The Official GoMonadnock GUIDE TO HALLOWEEN

Let’s face it - after a year (the year which shall not be named) in which Halloween was effectively CANCELED (having candy deposited into your car by people in hazmat suits and carrying long poles doesn’t count), we all need a little help remembering what this season is all about. Since you’ve got no Linus around to set you straight (well, probably not, anyway), we at GoMonadnock have taken it upon ourselves to help you with all the things you don’t know you know anymore. With our signature eccentricity and charm (if perhaps more of the former than the latter), this easy-breezy guide will give you the rundown of local shows, parties, cemeteries, spooky pastries, the best Halloween specials, and even the best poetry. With panache.

(Of course, though we do our best, there’s no way this list will be exhaustive and cover every single event or flash mob - anyone angry at being left out can send hate mail directly to diloreto@monadnockunderground.com.)

GoMo’s Top Pick: HALLOWEEN EXTRAVAGANZA AT THE DEPOT

(Inexplicably also known simply as “Halloween Bash,” as you can see below:

While we would never resort to a cheap appeal to your sense of FOMO…this year, this is the party to be at. Everybody’s gonna be there. There’s promised magic in the air. Nobody knows what could happen. And if you don’t go, you’ll never know, either - except in whispers and rumors and legends.

There’s no excuse, either - this event starts early, is 100% kid-friendly (all of our kids will be there), there’s food, and it’s cheap - when can you get into this kind of pop-up speakeasy for only a $10 optional donation? (Seriously, though - you should pay it since the proceeds all go to the maintenance of the Depot, Hancock’s old train station.) And we don’t mean to sound ageist, either - we hear they even let folks from RiverMead in.

But if you’re not the sort to be taken in by such cheap appeals, maybe we can sell you on the bands - a double bill. Eyes of Age, led by none other than the Bard of Hancock, David Young, will bring that ancient train station instantly back to life with electrifying classic tunes and fresh hits. You won’t be able to repress the urge to dance - with the one who brought you or anyone else. And then just when you think it can’t get any better, Winterland NH takes the stage - and if you don’t know Winterland, now you know: despite stiff competition, we’re talking about the best Grateful Dead cover operation in the entire Granite State. They’ve gone exclusive in recent years, playing only a minimal number of select gigs each year; when you see them on the bill, you go.

Maybe you’re afflicted with a disorder and not into music - there’s still perks for you: wood-fired pizza from Blackfire Farm and an elite costume contest. Oh, and did we mention this whole affair is BYOB? (Keep it clean, kids.)

That’s not even all.

In a longstanding tradition dating back to the Beforetimes of 2018, the annual Winterland-hosted Halloween bash has been opened by a performative blessing of sorts from The Wizard of Monadnock - our own creative director, Chris DiLoreto. (He also serves the same opening role for other Winterland gigs at the Depot; an ugly rumor has it that he tried to show up last Halloween despite the show being canceled, only to be denied entry by Dave Young. All parties involved deny this, however.)

This year, however, we’ve got a special twist. Instead of just a Wizard with musical backing, we’ll be bringing you the debut of the newly-formed Monadnock Underground Cabaret. Our ad-hoc troupe of four will perform a two-part comedic skit called The Mystical Specters of the Night to open the festivities, with its conclusion taking place between sets.

Drama, music, pizza, costumes, all ages, BYOB, David Young? Case closed. Go.

Other Things to Do

Nevermore! The Stories of Crows and Ravens

Thurday, October 27, 7-8 PM | Zoom Event | Free

In this online presentation, join Phil Brown Susie Spikol for a blend of natural history and folklore to create a dynamic picture of these big black flappers. More info here.

Peterborough Cemetery Tour

Saturday, October 30, 10:30 AM | Village Cemetery, Peterborough | Free

When it comes to cemetery tours, you may want one, but you definitely need one. Join the Monadnock Center for History and Culture for a tour of the Village Cemetery. Learn about Peterborough life, gravestone symbolism, and mourning practices in the 19th century.

Halloween at the Movies

When it comes to true cinematic Halloween film festivals, you’ve got not one but two theaters to choose from.

The Park Theatre, Jaffrey | HALLOWEEK FEST

10/27: Phantom of the Opera, 7 PM; Possession, 7:30 PM
10/28: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, 7 PM; Possession, 7:30 PM
10/29: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, 7 PM; Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster, 7:30 PM
10/30 and 10/31: Halloween, 7 PM; Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster, 7:30 PM

Starting 10/31:
Addams Family 2

Wilton Town Hall Theatre

10/27: An American Werewolf in London (1981), 7:30 PM
10/29: The Innocents (1961) and The Blackbird (1926), both 7:30 PM
10/30: Afternoon Double Feature - Outside the Law (1920) & The Unholy Three (1925), 2 PM; Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), 2 PM; The Innocents (1961), 7:30 PM
10/31: Where East is East(1929), 2 PM

GoMo’s Picks: Best Home Viewing Choices

If you’re a hardcore horror fan (or, really, if you’re looking for horror movies at all), skip this section. Plenty of horror movie lists exist elsewhere, and we are too averse to controversy to tread in that water. But if you couldn’t care less about the 50-year Halloween train, we’re here with the gems.

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown | 1966 | Streaming on Apple TV+, available for rent/purchase on Amazon Video

“I got a rock.”

With this seminal line, Charlie Brown inspired a generation with a message that continues to resonate today. This classic, with its unbeatable Vince Guaraldi score, gives us Halloween through the eyes of a fanatical young boy and his misguided but admirable devotion to a deity in the face of an unbelieving society.

Halloween is Grinch Night | 1977 | Available in full on YouTube (see below)

If you don’t know this one, bump it to the top of your list. Not only is this the strangest Dr. Seuss film ever made, nor is it merely the strangest children’s Halloween special ever made, it might be the strangest and most cutely disturbing children’s special of all time. And the music is just incredible. This one has been hard to find in the past but if you act now, you can see the entire thing free on YouTube:

A Disney Halloween/Disney’s Halloween Treat | 1982-83 | Available in full on Vimeo (see below)

Easily the most obscure and confusing entry on this list, one or both of these nearly-lost-to-time anthology specials will surely awaken long-buried memories in early-90s Disney Channel kids. They must be listed together because they overlap, despite not being the same: in 1982, Disney produced Disney’s Halloween Treat, a 45-minute retrospective filled with many spooky or otherwise Halloween-themed clips from Disney’s back catalog. But then the next year (the very next year!) they took most of Halloween Treat, cut out a couple of segments seemingly at random, and then added a ton more to make the 90-minute A Disney Halloween. (No wonder we all suffer from the Mandela Effect all the time.)

Though these hidden gems are sometimes impossible to find, they’re currently available in full on Vimeo:

The Horror of Dracula | 1958 | Streaming on HBO Max, available for rent/purchase on Amazon and YouTube

All right, we’ll throw one true horror movie into the mix, but it’s not one that gets a lot of love - a total mystery given it has all the charm and style of the best of late-50s cinema, and Christopher Lee. We at GoMo argue this is the best Dracula adaptation aside from perhaps Francis Ford Coppola’s version from the 90s.

Haunted Places to Go Get Freaked Out At

All right, enough screens, right? We do want to get out of the house this weekend, after all.

Monsters in the Maze

October 29 and 30, evening | Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard, Greenville

An extra-special, extra-spooky time in the corn maze at Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard. This event may be scary for younger kids! (But we won’t judge if you take the risk anyway.)

The Haunted Mile at Barrett Hill Farm

October 29 and 30, evening | Barrett Hill Farm, Mason | $12 for ages 6 and up

Head down to the MA/NH border for a creepy walk through the farm.

A Rival Party (That You Might Consider Anyway)

West LA Brewery 2nd Anniversary Slash Halloween Party

October 30, 12-9 PM | West LA Brewery, Swanzey

Bring the kids, bring the dogs, and join West LA Brewery in Swanzey for a party featuring music by the Ben Yelle Band. The Rescue Dawgs food truck will be onsite with BBQ. Come in costume!

An Event You Can Think About but Can’t Go To

Haunted Afternoon Tea

October 31, 3 PM | Silver Scone Teas, New Ipswich | $40

Hosted by Silver Scone Teas in New Ipswich. Sounds cool, right? Well, according to the Facebook event page, this soiree is full, so you can’t go. Good luck trying to find tickets from local scalpers.

GoMo’s Pick: Best Halloween Poetry

The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight: More Poems to Trouble Your Sleep | Jack Prelutsky, Illustrated by Arnold Lobel | 1992

Don’t sleep on this. First brought to our attention by the Squannacook Elementary School library, probably right around 1992, this delightful collection includes such unforgettable nuggets as “The Specter on the Moor,” “The Banshee,” “The Darkling Elves,” and more! There’s no better way to scar your children for life in rhyming verse than this slim treasure. Definitely see if Willard can order it into the Toadstool, but if you’re impatient and corrupt you can always rush it in via Amazon.

Tell us how you did.

That’s all for this year, but we don’t want to stop here: we want to know how you make out this Halloween. Did you take our advice? Did you do the opposite of what we said? How did that work out - or not? Did you watch a film or attend an event you would like to review? We’re here for all of that - drop us a line at submit@monadnockunderground.com.

Until next year…BOO!