Halloween is approaching and spookiness is in the air, so we thought we’d bring you some of the country’s most notorious haunted hotels to consider for your next trip. Why settle for a plain old hotel stay when you could add apparitions, strange noises in the night, locking and unlocking doors, and more to the experience?

Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans - Image credit: Flickr

Check out these haunted spots from the Victorian seaport town of Port Townsend, WA to the land of voodoo and witchcraft itself, New Orleans, LA, and find the spot that’s right for your next journey!

Ever heard of a Silent Disco?

Well, you wouldn’t actually hear it. It’s silent, right?  But you could watch one on Oct. 29, when Traverse City adds yet another entry to its list of fall happenings: the first-ever Old Town Halloween Carnival and Monster’s Ball. And it’s a spooky sight to behold.

In a Silent Disco, dancers are issued wireless headphones through which music is broadcast via an FM transmitter. It’s the perfect eerie effect for a Halloween street party, since everyone appears to be moving to no discernible music at all. (An added benefit is that non-dancers don’t have to shout at each other over the music, and the neighbors don’t call the cops to report you for making a public nuisance.)

Already known among Halloween cognoscenti for its ghoulish  5K Zombie Run footrace, where shambling “zombie” runners chase down normal-looking “survivors,” and the unspeakable cuteness of its kid-friendly Downtown Halloween Walk, Traverse City seems determined to make itself the Halloween capital of the Midwest with yet another event.

Photo credit: Porterhouse Productions

Billed as “the largest Halloween event in Northern Michigan,” the Oct. 29 Halloween Carnival and Monster’s Ball starts with a Saturday morning “Monster Pancake Throwdown” – a contest among local chefs in this bastion of culinary competitiveness for the title of Best Pancake in Traverse City. Pancakes will be served out with a host of other locally-produced sausages, eggs, jams, syrups and ciders. Family-style fun continues from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a kids’ costume contest, a haunted bouncy castle, old-school carnival games, Halloween creatures, a pneumatic “virtual hearse ride,” a pumpkin pie-eating contest, performances by local bands and dancers and other fun.

But things really begin to happen after dark, when the streets are taken over by the Monster’s Ball, with local food, wines and microbrews, and music from live bands and DJs. Entertainment will include the last live performance of Michigan dance-rock group Ella Riot (this will be the band’s farewell show), a costume contest featuring premium prizes, and an all-night Silent Disco dance party featuring DJ Body Rock and Wally Sparks (of Ella Riot), DJ Dominate and others.

Tickets for the Old Town Halloween Carnival & Monsters’ Ball can be purchased online at www.porterhouseproductions.com.

What’s not to like about Halloween? We get to play dress-up and we get free candy. But sometimes the holiday is just a little too scary for children. Luckily, there are plenty of family-friendly alternatives in Southern California:

• Legoland California in Carlsbad celebrates the season every Saturday in October from 5 to 9 PM at their annual Brick-or-Treat Party. Children will find costume contests, “Howler of the Hour” scream-offs, and dance fests geared just for them. There’s also trick-or-treating along the Brick-or-Treat Trail, where kids can score candy and Lego bricks

Photo: Legoland’s Brick-or-Treat celebration. Photo by Sandy Huffaker.

• On October 30 and 31, the San Diego Maritime Museum at the San Diego downtown waterfront offers spooky lantern-led tours aboard the beautiful, historic sailing ship the Star of India, during which costumed docents tell (not too scary) ghost stories. Check out the museum’s carnival on Halloween day (11 AM-4 PM), featuring costume contests for parents and kids.

• Disneyland is always looking for an excuse to party, and Halloween is no exception. Through November 1, famous villains from Disney films spookify the park, special seasonal decorations adorn attractions, Jack Skellington (from “The Nightmare before Christmas”) hosts an electrifying fireworks display, and Main Street storefronts display hundreds of specially carved pumpkins.

• On October 24 and 25, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach hosts Scarium of the Aquarium, a fun and educational Halloween celebration that includes a coloring competition, crafts, and magic shows. Guests of all ages are encouraged to dress up!

Photo: Scarium of the Aquarium. Courtesy of Aquarium of the Pacific.

• From October 23 to 25, check out Boo at the Zoo at the Santa Barbara Zoo, where children 12 years and younger can trick-or-treat, explore mazes, join in a costume parade, and listen to tales by Mother Goose herself.

• Through October 31, Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in West Hollywood hosts a family-friendly, old-fashioned harvest festival where children can pick out their own pumpkins, wind their way through a straw maze, and burn off some candy-fueled energy on the mighty “Jumpin’ Pumpkin.”