DC family holiday guide: top five Halloween events

October 19, 10:25 AMDC Parenting ExaminerMaura Mahoney

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PHOTO: M. Mahoney. Get ready for Halloween!

Halloween in the D.C. area is not just about trick-or-treating. Aside from the school parties and neighborhood parades, there is a monthlong array of special events, ranging from autumnal celebrations to scream-inducing fright-fests. Here's a list of the top holiday attractions for families, to guarantee you enjoy the buildup to the night of the 31st almost as much as the actual holiday itself.  

Pumpkin Patches

Pick up a pumpkin or two, cider, jams, jellies at apples at these family favorite farms. Go for a hayride, eat a candied apple, and plan your jack-o-lantern designs. Last year Barack Obama stencils were hot; this year, apparently, Twilight stencils are all the rage. Personally, I prefer the classic (and speedy) designs -- but whatever your carving goals are, you can get great inspiration from this web site and this one.

Boo at the Zoo

My children always loved this Washington tradition. With this handy survival guide, you will too. Boo at the Zoo is for kids up to age 12, and it's October 23rd, 24th, and 25th, from 5:30-8:30. 

Fright at the White House Family Scavenger Hunt

This Saturday, October 24 at 4:30, kids ages 7 and up and their families can join Watson Adventures' Fright at the White House Family Scavenger Hunt. Participants will learn about the ghosts who roamed the halls of the White House and other buildings in the area. You may run into the ghosts of Abraham Lincoln, Dolley Madison, Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and other less famous but equally restless spirits.

Markoff's Haunted Forest

Alex Markoff has been running this extremely popular Halloween tradition with his brothers Nick and Matt since the early 1990s. This scary walk in the woods in Poolesville, Maryland, takes about 20 minutes for the actual hike and features skeletons, tunnels, and costumed "inhabitants" who provide thrills and chills. There are bonfires and haunted hayrides while you wait your turn (sometimes for quite a while) to enter the forest. This is NOT for young children or sensitive ones. (Try the Enchanted Forest instead.)

Field of Screams

My almost-thirteen-year-old had the time of her life at a birthday party at this Olney attraction -- her voice was hoarse for a couple of days afterward. Her descriptions alone scared her nine-year-old siblings and her mother, to her extreme satisfaction. Check out their web site to decide whether its too intense for your child -- if you have any doubts, then it probably is! Field of Screams is an multifaceted scare-athon:   They have a haunted house, a haunted trail, a haunted hayride, bonfires, and the "corn maze of mayhem."

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