Strange restaurants? Here's a menu of 10 of them

Going to an out-of-town restaurant on Valentine's Day?

The website Tripadvisor last year posted a story called "10 of the weirdest restaurants in the world."

Feb. 14 of course being a food-oriented holiday, the list has recently found new live on a variety of sites, including EatOut.

Here's the list.

1. Modern Toilet Restaurant, Taipei City, Taiwan. Seating is on porcelain thrones; serving dishes apparently are miniature toilets.

2. Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya. This is at a giraffe-themed B&B; the dining room windows are open so the residents outside can peak in.

3. A street vendor in Pitsanalok, Thailand, who flings your order up in the air for you to catch.

4. Sky Dining SA, a chain said to be operating in more than 30 countries; dining chambers are apparently attached to  tall cranes and apparently pulled aloft.

5. Disaster Cafe, in Lloret de Mar, Spain. The entertainment? A fake, plate-shaking  7.8 earthquake during your meal.

6. Eenmaal, Amsterdam. The pop-up restaurant only has tables-for-one.

7. The Stinking Rose, San Francisco. Everything from appetizers to desserts is heavy with garlic.

8. The Safe House, Milwaukee. The gimmick at this long-established bar is getting in:  After walking down an alley, the person at the door asks for the password. Since you don't know it, you are required to sing a song not of your choosing, or do something stupid with a hula hoop.

9. Kayabukiya Tavern, exurban Tokyo. The wait staff includes two monkeys.

10. The Clink, Cardiff, Wales. It's in a prison and serves as a training facility so those paroled can find employment at nice restaurants.

The photo at the top of this post? It's from the "I Travel With the Observer" archives and shows readers Ron and Donna Jean Deshaies at Giraffe Manor in 2006.

I personally have only been to one of the places on the list -- The Safe House, in my hometown.

That was years ago, so I called some old friends back in Sudsville and learned the son of one had been there recently.

The young guy -- we'll just use his Facebook alias of Henry Winklehymer -- said the person at the door made him do the "I'm a Little Tea Cup" song and dance.

Henry said he hadn't done that since he was a 5-year-old, and had to follow the door monitor's prompts.

And of course, it's all being videotaped and shown live to the patrons inside. Once in the door, Henry was greeted with hoots and howls.

Ordinarily, people in Wisconsin only guffaw like that when the Chicago Bears are on TV. 

Charlotte is No. 4 on list of 2015 cheap-o travel hot spots

The discount ticket-booker priceline.com announced  on Wednesday its "Top Travel Hot Spots for 2015."

Unlike many of the myriad "top 2015" lists, Priceline's is based on affordability -- specifically, the average per-market, per-day room rate in 2014.

The rankings:

1. Dallas ($86.31; a shot of Dallas is at the top of this post)

2. Salt Lake City ($88.24)

3. Orlando, Fla. (89.57)

4. Charlotte ($92.37)

5. Phoenix ($93.44)

6. Tampa, Fla. ($94.03)

7. Las Vegas ($96.27)

8. Atlanta ($96.99)

9. Louisville, Ky. ($101.69)

10. San Antonio ($102.69)

11. Houston ($103.72)

12. Orange County, Calif.  ($107.91)

13. Minneapolis ($106.69)

14. Denver ($109.20)

15. Portland, Ore. ( $109.30)

These are  major metropolitan areas that are de facto hubs for major conventions or -- like Charlotte, Salt Lake City and Louisville --  aspiring ones; they include Sunbelt and Snowbelt cities where tourism ebbs and flows at various times of the year.

As prices are market-driven, off-season discounts probably reduce the average costs of popular places like Orlando, San Antonio and Orange County -- all warm places stocked with major American theme parks.

Priceline's second "top 2015" list, also released Wednesday, is based on that site's advance hotel reservations at domestic and foreign destinations -- a better indicator of a city or area's tourist pull:

Domestic

1. Orlando

2. Las Vegas

3. New Orleans

4. Miami

5. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

6. New York City

7. Orange County

8. Boston

9. Atlanta

10. Oahu, Hawaii

Non-domestic

1. Puerto Rico

2. Cancun/Cozumel, Mexico

3. London

4. Rome

5. Costa Rica

6. Paris

7. Toronto

8. Los Cabos, Mexico

9. Sydney

10. Barcelona, Spain

2015 cruise forecast: Caribbean remains top choice by wide margin

Cruise Holidays, a cruise marketing  network, has released its 2015 forecast for cruise destinations, based on information from more than 1,300 cruise-focused travel agents across North America.

Here's their top 10 list. Can you spot the itinerary on the rise?

Caribbean (includes the Bahamas)

2015 ranking: 1

2014 ranking: 1

2013 ranking: 1

Europe ocean cruises (includes Mediterranean, Baltic, Scandinavian and Greek isles)

2015 ranking: 2

2014 ranking: 2

2013 ranking: 2

Alaska (the photo at the top of this post shows Holland America's Zaandam at Glacier Bay National Park)

2015 ranking: 3

2014 ranking: 3

2013 ranking: 3

European river cruises

2015 ranking: 4

2014 ranking: 4

2013 ranking: not available

Bermuda

2015 ranking: 5

2014 ranking: 5

2013 ranking: 4

Trans-Atlantic

2015 ranking: 6

2014 ranking: 7

2013 ranking: 6 (tie)

Panama Canal

2015 ranking: 7

2014 ranking: 6

2013 ranking: 6 (tie)

China/Japan/Southeast Asia

2015 ranking: 8

2014 ranking: 15

2013 ranking: 12

Hawaiian Islands

2015 ranking: 9

2014 ranking: 8

2013 ranking: 5

South Pacific (includes Australia and New Zealand)

2015 ranking: 10

2014 ranking: 9

2013 ranking: 8

There's no surprise that the Caribbean tops the list: According to Cruise Holidays, that destination group will capture 50.5 percent of all bookings, with European saltwater cruises a distant second, at 12 percent.

The most intriguing change is the rise in China/Japan/Southeast Asia: As a destination, according to these findings, it tops sluggish interest in the Hawaiian Islands.

Both remain small beans in the greater cruise casserole: less than 3 percent.

Best airport for healthy dining options? Baltimore tops new list

Which airport has the best offerings for healthy dining?

According to a new survey by the nonprofit Physicians Committee, it's Baltimore, when it comes to restaurants offering at least one cholesterol-free, plant-based, fiber-packed meal. The study says 92 percents of eateries there have at least one such meal.

Charlotte Douglas came in 16th, with 73 percent of restaurants having at least one "healthy" choice.

The news release from Physicians Committee said, "Menu items that garner healthful points this year include dark leafy green salads, ancient grain bowls, roasted vegetable wraps, Mediterranean- or Mexican-inspired vegetable plates, and gluten-free macrobiotic sushi. Healthful snacks and meals-to-go include portable fruit cups, steel-cut oatmeal bowls, vegetable crudités and cups of lentil soup or black bean chili."

Here are the top rankings, with their "healthy dining" percentages in parentheses:

1. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (92)

2. Seattle-Tacoma International (90)

3. Los Angeles International  (88)

4. Reagan National, Washington area (87)

5. Newark Liberty International  (86)

6. (tie) LaGuardia , New York  (84)

6. (tie)  Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (84)

8. Denver International  (83)

9. San Francisco International (82)

10. Dulles International Airport, Washington area (80)

11. Boston Logan International (79)

12. (tie) John F. Kennedy International, New York (78)

12. (tie) Chicago O’Hare International (78)

12. (tie) Philadelphia International Airport (78)

15. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (74)

16. Charlotte Douglas International  (73)

17. Las Vegas McCarran International (72)

18.  Miami International (69)

18.  Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (69)

20. Dallas/Fort Worth International (67)

21. Orlando International (66)

22. Houston George Bush Intercontinental (65)

23. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International  (52)

No time for the beaches of Asia? Perhaps you can get up to High Point

The Tripadvisor travel website has released its 2014 "Travelers Choice" lists, and one of the rosters is for "Top 10 destinations on the rise":

Da Nang, Vietnam

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Limassol, Cyprus

Ao Nang, Thailand

Bodrum City, Turkey

Naha, Japan

Hurghada, Egypt

Kazan, Russia

Manaus, Brazil

Eilat, Israel

Well, they may be on the rise, but the price to get there is too steep for many of us in the months ahead.

Their also-out list of "10 places that look awesome from above" is a tad more economical:

Rio de Janeiro

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Las Vegas

Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Grand Canyon

New York City

Cappadocia, Turkey

Sydney Harbor, Australia

Kauai, Hawaii

The list includes recommended copter or  balloon tours.

Still too distant and pricey?  Check the Tripadvisor list of "10 quirky attractions." You may want to fold and file in your memory the 10th one listed.

Lombard Street, San Francisco

Robot Restaurant, Tokyo

Diggerland, Stroud, England

Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto

Carhenge, Alliance, Neb.

Karni Mata Temple, India

Gnome Reserve, West Putford, England

Tiger & Turtle roller coaster, Magic Mountain, Germany

International UFO Museum, Roswell, N.M.

World's Largest Chest of Drawers, High Point

And before you start snickering at the World's Largest Chest of Drawers, note that the photo at the top of this post was taken by Christobol Perez of the Las Vegas Sun. 

Can't help but wonder how awesome High Point's attraction looks from the air. ...

Most-visited attractions in the world: Which list is more accurate?

Travel + Leisure magazine just issued its list of the 50 "World's Most-Visited Tourist Attractions."

It's a fascinating compilation. And should be taken with a suitcase of salt.

For example, I saw Boston's historic Faneuil Hall Marketplace coming in 7th internationally -- ahead of all the Florida theme parks except for one.

I love Boston and Faneuil Hall. But it's less than 400 square feet in area.

And somehow, the attendance numbers don't need to make sense, though the compilers of the T+L list  say that data is from "attractions themselves or from government agencies, industry reports, and reputable media outlets."

So I found another list ranking the top 50 attractions worldwide  that was posted at 

www.lovehomeswap.com. It says its information similarly is from "the attractions' own published figures (or internal data they would share), industry reports, government reports and other trustworthy media outlets."

Here -- you compare the lists for yourself. The rankings are in T+L  order; the lovehomeswap rank is in parentheses, to the right.

You'll start to note the differences -- and the gaps.

1. The Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey  (11 on lovehomeswap.com list)

2. The  Zócalo, Mexico City (21)

3. Times Square, New York (2)

4. (tie) Central Park, New York, (3)

4. (tie) Union Station, Washington, D.C. (4)             

6. Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas (1)

7.  (tie) Meiji Jingu Shrine, Tokyo   

7. (tie) Sensoji Temple, Tokyo    

9. Niagara Falls (5)

10. Grand Central Terminal, New York (6)

11. Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City         

12. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Orlando, Fla. (8)            

13. Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston (7)

14. Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo (12)

15. Disneyland Park, Anaheim, Calif.  (9)  

16. Forbidden City, Beijing (10)

17. Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco

18. Tokyo DisneySea, Tokyo (15)

19. Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris (13)

20. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (14)     

21. Balboa Park, San Diego

22. South Street Seaport, New York (29)            

23. San Antonio River Walk, San Antonio

24. Epcot, Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.  (17)         

25. St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

26. Great Wall of China (Badaling/Mutianyu areas), China (28)      

27. Sacré Coeur Basilica, Paris (18)

28. Disneyland Park, Marne-la-Vallée, France (16)

29. Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (22)

30. Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (23)

31. Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan (24)

32. Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood, Calif. 

33. Pike Place Market, Seattle (20)     

34. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (25)

35. Musée du Louvre, Paris (27)

36. Navy Pier, Chicago (26)

37. Disney's California Adventure, Anaheim, Calif. (34)

38. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia (31)

39. Universal's Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla. (33)     

40. (tie) National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian), Washington,  D.C.   (32)      

40. (tie) Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

40. (tie) Pier 39, San Francisco  (30)                                

43. Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France (49)           

44. Ocean Park, Hong Kong (35)        

45. Bourbon Street, New Orleans (47)

46. National Museum of China, Beijing

47. (tie) Hong Kong Disneyland, Hong Kong  (41)

47. (tie) Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea (42)             

49. Everland, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea (39)            

50. Taj Mahal, Agra, India  

Did you notice the discrepancies?

And on the lovehomeswap.com list but not the T+L: Tsima Sha Tsui Waterfront in Hong Kong (19);  Victoria Peak, Hong Kong (36); National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian (37); The Eiffel Tower (38), the British Museum in London (40); Nevada's Lake Mead (43); Universal Studios Florida (44); New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (46); Universal Studios Hollywood (48) and Japan's Nagashima Spa Land (5).

Lesson: Lists will only get you so far. The originating data for either list here, for instance, is obviously quite up for grabs.

Both lists, by the way, said Faneuil Hall had 18 million visitors per year. And I'm still skeptical.

National kudos for Wilmington's waterfront

Readers of USA Today had the chance to do a "10 Best Readers' Choice" vote for the city with the best American riverfront, and when the results were released Wednesday, Wilmington won.

As USA Today correctly noted, "Because Wilmington is associated with the many barrier island destinations for which it serves as a gateway -- Wrightsville Beach chief among them -- the public often forgets it's actually a river city."

Along the Cape Fear River at Wilmington, you'll find the Henrietta III excursion boat (shown above), Battleship North Carolina and a 1.75-mile wood-plank Riverwalk, where a weekly farmers market and other outdoor events are staged throughout the year.

Which of the winners are within easy striking distance?

Wilmington is a  3 1/2-hour straight-shot drive from Charlotte via U.S. 74.

Savannah is four hours south of Charlotte, Interstate all the way.

Richmond, Va., is 4 1/2 hours northeast, Interstate all the way.

Also on the list is Chattanooga, Tenn., a 5 1/2-hour drive to the west, via any of several routes.

Here's the full list:

1. Wilmington

2. Spokane, Wash.

3. Davenport, Iowa

4. Dubuque, Iowa

5. Pittsburgh

6. Louisville, Ky.

7. Chattanooga, Tenn.

8. Savannah, Ga.

9. Detroit

10. Richmond, Va.

Beaufort, N.C.: A well-deserved "Favorite Place"

Another day, another best-places list.

Travel + Leisure magazine just released the results of its 2014 "America's Favorite Places" survey. As usual with best-of lists, the methodology of this virtual beauty contest is up for grabs.

But the list does make sense: They're all wonderful places -- starting with Beaufort, N.C., a charming and good-eating town that offers visitors a mix of nature and history. (Its waterfront is shown in the AP file photo above.)

Here's the full top-25 list:

1. Beaufort, N.C.

2. Ogunquit, Maine

3. Lewisburg, W.Va.

4. Aspen, Colo.

5. Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.

6. Charlottesville, Va.

7. Breckenridge, Colo.

8. Myrtle Beach

9. Paso Robles, Calif.

10. Tybee Island, Ga.

11. Bayfield, Wis.

12. Traverse City, Mich.

13. Portsmouth, N.H.

14. Pawleys Island, S.C.

15. Glenwood Springs, Colo.

16. Lake Placid, N.Y.

17. San Luis Obispo, Calif.

18. Bar Harbor, Maine

19. Gulf Shores, Ala.

20. Sonoma, Calif.

21. Hood River, Ore.

22. Estes Park, Colo.

23. Park City, Utah

24. La Jolla, Calif.

25. St. Augustine, Fla.

See any patterns?

Of these, 14 are on an ocean or one of the Great Lakes; six others are in mountain areas famed as skiing destinations.

And the five exceptions?

Lewisburg, W.Va. is an hour or more from the state's ski slopes, but is in a high-profile resort area (the famous Greenbrier resort is nearby) that has a lot of history  and culture. Lewisburg was featured this spring in a travel article in The Charlotte Observer.

Charlottesville, Va., is home to the University of Virginia and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

San Luis Obispo is about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco; it is one of California's oldest towns. Paso Robles is just to the north, is in an area with more than 30 wineries and tasting rooms.

Hood River, Ore., is a tourist magnet on the Columbia River Gorge area.

There's an after-result link where you can select your own favorite -- up to a point: Click the "Select a state" option and you'll see what towns you can vote on.

There are 32 in North Carolina; 17 in South Carolina.

Glad to see Charleston on the Conde Nast Traveler lists... but take a closer look

The Charlotte Observer today reported that Charleston again was voted the No. 1 city in the United States  to visit in the annual  Readers' Choice Awards by Conde Nast Traveler -- for the fourth year.

Also, Charleston finished in second place in the Readers' Choice Awards for Top 25 Cities in the World.

But a closer look at the other cities in both lists may be informative.

Top 5 Cities in the United States

1. Charleston

2. Santa Fe, N.M.

3. New Orleans

4. San Francisco

5. Chicago

Top Cities in the World

1. Florence, Italy

2. Charleston

3. Budapest, Hungary

4. Cape Town, South Africa

5. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

6. Prague, Czech Republic

7. Rome

8. Siem Reap, Cambodia

9. Barcelona, Spain

10. Santa Fe, N.M.

11. Krakow, Poland

12. Luang Prabang, Laos

13. Bangkok, Thailand

14. Beirut, Lebanon

15. Vienna, Austria

16. Siena, Italy

17. New Orleans

18. Quebec City, Canada

19. Sydney, Australia

20. San Francisco

21. Chiang Mai, Thailand

22. Salzburg, Austria

23. Chicago

24. Bruges, Belgium

25. Kyoto, Japan

Why is "Top Cities in the United States" limited to only five destinations? While a good bit of the contents of the magazine (these and other best-of lists are in the November issue, on the shelves Oct. 26) is usually geared toward luxury and exotic travel, the five-city limit seems restrictive for a magazine based in America and written for American readers. 

With the exception of Santa Fe, N.M., the other winners in the United States list also appear on the  world list.

And with the exception of Santa Fe, the domestic destinations chosen are not surprising. In fact, they could qualify for been-there-done-that honors for most travelers.

But look at some of the international selections, like exotic Luang Prabang, Laos, or  Beirut, Lebanon -- a fascinating place that was a jet-set destination before decades of civil war. Who would have imagined those places (or even rustic Siena, Italy) on the top 25 list?

Think it through: Could fabled Florence, Italy -- shown at the top of this post -- really be the only city in the world more worth visiting than Charleston?

Be aware that anyone could take any of the Conde Nast Traveler's online polls.

It' ain't just readers, folks. 

Maybe  Conde Nast Traveler poll-takers aren't overly curious about trying different or unusual destinations in the United States  -- or are poll-takers on a mission. Or just don't get out much. And perhaps poll-takers' international choices are more of a wish list than anything.

What does 'America's Favorite Place' have that Charlotte doesn't? A statue of a gigantic termite, for starters

Want to have a good time? Head to Providence, R.I.

That city topped the list of "America's Favorite Places," a survey of readers of Travel + Leisure magazine.

The rest of the top five? Houston, Kansas City, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Los Angeles.

People could vote for 38 cities in six categories -- culture, shopping, quality of life, people, nightlife and food and drink -- that were in turn broken out into 67 subcategories.

Travel + Leisure said the results are based on more than 50,000 votes that ranked  cities. The results will be featured in the magazine's November issue, which will be on newsstands Oct. 17.

Don't get your hopes up. Charlotte has no bragging rights here.

 In fact, no cities in North Carolina made any top-five "best of," though the link at the bottom of the online roster has a link to a page where you can type in an N.C.  metro area -- from Boone and Asheville all the way to Wilmington -- and vote if you disagree with the survey results.

However you vote (choices run from Anchorage, Alaska, to Key West, Fla.), your completing the online do-you-disagree  survey enters you for a chance at a vacation getaway.

But it doesn't change the published overall results.

The only place in the two-state area to win any nods was Charleston:

No. 1 for architecture/cool buildings

No. 1 for romantic escape

No. 2 for shopping at antiques stores

No. 2 for relaxing weekend

No. 3 for historical sites

No. 4 for cleanliness

No. 4 for public parks/gardens

No. 4 for public safety

No. 4 for notable restaurants

No. 4 for girlfriend getaway

No. 3 for attractive people

No. 5 for stylish people

No. 5 for brunch places

If it makes you feel any better, New York City cane in first for people who were rude and also for people who were snobby.

Providence, an old New England city, was the hometown of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft.

Perhaps more relevant, Bank of America is the city's third-largest employer; naming rights extend there to the Bank of America Skating Center -- which Wikipedia lists among Providence's "Sites of Interest."

Another attraction of interest: Nibbles Woodaway, a roadside sculpture belonging to a pest-extermination company. Nibbles Woodaway, also known as the "Big Blue Bug," is billed as "the world's largest termite."

You'll see an AP photo of it at the top of this post; you may have also spied it in scenes from the movie "Dumb and Dumber."

I wouldn't be surprised at all if  you'll be seeing it eventually in uptown Charlotte after it is shipped here and the price tag is removed.

Creepiest Halloween attractions of 2014

Travel Channel has announced its picks for "Travel’s Best: Halloween Attractions" - haunted house attractions and a few other scares. Among them:

* The Queen Mary attraction, in the Los Angeles area.

* A festival in Salem, Mass., that cashes in on the town's historical reputation with events that have nothing to do with that history.

* A scarefest at Florida's Universal Orlando theme park that has a tip of the hat (well, maybe not) to North Carolina's Roanoke Island. 

* The attraction that makes the closest stab at reality? It's at a former mental institution in West Virginia.

Here's the Travel Channel list:

Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor– Long Beach, Calif.

The Queen Mary was built in the early 1930s as a luxury trans-Atlantic ocean liner, but for decades has been permanently moored in Southern California. It's a tourist attraction with restaurants, a museum and a hotel. Through Nov. 2, it operates an elaborate haunted house that has a nautical flair. 

13th Floor HauntedHouse – Denver, Colo.

What's billed as "the largest and longest indoor haunted attraction in Colorado" is staged through Nov. 9. Besides ghouls and monsters jumping out, expect high-tech monsters and other tricks.

Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights – Orlando, Fla.

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando plays off  hit horror  programs ("The Walking Dead") and blockbuster movies ("From Dusk Till Dawn," Halloween") Other attractions include a haunted house titled "Roanoke – Cannibal Colony."

Here's how that is described: "The inhabitants of this lost Virginia colony have resorted to cannibalism to survive. Take a trip back in time and explore the remains of this settlement where you’ll get a history lesson you’ll never forget."

The theme park photo at the top of this post relates to Universal Orlando's "From Dusk Till Dawn" haunted house -- not to something apparently connected to the Los Colony... which their storyline places in Virginia.

Netherworld – Atlanta

This haunted house, open through Nov. 8,  has more than  200 animated monsters and 100 live actors. Travel Channel says, "... ,unlike other Halloween attractions, Netherworld’s creepy characters greet patrons in the parking lot before they purchase tickets." 

13th Gate – Baton Rouge, La.

The elaborate haunted house, open through Nov. 8,  offers live animals ‑ including snakes and gators ‑ in addition to 100  jump-out actors and special effects. It has  13 themed indoor and outdoor areas. 

Festival of the Dead – Salem, Mass.

This is a multi-venue festival (Oct. 18-31)  staged in the town made infamous for its 1692 witch trials. The two weeks of events include a Psychic Fair and Witchcraft Expo, and  a Witches' Halloween Ball."

Bennett’s Curse – Jessup, Md.

This haunted spectacle outside of Baltimore - one of horrormeister Edgar Allen Poe's, um, haunts - has three haunted houses: Medieval Underworld, Inferno 3D and Sanctuary of Insanity. It continues through Oct. 31.

Fright Dome – Las Vegas

The  Circus Circus’ Adventuredome is temporarily retooled to hold  haunted houses in a darkened venue illuminated with special lighting and fog effects. The 5-acre attraction on the Strip includes 25 rides and attractions live shows at night and four scare zones. Dates: Oct. 10-31.

ScareHouse – Pittsburgh

ScareHouse - running through Nov. 1 in suburban Etna, Pa. -  is staged in a bank building built in 1915, and produced in part by Legendary Entertainment, a film production company that had a hand in "The Dark Knight," "Pacific Rim" and "Godzilla."

Trans-AlleghenyLunatic Asylum Haunted House – Weston, W.Va.

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is actually staged in the former Weston State Hospital, which functioned as an asylum until 1994. Historic tours are offered at other times of the year. Tours - called "Ghost Hunts" - are offered at various dates.

Black Mountain singled out as prime fall destination

Staffers at National Geographic's online Beyond the Guidebook page  have released a list of their  individual picks for best fall trips -- and Black Mountain, in eastern Buncombe County,  is among them.

Their list, in the order places were mentioned: 

Shenandoah National Park/Skyline Drive, Virginia

Bermuda

Albuquerque, N.M., International Balloon Fiesta

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sonoma County, Calif.

Black Mountain

Austin, Texas

Bhutan

Pittsburgh

Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, Jasper, Ark.

Grenada

In picking Black Mountain, National Geographic Travel production assistant Becky Davis writes, "Growing up in Florida, my parents took us here every year to experience a taste of changing seasons and cooler weather—and what an amazing taste! The hiking trails that yield awe-inspiring views of multi-colored landscapes are myriad. We would take walks around Lake Tomahawk and watch the geese swim by, surrounded by mountains. Warming up with a hot concoction from downtown’s Dripolator Coffeehouse is a must, as is partaking in one of Black Mountain’s seasonal festivities, which include ghost tours, art festival and a harvest fair.”

Black Mountain was on National Geographic Travel's list of best fall trips last year.

On their 2014 list of best fall trips:

Enchanted Circle Scenic Drive, Taos, N.M.

Lake Maggiore, Italy

Cincinnati (for its Oktoberfest)

Hot Air Balloon Festival, Taunggyi, Myanmar

Diwali (a Hindu festival), Agra, India

Pirates Week National Festival, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Buenos Aires, Argentina (spring walks)

Snorkeling in cenotes (caves) in Quintana Roo, Mexico

The photo at the top of this post shows Black Mountain in autumn. The image is from www.exploreblackmountain.com -- that area's Chamber of Commerce website -- which has visitor information.