By Lisa Neff

Contributing writer

Chicagoan Charlie Midland is still deciding whether to spend Oct. 31 as drunk David Hasselhoff or toe-tapping Larry Craig.

“I’m just concerned that there will be too many Larry Craigs out there,” said Midland, who cited Halloween as his favorite holiday of the year and the Northalsted Halloween Parade among his favorite events. “Plus, I love cheeseburgers. I could just get a bag of White Castle and be set for the night with props.”

Costume shops can expect to help clothe a number of Hasselhoffs and Craigs this Halloween, whether revelers are packing bags for Key West’s Fantasy Fest or West Hollywood’s Costume Carnival or simply heading out to North Halsted.

According to The Rundown news service, other headline news characters topping costume lists this year include Isiah Thomas, Pacman Jones, O.J. Simpson, Paris Hilton and Phil Spector.

Given the ingenuity showcased in Boystown each Halloween, I’d like to see the celebrity costume list include the Cheetah Girls, Anna Nicole Smith and Miss South Carolina too.

How else to celebrate the holiday?

Check the quick-ticket airfares out of O’Hare or Midway for spooky, spectacular or sweet destinations.

Consider Hershey, Pa., maybe the sweetest place on earth, where trick-or-treaters can delight in free samples while touring Hershey’s Chocolate World or indulge in a chocolate treatment at The Spa at Hotel Hershey.

For sunshine and sweets, Disney World’s Downtown Disney in Orlando, Fla., features a replica of San Francisco’ Ghirardelli Square.

Or head to the City by the Bay for the real thing, plus a tour of the renowned Scharffen Berger chocolate factory, a glimpse of the world’s largest Pez dispenser and a trip through a Jelly Belly factory.

Take a sweet bite of the Big Apple, home to M&M’s World, the 16-story Hershey’s Time Square store, Jacques Torres Chocolate cafe and Dylan’s Candy Bar.

Spending some travel and leisure time in Chicago? The former Hog Butcher of the World is now better known for its candies, with more than 100 premier candy manufacturers in the area and one of the most indulgent delights around—Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge.

Haunted houses: Carved pumpkins help transform an ordinary home into a haunted haven. But, says Party City merchandising officer Barry Morin, “More and more people are getting into Halloween and moving beyond the traditional carved pumpkins.”

Morin is talking about scene-setting items such as plastic cauldrons filled with rubber body parts, jack-o-lantern cookies, luminaria bags, spider webbing, fake moss and animated ghosts that go “Boo!”

For those entertaining Halloween at home, the sponsors of the All Candy Expo, held annually in Chicago, offer a selection of the newest, coolest, tastiest candy to consider for trick-or-treaters—or for snacking after turning out the lights and turning on the horror flick.

On the dark side, M&M’s dark chocolate peanut candies look like the classic M&M’s in that famous candy coated shell but feature a new, rich dark chocolate filling.

New cacao creations include Scharffen Berger’s Milk Nibby candy bar made with milk chocolate and roasted cacao nibs, Hershey’s premium dark chocolate truffles and the Modena ChocoPod, modeled on the natural cacao pod but made of milk chocolate and filled with a strawberry caramel surprise.

Carmelicious candies include Nestle’s Treasures Truffles, fine caramel wrapped in milk chocolate, and Kona Caramacs, a candy bar with a smooth, soft caramel flavor, Kona coffee and dry-roasted macadamia nuts.

For child’s play, try Hot Tamales Cinnamon Spray, which packs the heat of the Hot Tamales candy in a spritz of cinnamon. Or try Bubbalicious Ink’d, bubble gum that paints the tongue. Or blow Airheads Whistle Pops in raspberry, grape or strawberry flavors.

In the “all-natural” arena, the new Jelly Belly jelly beans contain no artificial flavors, no added preservatives and include only colors derived from natural resources. For calorie counters—there are four calories per bean.