Spooky Cinema
In this classic 1993 Disney film, three comedic witch sisters are accidentally resurrected in Salem on Halloween night.
Hocus Pocus
All you need for this ultra-classic, last-minute costume is an old white bedsheet and a pair of scissors to cut out two round eyeholes.
Ghost
This triangular, striped sweet with white, orange, and yellow layers is one of America's oldest and most debated Halloween candies.
Candy Corn
According to popular Western superstition, it brings seven years of terrible luck if you accidentally break this household object.
mirror
Students tell stories of mysterious echoing voices and cold drafts while navigating this sprawling subterranean labyrinth connecting campus buildings during freezing winters.
campus tunnels
This stop-motion animated movie follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, who accidentally discovers Christmas.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Grab a black pointy hat, a twig broomstick, and perhaps a plastic cauldron or green face paint to pull off this traditional Halloween look.
Witch
A staple at autumn orchards and harvest festivals, this warm, spiced beverage is made by gently simmering unfiltered apple juice with cinnamon sticks, cloves, and orange peels.
Hot Spiced Apple Cider
If an English speaker accidentally spills salt on a dining table, superstition says they must throw a pinch of salt over this shoulder to avoid bad luck.
left shoulder
Located directly adjacent to the River Campus, this Victorian cemetery is one of America's first public park cemeteries and the resting place of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass.
Mount Hope Cemetery
In almost every classic American horror movie, characters make this fatal mistake: splitting up, or going into this dark, unfinished part of a house alone.
the basement (or cellar / attic)?
To become this classic character, you only need a striped black-and-white shirt, white face paint, a black beret, and a strict rule: absolutely zero talking!
Mime
In this traditional American autumn party game, participants try to grab fresh fruit floating in a tub of cold water using only their teeth.
bobbing for apples
In many cultures, this specific dark-furred animal is considered an omen of misfortune if it crosses your path, though in places like the UK and Japan, it can actually mean good luck.
black cat
Campus legend claims that late at night, the upper quiet stacks and observation areas of this iconic library tower feel eerily still and sometimes make strange mechanical or creaking sounds.
Rush Rhees Library Tower
In this 1984 paranormal comedy, a team of eccentric parapsychologists starts a unique business in New York City catching spirits, using the slogan: "Who you gonna call?"
Ghostbusters
Dress in a plaid flannel shirt, brown suspenders, heavy work boots, and carry a cardboard axe or stack of firewood to look like this rugged forest worker.
Lumberjack
Crisp whole apples skewered on wooden sticks and dipped into either a thick, sticky red sugary glaze or melted chewy brown confection are known as these two treats.
Candy Apples and Caramel Apples
To prevent bad luck after saying something positive (like "I haven't caught a cold all semester"), people commonly touch this natural material while saying a short idiom.
"knock on wood"
Located in the nearby village of Palmyra and surrounding Wayne County (just east of Rochester), numerous local ghost legends surround this historic 360-mile man-made waterway completed in 1825.
Erie Canal
In classic folklore and horror cinema, this legendary monster cannot enter your home unless you explicitly invite them inside, and casting no reflection in a mirror is one of their telltale signs.
Vampire (or Dracula)
Wear a beige trench coat, a deerstalker hat, carry a magnifying glass, and smoke a bubble pipe to dress as this famous Baker Street detective.
Sherlock Holmes
According to the National Confectioners Association, the most popular chocolate candy bar given out to American trick-or-treaters features nougat, caramel, and peanuts enrobed in milk chocolate.
Snickers bar
Rooted in ancient Norse mythology and the story of Judas at the Last Supper, the fear of this specific number is so widespread that many high-rise hotels and dorms skip labeling this floor entirely.
The number 13
Just 30 minutes south of Rochester along the Genesee River, this dramatic state park known as the "Grand Canyon of the East" has Seneca legends surrounding its roaring waterfalls and autumn mist.
Letchworth State Park