Buckle up, boos!

Mimi enjoys Halloween as much as the next glamorous ghoul, but I do have standards. I’ll take my scares without blood, guts or anything that requires me to sleep with the light on.

Which is precisely why the Halloween Drive-Thru at Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland is my kind of fright night. You get all the thrills, chills and Halloweeny jump scares that go bump in the night, all from the climate-controlled comfort of your own car. Of course, mine is a hot pink convertible.

Mimi caught up with Brian Davidson, Outdoor Connections Manager at Lake Metropark, who assured me this annual tradition is designed for family fun rather than sleepless nights.

“The loop is about 1½ miles long and features more than 30 spooky scenes, with festive music, animated displays and plenty of costumed volunteers lurking along the way,” says Brian. “This year our creative team has refreshed the experience with some wonderfully familiar themes, including a Bigfoot sighting, a creepy circus complete with a big top nightmare, and a few treasures dug from the closet featuring favorites like ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ and ‘Beetlejuice.’”

Darlings, apparently even zombies follow trends.

Be prepared for spiders and skeletons swinging in and out when you least expect them. He says the experience is PG-rated and takes about 30-45 minutes to drive through. 

“Families with younger children may want to choose the 6:30 p.m. time slot, when things tend to be a little less frightening,” says Brian. “As darkness falls, naturally, the woods become a bit more … interesting. This is my favorite event of the year. I remember taking my own daughter through and she loved every minute.”

After all, Halloween should be scary enough to make you squeal—not enough to make you spill your pumpkin spice latte.

Lake Metroparks Farmpark is located at 8800 Euclid Chardon Road in Kirtland. For more information visit LakeMetroparks.com. Halloween Drive-Thru runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. through Sunday, October 25. Tickets are $27.50 per carload. This event is exclusively presented by Ken Ganley Subaru Wickliffe.