Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
One more week ‘til Halloween, which means you had best be getting those costumes together. To get in the mood for some frightful festivities, here are a few Philadelphia area options for the weekend and beyond. Don’t forget to check out Friday night’s Cooper event, the Shen Wei Dance Arts performance in LPAC at 8 pm.
Laurel Hill Cemetery’s Underground Museum offers nightly flashlight-led tours this weekend of gravestones and funeral art, complete with apple cider and visits from local ghosts. The cemetery itself dates to 1836, making it one of the first garden cemeteries in the country. A few miles north of the Art Museum, your best bet for getting there is the Septa Bus 61 to Ridge Avenue. As admission is free for those interested in wandering the graveyard during the day, it’s well worth the price of a busfare for the curious.
Another Halloween favorite is Eastern State Penitentiary. Originally an experimental Quaker prison, the old fortress-like building has been called one of the best haunted houses in America. The prison is also worth a visit during the day to admire the unusual architecture and check out the jail cells of mob boss Al “Scarface” Capone, bank robber “Slick” Willie Sutton, and Charles Yerkes, who was convicted of larceny and for whom a crater was named on the moon.
Finally, the Kimmel Center will be presenting “Noche de Muertos,” music by Sol y Canto on Saturday night to herald Day of the Dead. Sunday afternoon at the Perelman Theater you can catch the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia performing Haydn, Lully, and Rameau and later in the week, dance enthusiasts can see the Pennsylvania Ballet performing “Ballo della Regina” and “Kazimir’s Colours.”