TAHLEQUAH — Halloween used to be so simple.

All parents had to do was get a costume, whether store-bought or homemade, and send the kids around the neighborhood door-to-door on the evening of Oct. 31.

A few people would put jack-o’-lanterns on porches or set up ghost or witch figures, but Halloween yard decorating didn’t approach the scale seen today.

And while a few pranks might be pulled, nobody took toddlers’ threats of tricks seriously. The days of turning over outhouses were long past, although there might be a few soaped windows.

Today, anyone wanting to celebrate the Halloween season has little time to contemplate mischief. There are plenty of things to do in Tahlequah and Cherokee County — some as scary as ghost stories, some as innocent as games and candy, and some designed to develop creativity. Some are already under way, while others will run through Oct. 31.

Several area residents have called the Daily Press to ask whether “official” trick-or-treating in the city limits will be moved up a day, since Halloween falls on a Sunday. Tahlequah city officials said they have not designated an official trick-or-treat night or hours, so it may be best to have the candy ready on Saturday night, Oct. 30, to handle early ghosts and goblins making their rounds.

Kids will start their Halloween pilgrimages around twilight and most will probably plan to be home by 9 p.m. or so. Residents who don’t want to serve trick-or-treaters on Sunday might want to keep their porch lights off and not answer the door.

The Pumpkin Patch at First United Methodist Church already has begun, welcoming its first groups of children taking field trips. But individual families are equally welcome to come to the patch, in the parking lot of the activities building across the street from the church, said Youth Minister Shana Dry, best known during this season as Penelope Pumpkin.

Church members imported a semi-trailer load of pumpkins, more than 1,200, from Farmington N.M., for the fourth annual event.

This Saturday is Pumpkin Fest, from 10 a.m. to $3. Cost is $3 per child. Activities include face-painting, a Jupiter Jump, painting suncatchers, a football toss and fishing games, all in the atmosphere of the pumpkin patch. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be available for purchase. It’s a great photo opportunity for parents to take fall pictures, Dry said.

The Pumpkin Patch itself will continue to run through Oct. 31, or until they run out of pumpkins. It dwindles as the days go by, as the pumpkins are available for purchase.

“We have a wonderful opportunity here,” Dry said. “We have 14 field trips scheduled, about 600 children. “It’s about a two-hour session and the teachers really enjoy it.”

The kids center their attention on four stations:

• Decorating a pumpkin, using face stickers, leaves and a pipe cleaner stem. “I have one that I’ve made up named Peter, and I tell them that Peter needs friends,” Dry said.

• Story time, featuring old and new tales about pumpkins.

• Learning about pumpkins themselves, the science of pumpkins. Children get to test how a 25-pound pumpkin will float, watch a growing pumpkin, look inside a pumpkin and see the pumpkin seeds.

• Play time. They can participate in pumpkin golf, pumpkin bowling, picking small pumpkins out of a haystack, and navigating a maze made from more than 150 hay bales. Continuing the harvest theme, there’s also a corn box, similar to a sand box, where children can play and make tunnels.

Parents and grandparents frequently bring a lawn chair and enjoy a cool autumn afternoon while their children explore the Pumpkin Patch.

“We have children who have been coming since they were babies,” Dry said.

Creative writers and pumpkin artists can show off their talents during two competitions. The Graduate Student Association at Northeastern State University will sponsor a ghost story contest. Participants can turn in their submissions by Wednesday at Seminary Hall, Room 135 or Room 359. There is a $2 entry fee.

The top 10 ghost stories will be selected, and the writers will participate in a read-off. The winner will be selected by applause and will receive a prize.

Tahlequah Public Library will host its annual pumpkin decorating contest from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Children and adults can participate, competing to decorate the funniest, scariest or most decorative pumpkin. Categories are elementary, age 6 to 11; teen, 12 to 18; and adult, 18 and up. The public will vote on winners. No cutting will be allowed. The library will provide decor, but participants can also bring their own supplies.

For those who would like a good scare, or maybe just a slightly spooky tale, three of the oldest sites in the area offer you the opportunity to hear ghost stories — after dark, of course. Two are longtime traditions, while the third is gaining in popularity.

The NSU Graduate Student Association again will offer the Haunted Seminary Hall tours every Friday and Saturday in October. Tours start at dark and continue until 11 p.m. Hear about the legendary Florence Wilson and her haunting legacy.

Admission is $5 for adults and $2.50 for children under 12. T-shirts and hot cocoa will be available for purchase. Proceeds help the GSA.

For information or reservations, call 444-3686.

Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism will present History After Dark, guided candlelight cemetery tours of Ross Cemetery, from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 21-23. Tour members will walk the burial grounds of some of the Cherokee Nation’s most historic figures and hear their stories, complete with historic reenactments.

Family fall festival events will be held at the Cherokee Heritage Center, 21192 S. Keeler Drive in Park Hill, before and after the tours. Admission is $10 for adults, 48 for students, $5 for children 4 through 12, and free for children 3 and under. Purchase tickets online at http://www.CherokeeTourismOK.com or by calling (877) 779-6977.

This will be the 18th year for the Murrell Home ghost stories, with the antebellum George M. Murrell Home at Park Hill providing the setting Oct. 22-23. Hear about the “Hunter’s Ghost,” the ferocious black dog, and other local legends.

“The innovative, family-oriented program will feature various storytellers in a number of rooms telling tales about the Murrell house, the Cherokee country, and other ghost stories,” said David Fowler, who manages the historic site for the Oklahoma Historical Society. “The Ghost Stories are one of our most popular events of the year.”

The home, built in 1845, is decorated with cobwebs, jack-o’-lanterns, and other spooky effects for the event. Storytellers will begin to weave their yarns every 15 minutes from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Visitors move from room to room to hear different tales. Hot cider and cookies, provided by Friends of the Murrell Home, will be served in the smokehouse, which normally is closed to tourists.

Ghost stories about the home date to the 1930s. To learn more about area ghost stories, visitors can purchase the Friends’ publication, “Ghost Stories from the Murrell Home,” for $10. The book contains more than 60 stories about the Murrell Home and the Park Hill area for visitors who would like to read more about alleged strange activity in the area.

Admission is $5 per person is requested, with reservations required because of limited seating. The event is not recommended for children under eight years of age. For reservations, call 456-2751.

Local trick-or-treating activities themselves will begin Friday, Oct. 29, in two governmental settings. Employees on the second and third floors of the Cherokee County Courthouse will greet some of their younger constituents with treats from 3 to 4:30 p.m. that day. Many of the county workers will be dressed up for the occasion.

Cherokee Nation Home Health Services Inc. will have a Halloween open house from 3 to 5 p.m. at its offices, 1630 N. Cedar St. Workers will pass out candy and lead games for the children.

Several local churches will have a “trunk or treat” night in their parking lots, as an alternative to the traditional trick-or-treating from house to house. The churches promise a safe family atmosphere for the children. Church members decorate their cars and trunks, many don costumes, and they hand out candy to the children attending.

Among them are:

• Tahlequah First Baptist Church, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Oct. 31, parking lot. Church officials don’t know how many children to expect since it’s the first year. They will have bags ready for at least 500 trunk-or-treaters.

• Cookson United Methodist Church, 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 30, parking lot. More than 100 children attended the event last year.

“Most of the people who bring their cars dress up, too. It’s a community event, and it’s quite well attended,” said Kay Lowe of the church staff.

• South College Street Church of Christ, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Oct. 30, parking lot.

• Crescent Valley Baptist Church, 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 30, parking lot. Besides decorations, costumes and candy, there will be inflatables, face painting and a costume contest with prizes.

Tell us about it

Is your church or club hosting an alternative trick-or-treat activity? E-mail us at news@tahlequahdailypress.com by Tuesday, Oct. 26 at noon to make sure it’s published before Halloween. Church-sponsored activities will generally appear in Wednesday’s faith section; those received by Oct. 19 can also be published Oct. 20.