By 4Squares Residential Group in Partnership with Judi 411
It's beginning to look a lot like Halloween out there, folks! Jack o'lanterns, goblins, and ghouls adorn porches and lawns throughout Medford neighborhoods, a sign that it's time to indulge in some spooky-themed fun!
Why not gas up and go to one (or all!) of these 4 Squares Haunted Happening Favorites, all a bit off-the-beaten-path, but all worth the trip!
Haunted Boston Ghost Tours – Downtown Boston
We all know that Boston is where America started but did you know many ghastly tales of murder, revenge, lust, and heartache took root in the Colonial Era? Well, Haunted Boston Ghost Tours does, and their guides are ready and waiting to regale you with story after story while guiding you through Boston on foot.
Haunted Boston's 90-minute walking tours combine history lessons and storytelling that span from our Founding Fathers (and Mothers) to the present day. Listen to the untold stories of iconic landmarks from the Boston Common to the Boston Athenaeum, and learn which famous hotel is Boston's most haunted.
Tours are held in the evening and led by lantern light, lending an aura of mystery that will make your experience truly unforgettable (in a good way!).
Tickets are available online for public tours. Private tours are also available.
Haunted Boston Ghost Tours; www.hauntedboston.com; Meet at Boston Common entrance to Central Burying Ground on Boylston Street…if you dare!
Hammond Castle Creature Feature – Gloucester, MA
For those of us who prefer to experience terror on the North Shore, hop on 95 Northbound to Hammond Castle in Gloucester for their Creature Feature event, scheduled for multiple dates throughout October.
You may already be familiar with Hammond Castle, the medieval-style seaside residence designed by prolific inventor and art collector John Hays Hammond, Jr. But, what many don't know is that Hammond was a horror playwright. Hammond Castle's "Creature Feature" pays homage to his storytelling prowess.
The two-part, 45-minute program starts with a reading of Hammond's "The Pet," the story of two audacious explorers who discover an exotic jungle creature and their attempt to take her home.
Sci-fi horror fans will enjoy the second creature feature, "The Termite Monster!" Written in the classic "B-movie"-style genre of the 1950s, "The Termite Monster" tells the tale of a brilliant-yet-obsessed termite scientist whose experiment with a physical-enhancement serum goes awry in terrifying ways.
The entire Creature Feature program runs approximately 45 minutes and takes place inside the Museum's Great Hall and Courtyard. Tickets are available online, and social distancing restrictions may apply, so please call ahead with questions.
The Hammond Castle Museum also offers Thursday Night Spiritualism tours in the summer and fall, and regularly scheduled candlelight tours, in addition to their daytime guided and un-guided tours of the castle and property.
Hammond Castle; www.hammondcastle.org; 80 Hesperus Ave, Gloucester, MA
Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast - Fall River, MA
Home to America's greatest unsolved murder mystery, the Lizzie Borden house in downtown Fall River draws tourists from around the globe, all curious to see the surrounds of the famous double-murder of Abigail and Andrew Borden.
While Lizzie was acquitted, her legacy lives on in the famous poem:
Lizzie Borden took an ax
And gave her mother forty whacks,
And when she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.
The Borden home is considered a "must-see" for true-crime fans and ranks as one of the most haunted houses in the United States. Many Borden house guests have claimed to experience phenomena ranging from strange odors, voices, objects moving on their own to feeling touched, hearing footsteps, and seeing full-body apparitions.
The property operates as a B&B and museum year-round, offering daytime House Tours, early evening Ghost Tours, and late-evening Ghost Hunts. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, consider booking an overnight stay in one of the rooms where Lizzie allegedly killed her parents. Don't go to sleep!
Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast; www.lizzie-borden.com; 230 Second Street, Fall River, MA
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Photo Credits: Hammond Castle amid the trees, via their IG; Spooky Back Bay building, via Boston Ghost Tours FB; historic photo of Borden House, from the website of the LIzzie Borden House B&B, Copps Hill gravestones, via the website of the Freedom Trail; the Lizzie Borden House B&B with early American flag, via their website.
Please note that many establishments have modified their hours and/or operations in response to COVID-19. 4Squares recommends that readers check for the latest information before making travel plans.