"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble." — William Shakespeare's "Macbeth"

Yep, it's that time of year again: hallowed Halloween. Some of you may say "So what? I can't wait to get to Thanksgiving." But it's not quite time for pumpkin pie yet.

It seems my young, fun-loving clients are ringing me up to see what I know about Halloween fun. After all, I am their travel expert. Which brings me to the point of this ghostly, little piece. When our clients ask to visit a haunted hotel, we need to book them where all guests check in — though, sadly, all do not check out.

Let's begin our terrifying trip on the West Coast before flying — no broom needed — all the way to Europe for a little Halloween fun.

1. Los Angeles

The Hollywood Roosevelt in Los Angeles where the first Academy Awards show was held. Built in 1927, this iconic hotel is haunted by none other than the spirit of Marilyn Monroe.

There used to be a lovely antique mirror in Monroe's poolside suite No. 1,200. It was eventually placed in the lobby of this famous hotel, but it had to be removed. It seems when maids were cleaning the mirror, Monroe's image would often appear. Guests then began to have the same eerie experience.

Once the guests became uncomfortable, the mirror had to go. The customer's always right.

2. Chicago

The Congress Plaza in Chicago, better known as "The Congress," was built in 1893 for the World's Fair. It has the creepy reputation of being the most haunted hotel in all of Chicago — a city of many hotels. Our top ghost in residence? The infamous, the notorious, the one and only: gangster Al Capone.

Capone had a suite on the eighth floor of the North Tower. Word's out that he used his suite as his headquarters to do business. His spirit is said to frequent his suite and the hallways surrounding it with the tap, tap, tapping of his two-tone wingtips and the rat-a-tat-tatting of his gun.

I should also warn you about the Gold Room, also known as the "Hand of Mystery" room. Long ago, a worker was trapped behind a wall that was plastered shut. He suffocated to death, but his hand has been seen protruding through the coat closet on occasion.

3. New York

Our third stop takes us to The Chelsea in New York City. Celebrities Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Andy Warhol have enjoyed this celebrity haunt. Famous poet and writer Dylan Thomas has been said to roam the halls around the room he died in, No. 206.

His face has been seen many times by The Chelsea's guests, but it seems he prefers to leave the staff alone. He must have had great service during his stay.

Nancy Spungen, the late girlfriend of Sid Vicious, was found dead in a hotel room in the Chelsea with Vicious. He was arrested, but never stood trial — he chose to overdose on heroin instead. Now the ghosts of the two lovers haunt the halls of The Chelsea. Maybe save this one for Valentine's Day?

4. Paris

Our final destination is to the Catacombs of Paris, one of the most popular tourist attractions offered in the City of Lights. To accommodate the Halloween season, hours have been extended so that you can walk more slowly through the underground tunnels of the catacombs.

These tunnels are part of a labyrinth of quarries where stone was extracted to build many of Paris' monuments. This half-mile stretch is lined with the bones of 6 million Parisians, transferred from the Cemetery of Innocents and other medieval-era graveyards in the late 18th century.

The bones are stacked in orderly walls with stone epitaphs proclaiming philosophical truths and poetry, like, "Live each day like it is going to be your last. — Horace" Good point, Horace.

Holidays are important to most of us. They give us perfect excuses to spend extraordinary time with family and friends, and they allow us travel experts to help our clients create extra special memories. Always take advantage of those seasonal travel windows, including Halloween.

Be creative. Our clients have many different personalities, are many different ages and like many different kinds of experiences.

I know I could never sell a river cruise to my younger clients, but I'll bet if I offered them a hair-raising hotel stay over the Halloween weekend, they'd take me up on it. Introduce your unique travel-arranging skills to a younger clientele. I guarantee they'll remember you, talk you up and come back to you to book that Caribbean cruise on their to-do list.

I've found that bold creativity when booking can separate the men from the boys and the women from the girls in the travel business. And with that "scary" thought, I sincerely wish you a Happy Halloween.

P.S. The Marilyn Monroe Suite at the Roosevelt is available on Hallow's Eve — $529 for the night, which includes two tickets to the pool party.