I can not recommend Castle Halloween Museum enough. If you're looking for modern horror, though, you won't find it here. The proprietor, Pamela, AKA The Queen of Halloween, is a historian who focuses on the festive, magical elements of Halloween throughout history, as well as memento mori, with bits of Vincent Price, The Munsters, Edward Gorey & Elvira in the mix. None of the pictures, descriptions or videos online fully capture the experience - you have to see it for yourself. Especially since abundant photographing and videography has led to broken artifacts, Pamela now asks only one photo per person and you wouldn't want to view the collections through a lens anyway!

The tour is 1 1/2 hours long, $20/person cash only and covers 13 rooms, I believe, as well as little alcoves, each with its own focus.
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Depending on when your museum appointment is, you can have lunch or dinner at the castle-esque Stone Cellar,
and/or visit Mystic Vintage Co-Op and Antique Depot where Pamela has a booth and sells duplicates of some of her treasures.
They also have large monster masks and awesome posters lining the stairs. Across the way is Duncansville Antique Co-Op

Stroudsburg Area

The Candle Shoppe of the Poconos
is built on what was once a biological
research lab & is said to be haunted.
You can buy tickets for the tour on
their site.

10-6 M,Th,F,Sat: Frazetta's Costumes
(actually a Halloween 365 wonderland
see pics below)
*if you also want to go to Frazetta's Art
Museum, they're closed on Mon

Dusk til dawn: Columcille Megalith Park
this place is a must & is only an 11 min
drive from Frazetta's.

T-F 4-11/Sat 12-12: Black & Blue bar

*Bucks County is about an hour away but
that's a full day in itself so perhaps stay
overnight & go there the next day - visit
the PA page, then see Bucks County
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Officially called Frazetta's Costumes, the
title doesn't emphasize the Halloween 365
wonderland that this place is. They also
sell vintage-inspired Halloween folk art/
Beistle, purses, bags, shoes,
parasols, horror-themed figures, pillows,
so much more. They're closed Tue, Wed & Sun
& take some time off in January so call ahead.
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Click for map

Philadelphia

*Curated around the 9/14/24 Market of the Macabre (still valid with that removed)
*The Poe National Historic Site will re-open mid-October 2024

Ambitious One-Day Itinerary:
*Market of the Macabre doesn't open until 12 so if you want to start your day early:

9-7: Thunderbird Salvage (park on Trenton Ave) 15 min drive to:

10-6: Random Tea Room & Curiosity Shop 20 min walk/5 min drive to:

9-6: A Four Foot Prune 15 min drive to:

10-5: Punk Rock Flea Market 4 min walk to:

10-5: Mutter Museum 15 min drive to:

12-5: Market of the Macabre 10 min drive to:

10-5: Eastern State Penitentiary (40 min tour) 15 min drive to:

12-11:30 pm Monster Vegan 20 min drive to:

12-8: End Times Boutique

Spot Hero app for parking
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Click for Map

Two-Day Weekend Itinerary
*Monster Vegan is closed on Sundays
*High Fidelity is vegan/GF

Saturday
10: Punk Rock Flea Market
10: Mutter Museum
11: Eastern State Penitentiary (40 min tour) 12-5: Market of the Macabre
12-11:30: Monster Vegan

Sunday
9-7: Thunderbird Salvage (park on Trenton Ave) 15 min drive to:
10-6: Random Tea Room 20 min walk/5 min drive to:
9-6: A Four Foot Prune 15 min drive to:
12-8: End Times Boutique
Spot Hero app for parking

New York City

Brooklyn I

This is an afternoon weekend itinerary as Morbid is closed during the week - check the locations' events schedule to not miss anything. If you go the last Saturday of the month you can catch a Martin Monster show at 7 p.m.

We begin in Industry City where there are lots of lunch/dinner options

Morbid Anatomy Library & Shop
Brooklyn Game Knight (where you can play board games to great music)
St, Marks Comics
Tadaima Coffee (I just love this place)
Barrows Intense Ginger Liqueur
*7:Martin Monster Show
*last Sat of the month only
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Lucky 13 Saloon (horror bar - walk to 36th & 4th, take the R to Union, 4 min walk or N/D to Atlantic, 12 min walk)

Click pic below to visit site

Morbid Anatomy Library and Gift Shop is a small, beautifully-curated collection of
books and artifacts to be perused on-site, as well as a gift shop with art, jewelry,
post cards, notecards and more. They also offer in-person & onlne events. 

Click knight for Brooklyn Game Knight's site

Barrows Ginger Liqueur

Small space so the earlier you go the better. Delicious ginger liqueur they make on-site that you can order on the rocks or in a cocktail. I had the spritz and it was so good! They also carry a huge selection of liquors made in NY. If you're lucky enough to go when Dave is tending bar, he's great company.

The images below are from bkONE's Black Light Show running through 8/31/24

Click here for bkOne Productions' site

Brooklyn II

*check Green-Wood Cemetery's & Nitehawk Cinema's calendars to plan timing. The pictures below are from the After Hours tour 7-9 p.m.

Alchemy Restaurant & Tavern
Troubled Sleep bookstore
Leroy's Place
Fferins Candy Store
Techne Kafe (GF/Vegan treats)
Green-Wood Cemetery
Freddy's Bar
Nitehawk Cinema (you can get a full meal, as well as beer/cocktails while you watch a movie. They also have a bar and a pool table.)

Green-Wood Cemetery

This historic cemetery is beautiful during the day, but our night tour under a nearly full moon with bats flittering about, as well as viewing the Catacomb and cemetery through the beam of a flashlight is an experience I highly recommend. Perhaps arrive early enough to adequately explore before nightfall to see everything in detail.

The mausoleum below is one of the places where our guide paused to tell us Edgar Allan Poe's connection to Anderson. Poe's "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" is actually about the unsolved death of a woman named Mary Rogers who Anderson hired to help draw business to his shop. Some people believed Anderson commissioned Poe to write the tale in an attempt to remove suspicion about Anderson's involvement in Mary's death.  It's said that she was so beautiful Washington Irving would visit her at the shop.

I highly recommend James as a guide. He also has a tour called "Body Snatching in Old New York":

Purveyors of handmade ghosts, monsters and so many other fun works of individual artists.

Sleepy Hollow & The Octagon House

The Octagon House pictures below are from the Myths & Mysteries Tour a few years ago. The tickets sell out fast so plan quickly. They also offer a Lady in White ghost tour so it will be hard to choose or maybe book both! Clicking on the pic of the house will take you to their site. Don't forget to coordinate with tickets/times/days with The Great Jack 'o' Lantern Blaze. I have way too many pictures to post them all after years of going - suffice it to say, it's not to be missed! Click on the jack 'o' lantern below to visit their website.

It's a short drive to all the great places in Sleepy Hollow,

Click on the pic below for
Sleepy Hollow's official site

Click on the pic below for the Blaze's site

Queens, NY

Flying Fox Tavern is a feast for the eyes with really great food, drinks and events. The Count changes colors before your eyes and the Frozilla is perfect to cool you off in the summer. Click on the flying fox below to go to their site & view the menus & upcoming events.

It can be really hard to find parking so it's best to take the train.

Flying Fox Tavern and Burrito Republic are within walking distance, Duff's is about a 25-minute train ride away.

If you have a car or don't mind an hour-long train ride, there's a small Exorcist exhibit at The Museum of the Moving Image & the Museum of Nostalgia is within walking distance from there.

Long Island

Follow @spooky_doings for their events & check Necromantic Brew's events
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October:
10a-4p: Sagtikos Manor Victorian Mourning (see site for date)

Strange Love Parlor:
W/Th/F/Sat 12-8; Sun/M 12-6;

Fantastic Toyage:
F 12-8; Sat 11-8; Sun 11-6; M/Th 12-7

*Haunted House of Hamburgers:
*Visit website for hours & to make a reservation - they book months in advance so plan early

Necromantic Brew Co:
F 4:30-11; Sat 12:30-11; Sun 1-7; T-Th 4:30-10:30:

*The Great Jack 'o' Lantern Blaze: 
*tickets sell early & fast-vist their site