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Halloween Daytime
Dating back over 2,000 years ago, the traditional name for Halloween was All Hallows’ Eve.
It was a secular holiday linked to the celebration of death, the supernatural and the transition between seasons. Known as the night before All Saint’s Day, Irish and Spanish cultures would celebrate the faithfully departed with feasts, bonfires and sacrificial offerings.
Over the years, beliefs and customs of different cultures have meshed together to create the Halloween we know it as. With the amount of prep that goes into it, like planning the perfect costume, picking the right trick-or-treating route, carving up jack-o-lanterns, visiting haunted houses and getting spooked, it is more than just a day on the calendar. So, whether you stick
to the traditional pumpkin picking or prefer finding your way out of a corn maze, the
activities during the day and nighttime are endless.
Bayville Adventure Park 8 Bayville Ave, Bayville
Open for Kids Day Activities
Saturdays, Sundays & Columbus Day 11AM-6PM
During daylight hours, Bayville Adventure Park’s annual scream park, tones it down a little. Their “Not so Scary”
days feature a modified version of their nighttime haunt.
Offering a variety of fun daytime activities: rock climbing, pirate adventure miniature golf, a tombstone treasure
hunt, Halloween express train ride and much more, it’s
perfect for younger children. They’ll even have character meet and greets on top of some of the best Halloween
storytelling.
Schmitt’s Family Farm
26 Pinelawn Rd, Melville Saturdays, Sundays & Columbus Day Fall is the favorite season for Schmitt’s Family Farm. For kids who aren’t ready for a good haunt just yet, between the free hayrides, pumpkin
picking and pony rides, it’s always a good celebration. For as little as
$8, their daytime haunted mansion (open from 12PM-5PM), keeps the scare to a minimum with lights kept on and no live actors present. You can also enjoy the thrill of racing family and friends through the 7-acre, zombie-themed corn maze for an extra slight taste of scary.
Fall Festival Weekends
at The Shoppes
Saturdays & Sundays until Oct. 27th
10AM-5PM
The Wading River Shoppe’s at East Wind will have all sorts of family-friendly Halloween activities happening through October. If you enjoy Farmer's Markets, this one features some of the freshest local produce including fruits and vegetables from the infamous Fink’s Country Farm. They will also have a bouncy house, wooden train, carousel and best of all, a scarecrow contest. So, if you’ve already entered to participate, all you have to do is create your best scarecrow and the public will vote on three winners.
The Dees' Nursery Fall Festival
69 Atlantic Ave, Oceanside
Last weekend in September, every weekend in October & Columbus Day 10AM-5PM
If you don’t want to battle the crowds on eastern Long Island, then head the
opposite direction to The Dees' Fall Festival. They’ll have tons of kid’s crafts,
a huge bounce house and an interactive petting zoo for mingling with and feeding real farm animals. And, since all the kids love having their face painted, face painter, Ivy, will be creating masterpieces of all things spooky and not so spooky.
Halloween Nighttime
Dark side Haunted House
5184 NY-25A, Calverton
See website for dates & times
Scaring and entertaining Long Island since 1988, Dark Side is Long
Island’s most renown haunted attraction. Situated on a large deserted
field, between their indoor and outdoor attractions, they have approximately 30 detailed scenes of fright. With professional actors, makeup artists and petrifying special effects, they know just how to give you the thrills and chills. They’ve even been featured in music videos and TV pilots while being labeled as “too scary” in Newsday. www.darksideproductions.com
Spooky Fest
1450 Tanglewood Rd, Rockville Centre
October 12, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27 & November 2
6:30PM– 9:30PM
Come Halloween, wooded paths and exhibits filled with eerie lighting, special effects and unique characters take over this 16-acre preserve. For just $15 per person, guests have access to all attractions: scary and non-scary. Their scariest attraction includes an abandoned cemetery with a lengthy ¼ mile walk and a corn maze where zombies come to life. They also have a “not at all spooky” walk that is great for younger children as they get to meet friendly Halloween characters—nice ghosts and happy scarecrows.
Bayville Scream Park
8 Bayville Ave, Bayville
See website for dates & times
Every year the ghosts and ghouls come out to play as the Bayville
Adventure Park turns into a spooky world of frights and surprises. Named one of the top thirteen haunted attractions in America as per Haunt World Magazine, this is where dreams go to die and nightmares come to thrive. Filled with eerie clowns, zombies, witches and hospital misfits, they’ll have those brave enough to enter their six main
attractions, clinging to friends and family. www.bayvillescreampark.com
Schmitt’s Family Farm
26 Pinelawn Rd, Melville See website for dates & times
This is one of Long Island’s oldest and scariest haunted attractions. Providing some of the ghostliest entertainment yet, it has been a must-see exhibit during the Halloween months for over twenty years. Come after 7PM and dare to enter the haunted mansion or explore the nighttime corn maze where even the biggest of horror fans will be spooked. Here, you are forced to get your scream on as
plenty of surprises catch you off guard. www.schmittsfarmhaunt.com
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20 lucky winners will win $500 each in prizes totaling $10,000. 