How do you celebrate Halloween? If you’d prefer a naturally spooky experience to campy costumes or corn mazes, we highly recommend heading to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island and checking out Afterglow Vista. Not only will you take an eerie walk through a cemetery to reach it, but it happens to be full of symbols and clues that will leave you scratching your head (and possibly looking over your shoulder).

Afterglow Vista, which was once known as the McMillin Mausoleum, is the final resting place of a very prominent local family.
Travis / Flickr
John S. McMillin, a friend and advisor to Theodore Roosevelt, basically built Roche Harbor. He had this mausoleum designed for his family. The remains of John and five of his family members, as well as the ashes of a close family friend and secretary, are buried here.
To reach Afterglow Vista, you'll take a 10 minute stroll through the local cemetery in Roche Harbor.
Travis / Flickr
Needless to say, it's pretty easy to spot.
The structure is full of symbolism, which people credit to John's Methodist views and his status as an active Mason.
Travis / Flickr
The three sets of stairs represent the three ages of man, for example.

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When you go, you can't help but notice the large limestone table on the platform -- it's the most prominent feature.
Ken Lane / Flickr
The McMillins would gather around the family dinner table each evening, so the table symbolizes that togetherness. The empty spot at the table where an extra seat should be symbolizes the McMillin son who rejected Methodism.
You'll also notice that one of the pillars is broken, but that's not due to deterioration.
Joe Goldberg / Flickr
The broken column is said to symbolize the unfinished nature of our lives... the way many of us die before we've completed everything we want to do.
Afterglow Vista is more beautiful than creepy, until the sun goes down and the area really does seem to glow.
Ken Lane / Flickr
However, if you feel a little spooked, it may not be your imagination. Some people claim to have seen the spirits of the family members gathering around the table for dinner.
But even if the mausoleum isn't haunted, it's still a perfect place to visit this time of year.
Travis / Flickr
The space is open to the public during cemetery hours.

If your tastes tend to veer toward macabre, visit Afterglow Vista the next time you’re on San Juan Island.

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Afterglow Dr, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, USA