Happy Halloween!
/Halloween is the BEST! I love the spooky vibes. I love the pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns. I love watching my kids go nuts for fun sized candy bars. Halloween is SUCH a fun holiday and it should be celebrated ALL October long.
Here are a whole bunch of ways to have a Spooktacular Halloween season!
IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY
Be Dazzled By The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze
Croton-on-Hudson, NY, Select nights through November 17th Old Bethpage, NY, Select nights October 4th through November 3rd
Once again Croton-on-Hudson’s Van Cortlandt Manor has been transformed into a stunning Jack-O-Lantern Wonderland called the Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze. Long Islanders are similarly in luck because the Blaze has also returned to Old Bethpage Village! The Blaze is celebrating it's 20th year in Westchester this year with a giant birthday cake and celebration arch!
The Blaze is so pretty and magical - everyone from the youngest to the oldest in your group will be blown away by its magic. Visitors walk along a path filled with thousands of carved, lit up pumpkins in all kinds of gorgeous shapes and arrangements, while spooky music plays in the background. For those with babies, it’s best to leave your stroller at home and instead use a baby carrier for purposes of navigating the darkened path.
The event is very popular and tickets go quickly, especially for earlier evening slots. Tickets are available now for both locations and NO tickets will be available for purchase at the event. The Blaze now offers a Flex ticket option, allowing guests to go any night of the run (even sold out night) and other treats.
sleepy hollow gets spooky all month long!
Tarrytown, NY and Sleepy Hollow, NY
Sleepy Hollow comes ALIVE for Halloween. This is Ground Zero for Halloween in our area. There is SO much to do, beginning with these three events, also put on by Hudson Valley Happenings, occurring on weekend evenings through November 3rd:
In Tarrytown, NY experience Irving’s “Legend,” where master storyteller Jonathan Kruk does a dramatic performance of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow outdoors for all ages.
If you have older kids (age 10+), give Sleepy Hollow’s Spirits of Sleepy Hollow Country a try. Here, master illusionists will journey into the realm of the unknown at this spooky supernatural spectacle.
And NEW for 2024 is Sleepy Hollow’s Twilight Village, a night of folklore, fortune and festivities. At Twilight Village, guests will discover delightful and mysterious creatures who will tell their fortune, croon creepy tunes, and tell tall-ish tales of legends and lore. Shop for super Sleepy Hollow swag at the Halloween night market and enjoy cocktails, mocktails and tasty snacks.
Still wanting more? Sleepy Hollow spookiness continues with these Halloween events:
Sunday, October 13th (rain date October 20th) join the witches of Rivertown SUP and Yoga for the SUP Witches Festival, an annual costume paddle on the Hudson River along the Sleepy Hollow Shoreline!
If you prefer your spooks by candlelight, visit Tarrytown’s Lyndhurst Mansion After Dark. During the last two weekends of October, guests can experience the history of the Lyndhurst Mansion and explore Victorian lore in the glow of an October evening. Timed entry into the Mansion allows visitors to experience the house as it is decorated in the spirit of the season, with special collections and items on display relating to the superstitions of the age. This experience through the Mansion will discuss the slightly darker side of history through those who lived at Lyndhurst and therefore is suggested for children age 10+.
While Sleepy Hollow’s super popular Haunted Hayrides are sold out (TBD if more tickets become available day of), the town’s Block Parties, beginning at 5pm on Beekman Avenue on Friday, October 18th and Saturday, October 19th are free for all to join and should be a blast!
Buy at ticket for one of the regularly scheduled tours in Sleepy Hollow's 175-year-old cemetery to learn more about the location, the Legend of Sleepy Hollow's writer, Washington Irving, and the cemetery and its residents. Evening Lantern Tours offer a different view of the town and its historic cemetery.
If cruising around a cemetery is too spooky, consider instead Ghost Tours of the Music Hall, hosted by master storyteller Jonathan Kruk at The Tarrytown Music Hall, an 1880's-era functioning music and performance venue that's open year-round for visitors.
End the Spooky Season with the Annual Tarrytown Halloween Parade on Saturday, October 26th. Over 10,000 spectators descend on Broadway in Tarrytown to watch this Best of Westchester annual parade. It’s tons of fun and lots of folks. Travel by Metro North is recommended.
take your big kids to aN ABANDONED kmart
Yorktown Heights, NY Weekends in October
Attention Shoppers! Scared By the Sound Haunted House is back for 2024 in Yorktown Heights - an abandoned Uncle G’s Market in Yorktown Heights, to be specific. This is a walk through indoor haunted house comprised of scenes “designed to bring you face to face with your worst fears and phobias.” There is no contact with the actors here but do expect some jump scares. Best suited for kids 10+.
visit a spooky mansion ravished by flames
New Rochelle, NY Weekends in October
Another creepy walk through experience recommended for kids age 10 and up. But this time, the Haunt at Wildcliff Mansion takes place on the grounds of an ACTUAL abandoned mansion. Built back in 1856, Wildcliff Mansion burned down in a fire in 2018 and has since been awaiting a revitalization. Until then, the grounds make for a perfect, mostly outdoor, incredibly scary haunted experience.
IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY
paint a pumpkin at sam bridge nursery
Greenwich, CT All Saturdays in October
Sam Bridge is a lovely family owned nursery in Mid-Country Greenwich. Every fall the season is celebrated with free Friday and Saturday hayrides to the nursery’s pumpkin patch and on Saturdays in October, kids can paint a pumpkin to take home with them.
book a trip to blood manor in stamford - NEW For ‘24!
Stamford, CT Weekends through November 9th
NYC’s Blood Manor has opened in Stamford and I’m plain petrified. A first class haunted house attraction comprised of approximately 10,000 square feet of themed rooms, corridors, and a labyrinth of passageways designed to to maximize ones fears, Blood Manor is not for the faint of heart. It’s also not for children under age 14. Visit if you dare on select Thursday through Sunday evenings in October and early November.
visit ARCH IN BLOOM for pumpkins and pints
Greenwich, CT Saturday, October 12th
My FAVORITE event of the season! Arch In Bloom is a beautiful family owned nursery and landscaping shop in Western Greenwich. The owner always takes great care to decorate the shop and nursery and Halloween is no exception. Visit anytime in October for your chance to meet Arch In Bloom’s humongous skeleton friend and gawk at the other spine-chilling displays on view, including a NEW haunted house attraction. But DO try to come by for the Pumpkins & Pints event on the 12th, featuring live music, drinks, food and a costume contest. We’ve gone the last two years and had a fabOOlous time.
deal with the aftermath of a meteor crash at lachat town farm
Weston, CT October 18-20 and 25-27
Westport’s Lachat Town Farm is excited to present METEOR, an immersive Halloween experience recommended for kids age 12 and up. During this 45 minute walking experience, guests will be greeted by live actors, horrific scenes, and chilling surprises as they investigate a mysterious meteor crash that transforms the farm into a frightening, otherworldly adventure.
IN NEW YORK CITY
JIMMY FALLON’S TONIGHTMARES- NEW For ‘24!
Manhattan, NY Daily in October except Mondays
An all new haunted maze experience presented by…Jimmy Fallon!? Tonightmares at Rockefeller Center includes ten spine-chilling rooms that aim to bring Jimmy’s worst nightmares to life. Packed with sinister characters and scares, Tonightmares is intense and recommended only for kids age 13 and older. Visit if you dare evenings in October!
GO BOO AT THE BRONX ZOO!
Bronx, NY Saturdays and Sundays in October
The Bronx Zoo is always a wonderful visit (we are SO lucky it’s nearby) but visiting for its adorable Boo at the Zoo event is a seasonal must do.
In addition to the usual zoo activities, Boo at the Zoo offers extra fun family friendly Halloween stuff like haunted pirate hayrides, magic shows, an extinct animal graveyard, arts and crafts and costume parades!
Read all about our past visit HERE. This year, tickets MUST be purchased in advance. PS Don’t forget to parlay your visit with a delicious meal in nearby Arthur Avenue.
celebrate fall-o-ween at the new york BOTANICAL garden
Bronx, NY Daily through November 12th
Make NYBG your pumpkin headquarters this fall! The tricks and treats of the season come to life with plentiful pumpkins, gourds, and ghouls—and all sorts of fun-filled activities to celebrate this season of frights and foliage! Day or night, there’s something for everyone as we offer special weekends of pumpkin parades and pumpkin carving face-offs, as well as the return of our popular beer sampling weekend, Bales & Ales! Evening events give kids (and adults!) the chance to show off their Halloween costumes in New York City’s most beautiful landscape, while you can savor the flavors of the season with artisan demos, food and drink talks, and so much more as autumn in the Bronx brings vibrant color to your backyard.
While you’re there, don’t miss your opportunity to capture picture-perfect fall photos at the Reflecting Pool and on the adjacent lawn, where you’ll find hundreds of pumpkins and gourds of all shapes, sizes, and colors!
Get spooky in bayside
Bayside, NY Daily in October
A pair of houses in Bayside Queens absolutely SLAYS Halloween each year with their incredibly detailed and spooky decorations. Come at dusk to really see everything lit up and in action. The houses really are a SIGHT. Address is 53-48 214th Street in Bayside.
PLUS SOME SCARY AMUSTMENT PARK MAKEOVERS!
Luna Park
Coney Island, Brooklyn Weekends in October
You’ve got to hit the famous Coney Island Boardwalk at least once and why not do it in October for Luna Park’s 11th Annual Halloween Harvest. Included in the amusement park’s regular admission, guests will be able to partake in many Halloween themed activities such as pumpkin decorating, balloon twisting, face painting, tractor racing and trick or treating. The Park’s decor and food offerings also get fall festive for the season.
LEGOLAND
Goshen, NY Weekends in October
LEGOLAND in Upstate New York is really cute, particularly for the younger kiddies. Now through the end of the October, the Park is offering its annual Brick-or-Treat Event included with admission. Guests will bewitched by Legoland’s signature Halloween event, which includes lots of candy, themed shows and exclusive new LEGO characters.
AND ONE PERMANENTLY SPOOKY LI RESTAURANT
The Haunted House of Hamburgers
Farmingdale, NY Permanent!
The Haunted House of Hamburgers remains Halloween ready all year round. So if you need to scratch a spooky itch in July, it’s always here for you. But September and October, as you can imagine, are VERY busy months for the restaurant. Make your reservation as fast as you can. The space is pretty awesome (the food less so).
This post updates the 2023 Halloween post.
