Looking for fun places to go and scary places to see on Halloween? Well, look no further because The Maroon provides a guide for your All Hallow’s Eve hauntings

Trick or Treating

It doesn’t matter what that mean old lady told you when you were 17 – you’re still not too old to trick-or-treat. This Halloween, take a trip back into your childhood and start the evening off with some Uptown trick-or-treating.

The areas directly surrounding Loyola are prime for the plundering. Take to the streets in costume in the early evening and delight in the most posh trick-or-treating you’ve ever experienced.

State Street on the Loyola side of St. Charles Avenue offers an experience as rich as the candy you’ll collect there. Make sure to check out the “State Street Cemetery” on State Street and Loyola Avenue.

Octavia Street between St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street hosts many festive houses, from classy one-pumpkin homes to front lawns overpopulated with skeletons, spiders and scarecrows all extolling the virtues of death. Make a trip to the house at the corner of Octavia Street and Pitt Street to see a near-pyrotechnic display.

The understated Prytania Street is also worth a stroll, and you’re sure to find many pleasing surprises.

Despite its reputation for elegant mansions, St. Charles Avenue itself is not worth a look. Besides, most homeowners there would shudder to have you on their front lawn, much less their front porch. Get a group of friends, check out the side streets, be polite, stay safe and you’ll still be able to make it to Frenchmen Street afterwards.

-Tom Macom

House Parties

If you’re tired of clubbin’ and just plain can’t stand Bourbon or Frenchmen on Halloween, then look no further than your own home to have the perfect Halloween fiesta. Simply gather some friends and invite them over for a séance, some Ouija board action or a scary movie marathon.

You can even play pin the bolts on the Frankenstein, do the Monster Mash, make a haunted house out of your living room or spike the blood red punch – whatever you fancy.

As long as your friends are by your side in a comfortable environment, your Halloween is sure to be frighteningly fantastic.

-Briana Prevost

The Dungeon

Since French Quarter industrial bar The Dungeon seems to celebrate Halloween all year, its annual party is prepared for 364 days. Admission to the bar Oct. 30 is by invitation only, although invites can be obtained by registering on the bar’s Web site. $5 midnight potions and the infamous dance floor cages are sure to offer a trick or a treat.

-Justin Templet

Jim Monaghan’s Halloween Parade
View Larger Map

Parades don’t only roll around for Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

This year marks the 13th anniversary of the Jim Monaghan Halloween Parade in the French Quarter, complete with horse-drawn carriages, costumes and plenty of beads.

The parade starts at 6 p.m. in front of Molly’s at the Market, 1107 Decatur St., and winds through the Quarter before making its way back to Molly’s. It’s a great way to start your evening in the “Boo Carre” before heading over to Frenchmen Street.

-Kevin Zansler

Frenchmen

Frenchmen Street is the Bourbon Street of Halloween.

Frenchmen, an acceptably cluttered hodgepodge street, is complete with an array of personalities and urban nightlife activities. Restaurants, a hookah café, street vendors and performers and live music seeping through the cracks of cozy corner bars are only a few reasons why groves of people frequent Frenchmen regularly. On Halloween night, however, the street really comes alive.

On Halloween, Frenchmen Street glitters as one of the largest block parties in the city. Bands parading in largely costumed dancing crowds are the norm. Most people dress for the occasion, and many bars award cash prizes for costume contests, so prepare to see and be seen.

-Rita West

New Orleanians are renowed for the holiday decoration prowess. Halloween is no exception.