Haunted Hunts for Halloween

Camila Viegas-Lee


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by Camila Viegas-Lee

If you are looking for something beyond trick or treating, something that both you and your kid can enjoy this Halloween, check out the Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunts. The group organizes guided tours with funky narratives all over the city – from Central Park to Chinatown, Greenwich Village, Grand Central Station, the Museum of Natural History, you name it. An extra benefit is that you won’t have to deal with your kid in a sugar high.

Armed with a flashlight, you’ll visit ghost-plagued buildings and secret cemeteries while learning the stories of the restless souls you might disturb. According the website, The Ghosts of Greenwich Village, for instance includes the spirits of Mark Twain, Aaron Burr, Edgar Allen Poe, Washington Irving, Thomas Paine, artist John LaFarge, The Shadow, Clement Clarke Moore, Mayor Jimmy Walker, Lee Chumley, Patrolman Schwartz, a few skeletons and various other apparitions, sudden chills, rustlings and knockings.

There is a version of this hunt for adults only and another for families. They were all recommended by Time Out New York, the New York Times, The Daily News and NY1 and require advance purchase. Tickets cost between US$ 24.50 and US$ 18 depending on the program.

Flickr/Tomas Fano

If you want to try another theme, and enjoyed Ben Stiller’s Night at the Museum, try the Fright at the Museum Family Scavenger Hunt. It features exhibits in the American Museum of Natural History that inspired scenes in the hit movie.

Kids and adults work together to take on Dexter’s capuchin monkey cousin, a not-so-woolly mammoth with tooth trouble, personal items that belonged to Teddy Roosevelt, a dance that Sacagawea would have done, a scary Easter Island statue, an attack by a monster whale, a slice of a giant tree, humongous warring mooses, Aztec and Incan warriors, dangerous dinosaurs and more. Tickets cost US$ 31.50 for adults and US$ 27.50 for children and teenagers ages 7 to 17.


Happy Halloween!