September 24, 2004 -- At some point, adults co-opted Halloween. After all, any holiday based on free candy, playing tricks and wearing costumes is just too good to leave to the kids. But why play it safe at home? This year, spend Halloween in Transylvania, New Orleans or Salem, where eerie history and spooky legends take on an afterlife of their own.
Romania
Serious Halloween lovers looking for the ultimate challenge have one must-go destination -- Transylvania. Home to the original Count Dracula (insert spooky laugh here), Transylvania lies in the heart of Romania near the nexus of the Transylvanian and Carpathian Mountains an hour's drive north of Bucharest. To get in the mood, rent Bram Stroker's Dracula. Nude vampettes sucking on Keanu Reeves' neck. Haunting train rides through the Romanian Mountains. Thoughts of the undead. (repeat scary laugh.)
With the notable exception of Keanu, all this can be yours for $1,399. Departing on October 26, 2004, Eurogroups (www.eurogroups.com) is offering an eight-day, seven-night package tour that includes coach airfare from Bucharest to New York, top-class accommodations, private bus transportation and tours around Romania, one night with an honest to goodness local Romanian family, a witch's tour, and a grand Halloween Ball with dinner and dancing at the Castle Dracula Hotel. Breakfast is also thrown in on the package tour, as is a romantic visit to Dracula's crypt. Airline taxes and security charges are not included. No deadline for the trip is mentioned, but the tour must reach 20 participants for rates to stay at the above price.
New Orleans
If Romania is too far to travel and you want a little American flavor to your festivities, New Orleans is an excellent place to get your Halloween groove on. Sure, Mardi Gras is the ultimate costume ball, but Halloween turns New Orleans into Goth central. Black nail polish is de rigueur.
The New Orleans packages do not include airfare, but with the low cost of fall flights to the Big Easy from most major U.S. gateways, booking yourself an inexpensive flight shouldn't be a problem. Using Sidestep (www.sidestep.com), round trip airfare from Oakland comes in around $240 on a selection of big carriers; from Los Angeles flights start at $235.
Once you've taken care of your flight, BigEasy.com www.bigeasy.com offers many "ghastly" Halloween package deals. The best way to start is by choosing from the site's listings of the hotels offering the best Halloween deals and select your Halloween activities on an a la carte basis, according to your tastes. Deals include a 16 percent discount on a room at the charming Hotel Dupuy in the French Quarter for Halloween weekend. Upgrades to a king-sized bed (mostly four poster) are available for $209. Special tours include a guided look at St. Louis #1, New Orleans' oldest cemetery, a Vampire Halloween Party, a Haunted History Halloween package, and a Ghost of the Garden District tour. The site can book your hotel and tours.
Salem
Still looking to scare yourself silly? The last stop on the American Halloween circuit is Salem, Massachusetts, home to the Salem Witch Trials. While the prices won't frighten you, a stay at one of the town's haunted hotels just might. From Chicago, round trip airfare to Boston, a half hour's drive to Salem, costs $175 on American Airlines (www.aa.com).
To see a listing of "Haunted Happenings" in Salem, go to www.hauntedhappenings.com. Tours of the Witch Museum and the House of Seven Gables and the outlying spooky and frigid nature walks promise to scare child and adult alike. Look for special Halloween rates at the Hawthorne Hotel (www.hawthornehotel.com), a Federal-style hotel dating to the 1920s that claims to be haunted. Tickets to the hotel's grand Halloween ball cost $80, but it is "the" Salem Halloween event. Although it's too late to book for 2004, the hotel starts taking reservations for its 2005 Halloween packages on November 2, 2004. Other fall and winter dates are still available at the Hawthorne, but if you're dead set on spending this Halloween in Salem, check out the Salem, Massachusetts website: www.salem.org for more accommodations options.