Dear family travelers:  

Neighborhood trick or treating is so Old School!  

In fact, celebrations now go on all month long at hotels, zoos, aquariums and of course theme parks whether you're experiencing your first Halloween (or the first one you'll remember) a teen out for the scariest thrills you can find or a grown up. (For a complete list, check out our Halloween Happenings Across the USA.

There are now some 2,500 haunted attractions around the world that entertain millions-and employ thousands, reports The Haunted Attraction Association.

Here are 10 ways to get your Halloween celebrations started before Halloween:

1. CHECK IN TO A HOTEL: The Historic Hotels of America says there are more than 110 historic hotels that are haunted by friendly ghosts. (Book a stay thru the end of the year at www.HistoricHotels.org and get a complimentary family membership to the National Trust for Historic Preservation which enables you to save as much as half best rates at participating hotels.)  

2. CHECK IN TO A HAUNTED INN: The B&B Finder site  touts more than 200 haunted Bed and Breakfast Inns around the country where all kinds of super-natural occurrences have been reported.

3. CHECK OUT A HAUNTED LIGHTHOUSE: The Point Sur State Historic Park and Lighthouse in Big Sur CA is commonly listed among the top 10 haunted lighthouses in America.  

4. TAKE A RIDE on the Ghost Boat on the Wisconsin River to the creepy Witches Gulch or meet monsters on board the Queen Mary in California.

5. TAKE A RIDE TO A SECRET PUMPKIN PATCH: The Grand Canyon Railway's Pumpkin Patch Train isn't haunted but promises it will take you to a "secret pumpkin patch" (yes, the kids get a pumpkin to take home).

6. EXPLORE A HAUNTED SHIP at the Mystic Seaport CT where you can also hear scary stories or listen to eerie songs.

7. GET UP CLOSE TO THE ANIMALS AT A ZOO: many around the country have special Halloween festivities including thousands of illuminated jack-o-lanterns-5,000 at a time created by team of professional pumpkin carvers at the annual Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island.  

8. CELEBRATE SEA CREATURES Halloween style at your local aquarium or at SeaWorld Spooktakular in Orlando and San Diego with special shows, kids' costume parade and of course, treats.  

Hope to see you there!

9. SEE WHO SCARES MORE-YOU OR YOUR TEEN-at a theme park fright fest-whether Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens, Knott's Berry Farm Haunt, Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights or Cedar Point's Halloweekends.

10. PUT ON YOUR COSTUME ALONG WITH THE KIDS and head to a theme park for an afternoon or evening of not-so-scary fun at LEGOLAND in California or Florida, Disneyland or Disneyworld. During the day at Knott's Berry Farm, there's Halloween fun with the Peanuts gang at Camp Snoopy.

Got your witch's hat ready?

Also on TAKING THE KIDS:   

And from our partners Traveling Mom and Family Travel Network   

Be sure to visit our Fourteen Favorite Fall Getaways section