Halloween is one of the biggest American Hollidays. Celebrating the dead through eating candy, who wouldn’t love that? However, finding things to do on this final day of October, including the days leading up to it is the most difficult part. Here’s a top 5 best things to do to get into a spooky mood.

1. Go see a scary movie! There are currently two new movies just to get you creeped out in theaters. Smile is a classic thriller, with so many jump scares you will laugh at yourself. Halloween Ends is the final to the Halloween Series, which is not only upsetting but also terrifying.
2. Go trick-or-treating. While parents may disagree, you are never too old to dress up and get candy. If you are nice enough, you could even give your sweets to younger kids and make their Halloween extra special.
3. Go to a haunted house! There are hundreds of places around NYC to get an in person jump scare. Additionally there’s different levels. You can choose to go easy and have a laugh, or if you and your friends are in an extra scary mood, you could go to be genuinely scared for your life.
4. Go apple/pumpkin picking. Mainly located on Long Island, choosing out a pumpkin or a batch of apples is the perfect way to feel like a Gilmore girl. Although it isn’t directly related to Halloween, it definitely will get you into the October spirit.
5. Decorate! There is nothing to get you more excited than actually preparing for the Hollidays. Setting up spooky decorations such as cobwebs, jack-o-lanterns, and spiders is such a fun thing to do to scare the kids, and look festive.

Halloween and the season surrounding it is arguably the best time of the year. Whether you love the colors, scents or atmosphere, this holiday has a never-ending list of things to do and love. Thankfully we were able to narrow it down to five, which I would definitely recommend.

Haunted McClancy image by: Zoe Attard Portelli ’25