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live with family Schuster's Haunted Forest Ask Doctor Mom Going batty By Dr. Kari Hegeman The Halloween Spirit For a small scare: Madison Children's Museum's Beakers and Broomsticks Both seasonal and educational, this event features science projects, a costume contest and spooky surprises for even the littlest ones. Oct. 28, 6-8:30 p.m., $13 per person or $45 for four. Madison Ghost Walks A guided 90-minute tour of paranormal hotspots, this walk is great for older kids who'd love a creepy perspective of Madison. Every Friday and Saturday through October starting at 7:30 p.m. and in November by appointment, $15 per person. Epelgaarden's Harold Potterson's Hallowed Haunts and Harried Hunts A self-guided tour with a Harry Potter theme, wizards ages 10 and under will be taken into a world of magic even Muggles will enjoy. Open weekends through Oct. 30, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., $5 per child, $1 per adult. For a medium scare: Eugster's Farm Haunted House This festive setting is home to a haunted house perfect for elementary- to middle-schoolers and a less spooky "Screamy Scary Silo" for preschoolers. Weekends in October, $8 per person. Horror in the Dark at Olin Park A haunted house full of creatures of the night that's perfect for bold teens who want a scare. Mid-October through Halloween, $8 per person. From slightly scary to positively petrifying, celebrate the spooky season with local events for every age Visit bravamagazine.com for more information about these events! Come fall, people aren't the only ones trying to burrow themselves some- where warmer; believe it or not, this is the time of year when bats have a higher likelihood of becoming unex- pected (and unwanted) house guests as they begin to seek warmer places to dwell. And this is the time of year I start to get frantic calls from parents worried about bat exposure and rabies. Rabies is a viral disease acquired Schuster's Haunted Forest Walk through this Deerfi eld farm's ghostly woods for thrills and chills specifi cally designed for those 12 and up. Weekends in October, $12 per person. For a big scare: Burial Chamber Haunted Complex For those who can handle an intense care, the haunted houses, burial simulators, Hollywood- style sets and more than 125 actors at this fright- fi lled complex make the drive to Neenah worth it. Weekends in October, prices vary. The Haunted Barn In addition to a scream-inducing farm—featur- ing ghoulish surprises for kids 13 and older—the complex also offers a daytime barn tour with the lights on twice in October for kids 10 and under. Weekends through Oct. 30, $12 each admission. Screamin' Acres With two attractions (the Goffman Asylum and a 3-D Psycho Circus) this scream park in Stoughton is an experience not for the faint of heart. Week- ends in October, $15 for both attractions. Calmer Autumn Affairs Skip the spooks with these fall festivals: Head to the Harvest Moon Festival at Lussier Family Heritage Cen- ter for wildlife presentations, stargazing and s'mores Oct. 7 from 6-9 p.m. Visit Olbrich's Crackle: Fire & Froth on Oct. 21 for bonfi res, music and more from 7-10 p.m. Gaze deeper into the fall sky: View the night sky through powerful telescopes with the Madison Astronomical Society at the free Moon Over Monona Terrace event on the Monona Terrace Rooftop, Oct. 7 from 7-9:30 p.m. 28 BRAVA Magazine October 2011 from the bite (saliva) of a rabid animal. Though the majority of bats don't carry rabies, bats are the most common cause of the disease in the U.S., and because of their small teeth, a bite from a bat can be almost imperceptible. It can be complicated to tell if your child has been bitten when they are suddenly found alone in a room with a bat. If they did come in contact with the animal, seek medical attention right away. If the bat can be captured and tested for rabies, treatment can wait for results. But to play it safe, treatment for a bat bite begins with excellent wound cleaning and care, which can decrease the likelihood of rabies by up to 90 per- cent. The exposed person then receives an injection as near to the exposure site as possible, along with a rabies vaccination, which involves a series of injections over 14 days. This kind of post-exposure treatment is very effec- tive in preventing the onset of rabies. And while we may view bats as a nuisance we'd like to get rid of, the recent spread of the fungal "white-nose syndrome" that has killed more than a million bats in the U.S. should be cause for concern. What good are bats? They consume more than 600 mosquitoes per hour and are an important part of our ecosystem. So, maybe the ques- tion is: What good are mosquitoes? I have yet to fi gure that one out. Dr. Kari Hegeman is a pediatrician at Dean Clinic and mother of six. Photos courtesy of Schuster's Farm