Live Entertainment in the month of Halloween

There are two holidays in October, but Christopher Columbus (rightly or wrongly) has become just another reason for government employees to have a long weekend. Halloween, on the other hand, seems to become more popular year after year.

In my youth, a few of us youngsters managed to get up a mask and a paper sack and went around to neighbors begging for treats. A typical Halloween yielded a bit of candy and a few scowls from irate folks who wished we'd just go back home. As a teenager, I took my sisters on a couple of "trick or treat" forays, but the holiday was mostly forgettable until hubby and I had children. By then, trick or treat had moved from the neighborhood to downtown for the annual "Halloween Walk." Our children always enjoyed this event.

Nowadays, even adults enjoy the macabre celebration, and a more literate way to partake in Halloween is to see a play or take a ghost tour. In our neck of the woods, there are several choices—

The Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville has a new version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which will run on weekends through the end of the month. The Aurora is also the host for Lawrenceville's Ghost Tour. There are both walking tours and trolley tours of the city. The Winder-Barrow Community Theatre is doing The Haunting of Hill House on two consecutive weekends, beginning October 29. The city of Roswell also has walking ghost tours, which leave from the city bandstand. Savannah has year-round ghost tours, and there are actually several different companies which do the "trolley tour" which is my favorite way to experience this colonial city. Another favorite venue, The Shakespeare Tavern, is doing Macbeth for six nights only, including Halloween.

While I sometimes write about terrifying situations, I don't particularly want to participate, so "haunted house" attractions don't attract me. However, for those who like this form of entertainment, here is a list of places to scream in Georgia.