Unique Halloween Activities in St. Louis, Missouri

Halloween is rapidly becoming one of the most celebrated holidays in America. Unlike Christmas, which also has its roots in the Pagan traditions, there are many different ways to celebrate Halloween, or Samhain (Sow-en or Sah-win), as it is sometimes called.

Pretty soon the radio stations and newspapers will be filled with ads for all of the commercial haunted houses in the area, and we have some fairly good ones too: Silo X and The Darkness are consistently ranked as some of the best by St. Louis Magazine and the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Silo X used to be located off of Interstate-44 near the Fenton exit. You could see it from the highway. The location later was turned into something even scarier: a paintball park. Silo X has now moved nearer to Fenton one mile south of Gravois on 141. It is now part of the Fear Festival, which includes four haunted houses for the price of one, as if you can’t get enough. I once had an employee at my restaurant that worked a temporary job at Silo X every year. His job was to jump out and scream at people. I could tell every year when he started because he got hoarser and hoarser until he lost his voice completely around the 31st of October. Silo’s sister haunted house; The Darkness is located in Soulard near the old farmer’s market. It would be my choice of the two because that whole area down there can get pretty scary, especially after dark.

If you have small children who might be a little young for a haunted house, there are a number of haunted hayrides and park tours in the area. And, of course, Six Flags near Eureka has its yearly Fright Fest extravaganza, but the rides out there are just too scary for me.

With a little effort and imagination, you can create your own Halloween agenda that is unique and fun and maybe even avoid some of the crowds: