More Southern spooky events to get you in the mood

Crescent Hotel Ghost Tours, Eureka Springs

Mobile, Alabama: Boo at Bellingrath, a day of Halloween fun in the Gardens, will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. In addition to numerous treat stations throughout the Gardens, there will be musical entertainment on Live Oak Plaza with the Stereo Dogs, Magic Shows and Magic Balloons with Dr. Gee and Spooky Storytime in the Gazebo Garden with the friends from the Mobile Public Library. Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance. To order, visit bellingrath.org.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas: America’s Most Haunted Hotel, the Crescent Hotel, built in 1886 and perched on a hilltop overlooking the town offers ghost tours which starts at the top floor of the building and works its way down to the basement, where you’ll find the morgue of the notorious Dr. Baker from the building’s years as a cancer hospital. Tours are scheduled nightly in October from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and until 11 p.m. on Oct. 31. Buy tickets at www.AmericasMostHauntedHotel.com.

Basin Spirit Tours at Basin Park Hotel in the heart of downtown are given at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday with an additional 6 p.m. tour on Fridays and Saturdays throughout October. This guided ghost hunt starts on the roof of the eight-story hotel and proceeds in stages to an underground cave. It ends with a chilling ghost story told by candlelight, plus a sample of spirits of a different kind for those 21 years of age and older. For more information, visit www.SpiritsOfTheBasin.com.

Other Eureka Springs tours include Voices of the Silent City from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 19, 20, 21, 27 and 28 and the Haunted Eureka tours every night of October.

For more information on things to do and places to stay, visit www.EurekaSprings.org.

Montgomery, Alabama: October Museum Make & Take: Day of the Dead Masks from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday in the Hands-On Gallery of the Museum of Alabama. Learn about the Hispanic holiday Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, and make your own mask to take home.

New Orleans, Louisiana: Historic Arnaud’s Restaurant, in partnership with The Murder Mystery Co., presents a mystery dinner experience where guests will help solve the perfect crime at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, October 26, at the restaurant at 813 Bienville St. in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Attendees will enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a four-course menu of Arnaud’s signature cuisine, all while working together to solve the perfect crime. The dinner menu will feature chilled lobster, duck consommé, filet mignon and a dark chocolate mousse cake. The menu will be complemented with two specialty cocktails, including the Miss Scarlet, a bourbon based concoction, and Professor Plum, featuring gin – both a nod to Clue, the classic detective game. Tickets are $125 per person (inclusive of tax and gratuity). Reservations are required and available by calling Arnaud’s at (504) 523-5433. Limited seating is available. For more information, visit www.arnaudsrestaurant.com.

Lafayette, Louisiana: The city’s parks and recreation department will host a Fall Fun Fest from 6-8 p.m. Friday, October 27, at the Girard Park Pavilion at 500 Girard Park Drive. The event is open to all children 12 and under and their parents and will include ghoulish games, freaky fun, costume parade, hay rides and frightening food. For more Information: (337) 291-8370 and (337) 291-8875.

Halloween Tapas & Tasting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, at Charley G’s in Lafayette. The dinner includes three-course tapas paired with three wines for $45 per person, all inclusive.

Vermilionville's Em LaMieux helps you get ready for All Saints' Day or La Toussaint, Nov. 1. All Saints' Day is a Catholic tradition of the Acadian people where they place wax flowers on the graves of loved ones to honor their memory. LaMieux will host Wax Demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays in October at the historic Lafayette village.  

Brasstown, North Carolina: Folk School Fall Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 7-8 at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Festivalgoers will meander along tree-lined paths, greeting over 250 local and regional artisans displaying their work for sale. Shoppers will enjoy a wide selection of craft items including wood, fiber, jewelry, basketry, glass, clay, photography, metal, book arts, painting, garden art, and more! 

Haunted Deep South is written by travel writer Cheré Coen, author of Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana by The History Press. She writes the Viola Valentine paranormal mystery series under the pen name of Cherie Claire.

Southern ways to get down and spooky: A list of creepy happenings this month in the Deep South

Looking for some chilling events this October? The South is filled with lots of ways to get your spook on. Here are a few:

Eureka Springs, Arkansas: Voices from the Silent City Cemetery Tour will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 19-21 and Oct. 27-28 at the Eureka Spring Municipal Cemetery. Meet some of Eureka's colorful "passed" residents that helped shape the quirky little town.

Then on Oct. 28, it’s the Eureka Springs Zombie Crawl, where a creeping parade procession of funeral hearses, doomsday vehicles, Halloween floats, and post-mortem street performers will lead the hungry horde of the undead down historic Spring Street.  

South Louisiana: Houmas House Plantation and Gardens will offer haunted tours at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. nightly through the month of October. Hear about the sightings and interactions guests and staff have had with the ghosts of the historic house. Tour guides will also explain the culture and customs of the Antebellum and Victorian eras while pointing out the original artwork and antiques throughout the mansion. And after touring the mansion, guests are allowed to roam the 38 acres of gardens along lighted pathways. Check out the video here.

Banning Mills, Georgia: This historic attraction 45 minutes west of Atlanta will offer Spooks for Screams, an adrenaline-filled experience with a zip line tour that reaches speeds up to 60 mph. Banning Mills is home to the world’s longest continuous eco-canopy zip line.   

Shreveport, Louisiana: The city’s Artspace presents “Get Your Glitter On!” from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Oct. 13, a fundraiser hosted by the Shreveport Regional Arts Council with Halloween magic created by award-winning filmmaker, artist and author William Joyce. There’s the InGraved Exhibition and Best in Show Awards at 6 p.m., followed the “First & Only 2017 Glitter Zombie Apocalyse Ball” at 7 p.m. and the Scare-e-okie at 8:30 p.m. Admission is $10 and “only the undead don’t come in costume.” InGraved exhibit consists of visual, literary and performance work by more than 50 Northwest Louisiana artists’ who toured the 100-year-old Forest Park Cemetery with historian John Andrew Prime. The exhibit runs through Nov. 4. For ticket, click here.

New Orleans: The Historic New Orleans Collection will resurrect the special Halloween-themed tour of its Louisiana History Galleries for one week only, Oct. 24–31. “Danse Macabre: The Nightmare of History” will be available at 11 a.m. Tuesday–Sunday inside THNOC’s flagship building at 533 Royal St. in the French Quarter of New Orleans. In medieval allegory, “la danse macabre,” or the dance of death, is a ritualized march to the grave—a sober reminder of life’s finality cloaked in wicked mirth. In a similar spirit, THNOC’s “Danse Macabre: The Nightmare of History,” will lead visitors through darker aspects of New Orleans lore. Admission is $5 or free for THNOC members. Please note: this is not a walking tour of New Orleans or the French Quarter, and the tours are not intended for children under the age of 13. Please note THNOC is traditionally closed on Mondays, and tours will not be available on Monday, Oct 30.

Also in the Crescent City: haunted tours, voodoo shops, Boo at the Zoo, Krewe of Boo, street parties and the Voodoo Music and Arts Experience will be happening this month.  View all the activities here.

  

Blue Ridge, Georgia: Fright Nights at the Kiwanis Fairgrounds, where lurks a suspicious and malign history that is difficult to explain, will be Oct 19-21 and Oct. 26-28 at 124 Jones St. Organizers claim Old Man Jones owned most of this section of Blue Ridge in the late 1800s and suffered more personal tragedy than many realized. In keeping with the fashion of the day, these "happenings" were not public knowledge and were never published in local papers. Not appropriate for ages under 13, along with those who have heart conditions, high blood pressure, pregnant, etc.

Want more? Check back for updates.

Haunted Deep South is written by travel writer Cheré Coen, author of Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana by The History Press.