1. Dead by Dawn Dead and Breakfast
MANITOWOC
Most people go to B&Bs to soak up some local flavor and get a good night’s rest in a comfortable bed. At Dead by Dawn, don’t expect to get much shuteye, as you’ll be visited – loudly – by creepy circus performers and other ghoulish characters throughout the night. When not getting spooked, you can enjoy a Bloody Mummia in their “creep-easy,” The Shrunken Head. Reservations are required. The owners also do a horror-themed festival at the Manitowoc Expo Grounds called Windigo Fest (Oct. 6-8).
Tell us who you’d pick to be a Betty this year!
2. The Dark Side of the House on the Rock
SPRING GREEN
Held at the famously eclectic home of weird and sometimes hair-raising artifacts (i.e., lots of creepy dolls), this event provides another layer of spookiness on Friday and Saturday nights throughout October. The lights are dimmed, eerie music builds to a climax and tons of scary decorations get your heart racing. Freaky costumed actors add to the chills.
3. Jerry Smith Pumpkin Farm
SOMERS
Besides gourds of all shapes and sizes, the farm also offers hot drinks and treats. Enjoy family-friendly hayrides, a corn maze and petting zoo, or get a little bit creepier with a visit to the farm’s spooky, cobbled-together haunted house. Open daily through October, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Haunted house: Mon-Fri 4-8 p.m., Sat-Sun 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
4. Sheboygan Asylum
SHEBOYGAN FALLS
This nighttime tour/investigation purports to find evidence of ghosts in the abandoned and allegedly haunted asylum built in 1940. Choose between a 7-10 p.m. or 11 p.m.-2 a.m. timeslot, but as their ticket site notes, there’s no guarantee of encountering paranormal activity – “the ghosts are not on the payroll, and we can’t make them perform for guests.”
5. Sawdust City Fright Fest
OSHKOSH
This two-day “small but growing” horror film fest takes place at the historic TIME Community Theater in downtown Oshkosh. Things kick off with an appropriately dated screening of Friday the 13th Part 2 the night of Friday, Oct. 13. The next day features screenings all day. Of the 19 short and feature-length films, six were made in Wisconsin, including The Headmistress, released earlier this year. All proceeds from the fest go to supporting the TIME, a non-profit community theater run by volunteers.
6. American Ghost Walks Tour
MILWAUKEE, WAUKESHA, LAKE GENEVA, MADISON AND BAYFIELD
If people in rubber masks screaming in your face or slasher flicks aren’t your speed, the American Ghost Walks tour company, founded in Milwaukee, offers walking tours that combine history and accounts from people who have encountered the supernatural. In addition to Wisconsin, they offer tours in Chicago and other cities in Illinois, Minnesota, and beyond.
