (494 Elm St., Manchester, 644-3535) She’s on Top plays rock and roll, and there’s a costume contest, both staff and customers should dress up. The Magic Hat Pub Crawl stops by to give away prizes for costumes. Music starts at 9:30 p.m. No cover, 21+ • Olympic Lounge (506 Valley St., Manchester, 644-5559) will offer karaoke with DJ Jay, with in-house gift certificate prizes for best costume. • Paddy’s American Grill (27 International Dr., Portsmouth, 430-9450) will feature DJ Good Vibrations playing hit music, a costume contest with cash prizes and a pair of Patriots tickets to be given away. There is no cover if you come in costume; otherwise the cover is $5. The event will run from 8 p.m. to midnight. • Paradise Beach Club (322 Lakeside Ave., Laconia, 366-2665) Tiger Lily rocks the house, and there’s a costume contest with big cash prizes (up to $1,500) in six categories. There is a $10 cover. • Pasta Loft (241 Union Square, Milford, 672-2270) Iron Zion plays reggae and keeps the rock steady beat. Costumes are encouraged, but there’s no contest. • Penuche’s Ale House (6 Pleasant St., Concord, 228-9833) is holding its fourth annual pumpkin-carving contest in the afternoon, with judging at night when the jack-o-lantern glow is especially spooky. There are prizes and beer specials, with a $2 cover. A band booked to play canceled at the last minute, but another will be there by the big night. • Penuche’s Ale House (16 Bicentennial Square, Nashua, 595-9831) will have a costume contest with various prizes and beer specials starting at 8 p.m. • Penuche’s Grill (96 Hanover St., Manchester, 626-9830) Crash Girl gets rave reviews everywhere they play for an energetic blend of ’80’s, ’90s and Aught rock. There will be a costume contest with a cash prize of $300 for the first-place winner, with three runners-up receiving Penuche’s gift certificates. Penuche’s is a stop on the Magic Hat scavenger hunt/pub crawl. The party starts at 9 p.m. • Press Room (77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, 431-5186) Eye Level plays funk & reggae. There is no contest but costumes are encouraged. The show starts at 9 p.m. and there is a $7 cover. • The Red Blazer (72 Manchester St., Concord, 224-4101) Experience a free psychic reading in the upstairs room, while Chafed and Mama Kicks provide the musical entertainment below (classic rock). There also will be a costume contest. Tickets cost $20 per person. • Red Door (107 State St., Portsmouth, 373-6827) Dig out your leggings, Sonny Crockett jackets and Wayfarers, as everybody dresses up in their favorite ’80s gear and parties to DJ music from Duran Duran, the Cure and Missing Persons. There is a $5 cover after 10 p.m. • Ri Ra Irish Pub (22 Market Square, Portsmouth, 319-1680) Hot Damn will play ’80s and ’90s covers starting at 10 p.m. There will be prizes for best costumes and a $3 cover. • Rocko’s Bar & Grill (253 Wilson St., Manchester, 626-5866) presents Rocko’s Horror Fest: there is a $50 prize for best costume; candy, prizes and raffles, and music by Dismantle the Cyborg, Conforza, Only Blood Will Tell, Machine Language, World Series, Wake Up Call, Conflagration, Pangea, Run Forest Run, Legions, Structure Fails and Chasing Ghosts. The event is all ages; the cover runs from $8 to $12, depending on when you show up and whether or not you’re in costume. The doors open at 3:30 p.m. • 603 Lounge (14 W. Hollis St., Nashua, 821-5260) DJ Misty will host a Halloween party with a $100 cash prize for best costume. • Shaskeen (909 Elm St., Manchester, 625-0246) will feature punk pop fun with Kara’s Boyfriend (the runner up in Hippo’s Best of 2009 “Best Local Performers Playing Original Music” category) and the melodic Speaker/MUTE with Tristan Omand. There is a costume contest with cash prizes, and the headliner will raffle off an iPod to a lucky customer. Party starts at 9 p.m. • Shenanigans (586 Nashua St., Milford, 672-2060) Randozz Band will play classic rock cover tunes; costumes are encouraged with multiple prizes for the most imaginative. Party starts at 9 p.m. • Slade’s Food & Spirits (4 W. Hollis St., Nashua, 886-1334) will hold its annual Halloween party, with DJ music and costume contest. • Slammers (547 Donald St., Bedford, 668-2120) Come as Rick Springfield or Molly Ringwald to hear Skinny Ties play ’80s music. There will be prizes for best costume. The show starts at 9 p.m. • Stadium Ten Pin (216 Maple St., Manchester, 625-9656) will feature Ghoulactic Bowling and a DJ party with DJ Garcia. The DJing starts at 11 p.m. The event costs $17 with bowling, $5 without. There will be prizes for best and most creative costume. Over in the City Sports Grille, Morse Code will play. • Stella Blu (70 E. Pearl St., Nashua, 578-5557, stellablu-nh.com) will feature Joe McDonald at 8 p.m., with staff in costumes and prizes for guests. The event is all ages. • Steve-N-James Tavern (187 Rockingham Road, Derry, 434-0600) will feature George Williams Band at 8 p.m. Costumes are welcome. • Strange Brew Tavern (88 Market St., Manchester, 666-4292) The Les Moore Trio plays blues, and this pub is one of five downtown Manchester stops on the Magic Hat scavenger hunt/pub crawl. The show starts at 9 p.m. • TJ’s Sports Bar and Grill (21 Central St., 657-9710, Manchester) will have a free Halloween metal show with Shatter This World, Judecca, the Capulet Erotic, Enough Said and Phunksion. The show starts at 5 p.m. • Village Trestle (25 Main St., Goffstown, 497-8230) will feature Problem Child, who will come in costume to play selections from AC/DC. There’s also a costume contest. Party starts at 8 p.m. • Wet Bar at the Page Restaurant (172 Hanover St., Portsmouth, 436-0004) The Sweat Pants in Public play high-energy rock upstairs, with DJ Seoul spinning tunes in the downstairs Wet Bar. There’s a big costume contest with gift certificate prizes, as well as goodies from vendors like Bacardi, gift baskets. From 3 to 6 p.m.the restaurant hosts a kids’ party. The grown-up party starts at 9 p.m. There is a $5 cover. • Whippersnappers (Route 102, Londonderry, 434-2660) The Halloween party will feature the Souled Out Show Band, dance music, a costumes contest, giveaways for everyone and more. There is a $5 cover. • Wild Rover (21 Kosciuszko St., Manchester, 669-7722) To quote the Kinks, it’s only jukebox music, but a great costume contest with $200 for the sexiest, $100 for scariest and $50 for funniest. Party starts at 9 p.m. • The Yard (1211 S. Mammoth Road, Manchester, 623-3545) The Yard’s Midnight Rodeo will feature Wolf Creek playing burly country music that fans of Montgomery Gentry or Brooks & Dunn will enjoy, both originals and covers. Tonight’s festivities include a costume contest with prizes and bar merchandise. Fun starts at 7 p.m.; there is a $10 cover. Spooky spiders and more Sure, Tim Dunn, owner of Fright Kingdom in Nashua, wants you and your friends to have fun, but the reality is, he and his 60 or so live actors want to scare you to the core along the way. With 65,000 square feet containing three haunted houses each with different themes, he’s got plenty of opportunities to do so. “It’s all about the scare,” said Dunn, whose haunt was recently named one of the top 25 haunts in the country by Haunt World magazine. Dunn says the right combination of a distraction and an “in-your-face” type of scare nearly always gets the job done. He says he’s seen plenty of “big football player-type guys” bragging to their wives or girlfriends about how they can’t be scared — Dunn will have an actor pop out of some structure right while people wait in line —causing the tough guys to jump through the roof. “Expect the unexpected,” he says. At Fright Kingdom, now in its fifth year, visitors will have to be on the lookout for vampires, clowns and even live tarantulas. (The tarantulas are in cages.) Dunn, who took part in a training program for haunted houses through Disney, says Fright Kingdom utilizes Hollywood-quality sets to create a theme-park feel. He has to change about 25 percent of Fright Kingdom each year to keep it fresh for his customers, many of whom are return customers. A combination of live actors, sound, lighting and animatronics (electronics and robots), along with the ability of actors to scare “at all levels,” helps keep visitors on their toes, Dunn said. Dunn began offering a “hardly haunted” option for families with younger children who still want to experience the haunted house but might not be able to handle it in its full scale. So people can make their way through the haunted house when the monsters are “sleeping,” Dunn said. Lisa Tutinas, marketing director at Coppal House Farm in Lee, said the farm’s Haunted Overload began offering a fright-less evening as well due to popular demand by adults. The event is excellent for the faint of heart or for families with little ones. “It just looks so incredible at night with all the special effects and lighting,” Tutinas said. “Some people truly do not want to be haunted.” But outside of that one night, visitors had better expect to be haunted. Charmingfare Farm in Candia, which features Harvest of Horror, also offers a family-friendly trick-or-treat option during the day. Tutinas said owners at Coppal House Farm didn’t initially want to do a haunt, as they saw themselves as more family-friendly. But she said the demand was so great that they ended up going for it. Last year, Haunt World magazine rated Haunted Overload as the number four haunt in the country, she said. Tutinas said Haunted Overload is particularly authentic. It’s all outdoors and it incorporates many different elements of the farm, including bales of hay, cornstalks, bittersweet vines, natural fencing and up to 300 hand-carved, candlelit pumpkins. The famous headless horseman is mounted on one of the farm’s draft horses. “It’s a very realistic haunt,” Tutinas said. Haunted Overload uses only live actors and no animated objects. “We have very effective lighting and sound that plays upon the fears of our customers.” Tutinas said the biggest question they get is if anyone is going to touch visitors in the haunt. The answer is absolutely not. Tutinas said it is illegal for live actors to touch visitors. Nightmare New England and Spooky World combined evil forces in Litchfield this year to offer the largest haunt in New England, featuring seven haunted attractions all with different themes, including a medical facility, a freak show facility, vampire night feeders, out in the woods, a graveyard scene with inbred families and the house of eternal darkness, where visitors get only a glow stick. “That really creeps people out,” said Michael Accomando, co-owner of Nightmare New England, which uses about 180 actors per night. “And it gives the actors an opportunity to see them coming.” What also will likely creep people out at Nightmare New England is the haunt’s incorporation of smell into the equation. Visitors will take in the smell of rotting meat as they pass through a meat locker, and they’ll sniff in the odor of a rotting bathroom, Accomando said. “It gets all the different smell senses going,” Accomando said. “It really kicks in the gag reflex.” “Our goal is ... that there’s something for everyone,” Accomando said. “You might be petrified of clowns. If clowns don’t affect you than maybe being out in the thick of the woods in Litchfield, New Hampshire, in that natural element, all alone — you’re already on guard before you even enter the haunt.” Charmingfare Farm’s Harvest of Horror employs some of the same techniques as Haunted Overload. Visitors are first taken aboard a horse-drawn wagon along a spooky haunted trail. They then arrive at a big barn and are left there, alone. After working their way through the barn, they must hop on a tractor train ride taking them through the bog area to meet some hillbilly characters. And then it’s out of the swamp and into a corn maze, said John Pyterof of Charmingfare Farm. The whole process takes about two hours. “People are getting scared all along the way,” Pyterof said. “It builds in intensity.” Pyterof said they used to just do the horse-drawn wagon component but it became difficult to scare people in groups of 25. When out of the wagon, people are broken into groups of two or three: “Then we can really get them.” Pyterof said the haunt industry has gone toward creating an atmosphere where “something really can happen.” “We’re really taking them deep into the woods,” Pyterof said. “They don’t know where they are. They have to twist in and around real hay. It’s creepy. The farm and its sights and sounds of animals. People in the city especially aren’t used to that. We have real wolves here howling in the background. (Charmingfare Farm also has a zoo.) When you’re in the middle of the woods and the wagon abandons them at the first stop, that always throws them for a big loop.” Pyterof said while there are plenty of scares, the farm is more family-friendly and in turn, visitors aren’t going to see a lot of gore. “It’s more startle spooky,” he said. “Ghosts, goblins and witches.” The New Hampshire Lions have invaded Merchant’s Auto.Com Stadium, 1 Line Drive in Manchester, once again this year. The 2009 edition of their haunted house is set to “scare the yell out of you,” a Lions press release said. The Lions claim to “know what scares you.” Tickets cost $15 and all proceeds benefit the Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation. Tickets are available at the door. Visit www.hauntedhouse.nhlions.org. The haunted house will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31. It’s not recommended for children under 8. The haunted house is indoors. At Fright Kingdom (www.frightkingdom.com), 12 Simon St. in Nashua, tickets cost $17 for adults and $15 for children under 12. The Web site includes a $2 off coupon. It’s open from 6:30 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, and from 6:30 to 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31. Call 689-6602. Send e-mail to frightkingdom@hotmail.com. Dunn said the haunt is rated PG-13 but he leaves it up to parents’ discretion. The haunt is entirely indoors. At Haunted Overload (www.hauntedoverload.com), 118 North River Road in Lee, tickets cost $17 at the farm and $17.50 online. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Tickets cannot be purchased the day of the event. There are two shows per night. There are shows both Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 and 8:30 p.m. Call 659-3572 or send e-mail to coppalhouse@comcast.net. Tutinas said the haunt is rated for 14 or older but there are no age restrictions. “It’s really up to the individual families,” Tutinas said. The haunt is an outdoor event but is only cancelled in extreme weather. Teen members of the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley present their “Haunted Theater” Thursday, Oct. 29, from 7 to 9 p.m., and Friday, Oct. 30, from 7 to 10 p.m., at the Amato Center — the theater is adjacent to the Club at 56 Mont Vernon St. in Milford. It merges the concept of a haunted house with theater, said Jessica Hatch, Club staff member. Patrons can show up at any point during the open hours. They will be told background to the “Haunted Theater” tale, then walk through the theater where the “suspenseful,” but not gory, story is continued, Hatch said. Tickets cost $5 and benefit the Club. The teens, who are part of Club leadership programs, are joined by volunteers. Visit www.svbgc.org or call 672-1002. At Harvest of Horror (www.charmingfare.com), 774 High St. in Candia, tickets cost $20 online and $23 at the farm. It’s suggested that people purchase tickets in advance. Those purchasing tickets online can save 30 percent off the price by entering the promotional code, pumpkin, all in lowercase. Call 483-5623 or send e-mail to gs@charmingfare.com. Harvest of Horror is open Thursday, Oct. 29, through Saturday, Oct. 31. Harvest of Horror is recommended for children 8 or older. Daytime trick -or-treat events feature friendly costumed characters such as scarecrows, pumpkins and pigs, and eight candy stops. At Nightmare New England (www.nightmarenewengland.com), 454 Charles Bancroft Highway (Route 3A) in Litchfield, tickets cost $29.99 and parking costs $5 (cash only). Call 420-8008 or send e-mail to info@nightmarenewengland.com. The haunt, which is located at Mel’s Funway Park, also offers zombie paint ball and a burial simulator. Nightmare New England is recommended for ages 10 and older. — Heidi Masek contributed to this report. Low-cost creativity You’ve got a Halloween party to attend, no costume, and creativity isn’t your strong suit? Lucky you — several people in this region who sell costumes are happy to feed you ideas. You may not need to spend a fortune, either. Try your local thrift store. “It’s like our Christmas,” said Cindy Walker, assistant manager at Londonderry’s Goodwill store. October is when Goodwill stores see their highest retail sales, according to Goodwill Industries of Northern New England. Jane Driscoll, of Goodwill Industries of Northern New England, said brochures are at the registers with instructions on how to pull together some costumes. See some of their tips at www.goodwillnne.org/halloween/. Goodwill carries some brand new costumes and decorations that were donated or acquired at a discount, Driscoll said. And, of course, there are racks of the regular stock. Hippie and other era-specific costumes are always easy there, Walker said. Nancy Haley of the Hooksett Goodwill said cashiers reported an “overwhelming amount of people asking for ’80s clothes.” Michael Jackson and Jon & Kate Plus 8 have also been popular, Haley said. Costs might start at about $2.50 for a dress on sale, Walker said. “I would say it would be hard to spend more than $20,” she said. You might also want to check a local consignment store that sells clothing. “Honey, we have so much stuff in here that you could do so many things with.... We’ll give you ideas,” Mona Fanaritis at OPUS in Manchester said. There are wigs, fedoras, wedding and prom gowns, top hats, an opera cape, scarves, vintage aprons, accessories and more. OPUS recently sold a bunny costume for $35. They still had a complete (down to the poodle-decorated socks) homemade poodle skirt costume Oct. 22. They also had a belly dancer costume, hand-beaded in Egypt, for $350. Their hours include Saturday (Halloween) from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and until 8 p.m. Thursdays at 194 South Main St. in Manchester (645-6787, www.opusnh.com). If you head to Ballard’s on a last-minute mission, “You will not be able to leave here without a costume or the Dracula at the door will have you go back,” Norm Ballard said. He’s been in the business for about 30 years. At 7 Broadway in Concord (225-5666), there are about 3,000 costumes to rent or buy (quality ones that don’t rip, Ballard said), and loads of accessories, like weapons and hats, Ballard said. They also have things like cheat sheets for applying Halloween make-up. Ballard is a thespian and encourages his customers to really get into character. He advised a customer who bought an old-man mask on how to add make-up and shoes, and cover his hands (since they looked young). “He took on the stature of an old man” and won first prize in a contest for an outfit that probably cost $30 altogether, Ballard said. “Creativity wins,” Ballard said. “We never run out,” said Claire Renaud, owner of the Costume Gallery in Derry, which has more than 20,000 rental costumes — the fee ranges from $45 to $95. Costumes there range in cost from about $22 to $79. Renaud said the “Roaring ’20s” theme has been popular in rentals this year, and the “sexy” costumes, like “sexy Dorothy,” have been popular out of those for sale. Their regular hours include Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Halloween), at 11½ East Broadway in Derry (434-0627, www.thecostumegallery.com). At 23 years, Costumes of Nashua (which is in Hudson) rents throughout the U.S., has shipped to buyers in every continent but Antarctica, and provided costumes for TV and film. It lists about 20,000 items at www.costumesofnashua.com, but you can visit the store at 76 Derry St. in Hudson (882-5640), open until at least 7 p.m. on Halloween, and daily until then. Rental fees range from $35 to $250 and average about $85, David Oelerich wrote in an e-mail. They fit kids up through 5X adults. “The closer to the holiday it gets, the busier we get, and the less time and options are available to help you make the best decision, so the sooner you start [August or September], the better we can meet your needs,” Oelerich wrote. (If you want something custom-made from any costumer, you’ll probably need to start the process months in advance.) Donovan’s at 89 Fort Eddy Road in Concord (226-2225) sells costumes year-round and is open daily. You could spend anywhere from 25 cents for a novelty item to hundreds for a full costume, but the average is $20 to $30, Debbie Mahan said. Sizes go up to 3X, she said. Mahan said this is the first year that a popular costume hasn’t been obvious, but she’s seen many decade themes, such as the 1920s and 1980s. Mary’s Closet, known for an inventory of thousands of theater costumes, is doing Halloween costuming for staff at various Manchester bars, Jim LePine said. You can rent a complete costume for $40. Mary’s sells stage make-up and can refer you to make-up artists. Mary’s Closet is in 21 West Auburn St. in Manchester, but call LePine at 566-5790 for an appointment. Scary stories Movies! • Vincent Price stars in House on Haunted Hill (1959), screening at Red River Theatres Friday, Oct. 30, at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Oct. 31, at 1, 3 & 7 p.m. Come in your Halloween costume for free admission, or pay $5. Theater! Matthew and Carey Cahoon and Brian Kennedy and Rachel Follien launched Theatre KAPOW in 2008 and were hired to create a piece for a Saint Anselm College conference marking the 400th anniversary of the death of John Milton. The English department discussed continuing the relationship, and the Poe 200th anniversary is coming up. “He’s known for this dark and supernatural kind of literature,” Matthew Cahoon said. The company thought this time of year would be a good time for the play. Alone has a through-line — Poe narrates somewhat chronologically in his own words from correspondence. “A lot of the work he did is autobiographical,” Matthew Cahoon said. The hope is that the stories illuminate some things about Poe, and that Poe illuminates some things about the stories, Cahoon said. Visit www.tkapow.com for details or call 437-5210 for tickets. • In August, the Theatre Knights of West High School in Manchester were performing in Scotland at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest in August. This fall, students are hard at work preparing for Dracula, Prince of Darkness. The play has taken months of preparation from director Tim Benner. Probably the best play script is the 1929 one revived with Frank Langella as Count Dracula about 1980, Benner said. However, there are almost no female roles. There are a lot of scripts out there, but most are pretty bad, Benner said. “So what I basically did is I watched I can’t tell you how many Dracula movies... and read about a half a dozen scripts,” Benner said. He spliced together a script from these sources with six female and six male characters. There’s plenty of crew helping out with things like flash pots, a flying bat, and blood tricks, lighting, sound and make-up. Mary Selvoski of Mary’s Closet is training some of the students to costume. Katrina Lecerte, student production stage manager, calls cues and makes sure everyone’s doing their job during production, along with the technical director’s job. Although they’ve used many of these special effects before, this is probably the first time they are using all of them in the same show, Lecerte said. The Theatre Knights perform Dracula Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m., for Halloween, and then continue for their regular fall performance week, Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 3 p.m. (free for senior citizens); and Thursday, Nov. 19, and Friday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m., at 9 Notre Dame Ave. in Manchester (582-1253, www.theatreknights.com, $8-$12). • In 1973, two Norwegian women were strangled and stuck with a hatchet on Smuttynose Island in the Isles of Shoals, six miles off New Hampshire’s coast. Local playwright Jeff Symes based his play Isles in the Moon on the tale, and Dark Side Productions, a professional spinoff of Best Foot Forward Productions (www.bestfootforwardproductions.org), produces it for Halloween. “In and of itself it’s a rather gruesome tale,” said actor Christine Frydenborg of Hooksett. “The play’s retelling of the murders themselves are pretty historically accurate,” said Frydenborg said. Yet Symes develops the characters based on his interpretations of his research, she said. Six characters are based on real people, and he added two ghosts — Frydenborg plays one, Eric Eastman of Nashua the other. “He’s just phenomenal,” she said. Dark Side is turning the stage at Central High School (Beech and Lowell streets, Manchester), into a black box theater that will seat about 52 people on risers. See the show Thursday, Oct. 29, or Friday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m.; or Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7 or 10 p.m. Tickets cost $12 and $15, although you can get $2 off if you come in costume on Halloween. Call 641-6066 or e-mail darksideprod@comcast.net. Isles in the Moon is probably too creepy for kids, but appropriate for teens, Frydenborg said. • In the Victorian era, after visiting a theater you might have the opportunity to buy a paper-printed version of the show you just saw, complete with characters and sets, said Michael Nelson, of California-based Blue Moon Theatre. You would bring it home, assemble it, and put on your own version of the play. “Toy theater” became a popular pastime, Nelson said. “It’s a very specialized form of puppetry” and it’s been enjoying a renaissance for the past 15 years or so, he said. Michael and Valerie Nelson are bringing an original toy theater they created to Pontine Theatre in Portsmouth with their performance Dracula del Lobo. “It’s my take on a Dracula, vampire story,” Michael Nelson said. It’s set in 1920s Argentina and Pontine says it contains “nudity, some serious sexual situations, stake driving and beheading, blood....” This is Blue Moon Theatre’s first performance in New Hampshire. See Dracula del Lobo, which runs about 55 minutes, Friday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 7, at 4 or 8 p.m.; or Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m., at the West End Studio Theatre, 959 Islington St., Portsmouth (436-6660, www.pontine.com, $24). • Serving His Master , by Players’ Ring founder, F. Gary Newton, has “roots deep in the Grand Guignol tradition of Horror Theater.” It plays mostly Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 7 p.m., through Nov. 1 at the Players’ Ring 105 Marcy St., Portsmouth (436-8123, www.playersring.org, $10-$12). If you wear a costume to the Oct. 31 show, which is at 9:30 p.m., pay only $8 for your ticket. • Burlesque/cabaret troupe Iron Heart Circus (formerly Tricycle Dance Co & Jack Bandit Carnival) gives an hour performance followed by a dance party with DJ B-Swift at the Vampire in Paris Halloween Costume Ball (with costume contests), Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8 p.m., to midnight, at the Cocheco Country Club in Dover. Tickets cost $20 in advance, or $25 at the door. Visit www.ironheartcircus.com or call 866-662-2787. Zombie as metaphor Derek Laurendeau is taking “The Zombie Metaphor in Western Culture” at Chester College, and he said the 300-level literature course is “by no means a cake class.” George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead is a take on American consumerism via zombies, Laurendeau said. Romero’s 1968 Night of the Living Dead explores race relations, reflecting the turmoil and stress of that era in the U.S., Laurendeau said. The class is still working through Romero, before whom zombies weren’t really thought of as the infectious mob of cannibals they are seen as today, Laurendeau said. The course isn’t actually designed to be about zombies, instructor John Sefel wrote in an online interview. “It’s a class about the strengths and weaknesses inherent in using allegory/metaphor in creating art,” Sefel wrote. That’s broad, so Sefel wanted to choose a “specific, common metaphor.” “The zombies are just the vehicle to deal with the larger subject — and those subjects thus far have included racism, classism, gender issues, consumerism, ‘hawk vs. dove’ issues, end of life questions, moral concerns of ‘rights vs. wrong,’ fears about terrorism and disasters (on both a micro and a macro level), modern media in the digital age, etc.,” Sefel wrote. “But when someone refers to a zombie nowadays (meaning a flesh-eating dead thing, especially if it shambles around with a vacant expression), they’re talking about something either made or inspired by Romero... His collective work is really at the root of the entire modern zombie ‘movement,’ and as such, the first half of the course has focused primarily on his work,” Sefel wrote. Whether the course runs again with this focus depends on whether zombies continue to be popular, Sefel wrote. And the same kind of class could be done focusing on children’s literature. Theater course offerings at Chester College are expanding, and Sefel is working with the college to develop a theater minor there. The student drama club, 2-Bit Players, produces Night of the Living Dead, adapted from the film by Sefel, on Halloween. “One of my hopes with the new theater programming at Chester College is to consider what is being taught in our classes when we choose what shows to do — the zombie course was just too perfect not to link up with. Night, meanwhile, was Romero’s first film (the first film in which, by the way, it was ever suggested that zombies ate the flesh of the living. Even in Omega Man/etc., the creatures that we now remember as being ‘zombie-like’ were called vampires.) — and in it, we find a group of people trapped in a small farm house, surrounded by the living dead. The play is really more like Hitchcock’s Lifeboat than it is like a Halloween scare-fest — seven strangers trapped together: an industrious young black man, a stubborn, middle-aged white man with his family (including his wife with whom he’s in a loveless marriage, and his child who is dying of a zombie bite), a young woman nearly catatonic with fright, and two kids of college age. Keep in mind this film was created (and we’re keeping it set) in 1968 (the summer of hate)... Zombies are really incidental to the action, and it’s the living, not the dead, who bring the most violence,” Sefel wrote. “I think I’m just lucky to have found a school where I fit in so well ... this is a school that encourages philosophical searching, which is what I love,” Sefel wrote. He was hired not long ago to teach “Theatre of the Absurd,” and has been asked back each semester. Now, Ghostlight Theatre Co., of New England, which Sefel founded, is serving as a Chester “guest artist.” “It’s a wonderfully co-benefiting relationship, allowing us to concentrate more on creating great theater than paying bills, and allowing students a new space to work in and plenty of opportunities to develop their craft,” Sefel wrote. — Heidi Masek Haunted sight-seeing ’Tis the season to be frightened, and what better way to enjoy the Halloween season than in the outdoors? With so many unique mysterious places to visit in New Hampshire, a haunted hike is practically right outside your doorstep. I have been leafing through some of my favorite spooky books, and have listed some local haunts that are easy and close by. Before the kids head out to trick or treat, get them excited for the spookiest night of the year with a ghost story and a walk in the woods. Ghost towns are communities that exist in a bygone era. But New Hampshire has many of these former communities protected and preserved and they make for a great spooky outdoors adventure. In Thomas D’Agostino’s book Abandoned Villages and Ghost Towns of New England there is a list of eight ghost towns and abandoned villages in New Hampshire that the public can visit. An old settlement located in East Weare was wiped out by flood and devastation. The homes and structures are reclaimed by nature, yet the history remains — only the shadows of bygone descendents know the truth of their mysterious existence. In my book Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire, I describe Monson Center as a ghost town rich with historic detail. It was considered the “first” settlement of New Hampshire, but the township did not survive the complexities of new state boundaries, taxation issues and lack of meeting house. The charter only existed from 1740 to 1776, just 36 years. The Monson Center ghost town is now owned by the Forest Society and is open to the public for exploration. It is open from dawn to dusk and there is no admission charge. Visitors to Monson have reported eerie sightings and a sense that they are “not alone.” Strangely, the Monson residents established a town cemetery, but the cemetery has never been found. The ghost town here is believed to be haunted, perhaps by the forgotten souls and spirits who were buried and left behind. Either way, there are lots of cellar holes to explore in the rolling fields and hills of Monson. One of the most popular cellar holes is that of Dr. Brown. The cellar holes are marked and easy to find. Monson Center is located in Hollis on the Hollis/Milford line. Take Route 101 West to Route 13 and look for Federal Hill Road off Route 13. Follow that for two or three miles. Parking for the Center is located off to the left; there are signs. D’Agostino also mentions America’s Stonehenge at Mystery Hill in Salem as another mysterious and historic location. Mystery Hill dates back to 500 BC. Historians studying the ruins here have determined that cryptic writings found on the stone slabs can be traced back to 45 BC. The trail taking you through the various sacrificial sites is about a half mile, and the total tour will be about one hour. At Stonehenge, the pagan calendar and lunar cycles are charted out and inscriptions can be found dating back thousands of years. On Sunday, Nov. 1, Americas’ Stonehenge will be conducting a ritual to honor the Day of the Dead. Hallow’s Eve, Oct. 31, is considered the evening before Nov. 1, an International Day of the Dead and recognition of the dead and their mortality. America’s Stonehenge has a day of activities planned around the day when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is lifted. Communication between the living and dead is enhanced and encouraged with a spiritual flow of remembrance and honor of the deceased. The ritual is led by Katja Esser. For more information visit www.stonehengeusa.com. America’s Stonehenge is located at 105 Haverhill Road in Salem. Marianne O’Connor is the author of Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire, which features trails for hikers — and Halloween-lovers — of all ages. Devilish study Katie Boyd’s new book, Devils & Demonology in the 21st Century, provides a detailed look at demonology, exorcism, Quija boards, paranormal groups and the tools Boyd uses as a demonologist. The 38-year-old Manchester resident has 21 years of experience in demonology and the paranormal. Boyd has a background in the medical field and in law enforcement. She is one of the co-founders of Ghost Quest Paranormal Research Society and is the co-author of Ghost Quest in New Hampshire. Her book was released in February. Q:Tell me about your book. What is demonology? We all might have ideas in our heads, but what are demons? Where do they come from? So how did you get involved in this field? What is negative energy? For someone who has no background on the topic, why should they buy your book? It would seem that a lot of what you are dealing with isn’t all that pleasant. So where do you get your enjoyment? Any specific cases that stand out for you?
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Trick or treat Friday, Oct. 30 Saturday, Oct. 31 Janet! Brad! Dr. Scott! Rocky...on stage and screen It’s definitely an audience participation event, and the audience is encouraged to come in their Rocky-related costumes. Tickets cost $15 for the general public, $12 for Red River members, and $10 for those with an NHTI ID. The ticket includes an audience participation kit with “lots of goodies,” so you don’t need to bring projectiles or props — actually outside props aren’t allowed, Allyson Piper, marketing director, said. She recommends buying your ticket early. “People have been calling us since the end of summer,” Piper said. Why 9 p.m.? “We’ve found for our market midnight doesn’t work,” Piper said. • You can also catch a screening of this masterpiece of musical camp featuring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Meat Loaf Friday, Oct. 30, at 11 p.m., at the Firehouse Center for the Arts, 1 Market Square, Newburyport, Mass. (www.firehouse.org, 978-462-7336). Tickets cost $15 and also include props. • And for a Rocky fix any time of the year, RHPS usually plays Saturdays at midnight at the AMC Loews Harvard Square 5, 10 Church St., Cambridge, Mass. (617-864-4581, www.fullbodycast.org) • The Seacoast Repertory Theatre has produced the stage version of the Rocky Horror Show each summer for 15 years or so, and now for the first time in five years it’s back for two Halloween shows, said Stacy Chilicki of the Rep. It’s usually tough to pull this off. The Rep needs actors who have recently performed it since there isn’t much rehearsal time. However, most of their Rocky casts are college students, Chilicki said. Halloween falls on a weekend this year, and conditions were right to round up about 60 percent of their 2009 summer cast, with actors from previous productions filling in. And when their most recent Frank N. Furter couldn’t show, director Merrill Peiffer was asked to step in — the first female Frank the Rep has had on stage. Peiffer has been involved in the show for about 10 years, Chilicki said. See the Rocky Horror Show-LIVE! Friday, Oct. 30, or Saturday, Oct. 31, at midnight, at the Rep, 125 Bow St. in Portsmouth. Call 433-4472, visit www.seacoastrep.org or visit the box office to buy tickets, which cost $20. Chilicki recommends buying them in advance. Rocky is an “interactive event here,” Chilicki said. Absolutely, dress up for the occasion. There’s a costume contest at the beginning of the show. The list of what not to bring includes water, popcorn and spray bottles — there are lights and electronics that need to stay dry in the theater. No cameras, either. • Dartmouth College’s Theater Department presents Rocky Horror Show live Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., Nov. 13-21 at the Moore Theater on the Dartmouth College campus in Hanover (646-2422, hop.dartmouth.edu, $6-$14). Humans vs. Zombies There are nightly missions. The main goal for the humans is to survive the week, and the zombie goal is to kill all the humans, Laurendeau said. It turned into a social experiment. “People that normally didn’t hang out together started hanging out so they could get to class or get to dinner without being turned into a zombie,” Laurendeau said. “It really kind of brought us together as a campus,” and residential life staff asked them to run Humans vs. Zombies again this year, Laurendeau said. Night of the living Dead - on stage See Night of the Living Dead in their newly renovated black box theater, Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 30 through Nov. 7, mostly at 7:30 and 10 p.m., although the Halloween show on Oct. 31 is at 10 p.m. only. Tickets cost $5. Visit www.chestercollege.edu or call 887-4401. The campus is at 40 Chester St. in Chester. Dia de los Muertos Friday night fun • Gate City Pub (56 Canal St., Nashua, 598-8256) DJ Jeff plays requests at 9 p.m. There will be a costume contest with prizes ($50 for first place, $25 for second, $5 for third) for the best costumes. Non-costumed patrons will help judge the contest. Celebrating the end and the beginning The Concord Arts Market is partying all day on Halloween, and you are definitely invited. The Market’s Day of the Dead celebration is meant to be a big community arts project, and organizer Katy Brown is fairly certain Concord has never seen anything like this. Saturday, Oct. 31, closes the season for the Concord Arts Market, which featured about 30 artists and artisans selling work on Saturdays between May 30 and July 25, and between Sept. 12 and Oct. 31 of 2009. Brown thought they should celebrate the end of their first year — one reason for the all-day party, from 9 a.m. (the market’s normal start time) to 8 p.m. in Eagle Square off North Main Street in Concord. Sara Greene of Ciel Rouge Moving Co. is co-producing the event. While living in Mexico, she grew to love the Day of the Dead holiday, “Día de los Muertos,” Brown said. Many of the images are similar to Halloween’s, Brown said; the holiday is about celebrating the end of things, but as a new beginning, and the Concord Arts Market is returning in the spring, she said. The basic element of the Day of the Dead is celebrating your ancestors, but “not in a sad way,” Brown said. It’s more about celebrating your ancestors’ lives and how good it was to have those people as part of your life, Brown said. As part of that, Greene is setting up her trapeze, which will be covered in masks and flowers that are being made in free community art workshops leading up to Oct. 31, for a giant remembrance altar. It will be constructed throughout the day, and people are welcome to bring photocopies of photos of people who were in their lives to add to it. People tend to think of altars in a religious way, but this is “really just a cool community art installation about remembrance,” Brown said. In fact, although the Day of the Dead has become something of a religious holiday in Mexico, it didn’t start out that way, Brown said. Fine artist Susan Schwake is also working on a community mural project that day, and artist Lizz Van Saun will be running a community mosaic project Saturday. Performances are scheduled all Saturday, and Brown is particularly excited about the aerial performances from Ciel Rouge, plus the Boston Hoop Troop, whose members make adult-size hula hoops and perform tricks with them. Also find live folk music from Mike O’Donnell, blues-rock from Kelley Morris and the Fallen Free, Celtic music, React Impact, and Arabalon’s West African-style drumming. Inside the nearby atrium, a local dance school is expected to be demonstrating Latin dance. Trick or treating for kids (from 3 to 6 p.m.), a pumpkin-lighting after dark, costume contests and face-painting also accompany the arts market that day, which will feature about 25 artists. A full schedule is at www.concordartsmarket.com — Heidi Masek
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