Halloween [1]'s not just for tricking, treating, and dancing the night away to "Monster Mash." Shake things up this year with a cheap and easy trip to a scary spot for a Halloween you'll never forget — priceline.com [2] tells us the most mysterious places to visit.
With lower hotel rates for the fall shoulder season, Halloween can be the ideal time to take a short, spur-of-the-moment getaway, according to priceline.com Travel Analyst Brian Ek. Most cities will be full of haunted houses, parades, and parties, but priceline.com has compiled destinations (with recommended tips, deals, and movies to watch before you go) that take Halloween over the top.
New Orleans, LA
Next to Mardi Gras, Halloween [3] is New Orleans's biggest celebration with parades, street parties, and more. Voodoo tradition permeates The Big Easy, from the French Quarter to its cemeteries, also known as "cities of the dead." Be sure to stop in at the Voodoo Museum on Dumaine Street first for some protective potions. The French Quarter offers many walking ghost tours, and the Voodoo Music Festival runs Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, with headliners like Ozzy Osbourne, Girl Talk, and Deadmau5.
Sample Hotel Express Deals
- Convention Center/Warehouse Arts district [4] — 3 stars, $315/night, includes free WiFi, free breakfast, pool, fitness center.
- Downtown [5] — 4.5 stars, $358, includes pool, fitness center, and is pet-friendly.
Watch Before You Go
- Interview With the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles movie
- The Skeleton Key movie
San Jose, CA
The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA, is full of staircases that lead nowhere, doors that open to large drop-offs, and secret passageways. While mourning the death of her husband and child, Sarah Winchester is said to have built the odd home in order to confuse the ghosts that trailed in her wake. On select evenings this October and November, visitors can attend a very special "open house" for the mansion and its "residents," touring the myriad of rooms and passageways with only the moonlight and a flashlight to guide them.
Sample Hotel Express Deals
- Sunnyvale [6] — 3 stars, $78/night, includes free parking, free WiFi, free breakfast, pool, fitness center.
- Santa Clara [7] — 3 stars, $108/night, includes free parking, free WiFi, free breakfast, pool, fitness center, and is pet-friendly.
Watch Before You Go
- Haunting of Winchester House movie
Salem, MA
Salem might win the title of Halloween [8] Town, USA. After all, it is home to the infamous witch hysteria and subsequent hanging of 19 women on Gallows Hill. Visitors can enter the Witch Dungeon to see a reenactment of a witch trial. In the evening, check out the guided candlelight Witch Trial Trail, or take the Salem Witch Walk. Tour the House of Seven Gables, the subject of Nathaniel Hawthorne's book, and don't miss the several balls that Salem throws around the special holiday — just be sure to reserve tickets early.
Sample Hotel Express Deals
- Bedford/Burlington [9] — 3.5 stars, $74/night, includes free parking, pool, fitness center.
- Woburn/Wakefield [10] — 3.5 stars, $129/night, includes free parking, pool, fitness center.
Watch Before You Go
- Hocus Pocus [11] movie
- The Crucible movie
Savannah, GA
Savannah has a rich ghost and pirate history. At the Sorrel-Weed House, visitors can rent paranormal-activity measuring gear and participate in a Halloween [12] night ghost hunt in the mansion, or take the Savannah Ghosts and Ghouls walking tour. Have dinner at The Pirates House, where legend says unwary visitors were smuggled through a secret passageway to waiting ships, where they became unwilling seamen.
Sample Hotel Express Deals
- Savannah Historic District [13] — 4 stars, $137/night, includes free WiFi, pool, fitness center.
Watch Before You Go
- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil movie
Sleepy Hollow, NY
The real-life Sleepy Hollow, near the Tappan Zee Bridge, is a must see for more literary Halloween [14] and Washington Irving fans. Philipsburg Manor transforms its grounds into Horseman’s Hollow, filled with vampires, witches, and the Headless Horseman himself. Take a lantern tour of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to see Irving's grave and enter the crypt of notorious vampire Barnabas Collins. For tamer fare, listen to the reading of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at the Old Dutch Church.
Sample Hotel Express Deals
- Tarrytown/Elmsford/Hawthorne [15] — 3.5 stars, $110/night, includes free parking, free WiFi, pool, fitness center.
- Rye/White Plains [16] — 3.5 stars, $107/night, includes pool, fitness center.
Watch Before You Go
- Sleepy Hollow TV series on Fox
- Sleepy Hollow movie
- Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Gettysburg, PA
This is the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the American Civil War, and paranormal experts claim that long-dead soldiers and civilians still walk the fields and local houses. Book a candlelit ghost walk on the battlefield. At the historic Farnsworth House, visitors can participate in a seance and conjure up spirits. Locals say Gettysburg is the most haunted patch of ground in America, so there's no shortage of options for amateur paranormal investigators looking for a ghost sighting.
Sample Hotel Express Deals
- Gettysburg Area [17] — 3.5 stars, $122/night, includes free WiFi, pool, fitness center, and is pet-friendly.
- Chambersburg Area [18] — 2.5 stars, $62/night, includes free parking, free WiFi, free breakfast, pool, fitness center, and is pet-friendly.
Watch Before You Go
- Gettysburg movie
Orlando, FL, and Hollywood, CA
Hollywood's top animators, makeup artists, and scare specialists have created a live collection of haunted houses, special "scare zones," and shows featuring characters from The Walking Dead [19], Freddy vs. Jason, Insidious, and more. For those with multiple Halloween [20] activities to attend, Horror Nights is open on select dates from Sept. 18 to Nov. 1.
Sample Hotel Express Deals
- Orlando: International Drive/Convention Center/Pointe Orlando Area [21] — 4 stars, $120/night, includes pool, fitness center, and onsite restaurant.
- Hollywood: Beverly Hills/Century City [22] — 4 stars, $201/night, includes free WiFi, pool, and is pet-friendly.
Watch Before You Go
- Freddy vs. Jason movie
- The Walking Dead TV show
- Insidious and The Purge movies