Here's where to get scares this spooky season

Fall has arrived and with it, Halloween fun.

The Haunted Shack outside Carlton opened, appropriately, on Friday the 13th. The smaller but spectacular Haunted Hawthorne is alive and well, with frights every weekend behind a family home in Cloquet. And there’s pumpkins galore, including in the Cloquet Middle School swimming pool on Saturday. There’s even an option for those who prefer to be terrified while driving their cars down a country lane listening to spooky music, courtesy of the County Seat Theater.

Following is a list of area amusements, tame, spine-tingling and downright spooky:

• The Haunted Shack and Ru-Ridge Corn Maze at 1781 County Road 1 in Carlton, are both open. There’s lots to choose from on the rural farm site between Carlton and Wrenshall.

The Haunted Shack includes three attractions: a haunted hayride, haunted trail and the haunted shack. Hours are 7-10 p.m. Oct. 20-21 and 27-28, and 7-9 p.m. Oct. 19 and 26. Cost: $20; get $5 off with military ID, student ID or coat drive donation; get $2 off with nonperishable food item or a coupon with the ad in this newspaper. Kids’ Day/Faint of Heart is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 21. Kids’ Day admission: $15. Visit facebook.com/haunted.shack, hauntedshack.com or haunted-ridge.com for more information

Ru-Ridge Corn Maze is open 4-8 p.m. Thursdays, 4-10 p.m. Fridays (bring flashlights in the evening), Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $8, free for age 2 and younger. Hayrides are $3 extra, horse rides are $5. Enjoy an 8-acre corn maze and lots of family activities, including games and a petting zoo, hay rides and a corn pit.

Ru-Ridge is also holding a pumpkin carving contest. All entries must be brought in by 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22 to be photographed and posted on the Ru-Ridge Facebook page for the public to judge.

• Cloquet Community Ed will hold a pumpkin plunge for all ages starting at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Cloquet Middle School swimming pool. Cost: $10 per child to swim and take home a pumpkin (and a small carving kit), and $5 for a parent who wants or needs to swim with their child in the pool, pumpkin not included. Call 218-879-1261 to sign up. Limit of 50 participants. As of Wednesday there were 24 children and four parents signed up.

• Haunted Hawthorne in Cloquet is a free display, donations accepted. Glenda Miller and her family at 827 Hawthorne St. will have frights in the backyard maze 7-10 p.m. this weekend, Oct. 19-21, and Oct. 27-31, Thursday through Tuesday. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. Children under age 12 should be accompanied by an adult. Strollers and wheelchairs might not fit through the maze. Details at facebook.com/hauntedhawthorne.

• Visit the Haunted Forest at 7187 Saginaw Road in Saginaw. “We scare because we care” is their motto. Open 7-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 7-9 p.m. Sundays through the month, with a trick-or-treat 2-5 p.m. Oct. 29 for ages 12 and younger, plus a “blackout” on Oct. 28. Admission is $20 for age 13 and older, $10 for 12 and younger. Get $1 off with food donation. Visit facebook.com/hauntedforest7187.

• Spooktacular Alley is a drive-thru affair with spooky tunes behind County Seat Theater in Cloquet 6-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 27-28. Also includes a haunted walking trail, “scaryoke” and an outdoor kids movie. Get your fortune told while you enjoy a hot beverage. Suggested donations of $5 per person or $20 per car. No reservations are needed.

• Carlton’s extremely popular downtown trick-or-treating event takes place 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. Be prepared for a large crowd and plenty of treats from local businesses.

• SonLife Community Church in Wrenshall will conduct a trunk-or-treat 5-7 p.m. Oct. 31. There are similar events in Kettle River and Cromwell. Get more information on those from the Communities page writers on Page 19.

• Word on the street is that this year’s version of the William A. Irvin haunted ship in Duluth is quite a scare. It will be open mostly weekends through Halloween night. Find tickets at duluthhauntedship.com.