If you reside in eastern Suffolk County, October is the time for picking pumpkins, celebrating fall festivals at the numerous east end farms, such as Fink's in Wading River, and to make a pilgrimage to the beckoning calls of screams and thrills at the Dark Side, also in Wading River. What if you live in Nassau County or want to gather with friends or family that live across border? As hundreds of motorists clog Sound Avenue and Route 25 on the eastern north fork every weekend, consider taking in your Halloween experience in the opposite direction.
Celebrating its 20th year of haunting Long Island's spook seekers, F.W. Schmidt's Family Farm has plenty of fall fanfare for all ages. During the day, families with little ones in tow can enjoy the traditional autumn revelries, such as picking pumpkins, romping through a seven acre corn maze, embarking on hay rides, visiting the farm's animals and exploring a playground that includes the largest hay pyramid. After the sun goes down, it's time for the big kids and grownups to steel up some courage and brave what lies ahead on the farm.
Once the October winds start to blow, evil is awakened and unleashed in the haunted mansion and haunted corn maze, and the resident demented doctor fires up his instruments of torture once again in The Experiment. According to the haunted legend, buried beings from experiments gone horrifically wrong are buried in the corn maze, stirring and emerging after dark to terrorize guests as they try to navigate through the shadows and ushering them toward the foreboding house, The Haunted Mansion of Melville. Enter, if you dare, but only the bravest and luckiest will escape the clutches of an assortment of maniacal, bloodthirsty, demonic and ghoulish characters that dwell inside each room. In The Experiment, the legendary doctor that enables these monstrous creatures to thrive awaits his next victims. This year’s fright nights begin on Friday, October 3. F.W. Schmidt's Family Farm is located on Pinelawn Road in Melville. For a schedule of hauntings, directions and ticket information, visit www.schmittshaunt.com
If you are looking for a seasonal nighttime activity that small tots and individuals with faint hearts can safely appreciate, a visit to The Rise of the Jack-o-Lanterns will mesmerize and impress every guest. Visitors stroll their way through a quarter-mile trail, guided by glowing and flickering displays of 5,000 unique hand-carved pumpkins. Each pumpkin is a work of creativity, all painstakingly hand-carved by local artists and sculptors to light up the night in eerie splendor. There are traditional jack-o-lanterns that express the entire spectrum of dramatic faces from the grimacing to the sleepy to the spooked to the downright silly. More intricate pumpkin carvings depict various themes, including current and classic film and television characters, comic strip characters, superheroes, musicians, star athletes and plenty of Halloween characters. The Rise of the Jack-o-Lanterns has become an annual traditional event for many attendees of all ages from toddlers to seniors. It has also become a location for marriage proposals carved out in pumpkins that are sure to surprise unsuspecting significant others.
One of the new displays for 2014 is a recreation of the Manhattan skyline. Another new feature brings creatures from the prehistoric era to life-sized reincarnation. Each segment of the dinosaur's skeletal structure is represented by a carved pumpkin, and then they are assembled to create the entire glowering beast. There is one additional new development for The Rise in 2014. The jack-o-lanterns are going even further west, all the way to California, to premier at a second location in Los Angeles. To take a nighttime stroll under the full moon rising high over Long Island, the Rise of the Jack-O-Lanterns is located at Old Westbury Gardens and begins on Thursday, October 16. Visit www.therise.org for directions, ticket information and a show time calendar. Tickets to this event sell out quickly, so be sure to make your reservations now.
Celebrating its 20th year of haunting Long Island's spook seekers, F.W. Schmidt's Family Farm has plenty of fall fanfare for all ages. During the day, families with little ones in tow can enjoy the traditional autumn revelries, such as picking pumpkins, romping through a seven acre corn maze, embarking on hay rides, visiting the farm's animals and exploring a playground that includes the largest hay pyramid. After the sun goes down, it's time for the big kids and grownups to steel up some courage and brave what lies ahead on the farm.
Once the October winds start to blow, evil is awakened and unleashed in the haunted mansion and haunted corn maze, and the resident demented doctor fires up his instruments of torture once again in The Experiment. According to the haunted legend, buried beings from experiments gone horrifically wrong are buried in the corn maze, stirring and emerging after dark to terrorize guests as they try to navigate through the shadows and ushering them toward the foreboding house, The Haunted Mansion of Melville. Enter, if you dare, but only the bravest and luckiest will escape the clutches of an assortment of maniacal, bloodthirsty, demonic and ghoulish characters that dwell inside each room. In The Experiment, the legendary doctor that enables these monstrous creatures to thrive awaits his next victims. This year’s fright nights begin on Friday, October 3. F.W. Schmidt's Family Farm is located on Pinelawn Road in Melville. For a schedule of hauntings, directions and ticket information, visit www.schmittshaunt.com
If you are looking for a seasonal nighttime activity that small tots and individuals with faint hearts can safely appreciate, a visit to The Rise of the Jack-o-Lanterns will mesmerize and impress every guest. Visitors stroll their way through a quarter-mile trail, guided by glowing and flickering displays of 5,000 unique hand-carved pumpkins. Each pumpkin is a work of creativity, all painstakingly hand-carved by local artists and sculptors to light up the night in eerie splendor. There are traditional jack-o-lanterns that express the entire spectrum of dramatic faces from the grimacing to the sleepy to the spooked to the downright silly. More intricate pumpkin carvings depict various themes, including current and classic film and television characters, comic strip characters, superheroes, musicians, star athletes and plenty of Halloween characters. The Rise of the Jack-o-Lanterns has become an annual traditional event for many attendees of all ages from toddlers to seniors. It has also become a location for marriage proposals carved out in pumpkins that are sure to surprise unsuspecting significant others.
One of the new displays for 2014 is a recreation of the Manhattan skyline. Another new feature brings creatures from the prehistoric era to life-sized reincarnation. Each segment of the dinosaur's skeletal structure is represented by a carved pumpkin, and then they are assembled to create the entire glowering beast. There is one additional new development for The Rise in 2014. The jack-o-lanterns are going even further west, all the way to California, to premier at a second location in Los Angeles. To take a nighttime stroll under the full moon rising high over Long Island, the Rise of the Jack-O-Lanterns is located at Old Westbury Gardens and begins on Thursday, October 16. Visit www.therise.org for directions, ticket information and a show time calendar. Tickets to this event sell out quickly, so be sure to make your reservations now.