Have a SPOOKY Halloween

Halloween has always been a holiday of special interest in my family.

First, I grew up in Danvers, Massachusetts which is on the north shore. For those of you who would like an interesting and SPOOKY piece of historic information, Danvers is the actual Old Salem Village of where the infamous Salem Witch Trials occurred. The actual trials took place in The Town of Salem, which still exists, and the witches were hung on Gallows Hill in Salem Village (Danvers), an area still unpopular with the local residents. The area brings in tens of thousands of tourists for each Hallow's Eve.

Second, my dear Uncle John is the East Coast man of Halloween you may already know. He is better known as Professor Nightmare. Seriously. Professor Nightmare owns SpookyWorld, which is actually going to be hosted this year at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH. Not only does he own Spookyworld, but he also owns almost all of the Haunted Houses in Salem, Massachusetts, including the Museum of Myths and Monsters. He even built a new haunted amusement park in Hong Kong, China.

You have probably heard many of the radio ads for either SpookyWorld or Witch's Woods. Yup, my Uncle has Witch's Woods too. Well, not only does he own them, he also works the ads. That is his creepy voice you hear all day on the radio!

Can you image the suffering and torment inflicted on children who had an Uncle who went by the name of Professor Nightmare? I still suffer from flashbacks. I can't even begin to describe what is was like for my sister, cousins and I to grow up with my Uncle John, Professor Nightmare. Halloween wasn't just one day of the year for us, it was a lifestyle. As children we were regularly terrorized! Uncle John would meticulously create elaborate plots in which he would scare the socks right off us nearly every single week. He had new ways to scare us every time he saw us. He made his own masks, too. The scariest masks you have ever seen, and they worked well. As All Hallow's Eve would get closer, he would construct extravagant haunted house mazes through the basement of my Grandmother's house. All the neighborhood kids would go. I guess that is where he got his start. Even his dog is named Spooky.

If you think your family is strange.....please.....I have you beat. My Uncle is Professor Nightmare, I mean, c'mon. It was practically 'The Adams Family'.

I am very excited that Spookyworld this year is being hosted at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH. YOU NEED TO GO! If you have not been to a Haunted House since you were a kid, visit my Uncle's. His haunts are much creepier than any haunted house you can remember as a kid. He is extremely talented. On the same token, they won't give you a heart attack....it IS, after all, meant for kids. Move over Salem, MASS! Salem, NH is the NEW home of Halloween!