In politics, there is a thing called the October surprise. Coined in reference to Jimmy Carter’s hoped-for success in freeing the Iranian hostages in 1980, which might have helped him beat Ronald Reagan that year, the term has ever since connoted a last-minute headline that upends a presidential election.For readers of NewsBreaks, “October surprise” might mean something different: another article from me about Halloween information sources. Here are my first three:
This year, I focus on websites that have to do with spooky travel destinations. Enjoy!
WRITERS
Poe Museum: Baltimore
Though born in Boston in 1809, America’s greatest horror writer, Edgar Allan Poe, is most often associated with two other cities: Baltimore and Richmond. Poe lived at his Baltimore house (now a National Historic Landmark) from 1833 to 1835 and wrote a number of stories, poems, and reviews there. He also died in Baltimore, a fact on which The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum capitalizes with its Poe Death Exhibit and Death in Baltimore Bus Tour.
Poe Museum: Richmond
Poe spent a lot of his childhood in Richmond in the care of John Allan, his foster father. He also stayed there when he served as editor of the Southern Literary Messenger. The Poe Museum is not at a site where Poe actually lived, but it has a lot of Poe memorabilia. When I visited, I was lucky enough to have as my tour guide Edgar or Pluto, one of the museum cats.

Photo courtesy of Maria Warren
H.P. Lovecraft Sites
Like Poe, whom he deeply admired, Howard Phillips “H.P.” Lovecraft, author of The Call of Cthulhu and other cosmic horror classics, is more famous in death than he was in life. That life was spent almost entirely in Providence, Rhode Island. The website Guide to Lovecraftian Sites in Rhode Island lists a number of buildings associated with Lovecraft, including his birth house and others he mentioned in his writings.
Inn St. Helena
Built in 1872, the cozy Inn St. Helena B&B in St. Helena, California, is the former home of a man who was not so cozy: Ambrose Bierce, author of the acid-tongued Devil’s Dictionary. He also wrote fantasy and horror stories, the most famous of which is An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. (Didn’t know Bierce wrote horror fiction? Check out my essay about it on Reactor.)
FESTIVALS
Necronomicon
Every couple of years, the city of Providence, Rhode Island, is taken over by Lovecraft fans in a weekend celebration of all things Cthulhu. There are panel discussions, walking tours, film and art exhibits, and lots of parties. This year’s guests of honor included Poppy Z. Brite and other writers of the fantastic.
Horror Convention Calendar
What do Orlando, Florida, Niagara Falls, Canada, and Puyallup, Washington, have in common? All were the sites of horror conventions in 2024. Horror cons are a great way to meet film and TV stars, as well as other fans of the macabre. HorrorCons.com offers a master calendar of such events.
Screamfest Horror Film Festival
Screamfest is the Cannes Film Festival of the horror genre, with categories for feature films, short films, student films, and animation. The festival’s mission is “giving talented filmmakers and writers from around the globe a platform to showcase their work” and “connecting them with both the general public and industry professionals.”
Forever Twilight in Forks
For decades, Forks, Washington, was a little town of loggers, sport fishers, and people who kept to themselves. Then Twilight happened. Stephenie Meyer’s 2005 novel about a sparkly vampire and the angsty teen who loves him kicked off a fan frenzy that, nearly 20 years later, is still going strong. This annual festival celebrates that phenomenon.
WALKING TOURS
New Orleans
As one of America’s most haunted cities, New Orleans has it all: vampires, witches, voodoo, murder, you name it. This site is an omnibus of walking tours, pub crawls, and other hair-raising events. If you take one of these tours, make sure it includes the LaLaurie Mansion, which some natives call simply “the haunted house.”
Salem
In January 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem, Massachusetts, became ill. When they didn’t improve, William Griggs, the village doctor, accused the girls of being witches, setting off a panic that resulted in the executions of 20 men and women. History—and Halloween—were never the same. Contrary to the popular image of witches being burned, most of the accused were hanged, although one, Giles Corey, was “pressed to death,” as my photo shows.

Photo courtesy of Anthony Aycock
Chicago
Although organized crime can be found in a lot of places, Chicago is synonymous with it, especially during the Prohibition era, when “gangster interactions became an everyday occurrence, with gangland shootings dominating news headlines from Chicago’s finest hotels, speakeasies, and mysterious sidewalks,” according to the Chicago Gangsters and Ghosts Tour. If the spirits of those victims are still around, maybe you’ll encounter one on this tour.
HAUNTED GREAT BRITAIN
Jack the Ripper Tour
When you’re sick to death (see what I did there?) of haunted America, go across the pond to London, a city that surely has more ghosts than most places in the world. Since 1982, the Jack the Ripper Tour has been thrilling and chilling East Enders and visitors alike.
Windsor Castle
Built by William the Conqueror nearly 1,000 years ago, Windsor Castle has seen it all. Queen Elizabeth I used it often for entertainment and diplomatic visits. Charles I was imprisoned there during the English Civil War. It is haunted by 25 ghosts, according to The Little House of Horrors site, including Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, who is buried there.
Haunted Scotland
Scotland has a lot of castles, and these castles, according to 13 Haunted Places in Scotland That Will Give You the Creeps, have a lot of ghosts. My favorite is the headless drummer at Edinburgh Castle, which was first reported back in 1650. (I didn’t see him when I was there. Maybe he was visiting Windsor.)

Photo courtesy of Maria Warren
Haunted Ireland
Ghosts are also hard at work across the Irish Sea, most notably at Leap Castle, which calls itself “The world’s most haunted Castle.” Such titles are impossible to prove, but the place does have a bloody history, as does Leamaneh Castle, where Mary MacMahon, known as “Red Mary,” punished servants who displeased her by hanging them. Out the windows. By their hair.