Ideas for a Spooktastic Halloween

In the 1980s, three housemates started getting mysterious glowing green messages on a computer screen in their rural U.K. cottage — communications that “spoke” in Olde English verse, and mentioned their names. Were these Dodleston Messages, as they came to be known, an early computer hoax or the machinations of a rankled spirit?

In February 1692, 9-year-old Betty Parris of Salem, Massachusetts, came down with a mysterious illness that had her barking like a dog, twitching and darting under furniture. Soon after, Betty’s cousin and other adolescent girls followed suit. And while villagers viewed such hysterical fits as the devil’s work, modern-day researchers believe that one of history’s most notorious witch hunts was more about psychological — rather than spiritual — unrest.

After Japan’s deadly 2011 tsunami, cab drivers in towns marked by tragedy began to notice an eerie phenomenon: mysterious passengers who disappeared during the journey. Cabbies would pick up a fare and start driving to the destination, then — poof! — the person vanished from the back seat. An investigation found that several other taxi drivers had eerily similar stories of phantom fares. Was it a reaction to the area’s collective grief, manifesting itself in paranormal sightings? Possibly, but there is one aspect that cannot be explained away by psychology: the drivers’ logs.

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A good horror flick has classic elements: a menacing character, some gore and violence, a touch of the supernatural and coffin-loads of suspense. However, some books are even scarier than the screen. We rounded up five super creepy reads that will get your heart racing faster than those go-to thrillers (yes, even scarier than It). These titillating tales reframe folklore, redefine the ghost story and add some much-needed diversity to witchy narratives.

When Gary Lachman was living with his Blondie bandmates in a ramshackle NYC loft, he met a wild artist who sparked his passions for the occult. Lachman delved into influential occult icons like Aleister Crowley, and penned a few of his own books on the subject. Here are nine other terrifying titles that delve into shamanism, the black arts, secret societies and all things magick.

You know what’s scarier than wandering around a haunted house? Having that haunted house inside your head. The theatrical industry is marrying technology and terror in new chilling ways. Virtual and augmented realities are being used to create scary experiences where everyday settings — a kitchen, a warehouse — turn into haunted houses the moment you put on goggles.

Going to Paris’ Live Thriller — an enthralling, scary-as-hell interactive theater experience — has been compared to being plunged into a living, breathing horror movie. Actors accompany theatergoers on a mystery-solving adventure that’s designed to get your adrenaline pumping. It’s part immersive theater, part puzzle-solving and part scaring you out of your mind.

This paranormal investigation experience, which takes place in Mexico City’s spookiest corners, cuts through the BS of typical ghost tours. Tour Insólito is no haunted house jump-scare nightmare with costumed actors. Instead, participants are encouraged to dabble DIY-style in the otherworldly, ultimately drawing their own conclusions: Are ghosts real or not? You decide.

After traveling an endless road to nowhere in the Arizona desert, it comes into view: a cluster of giant, white-and-yellow semi-hemispheric domes poking up out of the landscape like a copse of giant poisonous mushrooms. The abandoned, never-completed domes of Casa Grande are a regular spot for local devil worshippers, ghost hunters and daring late-night partiers. Whether you believe the site is haunted or not, visiting it is undeniably creepy.

On Halloween (as with COVID), your mask matters. An artist with fifteen years’ experience making macabre masks and working with a special effects company provides a 7-step process for creating a spectacular face covering — from character concept to creepy completion.

Short on time before Halloween? Become a bat! Cut an old umbrella in half, attach it to the arms of a black hoodie using hot glue or safety pins, then secure those metal umbrella thingies with black electrical tape. Voila: You’re everyone’s favorite nocturnal predator. You can get creative about ears, teeth and makeup to compliment your newfound wings.

Since some of us are still wearing masks anyway, your costume can be halfway there. For example, become a jack-o'-lantern by drawing a nose and mouth on an orange mask. Or be a mummy: Buy a plain muslin mask and use gold thread to stitch muslin fabric around it. If that feels like too much work, wear a standard surgical mask and pop on a blue shower cap for a quick doctor costume.

Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever had a paranormal experience? We want to hear about it.