Fall, Halloween events in the area

Winchester — The ghosts, ghouls and jack-o-lanterns are coming out in force with a bundle of Halloween and fall events.

Friday

Millbrook DECA is holding a Halloween Party from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at Victory Church, 2870 Middle Road. There will be free food, games, moon bounces, music, candy, and prizes given away all night. The party is to benefit the Boys and Girls Club in Winchester. Children ages 5 to 12 are asked to bring school supplies as a ticket to the event.

The Long Branch Historic House and Farm near Millwood will offer a Paranormal & Ghost Tour at 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Admission is $13. Call 540-837-1856 or visit historiclongbranch.com.

Posh Pets Boutique at 16 S. Loudoun St. in Winchester will hold its second annual Pet Halloween Parade and Paw-ty from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday. Pets, children and owners in costume will parade along the Loudoun Street Mall and return to the shop for costume contests, snacks, free Halloween photos and prizes. Admission is free. For information, call 540-722-7213.

Historic Jordan Springs Event and Cultural Center will hold a Monster Bash featuring the Robbie Limon Band from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday. Tickets cost $12. A costume contest with prizes is planned.

A Candlelight Ghost Tour of the house will begin at 6:30 p.m. for an additional $5. Call 540-667-7744 or visit historicjordansprings.com/monster-bash.

Saturday

Rutherford Crossing Shopping Center will have its first store-to-store trick-or-treating from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday for children 12 and under. The free event will begin at 4 p.m. with a safety briefing from McGruff the Crime Dog and the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. Following the safety briefing, trick-or-treaters may collect candy.

Raffle tickets will be sold for a basket of goodies from the tenants to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Foundations.

The Clarke County Parks and Recreation Department’s Enchanted Pumpkin Patch will materialize from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday in Chet Hobert Park in Berryville for children 3 to 10, with Halloween-themed activities, games, prizes, music, candy and decorations. Costumes are encouraged for youngsters. The fee is $5.

Call 540-955-5140 or visit clarkecounty.gov/parks/parksandrecreation for more information.

NW Works will hold its seventh annual Haunted Casino Night fundraiser from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday. Tickets cost $50 through Friday and $55 at the door and are available in the NW Works office, at nwworks.com or at Winchester-area Handy Mart locations. Call 540-667-0809.

Thrill the World and Kernstown Trick or Treat will be held from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Parents may bring children to trick-or-treat at the businesses in Kernstown Commons. Face-painting, carnival games, a DJ and a craft table are planned.

Thrill the World is the theater’s annual attempt to help break the world record for most people simultaneously performing the dance from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video. The dance starts at 6 p.m. Participants must register.

The theater also will hold a showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at 11 p.m. with goodie bags for audience participation. Costumes are encouraged. Tickets cost $20, and a portion will benefit the AIDS Response Effort. Call 540-313-4060 or visit drafthouse.com/winchester.

The Family Drive-In Theater at 5890 Valley Pike near Stephens City will hold a Halloween Costume Contest and Trunk or Treat from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday with bounce houses, hayrides, firetrucks, pumpkin-decorating contest, apple-bobbing, trunk-or-treating (each car should bring two to three bags of candy), costume contests for children, adults and pets, a haunted limousine and movies.

The seasonal movies will be  geared for families on Screen 1, with horror films on Screen 2 for the older crowd.

The entry fee is $10 for adults and $4 for children 3-11, if they stay for the movies. Without movies, the charge is $10 per carload. Visit thefamilydriveintheatre.com.

Halloween in Old Town will be held Saturday on the Loudoun Street Mall in Winchester. Trick-or-treating will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. from store to store.

Free guided ghost tours by Sandy Jones are scheduled at 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., starting at the Cork Street entrance of the mall. Call 540-722-7576 or visit oldtownwinchesterva.com.

The Barns of Rose Hill at 95 Chalmers Court in Berryville will hold its Harvest party KAM JAM Saturday. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the party starts at 7. The blues, barbecue and harvest party will feature Terry Oates & The Mudcats. Visitors may dress as a favorite musician, musical artist or a musical instrument for prizes. Tickets cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Call 540-955-2004 or visit barnsofrosehill.org.

The Reynolds Store Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company at 9381 North Frederick Pike (U.S. 522) will hold a haunted trail and children’s Halloween Party at 7 p.m. Saturday. The event is free, and snacks will be served. A Haunted Hayride and Terror Trail (admission fee required) will begin when night falls. Call 540-888-3000.

Zombies will run, walk and drag along the trails at Chet Hobert Park in Berryville with the new Zombie 5K Invasion. The race is limited to 100 participants, who will be divided between runners and walkers versus zombies.

The contest will start at 3 p.m. Saturday with runners, followed by running zombies a minute later. Then the walkers start, followed by walking zombies.

Runners and walkers will wear a belt, similar to ones used for flag football, with lifelines on them. Their goal is to finish the race with all lifelines intact, while the zombies are tasked with collecting as many as they can.

Entry is $15 in advance or $20 on the day of the event (if openings remain). Participants must be 10 or older. Race-day registration lasts from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. A zombie meeting will be held at 2:30 p.m. to discuss the rules. After the race, a party with awards and raffles will be held. Contact 540-955-5140.

The Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society will hold its “Who’s Haunting Abram’s Delight?” event Saturday.

One-hour tours will depart at 7, 8 and 9 p.m. from Hollingsworth Mill at 1360 S. Pleasant Valley Road in Winchester. Participants will head from the mill to Abram’s Delight, where they will have a conversation with “ghost” Mary Hollingsworth, the last person to die in the house (in 1917).

Guests will hear tour guides tell about things they have seen and heard in the house. Then they will head to the property’s log cabin to listen to ghost-hunting information offered by Stacey Graham of Clarke County, author of “The Girls’ Ghost Hunting Guide.”

Admission costs $5 and children 12 and under are admitted free. Each tour will be limited to 20 people. Cider and cookies will be served. The event is not recommended for children under 6. For additional information, call 540-662-6550.

A Halloween Dance and Costume Party will be held from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday at the Elks Lodge at 414 N. Kent St. in Winchester. The event will feature DJ Malik with a prize for best costume. The cost is $10 at the door. Email a1028john@msn.com.

Old Bethel United Methodist Church, 560 Old Bethel Church Road (Route 608), Winchester, will have its Children’s Fall Festival Costume Party at 6 p.m. Saturday at the social hall for ages 12 and under. Games and light refreshments will be served. Call 540-662-5931 to RSVP.

Sunday

Winchester Church of God, 2080 N. Frederick Pike, will host a Community Fall Fun Night from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday. The free fun event will be held behind the Family Life Center and feature hay rides, pony rides, face painting, a petting zoo, a toddler game area, a general game area for older kids, bluegrass entertainment, moon bounces for toddlers and kindergartners to fifth-graders, hot dogs and kettle corn for sale. For more information call the church at 540-667-8017.

Stephens City United Methodist Church at 5291 Main St. will hold its Fall Fun Fest from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Trunk-or-treating and games such as doughnut-on-a string and candy corn relay will be played. Apple cider and fall treats will be served in the fellowship hall. Admission is free; costumes are optional. Contact 540-869-2348.

The Sherando High School Band Boosters will hold their sixth annual Safe Halloween from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the school. Admission is $3 for children 12 and younger and covers games, face-painting, crafts, a tattoo station and a new addition, a haunted house. Children can go from station to station trick-or-treating for candy and prizes.

The Clarke County Community Band and Sherando High School Band will offer an Instrument Petting Zoo, and the community band will present a kid-friendly concert at 2:30.

Concession items will be available for purchase. Joe the Show, a balloon-bender, and Disney-trained caricature artist Rafi Medina, “The Caricature Dude,” will be on hand.

Participants should bring a non-perishable food item for donation to the Lord Fairfax Food Bank.

Monday

Blandy Experimental Farm at 400 Blandy Farm Lane near Boyce will hold a “Full Moon Hike” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday. Participants should bring a flashlight and wear comfortable shoes to explore the arboretum under a full moon (no dogs are allowed). Admission for members of Foundation of the State Arboretum is $8; for nonmembers, $10; and for families, $20. Reservations are required. Call 540-837-1758, ext. 224.

Tuesday

The Apple Blossom Mall will hold its Halloween Boo Bash from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, with trick-or-treating and a costume contest for five age groups. Registration for the contest will begin at 5 p.m. and the judging will start at 5:30 p.m. Face masks can be worn only by children 12 and under. No toy weapons are permitted.

Wednesday

The Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum, 54 S. Loudoun St., will have a Costume Day Wednesday. For more information, call 540-722-2020.

The Blue Ridge Grace Brethren Church at 1025 Cedar Creek Grade will hold a Trunk-or-Treat event from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. Candy and fun-filled activities will be shared with parents and children. Costumes are encouraged. Admission is free.

Abundant Life Church, 700 Aylor Road, Stephens City, will have a Trunk-or-Treat event from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. It is free and open to the public. For more information, call 540-869-7442.

Wesleyan Fellowship Church, 2239 Martinsburg Pike, Winchester, will have a Trunk or Treat from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. It is open to the public. The youth group will have hot dogs and drinks available. For more information, contact Carol at 540-303-1948 or visit wesleyanfellowshipchurch.com.

Nov. 1

The Winchester Main Street Foundation will host a fundraiser, Masquerade Party at the Bright Box, from 7 to 10 p.m. Nov. 1 at 15 N. Loudoun St. The event features music by the Jazz Alibi Quartet, food and a cash bar. Tickets are $25. All proceeds go to the foundation to host community wide events and educational programs. For tickets, call Village Square at 540-667-8961 or Kimberly’s at 540-662-2195.

Nov. 3

Researcher and author John E.L. Tenney will speak on “Hauntings, Ghosts and Spirits” from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 3 in the Holiday Inn Gateway at 333 Front Royal Pike (U.S. 522) east of Winchester. Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased by calling 540-336-4530, at johntenney.eventbrite.com or at the door.

Ongoing

Visitors to Hill High Farm at 933 Barley Lane may take a hayride to The Pumpkin Patch to pick a pumpkin weekends this month. Hayrides cost $6 per person, and each rider will receive a pumpkin.

The farm will also offer the Crop Circle Corn Maze, an eight-acre cornfield filled with 42 connecting circles. The maze is open 7 to 10 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. The maze costs $5 per person; children under 4 are admitted free. No tickets are sold an hour before closing.

The farm is also home to the Haunted Nightmares Haunted House. Daytime tickets cost $10 and night tickets $12. The indoor attraction is not recommended for children younger than 7, pregnant women or people with health conditions.

People can also visit a straw maze and farm animals for free.

Visit thepumpkin-patch.com or call 540-667-7377.

Devil’s Den Haunted Attractions in Jim Barnett Park are open weekends throughout the month and the week of Halloween until Wednesday. The hours are 7 to 11 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Monday to Wednesday. Cost is $13 per person. The den is open rain or shine. Visit thedevilsden.com.

Wilson’s Wild Animal Park in Frederick County also has a Pumpkin Patch open all month, with hayrides available on the weekends. Admission to the patch is free with regular admission to the park, which is $7 for anyone 3 and older and free for children younger than 3.

The park is open from10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Last admission is one hour before closing.

Call 540-662-5715 or visit wilsonswildanimalpark.com.

Mackintosh Fruit Farm at 1608 Russell Road near Berryville will have a corn maze from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays this month. Maze admission is $7 for anyone 13 and older; $5 for those 12 and younger; children younger than 4 are admitted free.

The maze will turn into a Haunted Corn Maze from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Admission costs $5 per person.

Visit mackintoshfruitfarm.com or call 540-955-2161.