Everyone remembers Halloween fondly. As a kid, moving from house to house around the neighbourhood, in your costume (that never quite fit right), collecting an ever-growing sum of candy – it was the best night of the year next to Christmas. But as you get older, the thrill starts to wear off a little. There are fewer things for adults to do come October 31st that don’t involve listlessly walking around a shoddily constructed “haunted” house.
Luckily, there still are things to do this Halloween, and while they may not hold the immense thrill of getting a whole bag of candy as a kid (really, what in adult life can match that thrill?), they are each exhilarating in their own right. Here are four Halloween activities for adults that will make you feel like a kid again!
Axe Throwing
What could be more Halloween-y than brandishing an axe? This Halloween, take your date axe throwing and release your inner Jason Voorhes on some unsuspecting wooden targets. It’s no problem if you have never murdered a wooden target before; at BATL (the Backyard Axe throwing League), when you book an axe throwing event, there are axe throwing experts on hand to teach you how to throw your axe properly, so no prior experience is required. Just remember to take off your ski mask before you start throwing – it can be hard to see the target wearing one of those things!
Camping
Speaking of the Friday the 13th movies, what says spooky Halloween quite like a camping getaway? Often the scene of carnage in horror movies, a campground is the perfect place to celebrate Halloween. Light a bonfire, tell a few horror stories (of the ghostly variety; not just your recent tax horror story), and enjoy the eeriness of the great outdoors.
Graveyard Tour
Most cities/towns offer either a guided ghost tour or graveyard tour. Essentially, these are guided tours around graveyards and/or “haunted” spots around town. It may be a little kitschy but these tours can be a lot of fun, and – if you submit to the premise and suspend your disbelief – pretty scary! Some graveyard tours can also be incredibly informative, filling you in on the deceased residents in great detail.
Murder Mystery
The old fashioned whodunit – a staple of the Halloween genre. Get your friends together and either make up your own murder mystery story, or buy a murder mystery kit, complete with a narrative and character pack. Encourage everyone to dress appropriate to the story’s setting; if, for instance, it is set in Victorian England, have guests wear top hats, corsets, smoking jackets, etc. This can be a fun, engaging way to inject some thrills into Halloween night.
You may be too old to trick or treat, but you will never be too old to have a little fun on Halloween. Go axe throwing, pitch a tent somewhere, walk around a graveyard and host a thrilling murder mystery. Oh, and go ahead and eat as much candy as you can – no one will stop you!