By: Adrian De Guzman, Reporter

As October begins, many people start to think about Halloween and how they will be celebrating the holiday.  Many parents and children will be going trick-or-treating the night of Halloween. However, others will be going to the many attractions that pop up around this time of the year.

Around the Orlando area, we have several theme parks that host Halloween events, usually starting in mid-September and ending near the beginning of November. These major theme parks include Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights, Busch Garden’s  Howl-O-Scream, and Seaworld’s Halloween Spooktacular.

Some of these have developed such a fanbase that veterans come back to them year after year, especially Halloween Horror Nights and Busch Garden’s Howl-O-Scream.

Freshman Arjun Valay says, Halloween Horror Nights “is so much more unique just because it’s an entire theme that is meant just to scare you.”

These attractions hosted by major theme parks are known by many people in the Orlando area. There are also a variety of other smaller-scaled attractions, such as the Petrified Forest, Orlando’s Haunted Maze, and other similar places.

Sophomore Nicolas Fields says The Petrified Forest “is pretty scary. It’s a little bit lower end than Halloween Horror Nights, but it’s definitely fun. They build this little maze through the forest, and you walk through and people jump out.”

Not everyone believes that these events are the perfect Halloween go-to place due to the themes becoming old and overused.

Senior Vanessa Esteban Diego is a big fan of haunted houses, says, “Recently, I feel like the themes have died down a little, so even though they’re bringing back some things, I don’t think they’ll be as exciting this year.”

These attractions can be very expensive as well. Prices for Halloween Horror Nights start at $96 for a single night, and go up to $255. However, with a Florida discount, the price drops as low as $50. Another cost is parking, which is $17 for just one day, and $5 if one parks after 8:00 P.M.

Freshman Jennie Kim says, “I think [big attractions] pull away from the smaller local attractions. Not many people have heard about [the smaller attractions] unless you hear from your friends or people who have gone.”

These events are the hottest spots in Orlando around Halloween.The dates range from the beginning of September to the beginning of November. The best way to know what these attractions are really like, is check them out in person.