Frights for families include: Boo's at several Zoos; spooky fun at the Aquarium, and the Museum of Natural History; dress-up at American Girl Place; haunted houses, parades, parties, and many special places to trick-or-treat.

• Halloween Fun in Connecticut: haunted fun at Lake Compounce family theme park; Trail of Terror, haunted houses, Halloween Parade...

• lots more Halloween Happenings

continued below...

photo courtesy of NYC & Co.

HALLOWEEN FUN IN NEW YORK CITY 2005

-- this information has been provided by New York City tourism sources

New York City has plenty of Halloween fun for all ages; below are some highlights for families with kids and teens.

• Boo at the Zoo takes place at the Bronx Zoo (Boston Rd. and Bronx River Pkway, 718-367-1010, www.bronxzoo.com) October 22-23; and October 29 through 30 at Central Park Zoo (in Central Park at 64th St. and Fifth Ave., 212-439-6500, www.centralparkzoo.com), Prospect Park Zoo (Flatbush Ave., 212-439-6500, www.prospectparkzoo.com) and Queens Zoo (53-51 111th St. in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, 718-271-1500, www.queenszoo.com).

• Staten Island Zoo (614 Broadway, Staten Island, 718-442-3101, www.statenislandzoo.org) hasits annual Spooktacular with shows, activities and mysterious surprises; October 22 and 23.

• The New York Aquarium (W.8th St. at Surf Ave., 718-265-FISH, www.nyaquarium.com) offers Sea Monsters: A Halloween Celebration on October 29 and 30. Storytelling, face painting, mask making and a new Alien Stingers exhibit, showcasing sea jellies.

• The American Museum of Natural History (Central Park West, 212-769-5100, www.amnh.org) presents its 10th Annual Halloween Celebration with trick-or-treating, arts and crafts, live performances, master pumpkin carver, and appearances from favorite characters Curious George, Winnie-the-Pooh, Strawberry Shortcake, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Madeline and Maya and Miguel, on October 31, from 4pm to 7pm. Kids are encouraged to wear their costumes.

• American Girl Place: Little girls and their dolls can dress up and head to 609 Fifth Ave. (877-247-5223, www.americangirlplace.com) on October 31 for Trick or Treat the Boutiques, a festive event full of sweet surprises.

• Madame Tussauds New York: (234 W. 42nd St., 212-512-9600, www.nycwax.com). Aspiring sorcerers, witches, warlocks and magicians can learn a few tricks during Scare School for the entire month of October. A Professor of Frightology teaches kids to perform pranks, whip up potions and create a trick bag for hiding candy. After the session, kids can enjoy haunted house thrills at the “Chamber Live! Featuring House of Wax” experience, which features Trudy’s House of Wax in the eerie town of Ambrose.

• Toys “R” Us Times Square: (1514 Broadway, 646-366-8800, www.toysrustimessquare.com); hosts events October 28 through October 31 that include trick-or-treat fun, a performance by the cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a chance to create signature jack-o’-lanterns and cards, as well as an opportunity to show off those costumes.

• Staten Island, Historic Richmond Town (441 Clarke Ave., 718-351-1611, ext. 281 www.historicrichmondtown.org) hosts Halloween on October 28. Kids can load up on candy as they explore the village and meet interpreters dressed in period clothing; bob for apples, make crafts and flaunt their costumes in a colorful parade. Prepaid reservations are required.

• The Halloween Harvest Festival returns to the Socrates Sculpture Park (32-01 Sculpture Park, at Broadway, 718-956-1819, www.socratesscultpurepark.org) in Queens on October 15 from 11am to 3pm. Artists teach kids how to make their own costumes, while parents listen to the live klezmer music and sample food from this fall’s harvest. Dogs can also dress up this year for the Canine Costume Contest (pre-registration.)

• Queens County Farm Museum:(73-50 Little Neck Parkway, 718-347-3276, www.queensfarm.org); annual Halloween Haunted House, suitable for little kids; October 29 through 31, from 4 to 7pm. Hayrides, pumpkins, apples and cider.

• Brooklyn Children’s Museum: Halloween and Harvest Festival Week. Kids can make a mask, get their face painted, hear scary stories and more; October 29 and 30. (145 Brooklyn Ave., 718-735-4400, www.brooklynkids.org).

• Sony Wonder Technology Lab (550 Madison Ave., 212-833-7858, www.sonywondertechlab.com) hosts Wonderween on October 30, with lessons in monstrous movie-making, wicked workshops and ghoulish goodies.

• Symphony Space (2537 Broadway, 212-864-5400, www.symphonyspace.org) offers Just Kidding: A Little Somethin’ Spooky, Halloween on the Big Screen highlighting classic cartoons from Bugs Bunny, Disney, Woody Woodpecker and the Pink Panther on October 29. Screenings take place at 11am and 2pm. Appropriate for ages 7 and up.

Spooky and Scarier:

• Blood Manor : a realistic haunted attraction. Appropriate for ages 14 and older. 542 W. 27th St., 5th Floor, 212-290-2825, www.bloodmanor.com).

• Merchant’s House Museum: (29 E. 4th St., 212-777-1089, www.merchantshouse.com) during Death at Home: Ghostly Tales and Tours by Candlelight, an exploration of 19th century death rituals that includes intriguing stories of the spirits that walk through the 173-year-old building’s hallowed halls. Event takes place on Friday October 7, 14, 21 and 28 from 6 to 10 pm.

• Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden : (421 E. 61st St., 212-838-6878, www.mvhm.org) presents An Evening with Poe, a one-man play featuring spine-tingling readings of stories and letters of the great American writer Edgar Allan Poe. Two shows will take place on the evenings of October 27 and 28 at 6:30 and 8pm. Appropriate for children ages 10 and over.

• Joyce Gold History Tours : (Meeting Place: Washington Arch at 5th Ave., south of 8th St., 212-242-5762, www.nyctours.com) leads the freaky and fascinating Macabre Greenwich Village tour October 29 through October 30, highlighting the ghosts, graveyards, hanging trees and murders of the notable New York City neighborhood.

• Green-Wood Cemetery: (5th Avenue and 25th St., 718-788-7850, www.green-wood.com) in Brooklyn on October 29 and October 30; chilling tales from the crypt and more on a Halloween at the Cemetery guided walking tour, led by resident historian Jeff Richman, who shares stories of murder, scandal and ghostly spirits. Tours start at 1pm.

Parades, Processions, Parties

• At the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine (1047 Amsterdam Ave., 212-316-7540, www.stjohndivine.org), the Halloween Extravaganza and the Procession of the Ghouls on October 28 shows the 1928 classic horror silent film Phantom of the Opera plusa theatrical pageantry of puppets, creatures and special effects. Screening takes place at 7pm and 10pm.

• Ghouls and Gourds is a wild and wacky Halloween celebration at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (1000 Washington Ave., 718-623-7200, www.bbg.org) on October 30 from 12 to 4:30pm. Music (including the Ebony Hillbillies), lessons in instrument making, Brazilian percussion, medieval armor-making; costume parade.

• Outrageous, over-the-top and outstanding defines the 32nd Annual New York’s Village Halloween Parade (Sixth Ave. from Spring St. to 22nd St., 212-475-3333, www.halloween-nyc.com). The largest event of its kind in the nation draws hundreds of puppets, 42 musical bands, dancers, artists and thousands of New Yorkers dressed in their own creative costumes.

For more information on Halloween in New York City log onto nycvisit.com or visit the Official Visitor Information Center (810 Seventh Ave. between 52nd and 53rd Streets. 212-484-1222); the newly-opened NYC Heritage Tourism Center on the Broadway sidewalk at Park Row; or the Visitor Information Kiosks at Canal, Walker and Baxter Streets in Chinatown and 163 W. 125h St. in Harlem.