Halloween is approaching, and Central Massachusetts is getting spooky! There are festive events for all age groups happening throughout the month, so get your broomsticks and black cats ready.

HALLOWEEN IS BIG BUISNESS

Candy, costumes, gothic get-togethers and haunted events make Halloween one of the most popular holidays of the year. However, Halloween also impacts local businesses, and whole industries are based on this one day of the year. This year, we looked at some local Halloween events and businesses to see how this haunted holiday influences their marketing strategies and their earnings. Because Halloween is not just a holiday, it is an enterprise.

Niki Luparelli is a singer known in Worcester for her vintage style, bombshell appeal and saucy sense of humor. As a performer, she has performed at many venues throughout the city but was inspired by the history of Bull Mansion, located at 55 Pearl St., to create an original event that was full of goth glamour and eerie fun. The Third Haunted Speakeasy combines classy costumes and ’20s-era music with the Halloween hallmarks of death and mystery. Luparelli described her ideas as a “cross between The Shining and American Horror Story Murder House.”

Bull Mansion has a rich history and was built by an owner of Weston & Smith company as a wedding gift for his daughter and her husband, Dr. Bull. Inspired by the history, Luparelli has used the real-life people from the mansion to give rise to ghosts who have faced bloody ends walking the corridors and interacting with guests. The goal is to create the feeling that guests are walking into a 1920s ballroom that is ghostly and frozen in time. Instead of being gory, Luparelli wanted the event to be eerie, yet classy.

“Think Disney Haunted Mansion, not Factory of Terror. It is not gory. It is spooky but not diabolically depraved,” she said.

From a business standpoint, the event is not just a night of Halloween fun, but it is part of a strategy and marketing plan tailored by Luparelli in hopes of expanding her fan base and diversifying her business. She purposely made the event an 18+ event instead of a 21+ event, so that most ages could enjoy the night.

“I am trying to appeal to a younger audience,” she said. This event will hopefully be a way to introduce herself and her style of music to a new demographic. “I need to raise a new generation of fans.”

To optimize her marketing game, Luparelli has partnered with Halloween New England to make sure her Haunted Speakeasy has the most effective marketing coverage. Facebook and Instagram are her primary marketing tools. She purchases ads that cover a certain radius of her targeted audience, and she also does keyword search optimization to reach out to people whose Internet searches show they might be interested in an event like the Haunted Speakeasy.

While Luparelli does other holiday-themed events through her Haunted Speakeasy events company, her most popular event is the Haunted Speakeasy because of Halloween. The first Haunted Speakeasy was just one night, but throughout the three years, the event has gotten bigger and bigger. Eventually, Luparelli would like to do a Haunted Speakeasy every weekend in October.

“I want to own Halloween in this town,” she said.

Worcester is not the only place that will be having historic and eerie events. Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) has recently developed its own Halloween strategy to increase business with its Sleepy Hollow event. From Sept. 26-Nov. 4, Old Sturbridge Village will be turned into a theatrical night of spookiness based on Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Director of Marketing and Public Relations Michael Arnum said, “We are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to tell the story of 19th-century New England, and theatrical performances was one method we were looking into.” The former staging director went down to Georgia to learn more about shows at the Serenbe Theater. The director of the Serenbe Theater was invited to OSV, since the village already had the ready-made backdrop of historically accurate buildings, bridges and landscapes. “Once the Serenbe Theater director saw Old Sturbridge Village, he was convinced that this was the perfect place to stage the show,” Arnum said.

After three years, The Sleepy Hollow Experience has been a huge success for OSV, boosting customer traffic for the entire month of October. Arnum

The nature of Sleepy Hollow attracts a younger demographic to OSV, but the event is still popular across all age groups. Discounted student rates on Thursday nights help reach younger visitors. However, social media and magazine ads are generally enough for this event to sell out each show. While OSV has an array of events and programs throughout the year, these events are usually based on historical interpretations. Meanwhile, Sleepy Hollow is the only event at OSV that is based on theatrical performances.

“So Sleepy Hollow is a completely different animal, because it takes place at night and is a theatrical/musical performance with an historic context. It is designed to thrill and entertain, but also to simulate interest in this period of early American history,” Arnum said.

Founded on its Haunted Hayrides, Davis Farmland in Sterling has changed its business model as it has grown and become more successful. Owner Larry Davis said that after opening its first corn maze in 1996, many events were held for test marketing purposes. One of these events was a hayride that partnered Davis Farmland with the Girl Scouts. The hayrides originally featured the Headless Horseman, but over the years, the hayrides and haunted mazes stopped as Davis wanted to focus more on family-based events. This shifted Davis Farmland’s business model to focus on the demographic of children 10 and younger and led to the development of Davis’s mascot, MooMoo the Cow. Davis Farmland now includes MooMoo’s Halloween Party, where kids dress up in costumes, win prizes and get candy that is given on the bridges of the corn maze.

“Davis Farmland is completely a children’s facility,” Davis said. According to the longtime owner, the new focus on young kids and families makes it an “incredibly relaxing experience.”

While the Children’s Discover Farm focuses on kids’ Halloween fun, the new Davis Mega Farm Festival is fun for people of all ages. Starting last year, the festival is full to the brim with attractions such as a petting zoo, laser tag, obstacle course, zip line, giant volleyball and so much more. There is also live music, food and beer and wine available for the adults. The first year of the festival was a huge success for the farm, with the business seeing a 40 percent to 50 percent increase in customer traffic.

The strategy of most Halloween businesses differs from that of Davis Farmland. According to Davis, true Halloween businesses just focus on the one day. However, being a farm in New England, Davis Farmland already has the naturally made attractions of pumpkins, apples, corn stalks and fall foliage. As a result, the marketing strategy tried to take advantage of the entire fall season rather than just Halloween. This made the introduction of a fall festival a nice addition to the offerings at Davis Farmland.

“You cannot beat a fall festival on a farm,” Davis said.

Parker’s Candy at 9 Maple St., West Boylston, has been part of the community for 100 years. Founded by Susan Paradis’ step-grandparents and passed down through the generations, she started up the candy store again after it had been sold. Today, she rents the original location of Parker’s Candy and manages the store the same way she remembers it when she was a kid working at the store.

“We are a true mom-and-pop store,” Paradis said.

Originally a penny candy store, Parker’s now offers classic candies along with new sweets tailored for this generation. Running the candy store is a labor of love and a legacy for Paradis, who describes herself as a “one-woman show.”

“It is hard; I do it all by myself,” she said.

Halloween and candy just go together, and at Parker’s Candy, Paradis does see a slight increase in traffic during the season. However, the season also presents an unforeseen problem that only most people in the candy industry know about. While Halloween is candy-focused, the majority of customers go to big department stores for their Halloween candy fix. The bulk buying that these huge businesses can do means they get the goods for lower prices. This leaves small businesses like Parker’s Candy at a severe disadvantage, since they do not have the money to buy at such bulk.

“It is hard to keep up with the Internet, Walmart and other bigger corporations,” Paradis said. This has led to many family owned and operated candy stores having to close, including Eaton Farms candy, a supplier for Parker’s Candy.

Every member of Paradis’s family participates in the store. Her husband, Eddie, helps her with deliveries and picking up supplies and proudly brags that he makes the best popcorn in the store, since Parker’s gives one bag free with every purchase. Her sons, Benjamin and Zach, work at the store and help decorate for Halloween. Her 19-year-old son, Zach, is a huge Halloween fan and loves to wear costumes so much he tries them out a few months before the holiday.

“He is our store mascot,” Paradis joked.

Paradis calls her customers in West Boylston “great” and says that she enjoys that people are in a happy mood when they come into the candy store; some patrons say it is like being on vacation. But even with all this support, Paradis thinks that more focus should be on shopping locally this Halloween. “I love it. That is why I do it,” Paradis said about continuing her family legacy at Parker’s Candy.

Sloane Perron

 

WHY DO WE LOVE BEING SCARED?

Why do we like being scared? First, the question implies that if we enjoy the experience of fear it’s – in some way – abnormal or bad. Not true; if we delve in to understanding our neurobiology, we’ll see that it’s actually not abnormal at all!

“The experience of fear begins in a part of the brain often called the limbic or the emotional brain,” explained Dr. Kerri Augusto, professor of psychology and mental health counseling at Becker College. “Deep within the temporal lobe (the one that’s on the side), we have this almond-shaped tube called the amygdala, and this structure is responsible for something we call ‘emotional salience…’ [It’s] a fancy word that says, ‘We detect when something stands out and when something is different.’ So when our senses feel something unusual or unwanted, the amygdala is the alarm center of the brain.”

What we all know as “fight or flight” is then activated by our motor functions and a message is sent to another deep part of the brain known as the hypothalamus, which then releases chemicals into the body. Our sympathetic nervous system causes our bodies to become very efficient and energetic. Once triggered by something that appears to be unusual, we become alert, our pupils dilate, we experience rapid breathing and a quickened heart rate, all the while becoming less sensitive to pain.

“Signals in our body are also going to a part of our brain called the hippocampus into the prefrontal cortex,” said Augusto. “This is where our brain is running data; it’s a more thinking part of the brain, and what the data is trying to do is say ‘Is this a threat or is it not; should we think dangerous here?’ So our amygdala is immediately screaming ‘Danger, danger, run, run!’ Then the frontal lobe comes on board and says ‘No, okay. I looked at the data, you can chill out you’re safe. This is going be fun!’”

When there is real, serious danger, however, your fight or flight system comes on with the goal of keeping you safe and alive; there will be no enjoyment in the situation.

Since we experience a similar sensation with pleasure, if you could realize there’s no legitimate danger, you’d experience a sense of control. Your thinking brain assures the emotional brain that everything is safe, permitting us to re-label all of the experiences and sensations as pleasure.

Sarah Cavanagh, associate professor of psychology at Assumption College, refers to these sensations as high arousal and low arousal – high being a more thrilling experience and low being calm. Cavanagh said, according to a study, “Going to a horror movie is a good idea on a first date.” During these thrilling or high arousal situations, one of the chemicals that is released initially is the bonding chemical oxytocin! That chemical allows us to correlate that feeling of arousal with the person with whom we experience the horror movie. In this scenario, you’re mistaking the horror movie’s thrill as feelings of attraction for the person you’re on a date with. It could be both… Don’t take our word for it!

Some of us, on the other hand, aren’t too fond of being scared or experiencing thrill. This could be for multiple reasons: just genetics, the environment you’re in, life experiences, various cultures created with different stories and myths, or even an imbalance.

For people who don’t like being scared, “between the excitement that [they] feel when [their] animal brain kicks in and then that sense of control that [they’re] supposed to have when [their] cortical brain kicks in; for people who like fear, the cortical brain gives them that sense of control in context. For [others], [their] sense of the animal brain might be stronger, so strong that [their] cortical brain can’t override it – it basically feels too real,” said Augusto.

Savanah Hippert

HOW TO CARVE YOUR PUMPKIN

Halloween is just around the corner and with it comes the holiday’s most important activity: carving pumpkins. I don’t know about you, but whenever I finally get my shot at carving, my pumpkin ends up looking like a lumpy, misshapen mess. So this year, instead of sloppily carving a half-hearted, lopsided face, check out some of our tips for creating pumpkin art that is sure to wow trick-or-treaters!

The battle truly begins with picking the perfect pumpkin for this year’s festivities. First, head to the pumpkin patch (do those even exist anywhere outside of Charlie Brown cartoons?) or wherever you get your pumpkins! Make sure to seek out pumpkins with minimal bumps, for ideal carving, as well as a fully intact stem. It is also important to choose a pumpkin that tends to slant upwards so that it is easier for you to actually see what you carve!

This next step usually gets pretty messy! Carving a hole in the pumpkin seems to be everyone’s least favorite, yet the most important, step in the carving process. Make sure to cut a big enough hole so that your hand is able to fit in it – so that you can scoop all that disgusting goop out!

After the “pumpkin guts” have been removed comes the fun part: carving. All this laborious prep work has finally led up to this moment. Whether you choose an intricate image of a witch and her cauldron or simply a traditional-style face, it is important to trace your design onto the pumpkin. Tracing your design gives you helpful guidelines and proportions while you are actually carving! You can also tape a pre-set design to the face of the pumpkin to give yourself structure.

Once you have either traced or taped your design firmly onto the pumpkin’s surface, you can finally begin to carve! While sawing, make sure to fully pierce the pumpkin and use a gentle motion to allow the blade to do most of the work. In case you mess up, don’t freak out! Just have a toothpick handy to pin the fallen piece back into place!

After the carving is complete, properly displaying the pumpkin now becomes the issue at hand. Instead letting the edges of your freshly-cut pumpkin dry out, place some petroleum jelly in between the spaces to protect them from weathering!

Then, try led lights instead of candles in your pumpkin to get a brighter shine and light that is sure to last all night!

Owen Meyer

CREEPY COCKTAILS

Halloween is a holiday that spurs good excuses. It’s a good excuse to be weird, to dress up, to play pranks on people and, of course, to try a new cocktail or two! So grab one of these drinks and unwind (unless you happen to be a mummy – ha, get it?) and watch a few scary movies in the dark or host a Halloween party. Either way…these drinks are DEAD sexy.

Spider Bite: Not for the faint of heart. Combine strawberry vodka with white rum, cranberry juice, cherry cola and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper. A gummy spider on the glass finishes it off. Hurts so good!

Pumpkin Patch: Combine 6 tablespoons of pumpkin puree, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 2 tablespoons coconut milk (or half and half if you don’t like coconut), 1 tablespoon whiskey, 2 shots of white rum, a pinch of cinnamon and ice. Shake all of this in a shaker and dip the rim of a glass in graham cracker crumbs, and you’ll swear you’re drinking a pumpkin pie.

FrankenFizz: Easy, delicious and green. Combine half a gallon of lime sherbet, 2 cups of vodka and a 2 liter bottle of Sprite in a punch bowl. Add a little dry ice powder when serving. It’s alive!

Poison Pineapple: Combine pineapple juice and Malibu in a shaker, add a bit of sprite (or champagne) to make it bubbly and a tablespoon of orange sorbet on top. A gummy worm can be fun on the side. These are dangerous. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Blood Drop: Mix blood orange juice (fresh-squeezed is best, but you can get this at the store, too), grenadine for color and cranberry vodka. Serve these in plastic test tubes.

Vamp’s Delight: This drink uses pomegranate juice, lemon juice, whiskey (we like rye) and simple syrup – shaken and poured over crushed ice. Add a few pomegranate seeds before serving and put a pair of those fake vampire teeth on the rim for fun.

Spell On You: This shimmery cocktail is so pretty, you may be deceived by its innocent appearance. Use any flavored vodka you like, add some homemade sugar syrup or agave, so the liquid has a bit of texture and then a bit of edible luster dust (you can find this online) and a drop of food coloring or two. Give it a shake and be bewitched!

Candy Corn Margatini: Combine gold tequila, butterscotch schnapps, orange juice and a dash of crème de cacao (or other chocolate liquor) and shake with ice and serve in a martini glass with a few candy corns at the bottom.

Jennifer Russo

HALLOWEEN EVENTS

Haunted Speakeasy
Oct. 12, 13, 19, 26, 27
Bull Mansion, 55 Pearl St., Worcester
$30-$55
eventbrite.com/e/haunted-speakeasy-tickets-46696825462
Step back in time to Prohibition-era Bull Mansion at the Haunted Speakeasy. This event is a little roaring ’20s and a little haunted mansion. Wear your best ’20s and ’30s vintage, opulent, retro, ghastly Gatsby, horrific costumes and dance and drink the night away. There will be a photo booth, music from Niki Luparelli and the Gold Diggers and entertainment from burlesque and variety acts.

Sleepy Hollow
Wednesdays-Sundays through Nov. 4
Old Sturbridge Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge
$35-$45
osv.org
Old Sturbridge Village is once again collaborating with producer/director Brian Clowdus to put on The Sleepy Hollow Experience, which is an immersive, outdoor theatrical experience. Guests will be guided through the village and come into contact with characters from the story, including Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van Tassel, Brom Bones and the Headless Horseman.

Haunted Hounds
Oct. 28
Tower Hill Botanic Garden
11 French Drive, Boylston
Free with admission
towerhillbg.org
This year, Tower Hill is hosting its first doggy costume parade! Explore Tower Hill’s network of dog trails and enjoy the fall weather in the gardens. All costumed dogs are welcome, but botanicallythemed costumes are encouraged! Dogs can enter a contest to win a prize, and spectators can enjoy the festive, furry friends.

Zoo Boo Days
Oct. 13-31
Southwick Zoo
2 Southwick St., Mendon
$22-$28
southwickzoo.com
Join Southwick Zoo for its family-friendly Halloween event! The zoo will be decorated for Halloween, and kids will be able to trick-or-treat! Many animals will also be given pumpkins as fall-themed enrichment. During Zoo Boo Days, children 3-12 in costume receive free general admission.

Moo Moo’s Halloween Party
Oct. 20-21, 27, 28
Davis Farmland
145 Redstone Hill Road, Sterling
$18.95-$21.95
davismegafarmfestival.com / davisfarmland.com
Come down to the farm in a costume to join Moo Moo’s Halloween Parade. Check out the corn maze and participate in the Davis MegaFarm Festival, with animals, food, live music, beer, a zipline and more. While the Halloween Party is only on two weekends in October, the festival runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays throughout October.

Rock and Shock
Oct. 12-14
DCU Center
50 Foster St., Worcester
The Palladium
261 Main St., Worcester
$20-$85
rockandshock.com
Back again in Worcester, New England’s largest and longest running horror convention will showcase some of horror’s finest celebrities as well as vendors, artists, writers, tattoo artists, Q&A panels and much more at The DCU Center. Then, one block away at the historic Palladium, Rock and Shock will host three days of concerts for those that like to mix a bit of heavy sound with their horror.

Night of the Living Dead
Fridays-Sundays, Oct. 12-28
Alternatives Community Plaza
60 Douglas Road, Whitinsville
$10-$20
braidproductions.com
When unexpected radiation raises the dead, a group of strangers must band together in an abandoned farmhouse and try to survive the onslaught of flesh-eating zombies. If they endure the night, what will they face at dawn? This stage adaptation of George A. Romero’s 1968 landmark horror film promises to be just as thrilling as the original. Celebrate Halloween with the walking dead.

Canalloween
Oct. 27
Canal District, Worcester
Free
canalloween.com
Enjoy horse-drawn wagon rides throughout The Canal District and enjoy Halloween parties at watering holes throughout the district. It’s time for the annual Nightmare on Water Street!

Factory of Terror
Fridays-Sundays in October and Halloween
201 Grafton St., Worcester
$19.99-$39.99
factoryofterror.com
Check out Worcester’s biggest haunted house. The five attractions include Phobia Mayhen, Clown College, 3D Nightmare, Dracula’s Hideaway and Bloodworth Dungeon, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get scared!

Witch’s Woods
Thursdays-Sundays in October
Nashoba Valley Ski Area
79 Powers Road, Westford
$38
witcheswoods.com
One of the staples of the Halloween season, Witches Woods at Nashoba Valley Ski Area is bigger than ever this season. Check out the Haunted Hayride, with the spirits of dead lumberjacks ready to cut your heart out. If you survive, you can explore Castle Morbid, Nightmare Mansion, The Keeper’s Crypt and the new Horrorwood Chamber of Chills. While there, walk through the Jack o’ Lantern Jamboree and admire the pumpkin works of art.

Halloween Concert
Nov. 2
Mechanics Hall
321 Main St., Worcester
$12-$42
mechanicshall.org
Celebrate Halloween with the New England Symphony Orchestra! All are welcome to the Halloween concert at Mechanics Hall. Children, as well as adults, can enjoy this costume party mixed with music and film. The concert will feature the music of John Williams with accompanying film Harry Potter. Audience members should dress up in costume.

Photo of Haunted Speakeasy by Melissa Kooyomjian Kemp