Daily [Halloween] Spin 10.18.09

Variety is the pumpkin spice of life.

They said it couldn't be done. They said the lure of the basic yet authoritative orange, yellow, and white stripes was simply too strong. But this week, I looked my candy corn obsession right in the eye and said move aside, for there are more seasonal Hershey Kisses to sample! No need for charts or graphs this time around: The Pumpkin Spice kiss beat the Candy Corn kiss, hands down. There, I admit it. These kisses must have mad flavor, because as sick as I am right now, I'm lucky I'm able to taste, smell, or hear anything, or even stay upright long enough to type this post for that matter. But I've never let that stop me before, so onward we march through another round of seasonal events.

As long as we're marching, you may want to put on your winter boots. Mother Nature has been wreaking havoc on the Halloween season this year, and more parks were forced to temporarily suspend their seasonal festivities at some point this weekend due to inclement weather. Among them is Canobie Lake Park, which will not be open this evening. But the park promises that Screeemfest will return as scheduled on Friday...with a vengeance. This brand new event, which features three full-fledged haunted attractions as well as the whimsical "Pumpkin Palace" for children, was the brainchild of Canobie's own in-house creative team, and they have crafted quite an elaborate "history" for it. NewHampshire.com put out a great article this week in which park officials themselves describe exactly what you will find should you dare to visit Salem this month.

I've been having a lot of weird dreams since I got sick, but it could be worse. If I lived near Farmington, Utah, I might be having Frightmares!! And that is exactly how Lagoon wants it. Using its advanced "spider rating" system to indicate the spookiness of various attractions, Lagoon promises something for every member of the family. The friendly Spook-A-Boo walk-through attraction is perfectly suited for children, while older kids (and kids at heart, because we count too!) can find their evil muse in Deception or the Fun House of Fear. Despite the fact that I find the park's spider rating system to be suspect, as even one spider is too many in my house, the fright factor appears to be 100% legit at Lagoon this year.

Out on the left coast, the only thing scarier than the 49ers building a new football stadium is this year's Haunt at California's Great America. The event features such Cedar Fair favorites as Club Blood, CarnEvil, Corn Stalkers, and the brand new Toy Factory, where deranged workers will build novelties out of just about anything. But it also features unique attractions such as Camp Gonnagetcha, where the transformed Logger's Run flume serves as your only escape from the ghosts of campers past! If you're on a budget, be sure to visit the Haunt web site for some sweet deals on a Gruesome Twosome or GorePack of tickets.

Have you noticed that all of Six Flags' Fright Fest events are presented by Snickers? My sweet tooth sure has. As long as I'm expanding my horizons to include pumpkin spice flavored Hershey Kisses, why not throw in some candy bars as well? It's Halloween, people. Let's get nuts! You know, because Snickers have nuts? Oh, never mind. Six Flags America is getting nuts, and a little paranormal too. Take a load off and hop aboard Capital Railways for a behind-the-scenes tour of Paranormal Studios, where a tour guide from yesteryear is determined to put his own frightful spin on your fun. If you make it out alive, you can celebrate by dancing with Mr. Six at his Spooktacular Street Party, or taking in one of the many other scare zones or entertainment offerings at the park this Halloween. The smallest members of the family even get their own hayride! Check out the Fright Fest web page for more details.

I could use a few bales of hay right now...to lay down and take a nap! Since I'm down and out, I'm depending on all of you to have fun in my place. Live vicariously, I must. So get out there and get a-haunting! A couple more weeks and the 2009 witching season will be part of the history books. Hopefully we'll have a chance to take one more "spin" through this year's festivities before we reach that point!