FUN THINGS TO DO ON THE SPOOKIEST OF NIGHTS

What to do on the spookiest of nights?

Things are so simple when you are a kid.

Halloween comes around, leaves falling from trees and pumpkins all over the place, but all you can think about is your Ninja Turtle costume, and the bagful of candy that you will be stuffing your face with. You may be Dracula or the Fairy Godmother, but as soon as your parents step home from work, you are out storming around the neighbourhood, ringing more doorbells than a door-to-door insurance salesman on a sunny spring day!

Trick-or-treating is a popular Halloween custom in North America, in which children dressed in costumes go knocking from home to home, asking for candy and other treats. 

At first glance, one might think that Halloween is only an American holiday. While the United States certainly is the place that has shaped and made it popular as we know it today, Halloween’s origins can actually be traced to Europe and the spread of Christianity, as far back as the late 9^th century. The early church proclaimed All Saints’ Day to replace the traditional harvest festival, to make the cultural transition from the old pagan and Celtic traditions to Christianity. Over the centuries, All Saints’ Eve became All Hallows’ Eve, before the name Halloween finally appearing in the mid-18^th century.

Today’s trick-or-treating originally evolved from an old tradition of people impersonating the souls of the departed, in order to receive offerings on their behalf to appease them. People later began knocking door to door on Halloween collecting “soul cakes” to feed the poor, in exchange for their praying for the deceased. By the end of the 19^th century in Ireland and Scotland, children would go “guising” door to door in disguise for any gifts, food or money. Guising was later brought to North America by Irish immigrants, where it ultimately became the trick-or-treating that kids know and love today. Traditionally, children would receive treats only if they performed some sort of party trick, sang a song or told a funny joke, but today the “trick” is meant to imply the threat of a mischievous deed that would be delivered upon a household owner, unless he offered some treat in return. 

The tradition of dressing up in costumes came from the belief that souls of the departed roamed the earth until All Saints’ Day, with All Hallows Eve being their last opportunity to seek revenge on any who had wronged them while they were alive. People would disguise themselves with masks and costumes, so as not to be recognised by any angry wandering spirits.

Now, you may be planning on rocking a cool costume come Halloween, but unless you are a twelve-year old kid or a parent of one, you are most likely not going to be out trick-or-treating. 

So, what else is there to do on the spookiest of nights, apart from blowing your wallet on a bar tab?

Well, you can always go with the classic. See a horror movie, grab a bite to eat and a few drinks with some friends, and head over to the local costume party. Looking up some creepy haunted locations in your area is also always an option, or you could even go old-school and tell spooky ghost stories around a campfire.

But hey, how about checking out some cool and spooky Escape Rooms instead? 

Fox in a Box offers seven unique Room Escape games, two of which fit perfectly into the Halloween spirit.

What could possibly be more appropriate for the occasion than falling captive to a serial killer with his sights set on your life? His methods sure do seem familiar, though. Are you about to become the newest victim of the notorious Zodiac Killer himself, or is it just another copycat? It does not really make much difference, just make it out of his lair alive!   

If a serial killer is not scary enough for you, how about a deadly virus turning people into mindless, bloodthirsty zombies?! It has already wreaked havoc on most of humanity and brought it to the brink of extinction, so unless you can come up with a cure in time to save yourselves and the world as we know it, the lab will be stormed by zombies who will be having your guts for dinner!

If you have never had a chance to visit any of our locations before, be sure to check out some advice on how to prepare for an escape room game, so that you can get the most out of your experience and have as much fun as possible!