Halloween fun is just around the corner, and local folks have lots to choose from. Whether you're looking for tricks, treats, and scary fun nearby in hay mazes and pumpkin patches, or if you're more drawn to, say, zombie wars and fields of terror, there's something for every taste.

ALVA EVENTS

Through October 31

The Pumpkin Patch, an annual event put on by First United Methodist Church, will be held in the grass near VAP at 2129 College Blvd. again this year. The Patch is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday after church to 7 p.m. Find your perfect pumpkin or learn to decorate one, find your way through a maze, toss a penny in the wishing well, and just have a fun fall time. Call 580-430-5239 for more information.

October 25-28

Flashlight Hay Maze and Laser Tag – 8 to 11 p.m.

Bradt's Menagerie is offering seasonal after-dark excitement with a flashlight hay maze and laser tag from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, through Saturday, Oct. 28. Bradt's Menagerie, which features a day-time hay maze, along with a petting zoo and camel or steer rides, is at 39755 U.S. Highway 64, going west out of Alva. For more information, such as how much tickets cost, call 580-430-1269 or visit http://www.bradtsmenagerie.com.

October 26

Last Day To Order EG Pumpkin Rolls

Friday, Oct. 26 is the deadline for ordering one of Electric Gold's pumpkin rolls. The $15 pumpkin rolls are available with or without nuts. To place an order, contact any Electric Gold member, Pam Coffman (580-748-1973) or email Mrs. Beleele at [email protected].

October 27

Pumpkin Decorating Contest – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Schumacher's Copper Penny (405 College Ave.) is holding its Fall Spooktacular Pumpkin Decorating Contest. Prizes will be awarded in adult and children's divisions. Bring your decorated pumpkins to the store by 1 p.m. to be judged. Apple cider and snacks will be served.

October 28

Trunk or Treat and Hay Rack Rides – 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Get in the Halloween spirit by bringing your little ones for trunk-or-treating! The event, put on by area church members, features decorated car trunks filled with goodies for all little ghosts and goblins. This safe trick-or-treating environment will be held from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Church Street from Fifth Street to Seventh Street, and on College Avenue from Maple Street to Center Street. Come enjoy complimentary hot dogs and take a hayride, given by the Chaffees, free of charge. More information can be given by calling 580-327-2571.

October 30

"Haunted Harmonies" – 7 p.m.

The Northwestern Concert Choir, University Chorale and University Singers will perform "Haunted Harmonies," a collection of 16 Halloween-theme pieces, at First Baptist Church at 7 p.m. Admission is free, and the audience is encouraged to dress in Halloween costumes.

October 31 – HALLOWEEN

Trick or Treat at Share Convalescent Home – Noon to 6 p.m.

The residents at Share Convalescent Home are looking forward to handing out treats to local trick or treaters in the lobby from noon to 6 p.m. The convalescent home is at 730 Share Dr.

Trick or Treat at The Homestead – 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Bring your kids to The Homestead from 3 to 5 p.m. where residents will be handing out treats in the lobby. The Homestead is at 901 Homestead Dr. in Alva.

Halloween Spooktacular Parade – 3:30 p.m.

The Halloween Spooktacular parade, followed by trick or treating around the downtown square, is put on by the Alva Chamber of Commerce. All ghosts and goblins are asked to gather in front of the police station to be divided into categories (age groups of infants through sixth grade or one family/group category). The parade begins at 3:30 p.m., and costume judging will follow immediately afterward on the courthouse lawn. After that, grab your bags for trick or treating around the square.

Free Movie at the Rialto – 4:30 p.m.

The Rialto movie theater downtown will be showing a free movie at 4:30 p.m .: "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

Trick or Treat at Beadles Nursing Home – 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The residents at Beadles will be handing out candy to little trick or treaters Halloween evening from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Come to the lobby of the nursing home at 916 Noble St. in Alva.

Trick or Treat at Fryer Hall at NWOSU – begins at 5:30 p.m.

The resident assistants at Fryer Hall on the Northwestern campus are encouraging parents and kids to come and trick or treat through this residential hall, located at 1100 Eighth St.

Halloween Fun Farther Afield

If you're looking for something just a tad more TERRIFYING, consider some of these attractions out of town:

WOODWARD

Nightmare in the Country Scream Park – Weekends through Nov. 3, opening Fridays at 8 p.m.

The Nightmare in the Country Scream Park has four attractions on five acres, with a special atmosphere – a blackout – on Halloween night. The attractions include:

• Dr. Merrifield Puzzledust's terrifying 4,000-square foot manor, and its caretakers, the Killingers;

• A farm on which a toxic spill has caused something ... terrifying ... to grow. The area's been surrounded by the military in hopes of containing the mutants or zombies or whatever they are, but the army may be fighting a losing battle;

• Dr. Sinister's Carnevil of Fear: This doctor's office has been expanded to twice the size, and has a new device: the Sinister Box;

• Weepingville Asylum & Grounds

Nightmare in the Country Scream Park is 1 mile north and 1 mile west of the Woodward Airport entrance, but visit the park's website (www.nightmareinthecountry.com) for a map, as GPS is unreliable for this location. Tickets range in price from $10 to $50 – check out the details online or call 580-254-3944.

ENID

Daze in a Maze – Saturdays 10-10, Sundays 2 p.m. to dusk through Thanksgiving Weekend

Two miles north of highways 51 and 74 near Enid is a 300,000 square foot living field maze. Six colored flags, an observation bridge and four exits are there to help you. For extra Halloween fun, navigate the mazes on Saturday nights with a flashlight! Or try the six-acre Jungle Maze, which doesn't have any flags or maps to help you find your way through. And for an extra fee you can zipline across the largest field of maze. The offerings extend beyond the mazes, though, and include a petting zoo, dino dig, hay bale maze for the youngsters, a pumpkin patch, and a concession stand.

Tickets are $8 (age 3 and under are free). Visit http://www.dazeinamaze.com for more information.

Nightmare Warehouse – Oct. 27, 30 & 31, Nov. 2 & 3

The old Goldspot Dairy (424 W. Walnut Ave. in Enid) has been transformed into a haunt. Hand-built sets are around every corner including live actors and some of the newest animatronics in the haunt industry today. Tickets are $15 ($10 for ages 10 and under). Visit http://www.nightmarewarehouse.com for more information.

FARGO

Tormented Hollow – Open weekends in October

Tormented Hollow is an all new 14,000 square foot haunted attraction in northwest Oklahoma with multiple rooms of pure torment plus scenarios outside. For even scarier fun, experience Tormented Hollow with NO LIGHT on Oct. 30 and 31. The Hollow is at 115 1st, in Fargo. For more information, visit their Facebook page at TormentedHollowHauntedAttraction or call 580-334-4890.

Even Farther Afield

• Guthrie Haunts Scaregrounds (www.guthriehauntsscaregrounds.com), 4524 Riverside Circle, Guthrie. Tickets $15 and up.

• Wicked Woods (www.wickedwoodswichita.com), 3640 S. Topeka St., Wichita, Kansas, 67216. Tickets $13 for adults and $8 for ages 12 and under.

• Goth Manor (gothmanorwichita.com), 2301 S. Meridian Ave, Wichita, 67213.

• Field of Screams Kansas (www.scaryprairiepines.com), 4055 North Tyler Road, Maize, Kansas, 67101. Walk the grounds of the Spurlock family and try to survive the terrifying Clown Town 3D! Experience the exhilarating, cutting-edge escape shacks!

• The World At War Zombie Apocalypse (www.facebook.com/worldatwarwichita), 811 E. 10th Street, Wichita, Kansas, 67214. The premise at this attraction is complicated, but compelling: a horrifying virus has resulted in zombies taking over the world. Non-infected humans have gone into hiding to avoid having their brains eaten. Many are not surviving well; the food supply is depleted and the water contaminated; even the wildlife is not safe to eat – they've mutated as well. You and your friends in hiding hear word of a group that is fighting back against the zombies. They call their group World at War and devote themselves to ending the Zombie Apocalypse. Your choice is simple: stay in hiding and risk starving to death (or being too weak to fight when you are eventually found by the zombies) or make your way to the World at War headquarters and find your new salvation.