Get Your Creep On

Halloween events and attractions for big kids in northern Michigan

By Lynda Wheatley | Oct. 23, 2021

PETOSKEY
Halloween BASH
City Park Grill's annual Halloween BASH is back with a full weekend of freaky festivities. Sing your spooky heart out with Karaoke from 10pm to 1am Friday, Oct. 29, then come back 9am–1am Saturday donning your best, most imaginative costume and you could win cold, hard cash from a $250 contest prize pool. Even if you don’t, you can still win the night by lubricating your old bones with City Park’s freaky drink features and dancing. Genius Brain opens for the Dee Washington Project, a phenomenal five-piece funk band. $6 cover.  

Ghost Walk
Those looking to shiver more than sweat should turn their bodies to local historian Christ Struble’s Ghost Walk event. Starting at 8pm on the steps of the Stafford’s Perry Hotel, participants will stroll the darkened streets of Petoskey for up to 90 minutes while Struble shares the spooky truth and tales uncovered from his research into local hauntings, Edgar Allan Poe-inspired deaths, and mobster dealings. Tickets, $25, available for Oct. 29 and Oct. 30 walks at www.petoskeydowntown.com. 

KINGSLEY
Screams in the Dark
If you can handle the long lines, you’ll understand why 1,000+ folks are often waiting to enter this Kingsley venue each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night in October. Often rated as one of the best haunted Halloween attractions Up North, Screams in the Dark boasts multiple attractions — this year, the terrifying and expanded Swamp of Suffering, Pandemonium, Dreadmore Manor, and the more family-friendly scare said to be appropriate for “most” ages) the Haunted Wagon Ride and Trail. For all attractions, $17 for age 12+ and $12 for kids 11 and under; $7 per person for the Haunted Wagon Ride, which includes the mausoleum and corn maze. www.evernighthaunt.com

Camp Terra
The Ghost Farm of Kingsley has expanded its forest trail to keep patrons safe in the great outdoors, but after wending through these twisted woods, “safe” is clearly only in regard to deadly pandemics. Expect to get the you-know-what scared out of you as the farmer leads your group through extreme darkness, brightness, strobe lights, and billowing fogs, and be warned: The haunt actors here (some as young as 7) not only jump, but may also touch, grab, and bump you — not recommended for the faint of heart but a heckuva lot of fun for those that want the scariest experience ever. Parental discretion is advised; macabre horror imagery happens, and though kids are allowed, they must walk — not be carried through — the forest. Not sure yours can handle it? Err on the side of caution. Adults have been known to turn mid-trail, too. www.hauntedtraverse.com  

MANISTEE
Ghost Ship
Though there’s no age requirement, the scare factor is pretty high aboard Manistee’s Ghost Ship, the haunted version of the historic car ferry SS. City of Milwaukee. From 7:30pm to 10:30pm Friday and Saturday night until Oct. 30, up to six of the ships decks will teem with the worst of the worst: long, dark hallways, creepy clowns, jagged teeth, psycho spectres, and so much tension (thanks a lot, Manistee jump-scare masters), the estimated 25- to 45-minute tour can feel like a never-ending nightmare — but in a good way, if you enjoy a heart rate hovering above 170 BPM anyway. $10 per person at the door or get fast-pass tickets to the front of the line if you buy beforehand at www.manisteeghostship.com