Halloween is the newest tourist holiday. Of course, local fun with the kids is cool, but did you know that destination Halloween celebrations are becoming the new big thing? From ghostly tours and haunted venues to costumes, celebrations, and more, these destinations go all out for Halloween. If you’ve never considered a Halloween getaway, here are 20 places that are sure to tempt you into taking a bone-chilling, spine-tingling trip!
Ghostly New Orleans
Voodoo shops, devilish fun in the French Quarter, and haunted tours galore make Halloween second only to Mardi Gras when it comes to partying in the Big Easy. Experience Krewe of Boo’s 2-mile Zombie Run followed by their Halloween Parade at sundown. There are plenty of spooky attractions like the Museum of Death or the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum and tours like Bloody Mary’s Haunted Museum & Voodoo Shop Tour and the Gators & Ghosts Tour. Decorations adorn homes, many claiming to be haunted and costumes are taken to new heights making New Orleans a perfect place to catch the Halloween spirit.
Celebrate Witches in Salem
Salem, Massachusetts has one of the world’s richest histories of witches, known for one of America’s darkest periods, the Salem Witch Trials. At Halloween, you can learn about the history by visiting the Salem Witch Museum or taking the Witch Trial History & Salem Haunts Tour or the Ghosts, Witches, & Warlocks Guided Walking Tour. There are plenty of super fun options, too, like the Boos and Brews Haunted Pub Crawl and Witch City Broom Making Workshops. Experience the magic as Salem becomes America’s Halloween capitol each October.
Derry Halloween in Northern Ireland
Derry is home to the largest Halloween celebration in Europe. What started almost half a century ago as a small bar party now overwhelms the streets of Derry as the walled city celebrates Samhain. The city streets offer illuminations, music, pyrotechnics, aerial performances, acrobatics, and more. You can also explore Derry’s long and haunted history through tours and enjoy the annual Halloween Carnival Parade.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Disney fans will fall in love with Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party which starts every year in August and runs through Halloween. On select nights, the park is filled with all your favorite Disney villains and fan favorites like Mickey and Minnie dressed in their best Halloween attire. There’s Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade and Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular featuring lasers and fireworks and Trick or Treating throughout the park. Of course, even during the day there are new seasonal sights and treats all around Disney World.
Ancient Celebration in Athboy
The Irish town hubs of Trim and Athboy, in the county of Meath play host to The Púca Festival, which has its origins in the ancient Celtic tradition of Samhain. Athboy’s Hill of Ward and Boyne Valley have been the site of Samhain feasts and celebrations for thousands of years. The Púca Procession: The Gathering of the Spirits highlights four days of celebration that include outdoor theatre, street performance, and music. Visit the place where the veil is thinnest on Samhain: Athboy, Ireland.
The Haunted American South
Savannah, Georgia is one of the spookiest towns in the American South. Its stately antebellum homes are known for their ghosts. Check out the Ghost Hunting Experience at the tragic Sorrel-Weed House or the family-friendly Savannah Ghosts and Ghouls Tour. For more of a traditional fall festival feel, the nearby Odum Poppell Farms offers hayrides, a petting zoo, a corn maze, and access to their haunted forest.
Nevada’s Killer Clowns
Clowns are a common phobia, and if they are one of your triggers, steer clear of Tonopah, Nevada. Home to the Clown Motel, which has a creepy ambiance and a not-so-friendly-looking huge clown named “Jolly” gracing its sign. The motel is clown-themed and supposedly haunted, sitting adjacent to the town’s dusty, unlit cemetery. The town’s history includes a mine collapse and a mysterious plague. A victim of the later collected clowns, prompting his children to found the Clown Motel here.
Legendary Sleepy Hollow
Author Washington Irving cemented the town’s place in Halloween lore with the story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Headless horsemen are ever present in Sleepy Hollow along with live music, farmer’s markets, blazing pumpkins, street fairs, and a Halloween Parade to top it all off. Halloween visitors will enjoy Lyndhurst After Dark, which is an after-hours tour of a Gothic mansion, the Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival, and tours like the Historical Society Tour of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow and the Sleepy Hollow Cemetary Tours.
Halloween with Count Dracula
Transylvania, Romania is the birthplace of the world’s most famous vampire: Count Dracula. Spooky tales and crazy vampire lore have permeated the Transylvanian region for ages, making it the perfect place to celebrate Halloween. Locals embrace their international reputation and welcome visitors with a Medieval-style festival at Sighisoara, where Vlad the Impaler was born, and a massive party at Bran Castle, a place synonymous with his legend.
Underground Paris
The Catacombs of Paris can be kind of creepy any time of year, but especially at Halloween. Take a short detour from the glitzy attractions of main stage Paris and visit the 14th district where you will find the Catacombs of Paris. Originally quarries, the catacombs were used to keep the cemetery’s remains underground. Going into the catacombs is pretty eerie, taking visitors past piles of skulls and bones, some even made into deathly arrangements.
Sail on a Haunted Ship
The Queen Mary is retired in the Long Beach Harbor, where visitors are invited to learn about her long history and many ghost stories. The opulent cruise liner is known to have ghostly children, a former engineer, and the infamous dancing Lady in White roaming her halls, decks, and ballrooms. During the Halloween season, she hosts The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor which is a massive Halloween festival that has live entertainment, haunted mazes, themed bars, and iconic characters.
Frightful Fun in Philly
Along with being one of the oldest and most historic cities in the United States comes a rich history of ghosts and spooky, haunted buildings. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has the heart-pounding Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary, terrifying ghost tours and haunted houses, as well as family fall fun like pumpkin picking and hayrides at Linvilla Orchards. There’s something for everyone visiting Philly, no matter what kind of Halloween fun you are looking for.
Colorful Celebrations in Oaxaca City
The Day of the Dead is celebrated over the first two days of November and embraces the visiting of familiar spirits with their families and friends. In Oaxaca City, the holiday is celebrated in the cemeteries and with parades and festivities. These celebrations are marked with music and bright colors and usually include attending church as part of the holiday.
Get Scared in Blackburn
Blackburn’s Scare Kingdom brings the scare factor to life every Halloween in the UK. There are scare actors and special effects that help bring to life five haunted houses that keep guests screaming through the whole experience. Intense scare zones, mazes and more make this a spooktacular destination for a high-octane Halloween adventure.
Beauty & Tradition in Mexico City
Stepping away from the scares and screams of Halloween, Mexico City celebrates Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with reverence and energy. Expect clay altars, traditional flowers, and bright colorful sugar skulls or Calaveras symbolizing the deceased who are being honored. Here, they celebrate for three days with decorations, festive foods, and street parades.
Zombies Party in Reno
Reno, Nevada is the Halloween home of the Zombie Crawl which brings thousands of zombies out to visit dozens of local bars offering Halloween specials, karaoke, and parties. Reno also has lots of supposedly haunted places like Lake Mansion, the Washoe County Courthouse, and Mapes Hotel. There’s no shortage of spooky fun here!
A Wicked Holiday in Washington
Lakewood, Washington has all of the usual fall holiday suspects from hayrides, to fall festivals to a pretty sweet haunted house called Hellmouth Haunted House. The real treat in Lakewood, though, is Thornewood Castle, the mansion that inspired Stephen King’s Rose Red. They don’t have to do anything special for the holiday as the mansion is said to be haunted year-round by many spirits including the home’s designer and his late wife. You can also check out the town’s lewd skeletons for a cheap giggle while you’re there!
Visit with Island Spirits
Blennerhasset Island, at the mouth of the Little Kanawha River, near Parkersburg, West Virginia is said to be one of the most haunted places in the whole state. Locals say the island is haunted by the spirits of Native Americans who died there and the aristocrats who later purchased the place. It is adorned by a partially rebuilt mansion (the original has burned twice over the decades). In October, visitors have the chance to spend the night at the mansion and explore by candlelight, a place where many ghost sightings have happened.
Halloweentown, USA
If you are a fan of the classic Disney Channel movie Halloweentown, then you have to check out St. Helens, Oregon where the movie was filmed. Not only do you get all of the film locations to check out but there is also a huge pumpkin festival where you are sure to find a giant pumpkin. The town embraces its claim to fame and parties, events, costume contests, and an outstanding Halloween parade every year.
Ultimate Costume Party in Japan
If costumes are your favorite part of the Halloween celebration then you have to find a way to be in Kawasaki, Japan for their annual parade. Everyone dresses up for this parade, and believe they take it to a whole extra level since the prize for the best costume is ¥500,000! You won’t believe the creativity and artistry that comes out during this Halloween event!
For more travel tips and hacks, visit our website and explore our resources to enhance your next adventure.