Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.  When I was little we had a pumpkin carving contest at school and I remember proudly placing my crudely carved pumpkin on the tables that lined the halls of my elementary school.  There was one house in my neighborhood that went all out and made an amazingly scary haunted experience for the kids.  I think every neighborhood has one of those exceptional families.   Here in Cornelius it is the home of Trish and Dick Mahoney.   It takes them a full two months to transform their house to a "house of horrors" complete with ghoulish poker game, a haunted wedding scene, a cemetery with plenty of zombies.  The Mahoney's welcome all who dare to enter from a few days before Halloween right through the spooky night itself according to our October Lake Norman Magazine published by the Charlotte Observer.

As a mom I can remember sewing a furry mouse costume which my poor daughter ended up wearing on a very hot California Halloween and painting gruesome scars on my son's devilish face.  Of course, one year he was Oscar the Grouch.  I'm not sure if he picked that costume out or I did!

Here in Lake Norman the first sign of Halloween is the arrival of pumpkins at our area produce stands and markets.

In addition to myriad neighborhood parties and trick or treating we have some extra special Halloween activities:

CARRIGAN FARMS

At the top of the list has to be a visit to Carrigan Farms located here in Mooresville.  Their 12-acre pumpkin patch already opened October 1st and they have said that despite the drought they have a giant crop of pumpkins.  Every weekend through October they offer hayrides to the pumpkin patch where everyone can pick a pumpkin, visit the animals and even have a cold glass of apple cider!  (Saturday 9-4 and Sundays 11-4.  Cost is $8 per person, children under 2 are free and wagons leave every 15 minutes.)

They also take reservations for Night Hayrides for the Bigger Kids of all ages.

For the Biggest and the Bravest is the debut of their "Forbidden Farms"!

  Other Halloween Happenings: 

• Civil War Ghost Tour: Latta Plantation:  Oct 27 and 28th 7-10pm.  A frightful tour!

• Halloween Fright Festival:  Latta Equestrian Center:  Oct. 27 and 28th 6:30-11pm.  Hayrides, pumpkin picking, cowboy-style trick-or-treating.  704.992.1550

• ClubFX and Backstretch Grill:  Halloween Ball:  Monday, Oct.29 5-8:30 for Middle School ages and 9-Midnight for High School ages.

• 5th annual Trunk-or-Treat Celebration at Lake Norman Christian Ministries in Mooresville:  Oct. 31st 6:30-8p.m

• Rocky Mount UMC Trunk or Treat on Oct. 31st @ 6p.m.  Free hot dogs and drinks

• Williamson's Chapel UMC Fall Festival Oct. 31st

• Davidson's annual Halloween March Oct. 31st at 5:15p.m. 

• Terror by the Creek:  Old Howard's Creek Mill; now through Nov. 3rd. 

• Rowan County:  Patterson Farms  in China Grove offers a produce market and petting farm.  Saturdays 10-4, Sundays 1-5 and Wednesday hayrides 4-7. 

• Gaston County:  Lineberger's Maple Springs Farm in Dallas has pumpkins, gourds, greens, muscadines and hayrides throughout October. 

• Just in from a reader!  Diane - don't forget about the fall festival that Lewis Farm is hosting the last two weekends of October.  I took my son out there a few weeks ago and he just loved their hay bale mountain and their bale maze

Please add any additional Halloween activities going on around Lake Norman in the comment section or email them to me and I will add them to this list!