Haunted attractions, vampires, jazz and marching bands this week

The spookiest week of the year is upon us! Get in the Halloween spirit with one of these events.

Listen 3:35
Image courtesy of the Bates Motel

Image courtesy of the Bates Motel

Mischief at the Mütter Costume Contest
Mütter Museum
19 S. 22nd Street
Philadelphia
Friday October 26, 2018, 6:30 p.m. – 11 p.m.
$30 – $50 (21 and older only)

The Mütter’s collection of medical oddities are either macabre or intriguing, depending on your point of view. So it should come as no surprise that it’s the backdrop to an annual Halloween-themed event. The 4th Annual Mischief At the Mütter Costume Contest includes a beer garden, music by DJ Brickhouse and free snacks. There’s even a tarot reading from Queen of Wands tarot. There are six costume categories in the contest, with prizes. You can register online or onsite up to the start of the event.

New Hope Ghost Tours
Main and Ferry Streets
New Hope, PA
8 p.m. (Friday and Saturday nights in October and Halloween night, Saturday nights otherwise)
$10

New Hope’s picturesque streets take on a different tone at nighttime and that’s when their Ghost Tours begin. The lantern-led walks explore the ghostly history of the town. The late author and ghost hunter Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, a Bucks County native once referred to as the Mistress of the Macabre, created and designed the tour. Reservations are only required for group tours.

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor


Boo at the Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
3400 West Girard Ave.
October 27 and 28 (last two days), 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Included with zoo admission: $10 for kids 2-11, $24.95 for adults

The Philadelphia Zoo’s annual Boo At The Zoo combines the normal zoo attractions with some special ones for the season. Kids are encouraged to come in costume for a trick or treat safari, Instagram-worthy pics can be taken in front of the giant pumpkin wall, and there is even a “Spooky Overnights” option for children 6 and over with adult chaperones, which gives you early admission to Boo At The Zoo.

The Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride
Arasapha Farm
1835 Middletown Road
Glen Mills, PA
Through October 31
6:30
$15 – $100

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys being thoroughly scared, albeit in a safe space, the nationally known Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride is the place for you. The attraction, which has been around for 28 years, is a sophisticated mix of Hollywood-level special effects, convincingly costumed actors and just about everything you could imagine in high-end scare tactics on a suburban farm. There are three options – the Bates Motel, the Haunted Hayride or the Revenge of the Scarecrows Haunted Trail that allow you to choose your poison…at least figuratively.

House in the Hollow and Sleepy Hallow Hayride
881 Highland Road
Newtown, PA
7 p.m. – 10 p.m.
$13- $48

This attraction offers three options: Sleepy Hollow Hayride, Haunted House in the Hollow and Field of Fright. There’s also live music and a ‘reserve your own bonfire’ option, in case you need a warm, cozy place to huddle with friends or family after being scared half to death.

Such Things as Vampires
People’s Light Theater
39 Conestoga Road
Malvern, PA
Through October 31
$35 – $81.40

When Irish novelist Bram Stoker wrote Dracula in 1897, it’s unlikely he realized what a pop culture phenomenon his creation would be. Yet more than century later, the legend of the blood-dependent Count Dracula has been told, re-told and adapted in countless movies, TV shows, books and plays. Stoker likely wouldn’t have considered his gothic tale as the basis for a musical that incorporates ballads, rock anthems and more but that’s the highlight of “Such Things As Vampires.” The musical started off the current season at the People’s Light Theater, Malvern’s community-based theater company.


Día De Los Muertos Festival
Penn Museum
3260 South Street
Philadelphia
Saturday, October 27, 2018 Family activities: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., Outdoor evening festival : 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Daytime activities free with museum admission; adult activities after 5 p.m., $15

The museum’s celebration of the Day of the Dead includes music, story time, ballet, an altar contest and hot chocolate, while the adult portion adds a cash bar, a History of Tequila presentation and a Latin Dance Party spun by DJ Joe Broscoe.

Fully Committed
Delaware Theater Company
200 Water Street
Wilmington, DE
Through November 4
$47 – $57

Sam is a struggling actor whose money-making gig is holding down the reservation line at a swanky New York City restaurant. As you might expect, the job has its challenges and they are played for laughs in “Fully Committed.” On October 31, there is a “pre-show viewpoint” chat 45 minutes prior to the show, and on October 25 and November 1, there are “post-show talkbacks” right after the show.

Sweat
Philadelphia Theater Company
Suzanne Roberts Theater
480 S. Broad Street
Philadelphia
Through November 4
$25 – $59

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway darling comes to Philadelphia with a stellar local cast. The play takes place in Reading, Pennsylvania, and showcases the struggles of small-town America and what happens when industry that generations of families counted on for support slowly disappears. African-American playwright Lynn Nottage wrote the play based on her research of how the declining railroad industry impacted real-life residents of Reading.

Psychedelic Furs
Scottish Rite Auditorium
315 White Horse Pike
Collingswood, N.J.
Saturday, October 27, 8 p.m.
$39.50 – $59.50

The 80’s hitmakers from the U.K. have become known to a brand new audience thanks to their songs making an appearance in popular current TV and film projects. 1984’s “Ghost In You” was featured on the second season of Netflix’ “Stranger Things” and 1982’s “Love My Way” is in the Oscar-nominated 2017 coming-of-age film “Call Me By Your Name.”

Hub City Jazz Festival
October 25 -28
Various venues
New Brunswick, NJ
$89

New Brunswick is the place to hear some great jazz this weekend as the 14th Annual Hub City Jazz Festival unites jazz music lovers from around the country and the world. Philly duo Pieces of a Dream brings their “Mt. Airy Groove” to the festival, which includes a variety of internationally known jazz musicians from different disciplines.

Delaware State Hornets vs. North Carolina Central Eagles
Alumni Stadium
Delaware State University, Dover, DE
Saturday, October 27, 2 p.m.
$50

Is this a battle on the gridiron or a battle for marching band supremacy? The two MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) foes will try to find a win on the field but Delaware State’s Approaching Storm and North Carolina Central’s Marching Sound Machine will try to outdo each other at what should be a bombastic half-time show.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal