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This Week’s Picks: Halloween Beckons! Pumpkin Patches, Spooky Movies, Terror Train, October 12-16

10/11/15 - By Jacqueline Stansbury

Halloween is one of my family’s very favorite holidays. My daughter has had her costume for weeks. I’ve been holding out but will likely break down and fill up the candy corn bowl before the week is over. While trick-or-treating and candy eating on the 31st are what it’s all about, in truth the joy of Halloween is in the anticipation. By mid-October celebrations are well underway; you may not want to carve pumpkins yet in this heat wave, but it’s a great time to visit the patch. Underwood Farms is especially fun, and a mid-week visit is a low-cost way to avoid the weekend crush.

Something I missed last year (won’t make that mistake twice!) is the Halloween Ghost Train operated by LA Live Steamers in Griffith Park. Oh, and it’s the second week of the month, so there are free days at The Autry and Japanese American National Museum if you and yours are looking for some non-holiday related fun. Read on for our favorite five things going on this week.

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As always, there are many more treats (and no tricks, we promise) to be found on our Daily Events Calendar.

1. Mickey’s Halloween Party – Monday
Apparently you can trick or treat at Disneyland. Now this is a school night, so maybe not for everybody, but I think we can all agree that a trip to Disneyland on a day when attendance is limited is worth consideration.
See all Monday events

2. Ghost of Frankenstein – Tuesday
A black and white classic, probably funny for us grown-ups but possibly still scary for the kiddies. It depends on the child, of course, but it might be fun to show kids a classic horror flick from ancient times, when horror did not necessarily mean gore.
See all Tuesday events

3. Underwood Family Farms 18th Annual Fall Harvest Festival – Wednesday
This pumpkin patch has it all: games, wagon rides, and my personal favorite – pig racing.
See all Wednesday events

4. The Black Cauldron – Thursday
One thing about the folks at Disney: they have a fine appreciation for the dark holiday, and even El Capitan is in on it. This movie from 1985 is about a band of misfits who must find the black magic before it falls into the wrong hands.
See all Thursday events

5. Halloween Ghost Train – Friday
Go early, because the lines for this spooky ride on the dark side of the tracks can get pretty long. It's worth the wait though.
See all Friday events

There are always plenty more activities on our Daily Events Calendar and in our monthly GoList. And if you don’t receive our newsletters full of suggestions for family fun, you really should subscribe…it’s free!