October Thought Day 26: The Place to Be

Back home there was a quaint little coffee shop on the corner called “The Place to Be.” I thought the name was kinda clever as it was advertising in and of itself. After all, it simply was the place to be. It was cozy, the servers were friendly, the couches were deep and soft and the coffee was good. In short it was the perfect coffee shop. Alas, not all good things can last and now it is a very uninspiring furniture store. But what’s my point?

There are lots of places to be around this time of year. Many people travel to New England to watch the leaves change in a glorious riot of color. More than a few head to Keene, New Hampshire for the massive pumpkin festival that has set world records in pumpkin carving. Some intrepid souls hitch their wagon and set out for Salem, Massachusetts for the historical reenactments. Salem is a town that has taken its fifteen minutes of fame and turned it into a lifestyle, which is also what St. Helen’s Oregon has done. The movie Halloweentown was filmed there and every October the town recreates the set for the thousands of visitors who flock in. And speaking of towns that capitalize on entertainment, one can also go to Sleepy Hollow, New York to experience the legend of Sleepy Hollow firsthand. The town keeps the story alive all year round, but do a little something extra come October.

Halloween is a growing holiday and it seems like more and more places want to put their individual stamp on it. There are coffin races in Manitou Springs, Colorado and the World’s Largest Halloween party is held in Louisville, Kentucky. The Halloween capital of the world is in Anoka Minnesota where the first Halloween celebration in the country was said to occur. But the Halloween fun isn’t limited to the states, Airbnb is offering a night in Dracula’s Transylvanian castle this Halloween.

There are ghost towns a plenty all over the country and the seven scariest ghost towns in America (according to the internet) are Dudley Town in Cornwall, Connecticut, Bodie in California, Animas Forks in Colorado, Centralia in Pennsylvania, North Brother Island in New York, Thurmond in West Virginia and the Seattle Underground in Washington. Truth be told, there are “haunted” locations to visit in each one off the fifty states if you know where to look.

But ghost towns aren’t the only spooky locals; there are also towns with odd spots in them like the Oregon Vortex in Oregon or the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. Then there are the towns you simply want to visit because they sound Halloweeny like Candy Town, Ohio, Cape Fear, North Carolina, Frankenstein, Missouri, Pumpkin Bend, Arkansas, Pumpkin Hollow, New York, Scary, West Virginia, Spook City, Colorado, Tombstone, Arizona and Witch Hazel, Oregon.

No matter where you go there is something fun to see, do or experience in the fall. Your challenge today is to get online or go to your local chamber of commerce and see what interesting attractions you can find locally then go visit them, share with me or if you can’t travel, make your own home the place to be.