Halloween: Spooky Special

DATE NIGHT

Halloween Celestial Origins

Learn the history of Halloween and how it fits into the seasons as a “cross-quarter day.” Attendees will explore the night sky and learn which planets, constellations and stars will be out on Halloween night. Admission is $5 a person, making this a fun and affordable date night for two.
Eastern Michigan University Planetarium | 100 College Place, Ypsilanti
Oct. 29, 8-9 p.m.

Frog Island Park Movie Night: Hocus Pocus

Take a date to see the Halloween film-favorite, “Hocus Pocus.” The movie will be projected on a staged amphitheater. Bring a blanket or chairs to cuddle up on. This event is free.
Frog Island Park | Rice St. and Cross St., Ypsilanti
Oct. 24, 7 p.m.

Halloween Concert

For over forty years, University of Michigan’s symphony and philharmonic orchestra celebrate the Halloween season through music. Graduate conducting students lead more than 125 costumed musicians for this thrilling and spooky concert. Come in costume or as you are to enjoy the sounds of Halloween with these musicians. Reserved seating is $8 to $12.
Hill Auditorium | 915 E. Washington St., Ann Arbor
Oct. 27, 4:30 p.m.

WITH KIDS

Annual Treat Parade

Take the trick or treating downtown! Local merchants welcome young costumed characters to the neighborhood with treats and greets. Participating merchants will have black and orange balloons hanging in the front to make them easy to spot. Families are also invited to stop by the Ann Arbor District Library downtown branch from 10-11:30 a.m. for a Halloween party to kick off the day with stories, puppets and treats.
Downtown Ann Arbor | 303 Detroit Street, Ann Arbor
Oct. 31, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Caramel Apples & Pumpkin Bowling

Costume contests, delicious caramel apples and pumpkin bowling will all be happening at Wurster Park this Halloween. This family-friendly event is free and a great Manchester Tradition.
Wurster Park | 215 W Main St., Manchester
Oct. 31, 5-7 p.m.

Treat Street Block Park

Come celebrate all things Halloween at the Depot Town block party! Carnival games, candy prizes, pumpkin bowling, cake walks and a family-friendly movie will be available for free. Bring a blanket or chairs for the movie, which will be shown outside.
Ypsilanti Freighthouse | 100 Market Place, Ypsilanti
Oct. 26, 4-8:30 p.m.

FUN WITH FRIENDS

Halloween Day of the Dead Party

Get down to three long sets of funky jams for listening and dancing pleasure and compete in costume contests with prizes for first, second and third place. There’s no cover to get in, but donations are accepted at the door.
Ziggy’s | 206 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti
Nov. 1, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.

Boylesque Drag Halloween Party and 8th Year Anniversary

Boylesque is back! Ring in the Halloween weekend with performances from local performers, and special guest Shae Shae Lareese. This event is for ages 18 and up. The cover charge is $7 for patrons 21 and up, and $9 for under 21-year-olds.
The Tap Room | 201 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti
Oct. 26, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.

Circ Fundays: Harry Potter Halloween

Wand-making, pumpkin carving, butterbeer, snacks and more await attendees. Come dressed as your favorite wizard for the costume party. This event is all ages with a $5 admission fee. Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite.
The Circ Bar | 210 S. First St., Ann Arbor
Oct. 27, 12-4 p.m.

Creepy and catchy songs to play in the witching hours

Compiled By Claire Convis | Staff Writer

Hair-raising reads that will keep you awake

The Halloween Tree – Ray Bradbury (Yearling)
This eerie adventure brought to you by the author of Fahrenheit 451 chronicles the travels of eight young boys who pass through space and time in search of their missing friend. This story set on Halloween night is chock-full of witches, rituals, gargoyles, catacombs, mummies and monsters.

Asylum – Madeline Roux (HarperCollins)
This ghostly tale tracks students Dan, Abby, and Jordan as they attend a summer school in a building that used to be—you guessed it—an insane asylum. As the students explore the winding halls, hidden rooms and dusty basement, they find themselves uncovering dark secrets of what took place in the old psych ward. The blurry photos from real-life insane asylums add even more spookiness to this haunting high school tale.

Hush, Hush – Becca Fitzpatrick (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Fallen Angels, high school romance, and an ominous war brewing on the horizon—what more could you ask for? Protagonist Nora Grey and her black-clad fallen angel boyfriend Patch must uncover who their real enemies are, and stop devilcraft from taking over their small town. If you’re a fan of the Twilight Saga, definitely check it out—but if you’re not, don’t let that deter you. A variety of audiences can enjoy this series filled with mind-tricks, mystery, high school drama and supernatural forces at war.

The Women in the Walls – Amy Lukavics (Harlequin Teen)
This frightening novel takes on the big-old-haunted-house-in-the-middle-of-the-woods trope. Lucy and her cousin Margaret are best friends who explore the dark halls and corners of the family’s estate. Lucy’s mother passed away when she was three, and now Margaret’s mother has suddenly disappeared into the woods. However, Margaret claims that she can still hear her mother’s voice, whispering to her from within the house’s walls—and Lucy starts to realize that her cousin may be telling the truth.

Hex – Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Tor Books)
The town of Black Spring is cursed; for years, it has been haunted by a witch who stands by children’s bedsides at night, with her mouth and eyes sewn shut. Awful, right? Similar to the plot of Footloose, the town has some pretty strict rules which are eventually broken by some frustrated teenagers, and then all hell breaks loose. George R. R. Martin calls this tale “Creepy and gripping,” and Stephen King dubs it “Totally, brilliantly original.”

Meddling Kids – Edgar Cantero (Anchor)
Teen detectives—the nerd, the jock, the tomboy, the bookworm, their dog, you know the drill—set out to uncover a monstrous amphibian creature that has been disrupting their small town. This New York Times Bestseller set in the ‘70s and ‘90s is silly and spooky rolled into one. If you’re looking for a fun Halloween read with Scooby-Doo-meets-Lovecraft vibes, this is it.

I’ll Be Gone In The Dark – Michelle McNamara (HarperCollins)
The true account of the author’s unwavering search for whom she called The Golden State Killer. During the 1970s and 1980s, a sadistic criminal in California committed fifty sexual assaults and ten horrific murders before disappearing for three decades. Mcnamara set out to unearth the identity of this nightmarish psychopath who left a trail of utter devastation in his wake. This New York Times Bestseller features a forward by Gillian Flynn, praise from Stephen King, and is soon to become an HBO documentary series.

His Hideous Heart: 13 of Edgar Allan Poe’s Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined – Dahlia Adler (Flatiron Books)
Here lies a unique collection of Poe’s original tales alongside retellings of those same tales by authors such as Amanda Lovelace, author of “The Witch Doesn’t Burn in this One,” and Kendare Blake, who wrote “Three Dark Crowns.” If you’ve been waiting to see “The Raven” retold with blackout poetry, the wait is over.

The Similars – Rebecca Hanover (Sourcebooks)
This novel is set at a fancy boarding school called Darkwood Academy, where six new students show up for the fall semester looking exactly like several other students at the academy. And that’s because they are exactly like the other students—these new arrivals are DNA replicas of current students, created by a mad scientist performing illegal experiments. This eerie story contains romance, intrigue, a strange secret society, and other reasons to keep you turning the pages.

My Friend Dahmer – Derf Backderf (Henry N. Abrams)
A graphic novel with a sinister twist. This creative take at true crime comes from Jeffrey Dahmer’s former classmate, who could easily have been one of Dahmer’s victims. When it came to watching Dahmer spiral into one of the most infamous serial killers in American history, Backderf had a front-row seat. Adapted into an R-rated film in 2017, this spine-chilling graphic novel of a disturbing individual is bound to give you shivers.

Nightfall – Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski (Puffin Books)
This harrowing story is set on a peculiar island where the sun doesn’t rise every 24 hours, but rather, every 28 years. And you thought Westeros had it bad. As the sun starts to set and the weather grows cold, all of the islanders prepare to sail south and wait-out winter until the sun rises again. As the ships start sailing away, twins Marin and Kana discover that their friend has gone missing, and rather than sail to safety, they set off to rescue him from who-knows-what, if it’s not already too late.

The Blessing Way – Tony Hillerman (HarperCollins)
Murder, mayhem and a mysterious Wolf-Witch, all set in New Mexico? Yes, please. Detective Leaphorn’s prime suspect evades him as struggles to track down the killer of a young boy. It’s worth your while to pause your favorite crime show and crack this creepy book open.