Here are some useful lists, compiled by the Times Free Press Life section staff, to enhance your Halloween fun.
SMART TREATS
If you’re looking to reduce cavities and put a more healthful edge on the treats you give out this Halloween — and don’t want to hand out the dreaded bag of apples — here are some candy alternatives:
1. Granola bars.
2. Individual cracker packages, i.e. Goldfish.
3. Stickers.
4. Crayons.
5. Sugarless gum.
FUN PLACES
1. Chattanooga Market: Wear your costume to First Tennessee Pavilion today to trick-or-treat at vendor booths or paint a pumpkin to take home. Costume parades take place at noon and 2 p.m. Market hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free.
2. Disney on Ice: Not really scary, but the princess theme offers a few Bibbidy-Bobbidi “boos” when Cinderella’s on the ice. Final performance is at 2 p.m. today at McKenzie Arena. Tickets are $15 to $45.
3. “Lil Red”: Admission to today’s performance of the musical adapted from the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” is “pay what you can” for all children in costume. The Destiny Kids Theatre production starts at 3 p.m. in Chauncey-Goode Auditorium at Tennessee Temple University.
4. Thrills, Gills & Chills: The Tennessee Aquarium closes its seasonal celebration today. Look for costumed divers, themed keeper talks and close encounters with some of nature’s most feared creatures. Children 12 and younger wearing costumes get in free when accompanied by a paying adult (limited to two per party). Regular admission is $29.95 adults, $19.95 children 3-12. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
5. Amazing adventures: This is the final day for several corn mazes, including Rock City’s Enchanted Maize at Blowing Springs Farm in North Georgia; The River Maze in Ocoee, Tenn.; Crow Creek Pumpkin Patch in Stevenson, Ala.; and Little River Farms in Resaca, Ga.
SPOOKY SPOTS
Looking for fright-night fun? Check out these haunted houses and spooky spots:
1. Haunted Cavern: Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain, 7:30-10 p.m., $22 at the door. 821-2544.
2. Haunted Hilltop: 8235 Highway 58, opens at 7 p.m., fireworks show at 9 p.m., $15. 488-3956.
3. MASSACRE AT MONSTER MARINE & SUPPLY: 1220 King St. (at Market Street), 7:30 p.m., $13 online, $15 at the door. www.chattabooga.com.
4. Massacre on Meighan: 1404 Cowart St. off West Main Street between Market and Broad, 7-10 p.m., $20. 309-3396.
5. Sir Goony’s Haunted CarnEvil: 5918 Brainerd Road, 7-11 p.m., $20 includes 19 holes of Haunted Golf and $40 worth of discounts on other Sir Goony’s attractions. 892-5922.
HALLOWEEN FILMS
1. For the traditionalist: “Halloween.” It’s right there in the name. An escaped psychiatric patient stalks a group of teenagers. This is also the movie that set the horror-movie precedent that the virgin survives.
2. For the zombie lover: “Dead Alive.” Before he was among the hobbits, director Peter Jackson was playing with rat-monkeys. Word of warning: If you have issues with either gore or your mother, this one’s not for you.
3. For the ‘fraidy cat: “Casper.” Was there ever a more adorable ghost? Or, indeed, more friendly? Watch him cozy up to a young Christina Ricci in the 1995 feature that goaded us all to “get an afterlife.”
4. For the sugar addict: “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Ultimately, Halloween is about one thing: candy. And a movie about a chocolate factory is just made to tingle the sweet tooth. Some treats, some pure imagination … what could be better?
5. For the theatergoer: “Paranormal Activity 2.” This film recently broke the record for the biggest midnight gross of an R-rated movies, proving that audiences like getting the pants scared off them in public. But, um, it’s about as real as Joaquin Phoenix’s rap career.
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY
1. Choose flame-resistant costumes that are lighter in color, allow full movement and don’t restrict vision. Attach reflective materials to the costumes, and outfit children with flashlights to help them see and be seen.
2. Props such as a scythe or sword should be made out of a flexible plastic that will bend if fallen on.
3. Don’t let children eat Halloween candy before it’s inspected. Throw away open candy or anything that looks suspicious.
4. If children are not accompanied by an adult, instruct them to stay together in a group, never enter a stranger’s house or car, stay in well-lighted areas and not cut across back alleys and fields.
5. Candles, especially in a jack-o’-lantern, should be off the ground and out of the reach of children and pets. Battery-operated LED candles offer a safer option.
Source: www.halloween-safety.com, Underwriters Laboratories
— Compiled by: Anne Braly, Lisa Denton, Susan Pierce, Holly Leber, Clint Cooper