These Halloween Celebrations Are Worth the Trip

by Noreen Kompanik
Last updated: 7:00 AM ET, Mon October 19, 2026

Salem has witches and witch-trial history. Sleepy Hollow has the Headless Horseman and New Orleans has ghosts and the Voodoo culture.

Halloween is more than just about costumes and candy—it’s a chance to experience the traditions, stories and celebrations that make communities unique. From legendary haunted towns and centuries-old folklore to spectacular parades, pumpkin displays and cultural celebrations, some destinations take Halloween to an entirely different level. Traveling for these traditions offers a chance to immerse yourself in the spirit of the season while discovering the history, character and local customs that make each celebration one of a kind.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Home to the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa, “America’s Most Haunted Hotel,” Eureka is known for its eerie architecture and cobblestone streets filled with mystery. Guests can stay at the hotel offering nightly and midnight tours of the hotel and the basement that was once the morgue. Many reported ghost sightings and paranormal activities during their visits and room 419 or “Theodora’s Room” has sightings of former cancer patients who died while under the care of Norman Baker, the fraudulent quack con man.

Eureka also offers two weekends (October 15-17 and 22-23), of ‘Voices from Eureka’s Silent City- Cemetery Tour’ led by local actors portraying notable figures from the town’s rich history and the Eureka Springs Zombie Crawl on October 24 with hundreds of participants dressed in ghoulish attire in this parade of the macabre.

Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts, Jonathan Corwin House

Salem, Massachusetts

The site of the historic 1692 witch trials, Salem is essentially one giant Halloween festival throughout October. The centerpiece is Haunted Happenings, the city’s month-long celebration. 2026 is especially significant as the New England town is commemorating its 400^th anniversary.

The official festival draws more than a million visitors during the season and includes parades, street fairs, theatrical performances, markets, parties and family activities. Halloween is also prime season for Salem ghost and haunted history tours including the popular Spellbound Tours focused on vampires, witch-trial history and paranormal stories. Visitors can also explore the Salem Witch House and Salem Witch Museum to understand the real happenings of 1692.

San Diego, California

This Southern California city is rich with spooky attractions, historic quarters, theme park scares and a huge variety of Halloween events. Old Town, San Diego’s oldest neighborhood provides an atmospheric backdrop for the holiday, with its historic adobe buildings, old cemeteries, ghost stories and evening tours.

Also in Old Town, the Whaley House has one of America’s most famously haunted buildings. The 1850s-era structure has long been associated with dark ghostly events with stories of footsteps, voices and unexplained phenomena. For teens and older adults, The Haunted Trail at Balboa Park turns the venue into a genuinely frightening experience, with dark trails, monsters and elaborate sets. Families can enjoy Halloween-themed entertainment and trick or treating at SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular and oceanfront Belmont Park offers an amusement area beside the Pacific filled with lots of rides, midway games, Halloween characters and fall food and beverage delights.

New Orleans, Louisiana

In the “Big Easy,” Halloween feels less like a single holiday and more like an extension of the city’s year-round relationship with its haunted buildings, restless spirits, vampire legends and tales of the supernatural. Add in New Orleans’ Voodoo with roots in Western African traditions, Haitian influences and Catholicism and its decrepit above-ground cemeteries and you have the ideal mix for a memorable Halloween.

The 2026 Krewe of BOO! Parade occurs the weekend before Halloween, attracting more than 100,000 people and VOODOOFEST happens on October 31 with educational events and cultural programming. Ghosts in the Oaks at City Park combines trick-or-treating, amusement-park rides and entertainment, while Boo at the Zoo provides another family-oriented option.

Sleepy Hollow, New York

One of the best Halloween destinations in the country, the Sleepy Hollow/Tarrytown region features “Halloween on the Hudson,” a celebration that isn’t manufactured over the holiday, but rather grew out of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Headless Horsemen is of no surprise the heart of the experience given that the 1820 short story put Sleepy Hollow on the literary map. During October, the village embraces its connection to Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horsemen.

Visitors can actually see places associated with the legend, including the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where Irving is buried. The month is packed with events, among the highlights, The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze where more than 7,000 hand-carved pumpkins illuminate the grounds of Van Cortlandt Manor. The village hosts a Haunted Hayride on October 16 that follows the route of Ichabod Crane’s flight away from the Headless Horseman. At Philipsburg Manor, guests can participate in a Halloween mystery involving a missing schoolmaster and four suspects, and seasonal tours include an after-dark cemetery lantern tour and others that explore murders, local legends and the areas connection to Irving.

Anoka, Minnesota

The claim of being the “Halloween Capital of the World” isn’t just a tourism slogan here, but a title that grew out of a community tradition more than a century ago. In 1920, Anoka residents were looking for a way to curb Halloween pranks that had become a problem. All aspects of the community united to organize a large celebration that included a costume parade, marching bands and treats for the children. The experiment worked and Anoka kept the tradition alive.

More than just putting up Halloween decorations, the holiday is part of the town’s civic identity. October events include the Light Up the Night Parade on October 17 followed by a traditional bonfire, the Grande Day Parade on October 24, Big Parade of Little People with local schoolchildren marching along historic Main Street, house decorating contests, giant pumpkins, scarecrows and elaborately carved pumpkins, all making Anoka a true “old-fashioned Halloween.”

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