Get spooked this Halloween
By Coco Bator
While everyone excitedly awaits the numerous Halloween parties and fellow Broncos decked out in crazy attire, few look to the off-campus options for Halloween festivities that span more than just the few blocks that surround campus. There are many spooky festivities offered in the Bay Area and the great thing is you do not need a car, or an I.D. to get to these destinations.
One of the closest Halloween attractions is the Winchester Mystery House near Santana Row in San Jose. This strange mansion offers flashlight tours, where a tour guide shows you around the house with only the light of your souvenir flashlight.
The flashlight tour differs from a regular house tour because the "tour guides tell strange experiences that have happened during the flashlight tours," said employee Autumn Orozco.
With four floors and a maze of 160 rooms and 40 stairways, among other bizarre features that give it its name, this mysterious house provides the perfect palette for a spooky tour. Orozco's favorite part of the tour is the ball room.
"Everything is very pretty and detailed and all the stain glass windows (are beautiful)," she explained.
The flashlight tour lasts 65 minutes and costs $45; the tours are offered Oct. 24, 31 and Nov. 13. The Winchester Mystery House is located just south of campus and can be visited easily. It is a short 15-minute bus ride on VTA 60.
Great America boasts another of the area's most popular Halloween activities, with 14 haunted attractions, known as the Halloween Haunt. These attractions include "six spine-tingling haunted mazes, four themed scare zones, three head-turning live stage shows and one gruesome themed attraction" in addition to all the thrilling amusement park rides that Great America regularly offers.
The Halloween Haunt takes place every Friday and Saturday from Oct. 3-31 and also on Sunday, Oct. 25. Full-price admission is $39.99, but special deals are going on now where you can purchase two tickets for $54.99 or four tickets for $99.99. You can easily take the VTA buses 32 and 57 to arrive at the park.
The DC Cemetery, located in Mountain View, is a uniquely terrifying Halloween experience. It features an outside haunted graveyard scene with elaborate and realistic props and offers an equally scary experience for all ages. The DC Cemetery is recognized for winning FEARnet.com's 2007 Scariest Home Haunted House contest, and videos of the spooky cemetery have been featured on HGTV, NBC's Today Show and FEARnet.com.
This spooky graveyard is free with a suggested donation of $2-5 per person. The DC Cemetery is located in the heart of Old Mountain View, a 15-minute drive from campus. The VTA 522 bus takes 30 minutes and drops you off close to the cemetery.
Another Halloween tradition is Swank Farm in Hollister that offers both a regular and haunted corn maze, known as the Maniac Maze. The haunted maze is open only at night, with 27 hidden spots filled with spooky Halloween creatures.
"My favorite part was the guy chasing me with a chain saw," said sophomore Kelly Menold of her past experience at the maze.
In addition to the maze, Swank Farm offers Halloween activities that are fun for all ages, like pumpkin slingshots. Swank Farm is located in Hollister, about 45 minutes from campus.
With the falling leaves, Pumpkin Spice Lattes and a sea of North Face fleeces indicating the arrival of fall, there is no better time to take a break from midterms.
With many Halloween activities offered around San Jose, there are plenty of opportunities to fill the void left by your childhood days of trick-or-treating.
Contact Coco Bator at nbator@scu.edu.