31 fun and frightening ways to celebrate Halloween this weekend

If you haven't already booked a big Halloween bash or organized a group outing to a local haunted house, no fear: There are plenty of fun - and freaky - ways to mark Oct. 31 without all that pesky advanced planning.

We've conjured up a few ideas. Be sure to call ahead or check the Web for addresses, times and other deadly details.

• Diane Ladley calls Naperville "the most phantom-friendly city in the Midwest." Join one of her Historic Ghost Tours of Naperville and you'll find out why. Tours start at 7, 8 and 9 p.m. at Quigley's Irish Pub (a haunted spot itself, or so we're told), and participants get to hunt for ghosts using real EMF ghost meters. The event costs $15 for adults, $10 for kids and seniors. Call (630) 978-7033 or check historic-ghost-tours-naperville.com for last-minute availability.

• "Let's do the Time Warp ... again!" At 10 p.m. tonight, "Rocky Horror Picture Show" - the ultimate in audience participation - shows at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles for $10. Come in costume, bring your props and get ready to shout out your favorite lines. No hot dogs or water guns allowed. See thearcada.com.

• Pizza, prizes and pythons. What more could you want? Celebrate at Lombard's Enchanted Castle tonight with a costume contest, 6:30 p.m. dinner buffet and an 8:30 Creepy Creatures show. For more info, go to enchanted.com.

• Board a possessed Screamliner, creep through a haunted train wreck site, take a dark ride on an antique streetcar through darkness and explore the Train of Chills from 7 to 11 p.m. tonight and Saturday at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union. Your ticket to terror costs $12. Recommended for kids 13 and older. Get details at irm.org.

• Brookfield Zoo's dinosaurs go the way of the originals after Saturday so check them out before it's too late - and do it after dark. From 6 to 10 p.m., visitors can stroll the eerily lit Dinosaurs Alive trail, wind through a corn maze or hop aboard the zoo's Tram of Terror. For more details and admission prices, go to czs.org.

• Check out any of the dozens of haunted houses in the suburbs and city. One of the newest is Disturbia Torment of Fears at the Links and Tees Golf Dome in Addison. General admission is $18. The chills start at 7 p.m. tonight and tomorrow, but you can navigate in total darkness from midnight to 1 a.m. for $30. For more details, go to disturbia2009.com.

• A number of horror films hit local film screens at midnight Halloween night. John Carpenter's original "Halloween" will be shown at the Antioch Downtown Theater, and George Romero's classic zombie thriller "Dawn of the Dead" will be at the Liberty 1 & 2 Theaters in Libertyville. "The Curse of Frankenstein," meanwhile, hits the McHenry Downtown Theater in McHenry. Check today's movie ads to find out more.

• If you prefer your horror at home, dim the lights and turn your TV to AMC or TCM. AMC presents Fearfest, nonstop horror flicks through Halloween day. Tune in for "House on Haunted Hill," "Blood of Dracula" and "Night of the Living Dead," among others. TCM, meanwhile, offers a Boris Karloff marathon today and more contemporary horror films on Saturday.

• For something a little lighter, see "Young Frankenstein" - and meet star Teri Garr - at 7:30 and 9:30 tonight at the Hollywood Palms in Naperville and Saturday at Hollywood Blvd. in Woodridge. See atriptothemovies.com.

• Listen to the literary ghost tales at the Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival at 7:30 p.m. tonight. It's at the Genesee Theater in Waukegan, said to be home to a few ghosts of its own. Tickets are $17; go to www.geneseetheatre.com.

• Get good and scared tonight with ghost stories by Dan Keding and Janice Del Negro at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg. The family-friendly program starts at 7, with scarier stories for teens and adults at 9. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students. For more details, go to prairiecenter.org.

• If you see Halloween as more sweet than scary head north for the Munchkin Masquerade at the Jelly Belly Visitors Center in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. The kids will eat up the tour, clowns, magic show and free samples. It's 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; for directions go to jellybelly.com. Did you catch the part about free samples?

• For even more family-friendly fun, check out the pumpkins at Didier Farms in Prairie View. Also available are carnival rides, horse-drawn hayrides, games, food and a petting zoo. Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Pricing and other details available at didierfarms.com.

• Also good for kids: Lambs Farm's Haunted Harvest in Libertyville. The farmyard features graveyard golf, a haunted house and other activities starting at 6 p.m. Saturday. You can pay for individual activities or buy a $15 all-night pass. Check out lambsfarm.org.

• Don't let Fido miss out on the fun. Dress him up and take him to the Chicago Botanic Garden's Spooky Pooch Parade, 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday. Prizes go to the top dogs in various categories. Registration is $14 in advance and $19 at the door, with $20 for parking. Scope out the prizes and learn more at chicago-botanic.org.

• Learn about Spooky Science all weekend long at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Kids can make their own green slime, tour the "haunted" coal mine and study bats at various times and activities. Admission is free today; fees Saturday are $13 for adults, $9 for kids, Check msichicago.org for details.

• Party at the pub. If you're at least 21 and willing to fight the crowds, practically every bar in the suburbs is hosting something over the next two nights - complete with creepy cocktails and lucrative costume contests. For a sampling, click here.

• Willing to venture farther after dark? Halloween night at Chicago's Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club on Halsted features 3D Halloween films on five jumbo screens, complimentary popcorn, a costume contest and specialty martinis, garnished with everything from gummy body parts to vampire fangs. The bash runs 5:30 p.m. to 3 a.m., when everyone starts looking a little scary. Find out more at kitkatchicago.com.

• Porchlight Music Theatre in Chicago once again stages "Macabaret," a collection of humorous (and morbid) songs about everything from evil cows to murderous spouses. Tickets are $30 for the 10:30 p.m. performances both tonight and Saturday; check availability and other information at porchlighttheatre.com.

• Another stage option is "Frankenstein" at the MCA Stage at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Hypocrites presents Sean Graney's adaptation of the classic horror novel. Catch it this weekend at 7:30 and 10 p.m. tonight and Saturday. Tickets are $20-$25. Learn more at mcachicago.org.

• Prefer vampires? Head for the McAninch Arts Center's Studio Theater at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. "Dracula" will take a bite out of your weekend at 8 p.m. today and Saturday. Tickets are $10, $9 for students. Go to www.cod.edu/ArtsCntr/.

• Also in the suburbs: First Folio Theatre's production of "The Castle of Otranto." The gothic tale unfolds at the dramatic Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook. A special 8 p.m. Halloween night show is followed by cocktails, hors d'oeuvres with the cast and an auction. Tickets for that party and performance are $50; go to www.firstfolio.org.

• Get chills and thrills tonight and Saturday at Six Flags Great America's Fright Fest in Gurnee. Ghouls roam the grounds, and you can check out a zombie parade, haunted houses (for an extra fee) and other scary sites. The park is open 5 to 11 p.m. tonight and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. Tickets go up to $54.99, with discounts available on the Web site (sixflags.com) and for younger visitors.

• Head downtown to Franken Plaza - otherwise known as Daley Plaza - today or tomorrow for entertainment, mask-making demonstrations, crafts and even a free 6 p.m. Saturday showing of "Young Frankenstein." For a full schedule of events, see chicagoween.us.

• Bring the family aboard Anderson Bookshop's haunted trolley rides through Naperville tonight. Authors ride along, sharing stories of their books. Also featured are a costume contest, treats and more. The fun starts at 6 at the Naperville store. See andersonsbookshop.com.

• Curl up with a hauntingly good read (and some of the those little candy bars you're giving out to trick-or-treaters). You'll have to wait until Nov. 10 for Stephen King's latest - the highly anticipated "Under the Dome" - but you could read one of his earlier works or pick up Chicago author Audrey Niffenegger's "Her Fearful Symmetry," set near London's Highgate Cemetery.

• Step back in time Saturday for Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament's Halloween night shows in Schaumburg. Doors open at 3:30 for the 5 p.m. family show. Kids can meet cast members and get a special gift before dinner. The 8 p.m. show will be followed by dancing in the Hall of Arms. Costumes are encouraged. Tickets for dinner and the show are $29.95 if you mention the code 29DHH9. See medievaltimes.com.

• Bundle up and prepare to get lost in what's billed as the world's largest corn maze. The Richardson Corn Maze in Spring Grove has a few twisty options; the Abraham Lincoln maze alone covers 28 acres and there's a special 5-acre Halloween maze. Admission is $8.50 to $11.50 depending on age, with additional fees for the zip line or wagon rides. It's open 3 to 11 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday. Get specifics at richardsonfarm.com.

• Theatre-Hikes revives its musical adaptation of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" 3 p.m. Saturday at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. Tickets are $24-$25, $15-$18 kids. See theatre-hikes.org.

• Keep the spooky spirit alive into November by buying Broadway in Chicago tickets to either "Young Frankenstein" (opening Nov. 3 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre) or "The Addams Family" (Nov. 13 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre). Ticket prices vary; go to broadwayinchicago.com.

• Slither on over to Serpent Safari in Gurnee to see tarantulas, snakes and other creepy creatures. Safari Tours run 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and Saturday and are $6.95 for adults, $4.95 for children 3 to 12. And since the reptile zoo is located in the Gurnee Mills Mall, you might just squeeze in a little early holiday shopping because - and this is really scary - Santa arrives in at least one local mall next week. Eek!