Haunted happenings for Halloween on The Murfreesboro Post

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Haunted happenings for Halloween

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By: THE MURFREESBORO POST

Posted: Sunday, October 21, 2012 2:04 pm

Halloween activities start off next week at Barfield Crescent Park with the annual Barfield Bash and continue with spooky events, like cemetery tours, and safe tricking and treating opportunities.

If you’re planning on taking to the streets this Halloween, Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold has some advice to keep Halloween safe.

Deputies will be observing trick or treaters for safety in neighborhoods out in the county. Arnold also suggested children who trick or treat in neighborhoods should carry a flashlight or glow stick or have reflective tape on the costume so drivers can see them better. Instruct the children not to shine the flashlight at approaching drivers.

Parents should accompany their children. Teach children how to look both ways before crossing a street. Parents who are dropping off their children in a neighborhood should pull off the road into a safe spot and flip on the hazard lights for approaching drivers.

Children should be instructed not to take candy from strangers who approach them on the street, the sheriff said.

Tennessee requires convicted sex offenders to not participate in Halloween activities. But as a precaution, Arnold said parents may go to tnmap.state.tn.us/sor/ or familywatchdog.us website and type in the streets where they plan to trick or treat. The list will show the names and addresses of sexual offenders the parents and children can avoid.

Also, Arnold offered the following tips for drivers:

• Don’t pass vehicles stopped in the roadway because children may be getting in and out of the vehicle.

• Pay attention to the side of the road where children may be walking.

• Refrain from using a cell phone while driving Halloween night so the driver won’t be distracted.

• Drive slower than the speed limit in residential areas.

Barfield Halloween Bash
Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department holds the 11th annual Barfield Halloween Bash on Tuesday-Thursday at Barfield Crescent Park.

The highlight of the Bash, Murfreesboro’s scariest hayride, “Old Scream Road,” runs Wednesday to Saturday. It begins at dark and is guaranteed to keep you screaming. Recommended for ages 9 and over. The cost is $5 per person.

For the scaredy cats among us, the “Not So Haunted Trail” offers families and little ones a scenic hayride through the backcountry campground where the creatures of the forest come out for a friendly greeting. This year’s hayride theme will be based on the book: “Little Owl’s Night,” by Divya Srinivasan. Costing $3 person, the hayride will be held from 5-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The annual carnival starts at 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The carnival is free to attend; concessions and game tickets, for $.50 each, will be sold until 9 p.m. each day.

Barfield Crescent Park is located at 697 Veterans Parkway in Murfreesboro.

Sheriff’s Office Trunk or Treat
Children desiring extra treats for Halloween can attend the free Trunk or Treat event at the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office at 940 New Salem Highway.

Kids up to age 12 can collect candy and enjoy petting horses and touring police cruisers, fire engines and ambulances during the event from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Halloween evening, Arnold said.

Horses from the sheriff’s Mounted Patrol division, sheriff’s deputies, Murfreesboro Police, Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue Department and Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services will distribute candy to the trick or treaters.

Trick or Treat on the Square
Get your goodies at the annual Trick or Treat on the Square from 3-6 p.m. Halloween evening. Merchants and offices welcome youngsters with some treats that are certain to please.

Shacklett’s Photography offers photographs of the little ghosties.

Great Pumpkin Festival 2012
Murfreesboro’s premier children’s museum is set to honor the Great Pumpkin and pirates from 4-7 p.m. Thursday.

Captains, scallywags and landlubbers alike can celebrate creepy thrills and science skills with our swashbucklin’ crew and special guests Mr. Bond the Science Guy and the MTSU Chemistry Club at the Discovery Center.

Other activities include glass blowing demonstrations, face painting with Riverdale High School art students, and lots of Halloween fun. Decorations by Oakland High School National Art Society.

The festival is free for Discovery Center members and $3 for the general public. Please bring a non-perishable food item for the Rutherford County Emergency Food Bank. Additional parking will be available at Holloway High School.

Note: The museum will close at 3 p.m. to prepare for Great Pumpkin Festival.

Evergreen Cemetery & Oaklands Tours
This tour of Evergreen Cemetery and Oaklands Historic House Museum really digs the past.

Intriguing tales, historical facts and good old-fashioned stories live on through an evocative cemetery and house tour, conducted at sunset.

“Few families would place cemeteries high on their list of places to visit, but maybe they should,” explained Mary Beth Nevills, educational director of Oaklands Historic House Museum. “After all, cemeteries offer art, architecture and local history in a natural outdoor setting. And just like pictures in a museum, every monument in a cemetery tells a story.”

This twilight tour of Oaklands Mansion and Evergreen Cemetery is offered Saturday evening. House tours will be available from 6-8 p.m. Cemetery tours are departing every 15 minutes beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the last tour leaving at 8:30 p.m.

Visitors may begin their tour at Oaklands Mansion, located at 900 North Maney Avenue in Murfreesboro, or at the entrance to Evergreen Cemetery.

Tickets are $5 per person. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Reservations are not required.

Sam Davis Ghost Tours
The Ghost Tour of the Sam Davis Home in Smyrna offers an answer to the commonly asked question: Is the Sam Davis Home haunted?

This storytelling event, held Friday and Saturday, gives visitors a chance to hear a different tour of the historic house and property. Visitors will first board a haunted hayride and hear tales of the property before being dropped off at the front walk of the historic Sam Davis Home.

Storytellers inside the house and outbuildings will share the hauntingly true tales experienced by visitors, staff and volunteers as guests are guided along the walking tour.

The tours begin at 7 p.m. with ghost tours, consisting of the haunted hayride and walking tour, departing about every 15 minutes until 10 p.m.

Admission is $5 per person and parental discretion is advised. This event is not recommended for children under the age of 10. The tours are a weather dependent.

Tagged under Barfield Bash, Event, Halloween, History, Holiday, Murfreesboro, Oaklands Historic House Museum, Rutherford County, Sam Davis Home, Sheriffs Office

Member Opinions:

By: bmw4m_mtsu_f12 on 10/23/12
This is an extremely useful article. We were looking for some fun activities to get involved in on and around Halloween, and some of these could fit the ticket. And even if not, this is still an exceptionally useful article for everyone who is looking for something to do on these evenings. In addition, this article covers some nice little tips for those who want to make sure 2012 holds a safe Halloween for everyone—and some of these might not even be tips one would consider had they not been listed. Particularly tips such as instructing children to not shine flashlights toward cars; this is extremely useful and perhaps not a commonly used tip.

I found some of the ghost tours noted in this article to be particularly fascinating, as I actually wasn’t aware some of these were going on and it’s another interesting activity to consider for the Halloween season. I think for all of this useful and interesting information, this is an exceptionally useful article and well worth the time spent reading it—although I may be a bit biased being a bit of a Halloween buff myself.

Thanks for the interesting and useful read that this article proved to be!