Halloween Happenings!

Oct. 21, 2016

Looking for some Halloween fun? Check out this sampling of great seasonal (and spooky!) events located from north to south around northern Michigan.

TRIPLE RIGHT NIGHT

Oct. 29

A trio of Mackinaw-area venues combine for three times the fun this Halloween. From 9am to 1 1pm, the McGulpin Point Light-house, decorated for Halloween this year in a Wizard of Oz theme, will offer special lighthouse events and eerie surprises. From 6pm to 8pm, the Haunted Heritage Village's costumed docents will offer an outdoor fire, cider and donuts, and trick-or-treating. From 8pm to 10pm, the Headlands Interna-tional Dark Sky Park will host the Headlands Challenge, in which guests walk a dimly lit, spooky trail to the guest house to enjoy sea-sonal storytelling, fortune-telling, and re-freshments.

Find It: McGulpin Point, 500 Headlands Rd.; Heritage Village, 1 425 W. Central Ave.; Headlands, 15675 Headlands Rd.; all in Mackinaw City.

Admission: All events are free.

More Info: Mldarkskypark.org or 231-348-1704

NIGHTMARE AT CHALLENGE MOUNTAIN

Oct. 21-22 and 28-29

A spooky trek awaits all those brave enough to make the journey to Challenge Mountain in Boyne Falls, where visitors will experience all manner of scary things at a wide range of carefully structured spooky spots: the Deadly Witches Cottage, a Haunted Forest, a Grateful Dead Graveyard, and the Shadows of Michigan, where you'll come face to face with creatures unlike any you've seen before. Expect some of the best interactive Hallow-een theater northern Michigan has to offer, with classically scary costumes, enthusiastic actors, and great set pieces. Refreshments available. All proceeds go to benefit Chal-lenge Mountain.

Find It: 2205 North Springbrook Rd.

Admission: $10 adults/$5 kids

More Info: challengemtn.org or 231-535-2141

SCREAMS IN THE DARK

Oct. 21-23 and 28-30

Traverse City's largest haunted attraction is back for the 2016 Halloween season, and this one's not for the faint of heart. The tam-est part of this horrifying extravaganza is the Haunted Hayride. Beyond that, you're on your own to fend off an extensive cast of characters in full horror costumes terroriz-ing visitors in the Pandemonium, the Grim-fell Asylum, and the Delirium/Cage Chaos Maze. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Find It: Northwestern Michigan Fairgrounds, 3606 Blair Town Hall Rd. in Traverse City

Admission: $5 for Haunted Hayride/Trail, $ 1 5 for all other attractions ($10 for kids)

More Info: evernighthaunt.com

PUNKIN' CHUNKIN

Oct. 22-23

Step right up to the monster trebuchet (a coun-terweight catapult most often used in the Mid-dle Ages) at 10am and watch it fling Halloween pumpkins every hour on the hour until the last chunk of the day – at 3:30pm. You can pur-chase some orange ammunition on site if you want to try punkin' chunldn' for yourself, but anyone can enjoy a host of other, less explosive harvest-time activities: from cider and donuts to the farm's historical buildings, landscapes, and displays that offer a peek into autumn life in the rural Midwest during the Great Depression.

Find it: Wellington Farm, 6944 S. Military Rd., Grayling

Admission: $8 adults/$6 seniors, separate fee for punkin ammo

More Info: wellingtonfarmpark.org or 989-348-5187.