Want a Scary Halloween in Boston?

Best Boston Picks for Blood, Gore,and Fun on Halloween

Halloween . . . Boston celebrates this favorite American holiday with gusto for at least a month before the actual event on October 31.  After all, Boston has some of the country's oldest graveyards, haunted tales, and stories of gore, plus great places to shop for Halloween costumes.

Here are some of the best places to celebrate Halloween in Boston . . . starting with graveyard tours and ghost stories.

Ghosts and Gravestones Tour

Not just for Halloween, Boston's nightly Ghost and Gravestones Tour combines a trolley ride with walking to visit the city's scariest sites. 

Costumed "gravedigger" guides show you the darker side of Boston.  They'll entertain you with haunted tales about the city's earliest days and strange discoveries - the mysterious North End tunnels, the unexplained Day of Darkness back in 1780, and the haunting ghost of Boston Harbor, the Lady in Black.

You'll also visit 2 of Boston oldest graveyards, learn about the skull and angel imagery on the tombstones, and visit the final resting place of American Revolution patriots such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams.

You'll hear legends about Boston's famous macabre events, shudder at stories about the notorious Boston Strangler, and learn about the Salem Witch Trials.

Ghosts and Gravestones tours tend to be especially popular around Halloween in Boston - so book early!

Details

Tours last about 1.5 hours, and are conducted nightly from June through October, plus additional nights in April, May, and November. Children under 4 are not permitted due to loud noises, and the tour company warns that the tour may not be suitable for children under 13.

Since part of the tour requires walking, wear sturdy shoes. If the night of your tour appears dark and stormy,

Tickets: $37 for adults and $24 for children 4-12. Get a 10% discount by booking through the company's website.

Phone-in reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance. Call 1-800-269-3626. You must call even if you book on-line.

Location:  Tours depart from Old Town Trolley stop #1, at the end of the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel on Atlantic Avenue.
Nearest T station is Blue Line/Aquarium
Parking options: See Boston parking garages near North End

Free Self-Guided Tour Through Boston's Burying Grounds

Halloween is the perfect time to explore Boston's graveyards - some of the oldest and most historic in the United States.  You can easily explore these Freedom Trail sites on your own.  

Granary Burying Ground contains the remains of some of the greatest Revolutionary War heroes.  One of Boston's oldest historic sites, it is where you'll find tombstones and grave markers for patriots Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and the 5 Boston massacre victims.

A block away is King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston's oldest cemetery. Many of the first generation of English Puritans who settled in Boston are buried here. You'll see intricately carved seventeenth century headstones showing Time wrestling with Death.

And, if you enjoy scary ghost stories, King's Chapel Burying Ground is supposedly haunted by Captain Kidd, hanged for piracy in 1701.

Of course, like many other Halloween tales told in Boston, that story may not actually be true . . .

Excellent information signs at both of these burying grounds on Boston's Freedom Trail will guide you as you discover where all the bodies are buried.

Details
Cost:  Free
Location: 
-  Granary Burying Ground is next to Park Street Church, at the Park Street/Tremont Street intersection
-  King's Chapel Burying Ground is next to King's Chapel
Closest T station: Green Line/Government Center, Red and Green Lines/Park Street
More details:  Granary Burying Ground and King's Chapel Burying Ground

GoreFest VII: The Worster Seed

ImprovBoston resurrects its famous blood-splattered-comedy-gore-musical during the 10 days before Halloween.

Fans love ImprovBoston's tall but bloody horror tales.  This year, GoreFest provides chills and thrills as it combines "monster kid" movies like The Bad Seed and The Good Son in its musical horror show about ultra-creepy twins from Worcester.

You'll laugh at the terrifying antics of the twins, mutilated nannies, and bloody proms. Due to the raucous humor, sacrilege, and squirting blood, ImprovBoston warns that this Halloween romp is not for children, the squeamish, the easily offended, or anyone with a sense of decency.

But if you love this kind of comedy, not just for Halloween, get your tickets now.  And you may also want to check out other best Boston comedy clubs.

Details

When:   2009 dates are October 22-25 and October 29-31 at 8pm, with additional 10pm shows on Oct. 23, 24, 30, 31.
For more information: Call 617-576-1253 for times and reservations; website
Tickets: Details not available yet . . . probably will be about $22 adults, $19 students and seniors
Address: ImprovBoston Theater, 40 Prospect Street, Cambridge (Central Square area)
Nearest T station: Red Line/Central Square

Pumpkin Decorating for Children and Teens

2008 event - stay posted for 2009 update!

Just in time for Halloween, Boston Public Library invites you to come decorate pumpkins with supplies provided by Tiny's Flowers. Enjoy this free event at the Central Branch in Copley Square. You must call to register in advance.

Details:

Date:  Sunday, October 26, 2008, 2pm.
Call 617-859-2334 to register. Free of charge.
Boston Public Library, Young Adults Room; Central Branch at Copley Square
700 Boylston Street, Back Bay
Nearest T station: Green Line/Copley

Evil Dead 2 and more horror on the silver screen

For big-screen thrills and chills, head across the Charles River to the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square for a month of thrills and chills as the theater airs 2 repertory series invoking madness and evil.

Through the first part of October, you can revel in "Films of Mystery and Madness" featuring Edgar Allan Poe masterpieces on the wide screen. 

On October 14, don't miss the live musical event, Dead Man's Bones.

And on the 16th, get ready to celebrate darkness, evil, and crime, Boston-style, as the theater launches a new series as a riff on hometown author Dennis Lehane's newest short story collection, "Boston Noir." 

In the Brattle's "Boston Noir" series, you can catch Beantown crime flicks such as Mystic River, The Departed, and for extra chills, The Boston Strangler. 

Finally, on the 30th and 31st, catch the special Halloween Boston presentations of Evil Dead 2.

Details

Location:   40 Brattle Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge
Nearest T Station: Red Line/Harvard Square
For more information: 617-876-6837; website

. . . and what would Halloween in Boston be without RHPS?

Don't even try to imagine it!  Fans of the campy Rocky Horror Picture Show will want to catch the midnight screenings of this cult classic . . . if only to dress up in your best black fishnets, corsets, combat boots, and goth make-up to join other like-minded souls in the theater's vicinity in Harvard Square on Halloween. 

Midnight showings on September 26, October 30, and October 31.

Details and directions

Location: 10 Church Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge
Nearest T Station: Red Line/Harvard Square; take Church Street exit out of station

For tickets and show times:  

Dress in your ghoulish best for Halloween Town

Halloween Town is the biggest Halloween party in the city for toddlers to 12 year olds. The Boston Medical Center hosts this annual event at the Seaport World Trade Center.

Let your children don their scariest costumes and bring them to this safe and fun event featuring ghosts, story tellers, face painting, "Monsterpiece Theatre," costumed characters from movies and books, a haunted mine, and much more. Grammy-winning musician Dan Zanes and Friends will perform multiple concerts throughout the event.  Scary detail for parents: in 2008, over 120,000 pieces of candy were given out.

All proceeds from Halloween Town benefit Boston Medical Center's Kids Fund, which helps Boston’s neediest babies and children with basic items such as formula, clothing, and mattresses.

Details and directions

Date and time:  October 24 and 25, 10am - 6pm
Location:  Seaport World Trade Center, Seaport District, South Boston
Nearest T Station:  Red Line/South Station; take Silver Line to World Trade Center
Cost:  $19 for adults; $16 for children and seniors; children under 3 are free 
Half-Price tickets from Goldstar Events (free sign-up)

"Divas Unleashed" Halloween - Boston's best Pet Parade

Only a few years old and already a cherished Halloween Boston tradition, the South End's 5th Annual Divas Unleashed Halloween Pet Parade marches from the South End to the Boston Common Bandstand on Sunday, October 25 at 12 noon - 2pm.

If you're near Boston's South End, stop by to see diva dogs decked out in their finest macabre outfits.   The parade starts at the Doggie Day Play Center on 400 Tremont Street and ends at SoWa Open Market on 450 Harrison Ave, where paraders will be met with live music and performances.  

Randy Price will Emcee, and Grand Diva will be Erin O'Malley from radio station MIX 104, along with her pooch Casey.   Prizes will be awarded to the Most Original, Most Outrageous, and Best Dressed couple or group.

Proceeds from the dogs' registration fees are donated to the MSPCA (Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

Details

Date:  Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 12 noon (10-11:30 am registration)
To march in the parade, register in advance at Doggie Day Center, 400 Tremont Street
Registration fee: 2009 fees are $25, or $50 for VIP, plus $10 if you register on the day of the event.  You and your diva doggy a get a special Trick or Treat bag of goodies to share.
For more information: Call Doggie Day Playcenter at 617-426-7387 ext. 221
Nearest T station: Orange Line/Back Bay

Need a Great Costume for Halloween?
Boston's Favorite Place for Budget Costumes

During the weeks before Halloween, Boston party-goers and power shoppers head across the river to the Garment District in Cambridge for budget costume choices. In addition to this funky secondhand clothing store's usual vast array of recycled costumes, retro fashions, and vintage gems, you'll find a great assortment of wigs, swords, masks, body paint, and other Halloween gear in the month or so before Boston's favorite holiday. Best of all, the budget prices mean you'll still have $$s left over to buy candy.

My best tip for the Garment District:  Go early to beat the crowds and get the best selection!

Details

Address: 200 Broadway at Portland Street intersection, Cambridge
Open: Daily; call 617-867-5230 for hours
Nearest T station: Red Line/Central Square

Not Just for Halloween!
Boston Costume Palace Dorothy's Boutique

In the weeks before Halloween, Boston costume shoppers line up outside this "accessories" emporium on the edge of Back Bay and Fenway next to the Christian Science Mother Church. A bouncer keeps the enthusiastic shoppers under control as they wait their turn to browse the crowded aisles in this small but packed specialty boutique.

If you need hats, fake mustaches, wigs, affordably priced costumes, fishnet stockings, inexpensive cowboy boots, outrageously fake jewels, or over-the-edge stiletto heels, this is the place to come.  It's probably the most popular place for over-the-edge costumes for Halloween in Boston - but of course you can also shop here at other times of the year to find that perfect accessory or hairpiece.

Most costumes are for adults.  You'll want to hit the gym and get in top shape before strutting around in some of them.  Others provide a little more cover.  Don't bring your children unless you want to explain the x-rated details to an amused audience of fellow-shoppers.

This family-owned shop has been here since 1947, and for the fashionably adventurous, it's not just for Halloween!  Boston is a more interesting place to party because of it.

Details and Directions

Address: 190 Massachusetts Ave, near Huntington Ave, Back Bay
Hours: Open daily; call 617-262-9255 for hours
Discount coupons:  Sometimes available on Dorothy Boutique's website
Nearest T station:  Green Line/Hynes or Pru Center