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With all the attention Thanksgiving and Christmas get from travellers, it’s easy to overlook Halloween as a destination holiday. While a few cities provide a ghostly atmosphere all year round, annual festivals, theme park pop-up events and other haunted happenings elsewhere have helped make the holiday a travel mini-season all its own.
New Orleans
Home to year-round cemetery walks, New Orleans is among the cities that naturally harmonize with Halloween. Worth noting every October is the family-friendly Halloween parade, happening this year on Oct. 21, with floats devoted to themes like werewolves and vampires. Float riders throw locally made candies to the crowd. New Orleans hosts plenty of after-event-parties, but the procession itself draws all ages in costume.
Whitby, England
This picturesque town on England’s Yorkshire coast is considered to be the home of Dracula, though in a different way. Bram Stoker spent just a month in Whitby, but those four weeks in July and August 1890 were important in the creation of his most famous book, “Dracula”, which was published in 1897. Whitby celebrated the 125th anniversary of Stoker’s visit in 2015, but this year you can see the skeletal remains of Whitby Abbey illuminated throughout the final week of October.
Salem, Massachusetts
Home to the infamous witch trials of the early 1690s, it should come as no surprise that this town is a hotbed for Halloween activity. One way Salem builds on its spectral past is with the nearly month-long festival of the Dead. Events starting from mid-October this year include psychic readings, mourning-themed tea and on Halloween night, a witches gathering.
Orlando, Florida
The home of Disney World and Universal Studios goes all-out with huge Halloween events. Universal this year will hold its 27th Halloween Horror Night on Oct. 30, a seasonal pop-up featuring haunted houses and “scareactors” employed to frighten visitors. Plus, there are many other activities like trick-or-treating, Disney character encounters, a Halloween ball and fireworks.
21. Which of the following is most recommended for a family going together?
A. New Orleans. B. Whitby, England.
C. Salem, Massachusetts. D. Orlando, Florida.
22. Where do Halloween activities last the longest this year?
A. New Orleans. B. Whitby, England.
C. Salem, Massachusetts. D. Orlando, Florida.
23. What can you do in Orlando, Florida ?
A. Have mourning-themed tea. B. Enjoy dancing.
C. Watch Disney movies. D. See skeletal remains.
