Spooky Happenings: Halloween Attractions Terrifying walk-throughs, haunted hay rides, ghosts and family fun in Rhode Island and Southern New England this Halloween season A-Mazing Halloween Party, Escobar’s Farm, 255 Middle Rd, Portsmouth. Come in costume and try to find your way through the huge corn maze. Oct 26 11am – 4pm escobarshighlandfarm.com Boo at the Zoo, Buttonwood Park Zoo, 425 Hawthorne St, New Bedford. A hay maze, wagon rides, arts and crafts, and a “friendly haunted house.” Fri – Sun, Oct 11 – 27; 6 – 9pm bpzoo.org Charlie the Butler Ghost Party, Gov Sprague Mansion, 1351 Cranston St, Cranston. Mentalist Rory Raven, costumes encouraged. Oct 25, 7pm Icranstonhistoricalsociety.org In Factory of Terror, 33 Pearl St, Fall River. Bloodworth, 4D Blackout, and Phobia Mayhem; you may leave crying. Thurs – Sun, 6:30 – 10pm factoryofterror.com Field of Screams, Big John Leyden’s, 179 Plain Meeting House Rd, West Greenwich. The Haunted Insane Asylum, Dead River Haunted Hayride, Cirque du Souls 4D haunted maze. Sun 6:30 – 9pm, Fri & Sat 6:30 – 10pm hauntedhayride.net Fortress of Nightmares, Fort Adams State Park, 90 Fort Adams Drive, Newport. Tunnels of Terror, Apocalypse Airsoft and a Fortress Ghost Hunt. Fri – Sat. Oct 11 – 27, 7 – 10pm fortressofnightmares.com Fright Fest, Six Flags, Agawam, Mass. 27 frights around the park from haunted mazes to spooky shows. Plus your favorite thrill rides with a halloween twist. Fri 6 – 10pm, Sat 12 – 10pm, Sun 12 – 9pm frightfest.sixflags.com The Haunted Graveyard, Lake Compounce, 186 Enterprise Drive, Bristol, Conn. Ride the amusement park’s many thrill rides and head over to the graveyard maze for spooks well worth the drive. Fri – Sun, 5 – 11pm lakecompounce.com Haunted Hill, Diamond Hill Park, 4092 Diamond Hill Rd, Cumberland. Don’t get lost on this wooded trail– you might never come back. Fri – Sat 7 – 10pm hauntedhill.net Haunted Labyrinth, CYO Center, 804 Dyer Ave, Cranston. The longest running haunted house walkthrough in New England. Fri – Sun 7-10pm hauntedlabyrinth.com Haunted Rail Yard, Old Colony and River Railroad Museum, 2 Water St, Fall River. Fri – Sat, 6 – 10pm, Sun 6 – 9pm facebook.com/HauntedRailYardFundraiser Haunted Tunnel, Slater Park, 401 Newport Ave, Pawtucket. A 200ft concrete tunnel is host to nine rooms along with an industrial corn maze, pumpkin patch and more. Fri – Sat 6:30 – 9pm facebook.com/hauntedtunnelri The Haunts of Little Rest Hill, The Old Washington County Jail, 2636 Kingstown Rd, Kingstown. Hear the darker side of history on this 75 minute walking tour. Thurs – Fri, 8:30pm; Sat, 7:30 & 9:30 pm washingtoncountyhistory.com Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Ave, Providence. This year’s theme, “Pumpkinville USA,” includes several hundred illuminated pumpkins. Nightly, 6 – 11pm rwpzoo.org Providence Ghost Tours, East Side of Prov, Tours leave from Prospect Park, 60 Congdon St, Providence. Scary Acres, Confreda Farms, 2150 Scituate Ave, Cranston. Haunted Hayride and Haunted Corn Maze. Fri – Sun dusk – 10pm scaryacresri.com Sights and Frights, Mystic Seaport, 75 Greenmanville Ave, Mystic. A haunted schooner, “The Curse of the Demeter,” and halloween fun for kids too. Oct 19, 25, 26; 6 – 9:30 pm mysticseaport.org Slater Mill Ghost Tours, 67 Roosevelt Ave, Pawtucket. Visit Slater Mill for a paranormal investigation through three historic buildings. Fridays 8pm; Sat, Oct 19 – 25 8pm slatermill.org Terror in Rhode Island, Mulligan’s Island, 1000 New London Ave, Cranston. Festival of Fear, a 3-D adventure, Devils Playground, and Darkness Falls, a house of darkness. Fri & Sat 6 – 11pm, Thurs and Sun 6 – 10pm terrorinrhodeisland.com Trails to Terror, Highland Farm, 4235 Tower Hill Rd, Wakefield. Delemorte’s Haunted Hayride and the Forest of Fear. Fri – Sun 6:30 – 10pm trailstoterror.com Jabba Speaks out about RI Comic Con New England’s largest comic convention is heading to Rhode Island RI ComicCon is returning for its second year at the RI Convention Center this November 2 and 3. Last year’s event drew an unexpected 22,000 attendees. “We had a great time last year,” says organizer Steve Perry. “The fan response was even greater than we had hoped. It’s enabled us to grow, too – this year we’ll be the biggest show in New England.” Full creature cantina band Jabba palace. This year will feature a new crop of legendary and obscurely cultish actors and characters, reunions of Power Rangers, the Weird Science boys (no longer boys), most of the bad guys from the Karate Kid, and many more. Along with the artist alley, numerous vendors, lots of gaming, panels by the attending celebs, cosplay, costumes and chaos, one of the featured attendees will also be Jabba the Hutt. We connected with Jabba by satellite phone to ask about the upcoming event, and he shared some details exclusively with Motif. Motif: Are you excited about this year’s Comic Con? What are you looking forward to most? Jabba: Achuta. Oto smak tellia Jeedai scum yafulkee Motif: That’s … interesting. I doubt you’ll have the chance to devour Mr. Jett Lucas – but it’s good to have goals. Jabba: Gee Batman fofo koochoo holo Motif: Yes, Adam West and Burt Ward will be there. Jabba: Con goo. Crispo! D’emperiolo Blastoh! Giff! Bam! Zowie! Motif: I understand you’ll be “life sized” – but I’ve seen all the movies. You come in a lot of different sizes. Which size will we be seeing? Jabba: Huttuk inkabunga je nal hutta Motif: Yes, 12×10 feet is very impressive Jabba: Porko, mo gootu lorda kickeeyuna dee bonkee Motif: No, I’m pretty sure Cthulhu is still larger. Jabba: Koochoo. [Laughs] Motif: Really – and that’s a Motif exclusive? Not only a bounty hunter reunion, but the complete Cantina band? And a full reenactment of your palace, with music and a 17-foot-tall, 700-pound Rancor? Jabba: Tagwa. Motif: That’s the creature that lived in your basement, right? Jabba: Tagwa, hees ree kyfoundo Motif: I’m sure there will be plenty of delicious fans. And I look forward to meeting you at the event. Jabba: Shapa-keesay ovv sleemo poy Motif: No. I will not be wearing a gold bikini. Get over it already. Mike D’s Top Five Can’t Miss Shows of October # 1 Friday, October 11: Bonnie Prince Billy. $20. 8 pm doors / 9 pm show. All ages. Columbus Theatre, Providence, RI. It’s been 11 or so years and 12 releases since Bonnie Prince Billy (aka Will Oldham) performed in Providence. The best part of the Will Oldham collection is it collectively is so all over the place there is an album for every car riding occasion. When in a bad mood with the collective people around me, “Another Day Of Dread” or “Death To Everyone” from the album I See A Darkness does just fine. His more recent efforts, such as Wolfroy Goes To Town, aren’t nearly as morose, but instead more like Americana Books on Tape tales of everyday rural life, love, loss, and are perfect for long car rides. It’s an evening with, which means just Bonnie Prince Billy all night. Looking forward to it. #2 Friday, October 18: Coheed and Cambria, Balance And Composure, I The Mighty. $26.50 advance / $30 day of. 7 pm doors / 8 pm show. All ages. Lupo’s, 79 Washington St., Providence, RI. For me, this show is all about Balance And Composure. I have been following them pretty much only through live performances and have always been impressed. At first, it seemed that they were channeling their inner Jawbreaker, and for a young band that age, killing it. Fast forward a few years and they shed their pop punk shreds for channeling their inner Nirvana, reminiscent of Cave In circa Jupiter. Great songs – powerful guitar melodies always win me over live. Their second album Things We Think We Were Missing is out now and shows a ton of promise and confidence, and hopefully many great things to come. #3 Saturday, October 20: Man Man, Xenia Rubinos. $17.50 advance. 8 pm. 18+ only. Paradise, Boston, MA. Man Man remind me of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem but on acid (more acid?). I think that the best bands sometimes are the bands you recommend to see live, but not buy any of their albums. Man Man is one of them. I do love their songs, but something about the live performances really makes them pop. Check out their new ballad single “Head On (Hold On To your Heart),” which sounds like an outtake from singer Honus Honus’ side project, Mister Heavenly. Mister Heavenly’s self titled album is a masterpiece and should be in your record collection, just sayin’. #4 Tuesday, October 22: “The Bright Futures Tour” with Fitz & The Tantrums, Capital Cities, Beat Club. $20 advance / $25 day of. 6:30 pm doors / 7:30 pm show. All ages. Lupo’s, 79 Washington St., Providence, RI. This is an interesting co-headlining bill of 2013’s break out alt rock bands. Fitz & The Tantrums’ very sold out April show at The Met was a standout performance of the year for me. Having never seen them before, I didn’t quite know what to expect. A big band performance blending rock & roll and R&B flawlessly, in the way that The Afghan Whigs or even The Rolling Stones do without it seeming corny or forced. From seeing photos and artwork, it certainly wasn’t what I expected. Quite a dance party. Co-headliner, Capital Cities, bring with them what will likely be the number one alt rock single of 2013, “Safe And Sound,” a song I can’t seem to escape lately and don’t mind.