Jeff Chiu / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Pet's Rest employee Teresa Hernandez, right, walks her dog, Lord, as she shows a customer around Pet's Rest cemetery in Colma, Calif., in 2006.

The Colma, Calif., town motto — “It’s great to be alive in Colma!” — has a cryptic meaning to those familiar with grave undertakings. In Colma, the dead outnumber the living nearly 1,000 to one.

“We have 17 cemeteries — one exclusively for beloved pets,” said Mayor Helen Fisicaro. “The cemeteries are like our parks. They are absolutely beautiful, and people come from all over to enjoy them.”

Colma, with a population of about 1,600, is the final resting place for more than 1.5 million deceased. She said the dead provide a living for numerous florists, landscapers, monument erectors and other funeral-related businesses. 

Death became a Colma growth industry nearly 100 years ago when neighboring San Francisco deemed its real estate too precious to squander on the dearly departed, according to Pat Hatfield, president of the Colma Historical Association since 1993. Suddenly, final resting places became transitory.

“All the cemeteries were evicted,” she said. “The graves needed to be moved outside of city limits.”

City leaders settled on Colma, less than 10 miles south of downtown San Francisco, in San Mateo County.

“It was convenient,” Hatfield said. “Colma was as close as funeral homes could get and still be able to get back in one day.”

The hectic and trying relocation process resulted in what today is a community of uncommon peacefulness.

“The cemeteries are each so beautiful and all have their own personalities,” Hatfield said, adding that the cemeteries share characteristics as diverse as San Francisco.

Many are like ethnic neighborhoods without the restaurants. There are Serbian, Japanese, Italian, Greek, Chinese and Jewish cemeteries.

Most popular is Pets Rest Cemetery, home to the graves and lovingly rendered monuments to more than 13,000 dogs, cats, ocelots, goldfish, monkeys, turtles and even cheetahs, said owner Philip C’de Baca.

“People are really moved by what they see here,” Baca said. “They realize there are certain things everyone has to do when any human dies. But the love people show a pet is really above and beyond.”

Many famous Californians born elsewhere live in perpetuity in Colma. Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, jazz musician/"Peanuts" theme composer Vince Guaraldi and Manson murder victim and coffee heiress Abigail Folger are among the eternal residents at Holy Cross Cemetery; William Randolph Hearst is at Cypress Lawn; Wyatt Earp, a man who became famous in Tombstone, Ariz., has his own tombstone in Hills of Eternity Memorial Park, as does blue jeans icon Levi Strauss.

Mark Fontana is a Colma chiseler in the best sense of the word. His grandfather, Valero Fontana, in 1921 founded the family mason business now going four generations strong.

He’s built mausoleums worth $500,000 and said the average amount spent on a monument is “between $2,000 and $5,000.” He hastens to add that the numbers diminish the personal investment unseen in the work contracts.

“We don’t advertise, and in Colma, we’re always busy,” he said. “This is one of those businesses where people pay us and then they send us thank you notes. It’s very gratifying.”

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Chris Rodell is a Latrobe, Pa., contributor who blogs at www.EightDaysToAmish.com 

Otto Greule Jr. / Courtesy Great Wolf Lodge

A giant spider made of 3,000 balloons hangs from the rafters in the lobby of the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Wash.

If you’re thinking of avoiding the trick or treaters at your door by spending Halloween in a hotel, be ready to sleep with one eye open. Hotels, lodges and B&Bs around the country are offering spooky packages that may include ghostly gifts, complimentary costumes and scary surprises.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

13th floor special
The Renaissance New York Times Square and Madame Tussauds are offering a “Dare to Check-In” Halloween package that includes an after dark VIP tour of Madame Tussauds New York and a stay in a 13^th floor suite decked out with scary wax figures, a séance setup, over-the-top spooky décor and special effects that follow guests into the shower. The price may be the scariest detail of all: $5,000 per night during Halloween weekend.

Many Renaissance hotels outside New York City are offering less-expensive Dare to Check-In packages that include a stay in a 13th floor room, ghoulish cocktails and goodie bags filled with treats.

Bed down with the Bordens   
The restored Fall River, Mass., home where an infamous, ax-wielding Lizzie Borden may – or may not – have brutally killed her father and stepmother on Aug. 4, 1892, is now a six-room bed & breakfast offering tours in the daytime and spooky stays at night. Guests may choose from bedrooms that include those once occupied by Lizzie or her parents. Those who make it through the night are served a breakfast much like the one Andrew and Abby Borden ate on their last morning.

Scared at the Stanley
The 138-room Stanley Hotel opened in 1909 in Estes Park, Colo., just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park and is now famous as the site that inspired Stephen King’s frightening novel, and the subsequent film, "The Shining." Guests may gather round to hear ghost stories told by a local historian or take a ghost tour that stops at the property’s most haunted spots and room #217, where King’s spine-tingling project began. Ghost Adventure packages (available through April 2012) include a K2-EMF ghost meter sensor for spirit hunting at the hotel – or at home.

Costumes included
For those who just want to have fun at a hotel on Halloween and get a good night’s sleep (R.I.P.), 13 Loews Hotels across the country are offering Spooky Suite packages (rates start at $207) from Oct. 25-31 that include a goodie bag filled with treats, a ghoulish check-in amenity and a costume.

Adults may choose to be a character from "Harry Potter," a Greek warrior/Olympic goddess or a hippie couple. Kids may opt to be a knight, an astronaut, a sheriff, referee, purple witch or garden fairy. And babies can be dressed as little pumpkins, sock monkeys, pea pods, ducks, ladybugs or a wee squiggly piggy. The hotels also will stock outfits for four-legged guests. Spot can be costumed as a queen, a pumpkin, a firefighter, a bumble bee or a pirate.

Not for the arachnophobic
During its Howl-o-Ween event, which runs now through Oct. 31, there’s a giant spider made of 3,000 balloons hanging from the rafters in the lobby of the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Wash.

Created by balloon-twisting artist Adam Lee, the creation is 45-feet, 2-inches wide and 22-feet, 2-inches long and has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest balloon sculpture. All 11 Great World Lodge hotel/water park resorts will offer similar, but smaller, creepy-crawly creations for guests as well as daily trick-or-treating activities, ‘spooktacular’ story times, costume parades and Halloween-themed craft projects.

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Fort East Martello Museum

Robert the Haunted Doll is the most popular -- and most feared -- item at the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, Fla.

If you’ve got ghosts, goblins and witches on the brain, but are a little too old for trick or treating, consider a jaunt instead to one of these spooky museum exhibits.

Seattle’s Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum recently opened “Can't Look Away: The Lure of Horror Film.” The exhibit examines the role horror plays in the human experience and includes both classic horror films and iconic artifacts such as Jack Torrance's axe from “The Shining” and Bram Stoker's “Dracula” manuscript. A monster timeline (Who came first: Frankenstein or The Mummy?) and a soundproof booth where visitors are filmed screaming while watching horror film clips are included.          

The Halloween season is a busy time of year for Robert the Haunted Doll, the most popular – and feared – item at the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, Fla. The straw-filled toy is more than 100 years old, and many believe it to be the ultimate embodiment of evil. Blamed for a wide range of strange events and mishaps in his early years, Robert spent many years locked away in an attic where, local legend has it, the doll taunted schoolchildren and other passersby from a window. “Robert is now locked safely behind glass,” said museum spokesperson Michael Gieda, “and while he still gets blamed for some mischief, we’re sure – well, pretty sure – that he can’t get out.” 

In Harpers Ferry, W.Va., the haunted cottage known as the Booth House is also home to the Paranormal History Museum, a shrine to psychic phenomena, ghosts and hauntings. In the museum’s Exhibition of the Supernatural, guests can learn about psychic history and séances, conspiracy theories, and the secrets, myths and legends surrounding mysteries such as Sasquatch, the Figi Mermaid and, of course, vampires.

Castle Halloween Museum

The Castle Halloween Museum in Benwood, W. Va., features 35,000 antiques, postcards, folk art items, artifact and other Halloween memorabilia.

At the Castle Halloween Museum in Benwood, W.Va., curator and collector Pamela Apkarian-Russell displays 35,000 antiques, postcards, folk art items, artifact and all manner of other memorabilia related to the history and celebration of Halloween. “It has nothing to do with haunted houses. This is a social history museum,” said Apkarian-Russell. “We’ll show you costumes and candy containers, and we’ll tell you what’s really Halloween-related and what’s not. But no one is going to jump out at you from a closet.”

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Tina Fineberg / AP

Alan Bonilla, dressed as the Mad Hatter, left, and his girlfriend Christine Sienicki, dressed as the Red Queen, take the subway after the Village Halloween Parade on Oct. 31, 2010, in New York.

Once a year, we put on masks and devise creative ways to scare one another — and have a lot of fun doing so! As we gear up to celebrate Halloween this weekend, we tip our hats to eight places that are known for their spooktacular extravaganzas.

See photos from the festival

VILLAGE HALLOWEEN PARADE/NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.
When: Oct. 31, 2011, 7 p.m., but people start lining the streets about two hours before.
How Much: Free

The Village Halloween Parade is considered to be the nation's largest, with more than 2 million people attending annually. (And even if those numbers aren't entirely accurate, there's no doubt that the Village parade is the only Halloween celebration listed in 100 Things to Do Before You Die.) The getups range from pop–culture figures (Snooki was popular last year) to eye–popping extravaganzas (one participant dressed as a Tusken Raider from Star Wars, riding an elephant–size Bantha puppet), along with a motley assortment of giant puppets, stilt walkers, and marching bands. Feel shy about getting gussied up? Try volunteering to carry a puppet. (Go to halloween-nyc.com/volunteer.php for info.) [Note for families: Many of the costumes in the parade can be considered inappropriate for children.]

To stay: Sofia Inn, 288 Park Pl., Brooklyn, N.Y., brooklynbedandbreakfast.net, $135

For more information: halloween-nyc.com.

HUNTING WITCHES//SALEM, MASS.
When: Activities are throughout the month of October
How Much: Prices vary per activity

This infamous home of the 1692 Witch Trials capitalizes on its macabre history throughout the year, with occult–themed museums, guided tours, stores, and psychic readings. (There are even flying witch logos on the local police cars and firemen uniforms.) But the town is a mecca for tourists during its Halloween Happenings, a month–long celebration that attracts 200,000 visitors a year and is bursting with themed events: a carnival; a haunted cornfield maze; numerous theatrical presentations, including one haunting piece performed at the 17th–century mansion of a Witch Trials judge; fireworks; and Hawthorne Hotel’s R–rated annual costume party (ages 21 and up).

To stay: Fox Pond Bed and Breakfast, 31 Arthur Ave. Marblehead, Mass., foxpondbnb.com (Marblehead is just 5 miles away), $125

For more information: hauntedhappenings.org/

HALLOWEEN COSTUME CARNAVAL/WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIF.
When: Oct. 31, 2011, 6 p.m. – 11 p.m.
How Much: Free

The self–proclaimed "largest Halloween street party in the world," the West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval in California rivals New York's Village parade for sheer eccentricity, with drag costumes being a focal point. (Last year, both women and men dressed up as the fame monster herself, Lady Gaga.) Besides people–watching, there is entertainment; last year, there were six stages featuring Halloween–themed aerialists, marionettes, a "rock & roll strip show," and a crowning of Queen of the Carnaval. But above all, partiers should put their game faces on: The designated times for the gathering is 6 to 11 p.m., but that doesn't stop people from showing up in costume on the boulevard at noon — and carousing until about 3 a.m. [Due to risque nature of costumes and party atmosphere, this gathering is not recommended for children.]

To stay: Hollywood Bed & Breakfast, 1701 N. Orange Grove Ave., Hollywood, Calif., 323/874-8017, hollywoodbandb.com, from $150

For more information: westhollywoodhalloween.com/

EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY’S TERROR BEHIND THE WALLS/PHILADELPHIA
When: Select evenings through Nov. 5, 2011, assorted times
How Much: Tickets start from $20

Putting your typical community's haunted hayride to shame, Terror Behind the Walls employs Hollywood–worthy lighting and sound and more than 200 actors to scare the bejesus out of visitors. The building itself is frightening enough: the penitentiary, opened in 1829 and once one of the nation's most notorious before being discontinued in 1971, is now the site of abandoned, increasingly decrepit cell blocks, guard towers, and isolation areas. The tour actually starts in the former recreation yard, where actors costumed as "insane prisoners and sadistic guards" do their best to startle you. [For children 7 to 12, there is a less–scary gathering called Family Nights].

To stay: Chestnut Hill Hotel, 8229 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, Pa., chestnuthillhotel.com, from $149

For more information: easternstate.org

THE LOUISVILLE ZOO
When: Oct. 27–30, 2011, 5 – 8:30 p.m.
How Much: $8

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of its annual Halloween event — called the World's Largest Halloween Party! — the zoo gets completely transformed by more than 15 exhibits, such as the Land of Oz, Ogre Swamp, Toyland, and Dino–mania. There are many costumed characters roaming the grounds for photo ops: Captain Jack Sparrow, Dorothy from Oz, and Shrek have all made appearances. One special exhibit is Pumpkinville, USA, a hillside bedecked in 160 glowing pumpkins, all intricately carved by an artist called Black Cat Crossing and many with themes, such as Elvis, John Wayne, and the Beatles. For an additional fee, guests can get on rides like the Not–So–Haunted Carousel and Zip Line Over Pirate's Cove.

To stay: Inn at Woodhaven, 401 S. Hubbards Lane, Louisville, Ky., 888/895-1011, innatwoodhaven.com, from $105

For more information: louisvillezoo.org/halloween/

LEGOLAND'S BRICK-OR-TREAT/CARLSBAD, CALIF.
When: Oct. 29, 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.

How Much: $55 for full–day admission to park plus party; $25 for just the evening party

Legos transform themselves in any season, but the folks at Legoland go all out for Halloween. The centerpiece is the "not–too–spooky" Brick–or–Treat Party Nights built around themes such as Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter. The evenings feature a dance party, a costume contest for children 12 and under (categories include "Best Star Wars," "Most Lego Themed," and "Most Creative"), trick–or–treating, fireworks, and entertainment acts such as jugglers, unicyclists, and stilt walkers. Of course, the party festivities are in addition to 128–acre park's regular offerings, including more than 60 rides, a water park, and food options galore, all surrounded by the kind of elaborate Lego models — a brontosaurus made from more than 2 million bricks, a mini version of Las Vegas that took the park's builders about 16,000 hours to make — you and the kids can only dream about making.

To stay: Inn at Moonlight Beach, 105 N. Vulcan Ave., Encinitas, Calif., 760/561-1755, innatmoonlightbeach.com, from $139

For more information: california.legoland.com

MICKEY'S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY AT DISNEY WORLD
When: Select nights through November, 7 p.m. – Midnight
How Much: Tickets start from $52, which is on top of the cost of park entrance (starting at $79).

It's a little–known fact that people over the age of nine are not allowed to wear costumes at Disney World — except during Halloween. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Winnie the Pooh all wear costumes, which you'll see during the Boo–to–You Parade, one of many events throughout the evening. There is also free face–painting, a dance show, Happy HalloWishes fireworks, trick or treating (in previous years, the candy has been sponsored by Mars' M&M's and Snickers brands), and the attractions and rides that Disney is known for (Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World). The Disney characters aren't the only ones dressed up: the entire park is done up with Halloween–specific decor, lighting, and music.

To stay: Caribe Cove Resort Orlando, 9000 Treasure Trove Lane, Kissimmee, Fla., 877/299-4491, caribecove.com, from $94

For more information: disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/magic-kingdom/special-events/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party/

SLEEPY HOLLOW, N.Y.
When [for Horseman’s Hollow event]: Oct. 27–30, times vary by evening.
How Much: $20 (Saturdays are $25)

Ah, the charms of fall in upstate New York: leaf–peeping, apple picking, quaint country inns, antiquing—and Hessians feasting on rotting corpses. At least that's what you'll find in the land of Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horseman. The Hudson Valley's Philipsburg Manor has been transformed into Horseman's Hollow, an interactive haunted house populated with vampires, witches, and the occasional Hessian lurking in the shadows and along a half–mile candlelit path on the grounds. This event is not recommended for children under 12, nor, according to its website, "adults who are claustrophobic, have heart or respiratory conditions, are prone to seizures, or have other chronic health conditions." For a less agita–inducing night, try the Great Jack–O–Lantern Blaze, a display of more than 4,000 elaborately carved and illuminated pumpkins at Van Cortlandt Manor, an 18th–century riverside property in Croton–on–Hudson, N.Y., with expansive gardens.

To stay: Alexander Hamilton House, 49 Van Wyck St., Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., 914/271-6737, alexanderhamiltonhouse.com, from $142

For more information: hudsonvalley.org

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