Candy, haunted houses and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
All three are important to a spectacular spooky season. The good news for all witches, ghouls and little creatures is there is more than enough to do in McLean County to satisfy all your wicked wants.
Most importantly, the cavity-commandeering children have been waiting for all year, trick-or-treating. Bloomington and Normal both have set 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 as official trick or treat hours.
Movies and shows
The Normal Theater plays Halloween and horror movies throughout October. Classics like Beetlejuice and The Rocky Horror Picture show are accompanied by a wide range of horror and family friendly spooky stories like Hotel Transylvania. A complete list of the movies and their showtimes can be found on the Normal Theater website. normaltheater.com
Speaking of Rocky Horror, Community Players Theatre will be doing a Shadow Cast of the cult classic at the Normal Theater from Oct. 22-24. The actors will act and sing iconic scenes from the movie while interacting with the audience as the characters from the fictional Denton, Ohio. communityplayers.org
A spooky season edition of Movies at the Mural is screening The Addams Family on Downtown Bloomington's big [brick] screen. The show starts 15 minutes after sundown on Oct. 17. For planning purposes, that's [checks the Farmer's Almanac] around 6:33 p.m., and shows are bring-your-own-chair to the corner of Main and Jefferson streets. moviesatthemural.com
Haunted houses and spooky sights
Sticking with the frightful fun, The Downs Haunted House is already up and and running, with tours every Friday and Saturday throughout October. Nov. 1 will be an Un-Haunted House for younger patrons. Tickets start at $16.15 with reserved and standby tickets available on their website. downshauntedhouse.org
Clinton’s Terror on Washington Street is a 33-year-old haunted house experience in Clinton. Open every Friday and Saturday from Oct. 9 to Oct. 31, tickets set at $20 per person can be bought now on their website. Friendly Ghost Tours for children occur on the 17 and 24 of October with those tickets starting at $5. clintonhauntedhouse.com
Two homeowners go over-the-top decking out their houses and yards. Hoenes Horrors is an interactive yard of fright. Located at 1813 Johnson Drive, the house provides plenty of sights with jumping and screaming animatronics. More info can be found on their Facebook page. facebook.com
And in Gridley, Bill Killian's film-forward, punny graveyard display is an annual tradition he's kept up even after his kids grew up. You can't miss his house at the corner of 1st and Market. It's the one with the Pet Sematary.
Nightmares in Normal
Once again, the Constitution Trail will be haunted on the two weekends leading to Halloween. From Oct.15-17, the trail will be tamed for young families to enjoy from 2-8 p.m. Oct. 23 and 24, the trail will go all in with the trail open from 6:30-9 p.m. Admission costs $5 except for the first week where canned food donations will be free. normalil.gov
Halloween Hoopla will happen at the Children’s Discovery Museum in Uptown. On Oct. 23 from 6-8 p.m. families can show up in costume and find frightening fun in exhibit trick or treating, “Spooky Science” and plenty of other games and activities. Tickets start at $11 dollars for museum members and $16 for non-members. childrensdiscoverymuseum.net
Also happening Oct. 23, Witches Night Out is an Uptown shopping event from 4-7 p.m. Put on your best costume and support local businesses for free! More info can be found on the event's Facebook page.
And for what all the kids have been waiting for, Treat Feast will happen on Oct. 29 from 5-6:30 p.m. Uptown will be closed to all traffic, allowing families to trick or treat from business to business. normalil.gov
Meanwhile in Bloomington
Bloomington's Downtown Trick or Treat happens Friday, Oct. 30 from 5-7:30 p.m. Downtown businesses will open their doors while nonprofits and community members hand out treats. Participating businesses will have a teal pumpkin outside.
The Great Pumpkin Hunt runs all October with Bloomington Parks and Recreation. Hunt pumpkins painted by Special Opportunities Available in Recreation [SOAR] and hidden throughout Bloomington parks. Fresh clues drop every Friday on the Great Pumpkin Hunt Facebook Page. Every photo with the painted pumpkin that is posted in the comments of the page will count as an entry to a drawing for prizes on Oct. 30. Participants with the top three total entrees will win a prize.
The Downtown Spirit Stroll presented by the Nomad Theatre Company takes place Oct. 23-25. A haunt host will lead you to four downtown locations over roughly 90 minutes. Local actors will perform and share short stories or monologues about the iconic locations. More information and check-in can be found on the Nomad Theatre website. nomadtheatre.org
The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts hosts a live conversation with David Arquette. Behind the Scream is an in-depth, moderated conversation and live audience Q&A with Arquette, best known by many for his role as Dewey Riley. On Oct. 23 from 7-10 p.m., hear behind-the-scenes stories, personal insights, and firsthand accounts of how Scream shaped his career and the horror genre. The one-night event and tickets can be found at artsblooming.org
