HOW do you Halloween? Just like a jack-o’ -lantern, the holiday has many faces – depending on how you carve it up. Some prefer their pumpkins with goofy grins, others with menacing leers. . . but whether your family is in it for the chocolate or the chills, there’s an event out there for you. Here are our favorites, from the least fearful on up.
SCARCELY SCARY
Linus, the Great Pumpkin watcher, would have better luck at the New York Pumpkin Festival. Today from noon to 8 p.m., thousands of orange orbs will be carved and lit along the paths surrounding Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell (from 66th to 72nd streets), where kids can navigate a pumpkin maze, spit pumpkin
seeds, bowl with gourds and feast on pumpkin pie and ice cream to live music. Pumpkin lighting begins at
5:30 p.m.; for more info, call (212) 860-1370.
Also in Central Park today from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center (110th Street,
between Fifth and Lenox avenues), the 17th annual Halloween Pumpkin Sail lets kids bring their jack-o’
-lanterns (10 pounds and under) and set them afloat on Harlem Meer. There are arts and crafts and storytelling, too, all of it free; (212) 860-1370.
Parade in costume at Prospect Park’s annual Haunted Walk and Carnival today from noon to 3 p.m. After the kids march on the Nethermead (Prospect Park Southwest
and 16th Street), they can take a pony or hayride, rock out to live music and play Halloween-themed games. Head on to the park’s Lefferts Historic House, where the old ghosts of Flatbush star in “Scary Stories from the Past” (2 and 3 p.m.) and the Carousel, tricked-out with spooky music and (fake) bats (noon to 5 p.m., $1.50); (718) 965-8999. Have a close encounter of the creepy kind at BAM’s sixth annual BAM-BOO! This
year’s theme is outer space: Expect outta-this-world activities like Meteor Bowling and “Alien Autopsy,” plus a bouncy castle for simulated moon-walking, “Tales of Alien Invasions” and a universe of candy. The free
fun runs Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. in front of BAM’s Peter Jay Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Ave., between
Ashland Place and St. Felix Street, Fort Greene, Brooklyn; (718) 636-4100.
SORTA SCARY
The Headless Horseman rides again at Sleepy Hollow’s Legend Weekend at Philipsburg Manor. After 6 tonight and tomorrow night, the 18th-century farm and gristmill is transformed into a scene out of Washington Irving’s imagination: lantern-lit paths, shadowy forests and spirits floating over covered bridges. Admission by timed tickets only ($14 for adults, $10 for kids), so call ahead: (914) 631-8200.
Those who still sleep with the light on may prefer Washington Irving’s Sunnyside estate during the daylight hours.
Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. there’ll be mask-making, magic shows, ghost stories, corn shelling
and even a walk in the woods (call in advance for the latter); $12 for adults, $6 for kids; (914) 631-8200.
Why knock on the neighbor’s door for candy when you can get your treats from a T. rex? At the
American Museum of Natural History’s Spooktacular Celebration Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m., kids can
trick-or-treat alongside real skeletons and stuffed beasts; hear live music from David Grover and the
Big Bear Band; make origami creatures and other crafts, hang out with Winnie the Pooh and Curious George (or reasonable facsimiles thereof). It’s $9 at Central Park West at 79th Street, (212) 769-5200.
SERIOUSLY SCARY
For the 14-and-up crowd with strong stomachs, touring Blood Manor in Chelsea (542 W. 27th St., between 10th and 11th avenues) is like stumbling through the set of a horror flick. Each themed room is filled with gruesome scenes featuring the dead, the undead and those who made them that way; emergency exits for those who want to bail out early (no refunds for the faint of heart, however). You’ve got between now and
Halloween to visit, but order tickets in advance ($25) to beat the lines: (212) 290-2825.
The shrieks get louder as the sky gets darker at Hudson River Park’s Pier of Fear (Pier 54, 14th Street
and the West Side Highway). Let big kids loose in the free, 4,000-square-foot “Maze of Horror” after 6 p.m., when guides lead more stalwart souls through the haunted halls where actors lie in wait to terrify them.
Outside, the 10-and-under set can go on rides, have their fortunes told or get their faces painted ($2).
Otherwise, the fun is free today and tomorrow from noon to 9 p.m.; (212) 533-PARK.