A lot of people use October to watch scary movies, go to pumpkin patches, and visit haunted houses to get in the Halloween spirit. Believe it or not, there are a lot of Halloween activities to get involved in around Decatur.

Located on 680 W Eldorado St. is a very popular haunted house, known as “The Scream”. This haunted house includes 30 scenes, a grave crawl, double vortex tunnels, and a squeeze wall. They also have a haunted warehouse tour in the same building where a small group of people can walk through with a flashlight, like you see on paranormal shows, and try to catch paranormal activity through the locker room, kitchen, and cafeteria of the old Mueller warehouse. General admission tickets are $10, and they are open from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. every Friday and Saturday in October.

If you drive a little ways, there is the Riverside Hayride in Sherman, Illinois. In about 45 minutes you can experience being pulled by a hearse along the river. It is said to be “so scary you’ll have nightmares for weeks”. They are open Friday and Saturday nights in October, with the gates opening at 6 p.m. and closing at 11 p.m. The tickets are $10 and there is no waiting in line. Again, it is a 45 minute drive, but it’s worth it!

Haunted Decatur tours take you through all of the historically haunted buildings in Decatur. From the hauntings of Millikin University, to the Avon Theater, the tour includes local sites of death, unsolved murders, strange crimes, gambling parlors, vice districts, and more. People say that you will never look at Decatur the same way again. The tour includes 15 different places every Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 each, but a lot of things are included within the tour.

For about a 17 minute drive, you can go to Black Barts Pumpkin Patch. They are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. They allow you to get a wagon and get your own pumpkin, or choose from the pumpkins they have already. Not only do they have pumpkins, but they also have a corn maze, wood maze, goat feeding, character cut outs for pictures, and a haunted house for small children. This pumpkin patch has free admission and free parking, and also has a store for other goodies.

In Clinton IL, there is a pumpkin patch named Wagon Wheel Pumpkin Farm that also has a lot more to offer! They have a pumpkin farm, corn maze, pony rides (with other animals too), hay rides through the pumpkin patch, the Silo Sami Corn Box, and the Farm Stead Café with homemade donuts, hot and cold cider, slushies, chili, BBQ, hot dogs, and other homemade goods. There is free admission and free parking. They are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week.

These are just a few places to go around Decatur that would be fun to get in the spirit of the season that are cheap and worth the money. Go have fun this Halloween/Fall season!