Halloween happenings

Aurora

Oct. 18: Aurora Noon Lions Club will hold a third annual Great Pumpkin Halloween pancake breakfast from 7:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 18. The fundraiser to benefit Lions charities is at Luigi's Fun Center and Pizza, 732 Prairie St. in Aurora. The public is invited. The breakfast will feature unlimited pancakes with sausage, mini doughnuts, and milk, cider, coffee or orange juice. Children are invited to attend in Halloween costumes and to have photos taken with a Great Pumpkin background. Special photo frames will be available for purchase. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 3-12, and $15 for a family. Tickets are available from Lions members and at the door. Admission is discounted $1 per person from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Proceeds will benefit Lions activities to benefit hearing and visually impaired persons. Call (630) 921-1307 for information.

Oct. 18: Blackberry Farm, 100 S. Barnes Road, will celebrate the fall season throughout the month of October with its popular "Pumpkin Weekends." Each weekend, it will be festively decorated in the spirit of pumpkin season. A picnic area will feature an assortment of pumpkins for purchase, and a decorating station with painting supplies is provided.Carousel rides, hay rides and tours on the "Pumpkin Train" are also part of each weekend's festivities. Discounted rates are $3 admission for residents and $5 for nonresidents.

There will be a "Trick-or-Treat Walk" from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, before the park officially opens, visitors can make their way around to nine stations, then stay after the park opens at 11 a.m. for a costume contest at the Huntoon House. Advanced registration required. Check out a cool assortment of sharply decorated pumpkins, courtesy of the artistic talents of local Scout groups and individuals on Saturday, Oct. 25, and Sunday, Oct. 26. For details, visit foxvalleyparkdistrict.org.

Oct. 30: Kids can trick-or-treat at over 90 stores thoughout the Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora from 3 to 7 p.m. Orange pumkins will be stationed at all participating stores. For information, call (630) 236-2063.

Batavia

Oct. 17-25: The Albright Theatre gets into the Halloween "spirit" with their annual children's production of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The play is one of the highlights of Batfest, the annual fall festival sponsored by Batavia Mainstreet. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," based on the classic short story by Washington Irving, tells the tale of superstitious schoolmaster Ichabod Crane, who arrives in the haunted village of Sleepy Hollow and competes with rough-and-tumble local hero Brom Bones for the hand of the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel, until his fateful encounter with the legendary Headless Horseman. It will run Oct. 17-18, 24-25. Performance times will be at 8 p.m. Fridays and 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Reservations are strongly recommended for these performances. For reservations, call (630) 406-8838. For information, visit albrighttheatre.com.

Oct. 23: The Batavia Park District will host "Ghost Stories" from 7 to 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23 at the Peg Bond Center on the Riverwalk. Feel your spine tingle and your teeth chatter as you join award-winning storyteller Linda Gorham for ghost stories. Participants, ages 5 to 8, will hear some of Gorham's favorite spooky Halloween stories. The cost is $7 for residents, $8 for Batavia nonresidents and $9 for nonresidents. To register, call the office at (630) 879-5235, visit bataviaparks.org or stop by the main administrative office at 327 W. Wilson St., Batavia

Oct. 26-Nov. 1: The Girl Scouts of Batavia will be "Trick or Treating" ahead of schedule. Instead of collecting candy, troops will be collecting item donations for the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry. Items needed are non-perishable goods, and personal toiletry items. It is the community donations that fill the food pantry to help those in need. The Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry is 100 Flinn St.; (630) 879-3784.

Elburn

Oct. 27: The Town and Country Public Library, 320 E. North St. in Elburn, will host Magic Matt's Spooky-Fun Show. Magic Matt will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27 at the library. You will enjoy magic acts and stories with goofy ghosts and silly skeletons. At the end of the show, Magic Matt will magically take ordinary balloons and create Halloween balloon characters for everyone present. Register for this show at the library. For details, call (630) 365-2244.

Through Oct. 31: The Elburn Leos will host its eighth annual haunted house. The Leos are the junior branch of the Elburn Lions Club for people ages 12 to 18. The Haunted House for ages 12 and older is at Lions Park, Stetzer and Filmore streets in Elburn. It runs from 7 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 7 to 9 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 31. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children age 11 and younger. Bring a canned good and get $1 off the price of admission. . For details, visit www. elburnhauntedhouse.com, or call (630) 365-6315.

Elgin

Oct. 18-25: If being frighten silly is your idea of fun, then head to the Three Fires Council, Boy Scouts of America's annual Haunted Hike. The three-quarter mile established trails at Camp Big Timber, 37W955 Big Timber Road in Elgin, will come alive with the help this year from producer and make-up artist, Kelli Tidmore from the feature horror film, "Bled White." She has been working for the past several months with the Scouts to develop the chilling scare scenes i.e. Happy Chef, Zombies in the Graveyard, Ventriloquist & Puppets, The Whispering Forest, Waking the Dead, Clowns & Wicked Side Show, Insanity Walks, Doctor Doom, Black Maze Scene, Jason, Freddy, Mike Myers, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre to name a few.

Admission is $10. Admission is $7 for Scouts (boys and girls) wearing their uniforms. Parking is free. This year's guided woodland haunted hike will be filled with creepy sounds, scary sights and lurking creatures from 7 to 11 p.m. Fridays and 6:30 to 11 p.m. Saturdays. They also offer a "Kiddie Hike" from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 with a $6 admission for younger fans of Halloween and those frail at heart. Kids walk and visit scenes on the same trail as guests attending the night time hikes, however the staff manning the scenes during the Kiddie Hike will not attempt to frighten the kids and candy is passed out along the trail. For details, visit www.tfchauntedhike.org.

Oct. 30-Nov. 1: Nothing Special Productions presents "Nightmare in Paradise," a Halloween Spooktacular. Performances are at 8 p.m. each evening. Tickets are $13 for adults; $10 for students. Contact Alissa Jones for reservations by emailing aajones@ilstu.edu, nothingspecialproductions@hotmail.com or call (630) 709-8014.

Elgin Art Showcase, at 164 Division Street, is an intimate performance and gallery space in the heart of downtown Elgin.

Geneva

Oct. 22: The Geneva Public Library, 127 James St., offers a family program, "Halloween Hi-Jinx," from 4 to 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22. Dave Herzog's Marionettes will perform. Mad Scientist Boris Von Puppenspeil, Scare E. Crow, Jack O. Lantern and others will present a "kooky, not too spooky," Halloween show complete with a trapeze, a tight rope, and roller blades. The artistry of this award-winning puppeteer has been described as "Magical Motion." Tickets are available. For information, visit www.geneva.lib.il.us

North Aurora

Oct. 26: Come join the fun at the annual North Aurora Community Halloween Party, sponsered by the North Aurora Mothers Club. The party will take place from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26 at Fearn Elementary School, 1600 Hawksley Lane. All children should be dressed in their scariest or prettiest costume. Once at the party children will be alble to participate in numerous games and take home prizes. Admssion to the party is free, but all guest are encouraged to bring a nonperishable donation such as canned food or household supplies. The donated items will be given to families inneed throughout the North Aurora area during the North Aurora Mothers Club Operation Christmas Program in December. For information, call Rachel at (630) 907-9459.

St. Charles

Oct. 16-Nov. 1: St. Charles Jaycees hosts its annual haunted house at Valley Shopping Center, 1515 W. Main St., St. Charles. The event is designed for those 12 and older. Admission is $7 with $1 off for a canned good donation. There will be a matinee with friendly ghosts handing out candy from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 26; admission is $2.Hours are from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, and 7:30 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. For details, visit stcharlesjaycees.org.

Oct. 17-31: The 10th annual Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tours will be Oct. 17-31 in St. Charles. It is a contest in which residents decorate their houses and try to win prizes. It is open for public viewing and the best night to go is judging night, Saturday, Oct. 18. There are several categories on which the houses will be judged: Rookie of The Year Award, Big Scare-Low Budget, Best Actors (1-3), Best Actors (4 or more), Judges' Favorite, Best Special Effects, Family fun, and Peoples' choice. You vote for the Peoples' Choice award online. For information, call Jeff Greenwald at (630) 513-6200 or email at jgreenwald@st-charlesparks.org.

Through Oct. 31: The Haunted Manor is a spooktacular family attraction designed by illusionist Terry Evanswood. This marks the 14th year for The Haunted Manor at Charlestowne Mall, off Route 64 in St. Charles. It is designed with the entire family in mind. "My objective was to make a haunted house for all ages," said Evanswood, a former St. Charles resident. "I wanted to make it exciting for adults and teenagers, but not too terrifying for little kids. The whole family can experience it together." The cast of the Haunted Manor can either tone it down for children or ramp the scare factor way up for adults. Unlike most haunted houses, the Haunted Manor contains no blood, guts, or gore. Guests will be treated to 11,000 "scare" feet of haunted illusions inside the victorian mansion. Hours are: 4 to 9 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays; 4 to 10 p.m. Fridays; noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays; and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. General admission is $4. For details, visit hauntedmanoronline.com.

South Elgin

Oct. 19-26: The Haunted Trolley returns to the museum, on Route 31 in South Elgin, the weekend of Oct. 25-26, during regular museum hours. It's a spooky good time for children of all ages.

The Haunted Trolley is a specially-decorated vintage trolley car, and the ride is appropriate for all ages. Regular fares apply for this special event, which runs 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. both days.

For evening fun, guests can ride "Halloween Hiawatha," the Ghost Story Train, on Oct. 19. The reserved-seating, after-hours Ghost Story Trains entertain children and their parents. Those who dare can experience a campfire along the shores of the Fox River with ghoulishly delightful ghost stories. Reserve your seats now. Three other days have already sold out.

Tickets for the Halloween Hiawatha are $10, and seats can be reserved through the museum's Reservations page at foxtrolley.org/reservations.html. No tickets will be sold the night of Ghost Story Train events, and no reservations can be taken over the phone.

The museum, at 361 S. LaFox St., on Route 31 in South Elgin, is open 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on operating days, except as noted. Regular fares are $3.50 for adults, $2 both for senior citizens and for children ages 3-11. Children 3 and younger ride free. Call (847) 697-4676.