It’s the time of year for zombies, ghoulish pranks, copious amounts of candy corn and wondering how you can be the one sporting the best costume this year. So to keep building on that spirit, we’ve rounded up some of the places and events you should be checking out to get your trick or treat on. Click through for the full list after the jump.

Tricks: Events, Productions and Haunted Houses 

Boo at the Zoo
October 26, 27 and 28, 2012 from 5:30 to 8:30 PM
What kid wouldn’t want to trick or treat through the National Zoo? Families with children ages 2 to 12 are invited to dress up and check out the decorated zoo, talks with zookeepers and the 30 stations with treats. Tickets are $20 for FONZ members, $30 for non-FONZ members, and children under 2 years of age get in free.

Butler’s 32nd Annual Pumpkin Festival
Every Saturday and Sunday in October, 10 AM to 5 PM
For another family-friendly place to celebrate Halloween, Butler’s Orchard has hayrides, a corn maze, pumpkin picking, pony rides and more. When you’re finished, pick up a giant jar of pumpkin butter at their market. Tickets are $11 per person and children under 2 years of age get in free.

High Heel Race
October 30, 2012 at 9 PM
Grown men sprinting in leopard-printed heels while dressed as Snooki only happens one night a year in DC. Hundreds of drag queens parade through Dupont Circle down 17th street NW from P to S streets. Word to the wise: get there as early as 6 PM if you want a good spot to see the race.

The Washington Ballet: Dracula at The Kennedy Center
October 24 – November 4, 2012
If you’re opting for a classier, more refined way to raise the hairs on the back of your neck, The Washington Ballet’s production of Dracula is probably the right fit for you. Michael Pink’s choreography is a “mesmerizing seducer of the darkest order, providing a fresh interpretation of one of Western culture’s most haunting stories,” according to the Kennedy Center. Tickets range from $25 to $125.

Jekyll and Hyde at Synetic Theater
September 20 – October 21, 2012
What makes this adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde even creepier at Synetic Theater is that the actors have no lines. The production uses the actors’ physical movements, music and other sounds to tell the story of this dark, split-personality character. If you miss this production, the musical version is coming to The Kennedy Center in November.

Hellspawn II: A Trilogy of Ghost Stories
October 18 – November 4, 2012
Listen and watch three different plays of ghost stories as told by the urban legend, Black Aggie. Tickets are $15 or $20 for the midnight shows.

Haunted Houses
Dates and times vary by location
If you’re the type of person who wants to be scared into screaming your head off and requiring a change of pants, there are a bunch of haunted houses and forests that can help with that: Markoff’s Haunted forest, Haunted Hollow, Field of Screams and The Warehouse: Project 4.1  are just a few to choose from.

Masa 14’s Dress to Impress Halloween Costume Party
October 27, 2012 from 10 PM to 3 AM
So you want a Halloween party but you don’t feel like hosting? Masa 14 is inviting you to dress up and compete for a complimentary bottomless brunch for four guests at the restaurant (to be redeemed in 2012). Bar staff will be the judges of your creative or scary costumes. While you’re there from October 26th through 28th or on Halloween night, you can try their specials such as the “Zombitini cocktail” with RumChata, vanilla vodka, cream and cinnamon or the “Devil Dog,” a bacon-wrapped, Kobe beef hotdog with chili, potato straws and queso fundido.

Black Jack’s Halloween Party and Costume Contest
October 27, 2012 from 9 PM to 1:30 AM
A cash prize sounds like a pretty good incentive to come up with an awesome Halloween costume this year. Black Jack, the bar above Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, is hosting a party and costume contest for those of you who want to get dressed up. Costume contestants get in for $15 per person (there’s a $20 cover if you decide to go without a costume) and must sign up by 11:30 PM that night to be part of the contest. The first place winner will receive a $500 cash prize, second place will receive a $100 bar tab and a door prize winner will receive a $100 Black Restaurant Group gift certificate. Take advantage of Halloween drinks in limited-supply novelty glasses for $9 each or Jager Shots and Redheaded Sluts for $5.

Nightmare on M Street
October 27, 2012 from 5 PM to 1 AM
Alright, so this one is most likely for the college crowd or those who are just itching to relive those college Halloween parties with costumes bordering on completely skanky. Buy a ticket for $17.50, pick a place to start–The Front Page, Mackey’s, BlackFinn DC or McFadden’s–drink, pick the next bar, repeat. You get the idea.