Happy Hour: Frightful Fun for the Halloween Weekend

Photo courtesy of thetravellerworldguide.com.

It’s the weekend before Halloween and the Olsonistas have our costumes all ready to go for all of the festivities. We have a busy schedule of spooky fun, including testing our ghost hunting skills in an Arizona haunted town, drinking some festive cocktails and heading to a Valley party.

Here are some fun ways to celebrate Halloween beyond trick-or-treating or the neighbors’ costume parties:

Dreadful Daytrips
Arizona is filled with abandoned mining towns and haunted hotels, so why not take a trip during the spookiest time of year to check out these landmarks? Bisbee, located in southern Arizona, has monthly ghost tours for checking out local haunted places, complete with latest ghost-hunting equipment like EMF Detectors, K2 Meters, IR Cameras, Digital Voice Recorder and others.

Or head up north of Phoenix to the creepy Grand Jerome Hotel. Originally used as a hospital during the first half of the 19^th century, this place is floating with ghostly orbs and apparitions of past nurses and patients. Tours are also available if you’re too scared to venture to it alone.

Both of these haunted spots were featured on the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures with some crazy scary clips to see.

Spooky Sippers
You can be sure that when we are socializing at parties this weekend, we will have this perfect pumpkin cocktail in hand. Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails’ Punkin Chunkin will make drinkers wish the weather was a little cooler as they enjoy this blend of Appleton rum, amaro liqueur, pumpkin-spiced syrup and lemon, Stone IPA and garnished with a dash of nutmeg. For other great fall-inspired drinks, check out The Arizona Republic’s Howard Seftel’s choices.

Ghostly Galas
Dress up in your finest Halloween duds and hit the town for scary socializing at some of Phoenix’s greatest parties. Mesa’s Monsterland Bar & Grill will see a myriad of monsters on Saturday, Oct. 27 during the 21+ only Nightmare on Main Street party, which includes a block party, haunted house and more, with proceeds benefiting the Barrow Neurological Foundation.

Head to downtown Phoenix to Cityscape for days of fun and deals. On Saturday, get free parking if you dress in your scariest zombie ensemble. Lustre Bar at Hotel Palomar Phoenix will feature a bash from 7 – 11 p.m. that will include a DJ, drink specials and a costume contest on Halloween night. Kids can join in on the fun and trick-or-treat at the many tenants downtown who will be handing out candy starting at 10 a.m.

What are your plans for Halloween?