Scream Zone
Runs through Nov. 1

If you’re itching for a more interactive Halloween experience, venture to the Del Mar Fairgrounds for The Scream Zone, an entire festival dedicated to making your hairs stand on end. Enter The Chamber and lose yourself in a maze of terror, or hop into The Haunted Hayride (but brace yourself for a plethora of clowns). This spooky corridor is home to the Zombie Paintball Safari and The Walking Dead Prison, both of which will give you a sneak preview of that apocalypse you’ve been waiting for. Sick of sitting on the sidelines every Halloween? Grab your gang and take a shot at this wicked game of terror.

– Nilu Karimi (Lifestyle Editor)

Gaslamp Quarter

By the month of October, all of the summer tourists have left San Diego, and the Gaslamp Quarter becomes flooded with demons, witches and ghouls looking for one of the biggest parties in Southern California. On Halloween night, the only place to be is the San Diego Monster Bash. A ticket to this event opens the doors to every A-list bar and five live music stages. Everyone will be dressed up in their best costumes, hoping to win the $5,000 costume contest at the bash. Unfortunately, this is a 21 and older event, but that doesn’t end the fun that downtown can provide for Halloween. The Gaslamp also has the scariest haunted houses such as “The Haunted Hotel,” which welcomes the bravest to come in to try its dark and twisted maze full of chainsaws, clowns and other creatures of the night. If you want to get your heart pumping or you’re just looking for a good time, head to the Gaslamp to celebrate Halloween in a way unlike ever before.

– Devon Munos (Staff Writer)