Haunted Skies, a popular seasonal show created by the staff of the Vanderbilt Planetarium, has returned again for Halloween.

Photo by Steve Moore

Take a journey of exploration into the origins of this magnificent and often misunderstood holiday. Travel to the ancient past to uncover the legends and rituals of Halloween, and gain insight about why we still celebrate this autumn tradition today.

The audience experience is enhanced by eerie classical and atmospheric music and by chilling images from vintage paintings. Veteran voiceover artist Ray Adell delivers the ominous, theatrical narration.

Spine-tingling and certainly not for the faint-of-heart, this program echoes the spirit of the holiday in an enjoyable, intelligent and often “frightening” planetarium production. Come find out what lurks in the starry skies above.

Haunted Skies is being shown on Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. and on Saturday night at 8:00.

The show runs 30 minutes and is intended for ages 8 to adult.

Tickets

For daytime Planetarium shows, visitors pay general museum admission ($7 for adults, $6 for students with IDs and seniors 62 and older, and $3 for children 12 and under), plus $5 each for a Planetarium show.

For nighttime Planetariums shows — since the rest of museum complex is closed then — no general museum admission is charged. Visitors pay only for Planetarium show tickets: $9 for adults, $8 for students with IDs and seniors 62 and older, and $7 for children 12 and under.

Hours – Museum and Mansion

Through November 1: Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, 11:00 – 5:00. (Planetarium is open Friday and Saturday nights.) Sundays, 12:00 – 5:00. (Open additional days during school holidays. See website for details.) The Museum and Mansion are closed Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Hours – Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium

Through November 1: Daytime shows Tuesday through Sunday afternoon at 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00. Evening shows on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 and 9:00. (The Planetarium is open on Friday and Saturday nights, but the Mansion, Museum and Estate grounds are closed.) The Planetarium is closed Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Observatory

Year-round viewing of the night sky (weather permitting), Friday only, 9:00-10:00 (free with show ticket; $3.00 without show ticket)

Planetarium Schedule – Fall 2015

Through November 1

Tuesday and Friday Afternoon

2:00 – Stars: Powerhouses of the Universe

Friday Night

8:00 – Long Island Skies

9:00 – A Musical Journey

Saturday Night

8:00 – Haunted Skies – NEW!

9:00 – Black Holes: Journey into the Unknown

Saturday and Sunday Afternoon

12:00 – One World, One Sky

1:00 – Earth, Moon, and Sun

2:00 – Haunted Skies – NEW!

3: 00 – Dynamic Earth: Exploring Earth’s Climate Engine

4:00 – Haunted Skies – NEW!

Observatory

Year-round viewing of the night sky (weather permitting), Friday only, 9:00-10:00 (free with show ticket; $3.00 without show ticket)

Museum Admission

General museum admission is $7 for adults, $6 for students with ID and seniors (62 and older), and $3 for children 12 and under. General admission includes estate-grounds access to the Marine Museum, Memorial Wing natural-history and ethnographic-artifact galleries, Nursery Wing, Habitat Room, Egyptian mummy and Stoll Wing animal-habitat dioramas. For a mansion tour, add $5 per ticket. (A video tour of the mansion is available on request.)

Mansion Tours

Guided tours of the Vanderbilt Mansion — listed on the National Register of Historic Places

— are available Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00.

Planetarium Admission

During the day, visitors to the Planetarium pay general museum admission ($7 for adults, $6 for students with IDs and seniors 62 and older, and $3 for children 12 and under), plus $5 each for a Planetarium show. Since the museum is closed in the evening, no general museum admission is charged — visitors pay only for Planetarium show tickets: $9 for adults, $8 for students with IDs and seniors 62 and older, and $7 for children 12 and under.

Vanderbilt Observatory

Night-sky viewing on Friday (weather permitting), 9:00-10:00 p.m. Observation is free to visitors with a planetarium show ticket, $3.00 for those without a show ticket.

Location and Website

The Vanderbilt Museum is located at 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport, NY. Directions and updated details on programs and events are available at www.vanderbiltmuseum.org. For information, call 631-854-5579.

The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum

The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum — a unique combination of mansion, marine and natural history museum, planetarium and park — is dedicated to the education and enjoyment of the people of Long Island and beyond. This mission is achieved through the thoughtful preservation, interpretation and enhancement of the Eagle’s Nest estate as an informal educational facility. Many exhibition and program themes focus upon Long Island’s Gold Coast Era. Programs also concentrate on William K. Vanderbilt II’s desire that his marine, natural history and ethnographic collections promote appreciation and understanding of the marvelous diversity of life, other cultures, and scientific knowledge. Planetarium programming, more specifically, focuses on scientific knowledge and seeks to capture Mr. Vanderbilt’s sense of adventure and exploration through state-of-the-art entertainment.