It’s officially fall in the bluegrass- pumpkin flavored beverages and treats everywhere you look, Friday night football games and the latest fall trends displayed in every store window. As the season progresses, Halloween is just around the corner, which means that it’s time for things like haunted houses and pumpkin patches.

Around Lexington, three haunted houses or, ‘scare grounds,’ are dominant: Nightmare Haunted House, Terror on Tates Creek and Quarantine. Each of these has a specific plot/setting: a haunted hospital, a creepy carnival and an abandoned military compound, respectively. Attendants walk through a house/forest and encounter a series of actors dressed according to the location, who, well, scare them. Sophomore Cristina Thorson, who attended Terror on Tates Creek last year, recalls, “Some of the workers, like, cornered me against this chain link fence and revved a chainsaw and it was one of the scariest moments of my life.” These places are very popular this time of year, so be sure to buy tickets ahead of time and read the rules and regulations before going. These are sure to give the fun scares everyone is craving around Halloween.

For those of you who aren’t as into the scary aspects of Halloween, a fun activity this time of year is spending a day at the pumpkin patch. Although taking a hay ride and choosing a pumpkin may sound elementary to some, you can never truly outgrow walking through a corn maze and warming up with some apple cider. The popular orchard around Lexington is Boyd’s Orchard. They are open from 9:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on Saturdays through November, and they offer train rides, hay rides, pumpkin patches and a concession stand with cider, caramel apples and more.

Be sure to check out these fun fall activities around Lexington this year!