Spectrum recommends: the spooky season special

Overcast skies, colorful leaves and all things pumpkin spice: Halloween season is in full swing in Buffalo.

It’s no secret that the scariest thing about this time of year is the anxiety that comes with upcoming midterms, so the Spectrum staff has compiled a list of some fall- and Halloween-themed activities and events at UB and around Buffalo for those in need of a study break.

Here’s a look at some frightfully fun activities that will make this spooky season one of the best yet:

The Screening Room movie theater is showing a bunch of classic spooky movies throughout the month

The Screening Room Cinema & Cafe, an independent theater located in the Boulevard Mall, has a great set of spooky movies playing in the days leading up to Halloween. The cozy theater has something for everyone on its October lineup. Classic horror fan? Catch a double feature of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” and John Carpenter’s “Halloween.” Wanna laugh? Try a matinee of “Young Frankenstein,” or the so-bad-it’s-good sci-fi flick “Plan 9 From Outer Space.” And don’t miss the 100th anniversary celebration of Nosferatu if you like your movies really, really old. Tickets are only $7 each, and some screenings are even paired with special cocktails — like $3 “blood orange” mimosas.

Meret Kelsey

Transit Drive-in Theatre

Hop in a car with a friend (or go alone) and enjoy a horror drive-in experience with movies like “Halloween Ends” or “Prey for the Devil” at the Transit Drive-in Theatre. Check the website on Monday afternoon to see the movie lineup for Friday and Saturday, which opens at 7 p.m. At a price of $12 per ticket for a double feature, you’ll have plenty of money left for the snack bar or a game of mini-golf!

Jasmin Yeung

FrightWorld 20 Years of Fear with new Carnival Boneyard

The award-winning FrightWorld is celebrating 20 years of shocks and scares this Halloween season. As one of Buffalo’s most popular Halloween events, the scream park includes five attractions guaranteed to make your skin crawl. Visitors can experience the murderous Grindhouse, the radioactive scene of Nightwalkers Reloaded, abandoned Eerie State Asylum, and the disorienting world of Insanity. In addition to these crowd favorites, attendees can explore the new creepy and unsettling Carnival Boneyard this year. Tickets are presently $40 per person, with a college discount of $5 on Oct. 20 and 27.

Morgan S.T. Ross

Hiking at Letchworth State Park

Upstate New York boasts some of the best fall foliage in the country, and the peak season is rapidly approaching. Rightfully dubbed “the Grand Canyon of the East”, Letchworth State Park offers a spectacular show of vibrant fall colors framed by vast canyons and picturesque waterfalls. About an hour’s drive from campus transports nature-lovers to one of the most highly acclaimed natural attractions in New York State. Some of the most popular hikes include the Lower Falls Trail and Gorge Trail. Entry to the park is $10 per vehicle, so pack the car and don’t forget to bring a coat!

Moaz Elazzazi

Method Man & Redman Shacktober at the Tuscarora Fairgrounds

‘90s hip-hop fans in WNY rejoice as legendary duo Method Man & Redman are set to hit the stage at the Tuscarora Fairgrounds on Oct. 22. The duo will also be joined by Method Man’s fellow Wu-Tang Clan members Ghostface Killah and Raekwon. A night for old-school hip-hop heads to circle on the calendar, the four MC’s will rock the stage with a Halloween twist. Doors open at 4 p.m., with the show scheduled to start at 6 p.m. About a 30-minute drive from UB’s North Campus, the Tuscarora Fairground is an outdoor festival site and performance center in Lewiston, NY. Tickets can be found for as low as $75 on Eventbrite and tuscarorafairgrounds.com.

Anthony DeCicco

Watch a scary movie or show

Love a good scare to get your blood pumping? Scared of scary movies? Either way, there is no better day than Halloween to take some time away from your regular semester activities to watch some of the most iconic scary movies and TV shows. So, get cozy in your dorm rooms and bring out some of your favorite candy to munch on. Some great horror movies include Archive 81, American Horror Story, Us and Jaws. The best part is that horror movies can be enjoyed alone or with friends (although if you do get scared easily, it’s probably best to have friends present). Health Promotion and the Student Association will also be screening Ghostbusters on Friday, Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. in Norton 190.

A.J. Franklin

Go for a run

If jump scares and screams aren’t quite your speed, there’s nothing like the percussion of rubber soles on asphalt for that adrenaline fix. Buffalorunners.com offers an October calendar jam-packed with races in the local area. And yes, bring your costume. Dress to impress in the EVL Halloween Half Marathon or the 25th Annual Jack O’Lantern Fall Classic 5K. Raise funds for the American Cancer Society at the Yeti Dash 5K Run. Take your lungs and knees for a spin at the Niagara Falls International Marathon on Oct. 23. Can’t make a race? The Queen city has no shortage of scenic stops to enjoy at your leisure. Take a jog around the Ellicott Creek Trailway Park. Closer to South Campus? Kick up some dust at the Tonawanda Rail Trail. Crisp-cool temperatures and the calico canopies of autumn make a brilliant backdrop for escape from those deadlines and exams. Live vicariously through that fleeting high of outrunning the semester’s grind and tear away, ragged into mindful bliss. Serenity is worth its weight in fogged breath and crimson gold.

Kyle Nguyen

Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Riviera Theatre

There’s no better month than October to revisit the ‘70s cult classic about that “Sweet Transvestite” from Transexual, Transylvania, and there’s no better way to watch it than on the big screen. “Rocky Horror Picture Show” will once again return to North Tonawanda’s Riviera Theatre on Oct. 28 at 10 p.m. The show is sure to be a “Science Fiction/Picture Show,” with performances by Eye Candy Vixens Burlesque and The Ladies of Illusion, and an audience costume contest before the midnight screening. The show will also feature a live shadow cast performing alongside the show. Tickets start at $20 — just don’t forget your high-heels, newspaper and rubber gloves.

Grant Ashley

Take a walk with a fall-themed drink in hand

One of the most therapeutic things to do is to take a walk in nature while sipping on some fall flavor to unwind. With the red and orange around you and, say, a pumpkin spice latte, it’s the best way to de-stress and see the good in whatever is going on in life. Walking through UB’s North Campus or near Lake LaSalle are some of my favorite routes for staring into space at the spectrum of colors around you, getting some exercise and finding some peace in the day-to-day bustle of life. Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte is an amazing choice of warm fall flavor, and is the perfect response to the chill in the air. Nature walks are fun with your friends, too. Dress up in your favorite sweater-weather attire and take some fun portrait photos of each other if that’s your thing. No matter how you slice it, walking, basking in the fall-ness around you and taking care of your health is the perfect blend of productivity and chillaxing.

Ria Gupta

Spend a day at The Great Pumpkin Farm

Picking out pumpkins at The Great Pumpkin Farm is the only way to start your fall festivities, especially if you’ve been feeling deprived of Halloween spirit. With their large variety of pumpkins, stalks, gourd and mums, your home will immediately succumb to the warmth of the orange hues and radiate the chill of the spooky holiday as it approaches. Besides pumpkin picking, The Great Pumpkin Farm embraces the autumnal tradition of a hayride through their thirty acres of woods, a shop filled with specialty fall delicacies and a five-acre corn maze that entails an unsolved mystery and the occasional zombie. And if you want to enthrall yourself in the magic of fall even further, The Great Pumpkin Farm hosts a fall festival every weekend this month with events like pie-eating contests and pumpkin olympics. After spending a day at the patch that broke the Guinness World Record for the first 1,000-pound pumpkin and partaking in all the fall activities they have to offer, apple cider will definitely be coursing through your veins.