The leaves begin to turn from a vibrant green to deep reds, oranges, and yellows. The nights are cool, with a crisp breeze. Grabbing your favorite knit sweater and boots, you set out for a beautiful autumn day.
The month of October is upon us, which means there are loads of fun things to do. Just because the temperatures are starting to go down doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the outdoors.
“I love the month of October because it’s that transitioning month between summer and winter and the weather is perfect. There’s so many fun activities to do and you can also wear fall clothes which are amazing. October just has such positive energy, and I love Halloween,” says Sarah Corrow (‘17).
Halloween is the staple of October, and even though the official holiday isn’t until October 31st, it’s widely celebrated throughout the entire month, with events all around the area. Haunted Overload occurs at Demeritt Hill Farm in Lee throughout the entire month of October every weekend and select Thursdays.
Jake Garner, an Oyster River High School alum, has worked at Haunted Overload for the past several years. “Scaring people is probably the funniest and funnest things to do. I love dressing up and getting in costume and being such an entertainment to people” says Garner, who strongly encourages students to go to Haunted Overload this year. “The profit goes to a very good cause: The Cocheco Valley Humane Society. Every year the Haunt donates more and more money to the animal shelter simply because the haunt has been growing so much each year. Two years ago the Haunt won 50 thousand dollars on ABC’s Great Halloween Fright Fight and gave all the money to the shelter. It’s a very charitable business.”
Not only does Demeritt Hill Farm have haunted walks, they also have apple picking. “Apple picking is a fun thing to do with your friends and family, and when you bring bags of apples home there’s so many amazing desserts you can make like apple pie and apple crisp,” says Sarah Cusack (‘17), who later stated that she also enjoys pumpkin carving with her brothers and her mom. “Decorating our house for Halloween is super important because our neighborhood competes; we get around 100 trick-or-treaters every year, so the Halloween spirit is always strong.”
There are several exciting activities surrounding Halloween. Evans explains: “I like Halloween so much because of the excitement of it when I was younger. My family and my neighbors spent the entire month of October decorating, and competing to see who could have the best decorations for trick or treat night.”
Whether you’re the type of person who would prefer sitting inside by the fire with a pumpkin spice latte or the type who would rather rake a pile of leaves and jump into it, Cusack suggests that either way you should “take advantage of every opportunity in this amazing season of the year.”
Writer: Andrea Staples
Photo Credit to Andrea Staples