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Celebrate Halloween all month: Part 2

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: October 8, 2008 - So what do you do on Halloween if you're too big for the door-to-door and looking for real thrills?

A Hallow-tini does sound kind of good right about now, and basically every bar in the area will have some kind of Halloween-theme bash, both the weekend before Halloween and the actual night itself. There are way too many to list, so call your local dive for details.

But some unusual events can be found around town as well, from scary movies all month to a ballet set to the tale of Dracula. And unlike celebrations of the great pumpkin from back in the day, now you can celebrate all month long.

"It's become a real season unto itself," says Barbara MacRobie, public relations manager with Dance St. Louis. "It's basically all of October."

Big Screen Scares

All month, get over to Crown Square Plaza (14th and St. Louis Avenue) after dark for a night with a classic good scary (kind of) movie. Frontyard Features offers free movies, so bring a blanket for the ground and maybe an extra for yourself, and enjoy the show.

  • Friday, Oct. 10, catch "The Goonies."
  • Friday, Oct. 17, watch "Harry Potter."
  • Friday, Oct. 24, get old school with "Ghostbusters."
  • Friday, Oct. 31, get really old school with "Psycho."

For more information, go to www.fyfstl.com .

Art Of The Spook

You don't actually have to abandon all art during Halloween, though some consider pumpkin and face painting art enough. If it's not, you can also find ballet and classical music to fit the mood.

Dracula, Dance St. Louis

BalletMet Columbus takes Bram Stoker's vampire classic to a new place with this ballet, from Thursday, Oct. 23 to Sunday, Oct. 26. Times vary, and this show's great for teens, MacRobie says, especially those girls engrossed in the "Twilight" series. But it's not one to bring the little guys to.

"This is a very, very sensual and sexy version of the story," MacRobie says.

It's also great for anyone who loves Halloween, "or the shimmery allure of the dark side."

The company will perform at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center at University of Missouri-St. Louis. Tickets cost between $35 and $55, and there are some special events, too. On opening night, the first 100 guests will get glow in the dark fangs. For an extra $10, guests can meet the Count himself from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. After Saturday's show, the Monster Mash with Smash costs $20 for drinks, snacks and a live bank, and on Sunday afternoon, author Laurell K. Hamilton will give a free talk before the performance. You don't have to dress up, MacRobie says, but they welcome it.

"This is a complete Halloween evening."

Go to www.dancestlouis.org for more. 

Transylvanian Halloween, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra couldn't help but offer the chance to rock out, er, enjoy, Halloween with some frightening classics. At 6:30 p.m. Halloween night, the Symphony will present Transylvanian Halloween, featuring Dances of Transylvania by Bartok, Danse Macabre by Saint-Saens and Dream of a Witches' Sabbath by Berlioz, to name a few.

General admission tickets cost $20, reserved cost $30, for the show at Powell Symphony Hall in Grand Center.

For more, go to www.slso.org .

House Parties

If you'd rather walk around while enjoying the thrills of Halloween, haunted places abound. Here are some that can get a bit freaky.

The Darkness

Maybe a nice band and an open bar are too tame. That's OK, just head for The Darkness. Like it sounds, this haunted house is a dark, dark place. The haunted house features lots of creepy sights, including a city of the dead, a voodoo witch swamp hut and a mirror maze. Located next to Soulard Market at 1525 South 8th Street, The Darkness costs $17 for adults and $13 for kids under 11.

Go to www.scarefest.com for more.

Creepyworld, Fenton

Again, these names just say it all. Creepyworld has five haunted attractions -- Grisly's Graveyard, SiloX, Tombstone Haunted Ghost Town, Hornbuckel's Cornfield and Ravens Mansion. Make sure you're committed to this place, because you pretty much go from one place into the next. Tickets for Creepyworld cost $20 for adults and $15 for kids 11 and under. 

Lemp Mansion Halloween Party

If Halloween night's out because you know you'll be stuck by the door passing out candy and pencils, you still have options. Lemp Mansion's Halloween Party is the weekend before, on Saturday, Oct. 25 from 8 p.m. to midnight. "Where else do you go on Halloween for a grown-up Halloween party?" says Patty Pointer, one of the owners.

Tickets cost $45 in advance; $50 at the door. There will be a costume contest, three live bands, food and an open bar. Bands will be playing in different parts of the house, Pointer says, you just can't beat the location and "it's a phenomenal party."

Go to www.lempmansion.com for more.

Victorian mourning

The Chatillon-DeMenil House will be shrouded in a state of Victorian mourning for the month of October, and from 12-5 p.m., Sunday Oct. 19, it will host its 4th annual "A Death in the Family" event. All rooms will be decorated for mourning, and a seance will be held and tarot cards read to show how Victorians tried to bridge to the other side. (Photo courtesy of the DeMenil House)

For information, go to www.demenil.org/events_mourning.htm

Theatre of the Dead, St. Charles

Since there can never be enough ways to wet your pants with fear, here's another haunted house. Theater of the Dead in St. Charles tells the story of a show that goes on, no matter what.

The experience at Theatre of the Dead is based on the somewhat true story of an old theater plagued with tragedies, says Brad Livers, marketing director.

"It's the Faust Theatre reborn."

Tickets cost $17.

Go to www.theatreofthedead.com for more.

Kristen Hare is a freelance journalist.

Kristen Hare