Friends, this year Halloween falls on a Friday, which means a spooky good time for kids young and young at heart—lots of costume parties, trick-or-treating opps, and a few good ol’ parades. If you want something a little different this year, you could walk through an illuminated landscape of 7,000 carved Jack O’Lanterns, sketch an undead live model, turn your favorite teddy bear into a terrifying keepsake, or remember your deceased loved ones by lighting a candle in an underground cave. These Hudson Valley Halloween events run all month long, but if you want to round out the spooky season with some cinematic programming, there are plenty of scary movie screenings at Hudson Valley’s indie cinemas. And of course, there’s always the region’s haunted houses.
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze
Through November 16 at Van Cortlandt Manor
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze returns to Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson this year, featuring over 7,000 hand-carved, illuminated pumpkins set against 18th-century buildings and riverside landscapes. Visitors can enjoy synchronized lighting, an original soundtrack, new themed displays, a Pumpkin Promenade, a big-top jack-o’-lantern adventure, an emerald-hued storybook pumpkin dreamscape, and the Headless Horseman’s Hideaway. Every pumpkin is carved on-site by professionals with help from over 1,000 volunteers. Purchase your admission in advance for a timed slot.
Mystic Moon: A Spooktacular Experience
Fridays and Saturdays through November 1 at Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard
This fall, Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard in North Salem debuts Mystic Moon, an illuminated Halloween trail perfect for families and friends. The half-mile walk features glowing storybook scenes, dazzling theatrical lighting, and plenty of photo opportunities. Designed as a 40-minute experience for all ages, it captures the whimsical magic of the season without the scares.
“A Wedding in Transylvania”
October 15 at Best Western Kingston
Murder Cafe celebrates 27 years with the 21st anniversary edition of “A Wedding in Transylvania,” a Halloween-themed dinner theater event at the Best Western in Kingston on Wednesday, October 15 at 7pm. Guests can enjoy music, comedy, and mystery while dining on a three-course meal, with costumes encouraged but not required. Written by Frank and Kristen Marquette and directed by Lauren Roberts, the show follows the cursed union of Frankie Alucard and Jane Dough, complete with three murders. Prizes for guests who correctly guess “whodunit.” Tickets are $65.
Spellbound Halloween Festival
October 18-19 at Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park
Carmel takes Halloween seriously with its two-day Halloween festival, Spellbound. Visitors can browse the Mystic Market, an artisan marketplace with trick-or-treating for all ages, and experience an immersive haunted trail, cursed-object scavenger hunt, and spellcasting activities. The festival features live performances, including fire dancers, musicians, and street magicians, all set in the eerie Victorian-inspired village of Ashbury. Costumed characters and a chilling storyline about a missing girl add mystery, making Spellbound a fun, spooky, theatrical Halloween celebration.
Halloween Month Events
October 22-31 at Unicorn Bar
Spooky, queer fun is on the menu all month long at Unicorn Bar in Kingston. On October 22, bring your charcoals and creative flair for a spooky twist on the regular programming with “Sketch & BOO-lesque,” where classic figure drawing meets undead beauty. On October 23, Dawn of the Drag presents Scary Drag: A Horror Parody Show. Friday, October 24 brings Leather + Harness Night: HOWLoween!. Celebrate the eve of Halloween, October 30, with WHOAH! Halloween Party with special guests O-RAMA, and Halloween night itself with the Dark Forest Deadland Ball. It’s a post-apocalyptic ballroom rave in the ruins of a cursed circus. Think aerial and pole arts, fire spinning, and music to throw down to while the world ends all around you. Plus, a costume contest.
Devils ‘n’ Details
October 24-26 at Bridge Street Theater
Leaning into the magic of Halloween, this spooky season, Bridge Street Theatre is presenting master magician Peter Samelson. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, and Sunday at 2pm. Dubbed “one of the greatest living magicians,” Sameson’s show combines illusion, theatre, and philosophy for a captivating experience. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students.
Halloween Night Market / Turn Teddy Terrifying
October 24 and 31 at Disturbing Dollies Gallery
For starters, the concept of a Living Dead Dolls museum is creepy, so leave it to the folks at this Saugerties spot to come up with delightfully spooky events for the Halloween season. First on October 24, from 5 to10pm, their Halloween Night Market will feature a costume contest, spooky vendors, raffles, and live music. Then on Halloween itself, from 4 to 6pm, Turn Teddy Terrifying lets you bring a new or used teddy bear to a workshop where you turn it into the object of nightmares.
Spellbound in the Valley: A Book Festival Like No Other
October 24-25
If you’re a fan of spooky literature, you won’t want to miss this epic convention at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. Spellbound in the Valley brings together over 100 vendors and authors in the dark romance, dark fantasy, paranormal, horror, and thriller genres. Among the list of mostly women writers, standouts include dark romance fantasy authors Monty Jay, Leigh Rivers, Jen Stevens, Nouha Julienne, Mikayla Hornedo, Nikkita Bell, and SJ Ryder. The two-day event includes book signings, panel discussions, and a marketplace. Certain ticket tiers also include access to a costume party and a VIP chefs dinner party with the chance to mingle with authors. Buy tickets online.
The Haunted Mill and Monsters Ball
October 24-25 at Wassaic Project
The Haunted Mill returns to Wassaic Project this Halloween season with an immersive, multi-floor art experience. Visitors can explore ghostly night-blooming paper flowers, animatronic moths, haunted shrines, steel and cardboard sculptures, a demigod cat walkthrough, audio installations, a corn maze menaced by crows, and more. Tickets are $10 for individuals and $20 for families on Saturday, with discounted rates on Friday and Sunday. RSVPs are recommended. Close out October 25 with the epic annual Monster’s Ball, a costume-required dance party with live music and a contest kicking off at 7pm.
Hocus Pocus Halloween Parade and Festivities
October 25 throughout Beacon
Beacon’s annual Halloween parade returns on October 25. From 11am to 6pm, families can enjoy the Black Cat Scavenger Hunt along Main Street businesses, while Happy Valley hosts an all-ages Halloween bash from 12 to 7pm. The parade will move from South Avenue to Veterans Place, from 3 to 3:30pm, with lineup beginning at 2:30pm at Polhill Park. Other highlights include a family-friendly costume contest at 5pm and First Responders Trunk or Treat at Veterans Place from 3 to 6pm. The celebration concludes with a 21-and-over Halloween Party at Happy Valley Arcade from 8pm to 1:30am.
MyKingstonKids Halloween Fest and Parade
October 25-26
MyKingstonKids continues to hold down the Halloween festivities in Kingston, now with two days of programming. The parade kicks off on October 25 at 2pm, departing from Pine Grove Avenue near the YMCA, and ending at Kingston Plaza. Following the parade, a street festival will bring together kid-friendly activities from slime-making and carnival games to archery, face painting, laser tag, a gaming trailer, and an Imagine Park obstacle course. There will also be food trucks and a pumpkin carving competition. The parade is free but certain festival activities are ticketed.
Halloween Craft Workshop & Scavenger Hunt and Six Feet Under Huguenot Street
October 25 at Historic Huguenot Street
Every autumn, Historic Huguenot Street invites visitors to a spooky, history-themed tour. This year, Six Feet Under Huguenot Street is a guided tour of the historic Old Huguenot Burying Ground on select evenings in October. Explore gravestones dating back to New Paltz’s earliest European settlers while learning about colonial and Victorian funeral practices, from “death biscuits” to changing burial traditions. Staff will highlight the evolution of gravestone design and what it reveals about settler life. This educational and engaging tour is appropriate for all ages. On Halloween weekend, Huguenot Street will also host a 10-acre scavenger hunt and crafts workshop for kids at 10am on October 25 and 4pm on October 26. Participating kids will paint a pumpkin, make their own monster mask, and create a hanging spider out of pipe cleaners and pony beads. Costumes welcome. Tickets available online.
New Paltz Halloween Parade
October 31 in the Village of New Paltz
The annual New Paltz Halloween parade begins at 6pm at the corner of Main Street and Manheim Boulevard in the heart of the village, and ends at the firehouse. For even more costume fun and treats, head over to Historic Huguenot Street with the kids from 3:30 to 5:30pm for trick or treating.
The House that Haunts You
October 31 at a private Woodstock residence
On Halloween night, October 31, artist James Marilyn will host The House That Haunts You, a one-night-only immersive experience in his Woodstock home and studio. Guests move through seven thresholds, encountering installations and rituals that transform the haunted house into a living archive where personal memory and collective myth converge. This event has limited capacity and time slots from 6 to10pm. RSVP online for this rare, intimate performance blending art, memory, and myth.
Robyn-o-Ween
October 31 at the Avalon Lounge
The Avalon Lounge in Catskill is known for throwing down. This Party Is Killing You!: The Robyn Party brings a costumed Halloween party to Avalon Lounge with a soundtrack of pure pop hits. The doors open at 9pm on October 31, and DJs Russ Marshalek, Marley Magaziner, and Chris Choyce will be spinning Robyn hits, deep cuts, remixes, and haunted femme-pop favorites. Expect euphoric cry-dancing, surprises, and multiple costume contests, with prizes for Robyn-inspired looks, pop diva tributes, and more. The party goes from 9pm-1am. Tickets $12.42 and available online.
Halloween Party at The Tin Barn
October 31 at the Tin Barn
Back by popular demand, DJ David from APB Entertainment will be spinning tunes at the Tin Barn in Clermont. Expect an unforgettable evening filled with dancing, eerie-themed cocktails, and a lively costume contest with a prize for the best outfit. Whether you go scary, hilarious, or wildly inventive, don’t hold back on your look. The event runs 6 to10pm and there will be a food truck onsite. Admission is $15.
Halloween Costume Brunch
November 1 at AOOA
If you love a costume but aren’t so much for the late-night, drunken party scene, this farm-to-table costume brunch might be the perfect option for you. Head to the regenerative All One One All Farm in Goshen for a peak-harvest season al fresco meal with the whole family. The prix-fixe menu includes a winter squash agridulce salad, pumpkin soup, venison medallions with foie gras and truffle sauce, and pumpkin cremeaux on ginger crumble. YUM. Who cares if it’s spooky if you’re eating this well? Tickets are $30-60 and reservations are required.
BOO Bitch: A Halloween F*ckin Rager
November 1
Welp, it’s all in a name. Local scene kids Molly Sterrs and Andy Monk present a Halloween blowout the night after All Hallows’ Eve— November 1, from 9pm to1am. With DJs Flared Bass and Chewy Sabbatical on deck, expect a night where the veil between living and dead, good and evil, sexy and grotesque blurs. A $100 costume contest prize is up for grabs, so bring your boldest, wildest, or weirdest look. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door.
Hallowed: A Day of the Dead Masquerade and Candle Lighting
November 1 at the Widow Jane Mine
Circle Creative Collective event invites the community to experience the true spirit of Halloween by celebrating the lives of those who have passed. The evening will include candle lighting, an ancestral community altar, and a spirit masquerade in the enchanting if eerie Widow Jane Mine in Rosendale. Participants will honor ancestors and loved ones at a time of year when the veil between worlds is believed to be thinnest. Inspired by global traditions such as Día de Muertos, Samhain, Giorno dei Morti, and All Souls’ Day, this gathering is a shared community creation. Attendees are encouraged to dress in tribute to someone they love. The event takes place from 5:30 to 8:30pm, and all ages are welcome. Tickets are $12-32.
Horror on the Hudson
November 7-9
Who says spooky season has to end on Halloween? Horror on the Hudson brings a weekend of thrills and chills to Bear Mountain Inn’s Overlook Lodge, November 7-9. This three-day celebration of horror fiction features bestselling authors, chilling discussions, and spine-tingling book launches in a fittingly atmospheric setting. Guests can hear bestselling author Christina Henry introduce her haunted house novel The Place Where They Buried Your Heart, alongside other voices in dark fiction. With its historic lodge backdrop, the event promises literary scares perfect for the Halloween season’s lingering shadows. There will be cocktail hours, shared brunch and dinners, readings, signings, a raffle, and a book swap.
