Fredericksburg Guide To Fall Festivals, Interactive Plays, Hauntings

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — There are plenty of places around Fredericksburg to experience all the Halloween frights. Our scary guide includes everything from haunted houses to an interactive play, some better experienced for adults and others suitable for children.

Here’s what’s going on leading up to Halloween (the 31st is on a Tuesday, so plan accordingly):

• Braehead Farm Fall Festival
  • 1130 Tyler St, Fredericksburg, VA 22401
  • Weekends through Oct. 29
  • This event includes hayrides, a corn maze, a sunflower walk, swings, and a corn pit.
• Gothic Ghosts at Rising Sun Tavern
  • 1304 Caroline St, Fredericksburg, VA 22401
  • Saturday, Oct. 14 and Sunday, Oct. 15
  • This event at the historic tavern will allow guests to hear ghost stories from the area's history.
• Fredericksburg Fall Walk
  • 620 Caroline St, Fredericksburg, VA 22401, USA
  • Sunday, Oct. 15
  • This free walk goes around Fredericksburg, over the Rappahannock River, and passes Chatham Manor and Pratt Park.
• Fredericksburg Symphony Halloween Classics
  • Lifepoint Church, Central Park Boulevard, Fredericksburg, VA, USA
  • Friday, Oct. 20
  • This performance will feature classic seasonal works like Hall of the Mountain King and Danse Macabre.
• Allhallowtide: An Interactive Play
  • Colonial Tavern, Home to the Irish Brigade, Lafayette Boulevard, Fredericksburg, VA, USA
  • Tuesday, Oct. 31
  • This interactive play will take guests through the history and lore of Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day.

Experts say some of us are hard-wired to enjoy the full-body experience of being scared, as long as we know we’re in no real danger. Adrenal glands go into overdrive when we’re frightened, triggering a rush of dopamine and endorphins, the “pleasure” hormones.

That’s different from the “bad fear” triggered in dangerous situations, according to Cleveland Clinic psychologist Chivonna Childs.

“There’s also a good side to fear, and that’s what scary movies, true crime and haunted houses tap into,” Childs wrote on a Cleveland Clinic blog. “We understand that there’s an end to those experiences, that the bear’s not gonna get us. We know that going through a haunted house is just for fun, that it’s only people in costumes.

“But it still rings those bells for adrenaline, endorphins and dopamine. You experience the euphoria because you know you’re safe."