Halloween in Pensacola Provides Plenty of Alternatives to Trick-or-Treating

If you plan on spending Halloween in Pensacola, Florida this year and you're looking for some alternatives to traditional trick or treating, you're in luck. Pensacola is actually a great place to spend Halloween if you believe in ghosts and spirits. You may not be aware of it, but Pensacola was the first European settlement in the United States. It was only a catastrophic hurricane (like you couldn't have guessed) that either killed or temporarily drove those first settlers away that prevents the city from claiming its rightful status as America's Oldest City. As such, if there really are such things as ghosts, there must be plenty here.

Taking advantage of that fact, Halloween in Pensacola can be historically enjoyed by taking the Pensacola Historical Society's annual haunted house and carriage tour. This is a tradition that started out almost two decades ago with very little fanfare or takers and has managed to grow into a significant Halloween event. Pensacola's historical district is populated by homes with centuries of history and when you take this tour you'll all about the murder and mayhem that is supposedly responsible for a multitude of ghost sitings throughout the years.

The tours are led by costumed guides, most of whom have been doing this since the tour's inception and are particularly well acquainted with the ghostly tales you will hear. I have personally taken this tour several times and I can guarantee you will have a good time and learn some interesting information about this old city. You can locate the schedule and other information by visiting Pensacolahistory.org.

What's Halloween without a visit to some scary houses? The Grimes family is once again promising their Grimes Sanitarium scary house which has been very popular in recent years. Moving up from four frightening rooms to six this year, the Grimes will be following in their tradition of scaring the heck out of visitors for free with decorations based on classic scary movies such as Children of the Corn and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. For more information check out HauntingPensacola.com.