Halloween Bucket List: Kenova Pumpkin House

It's been featured on The Travel Channel and on Ellen. It's just overnight-trip distance away from us (four hours).  We bought an EZPass in January 2019 that allows us to travel the WV Turnpike cheaply.  It seems unwise not to visit the Kenova Pumpkin House, right?

A great tradition sparked by a family that honored each of their kids with carved pumpkins has grown into this event, free to the public.  

The pumpkins are carved differently every year.  We were especially impressed by the Judeo-Christian pumpkins and the Presidential pumpkins. 

Designs change with the times and the gourds. There is a musical display as well -- and it's about two stories tall. 

Allow time for photo ops and conversations.  Volunteers are likely to be working away in the garages behind the house, drilling the designs and soaking the pumpkins in protective bleach water.

The atmosphere is festive and there are food trucks -- hence, our ice cream for dinner from Austin's Homemade Ice Cream.

Things to Know

• It's free!  Parking is surprisingly easy, probably thanks in no small part to the elementary school very nearby.  You will need to park and walk a short distance -- you cannot simply drive around the house when it's in its full glory. 

• Speaking of full glory, you want to visit bear Halloween and preferably during C-K Autumn Fest, a community event sponsored by the tiny towns of Kenova and Ceredo.  The pumpkin display takes time, and you want to show up when it is finished or nearly there.  This video from SpotlightWV will help you get a sense of the ambiance.  

• We stayed overnight in nearby Huntington, WV.  Book at least a bit early -- our hotel was sold out on the night of our stay.  There are other seasonal events in the area, including at the older amusement park Camden Park and Dreamland pool.  

• The owners of the pumpkin house are owners of the local pharmacy and old-fashioned soda fountain, Griffith and Feil.  It's a piece of local history and full of friendly local folks.  Plus, it was the highlight of the trip for 10-year-old E -- yummy hand-mixed Coca Cola.  

For Further Exploration 

• We're amazed by the beauty and fun of West Virginia.  These tiny towns had treasures, including the Ramsdell House.  We highly recommend stopping by this gem.  From the soda fountain, you are also close to Virginia Point Park, a space that will give you a feel of the geography of the area.
• The Midland Trail, a driving path running reasonably close to the WV Turnpike, is honestly interesting to explore and perfect for planning your road trip.
• The C-K Autumn Fest makes the list for the top small town Halloween destinations in America -- here are the others.

Alleghany County Gets a Ghost Tour: Haunted Clifton Forge, VA

K grew up doing a little acting in what was then the Stonewall Theatre--and hearing tons of ghost stories from the cast and crew.  Folks talked about entering the theatre for the evening and seemingly interrupting a crowd, hearing the sounds and smelling the perfume of theatre-goers. There were reports of people watching shows in the balcony--people who weren't people.  And one can't forget the reports of a death in the theatre's apartment.  K has told J the stories and has wondered if anyone else remembered them, true or not.  So, when on a recent trip to Clifton Forge, this sign meant we were headed out for a Halterman Evening ghost tour.

Haunted Heritage Tours is a new venture from a new resident of the Alleghany Highlands named Audrey.  She's grown to appreciate the area and has a desire to both tell its history and attract folks to pay attention to the stories and places nestled in the beautiful hills.  Her 90-minute walking tour is well-priced, not gimmicky, and worth your time.  A gracious storyteller, she is receptive to input from locals and incorporates information about her primary-source local history research.  Expect an outdoor tour from Town Hall to C & O/Jack Mason's and back again with outdoor stops for stories and sightseeing.  We were particularly pleased to hear stories of Mary, the former proprietor of what was the Stonewall Theatre and what is now the Historic Masonic Theatre, and of the apartment above what was Zimmerman's menswear store.  This tour is strong on history and safe for kids who enjoy stories of ghosts and odd happenings.

The tour goes on, for now, weekends through October, although you should watch the website for future offerings at other times of the year and for different events.  In our humble opinion, the Highlands have not yet reached peak colors, so this is a great excuse to get Roanokers to drive over this month and take it in, routing through Craig Creek-Richpatch-Roaring Run encouraged to see the great fall colors in Botetourt.  While you are there, visit a great outdoor site like Humpback Bridge, take in a good meal, and, of course, enjoy the ghost tour.  Couples on an adventure, consider Cat and Owl for steak and seafood or Cafe Michel for French food--both can be destination restaurants. Families, try Vic's Family Restaurant.

We Met Mark Cline!

In our travels, we've found ghost tours to be a wonderful way to experience local culture and a bit of history while enjoying an entertaining evening. Until recently, we'd missed the relatively-local Haunting Tales: Lexington's Ghost Tour. We were thrilled to pick an awesome night to take the tour--one when Mark Cline was leading himself! We found Cline to be approachable, interesting, and kind; we found the tour to be quite pleasant. Cline presents nuggets of unusual local history embedded with ghost lore, magic tricks, and personal stories. We traversed the core blocks of downtown Lexington thoroughly, including the cemetery. Justin and Kim were thrilled to visit a mausoleum with "air holes" (and with which we'd always been fascinated).

If you go, call in advance for tour details--and don't be put off by the answering machine procedure to which you are directed. We'd recommend tying your ghost tour visit to a walk through Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and Washington and Lee University to get a sense of the town's current culture. Each institution has interesting--and free/cheap--museums to visit. On our September Saturday night, the dinner scene in town was lively with several bistro-type restaurants featuring prix fixe meals that sounded interesting and some al fresco dining. Makes for a nice date night!

Reference Link:
Haunting Tales of Lexington

Haunted Putt Putt

It was time for a Halterman Halloween evening, so we headed out to Roanoke's Putt Putt Golf and Games (Putt Putt Fun Center officially, I believe). They advertise a haunted house acceptable to those under 12, so we grabbed one of Elijah's friends and his mom and went on an outing. The simple haunted house was true to billing--and not crowded, so the staff was willing to customize our tour to a no-scare variety as we toted in the toddlers. Inside, we found a friendly teenage tour guide, blacklights, strobe lights, inflatables, and several moving figures. The tour is guided, and on our no-scare version, the guide taught us where actors would be hiding on the typical tour. Elijah looked at several of the animated decorations and proclaimed, "Again!" Touring the house takes 5-10 minutes.

If you go, look for a coupon--some people in line ahead of us had one. If your tour is not a no-scare, be prepared for some people wearing masks hiding to startle you. On a nice fall night like tonight, you could also opt to play putt putt. The haunted house tour is just $4, and putt putt is $6. Cheap fun! For good nearby dinner, there's Alejandro's, a Mexican place with Roanoke's best salsa bar. This Alejandro's (a satellite of the one downtown) is beside the Goodwill as Peters Creek and Williamson intersect in the Hollins area.

Reference Links:
Putt Putt Golf and Games of Roanoke
Alejandro's of Roanoke