chloedickensonLast Updated on 4th January 2026
This post about the best things to do on Halloween in New York City contains affiliate links.
Are you planning a trip to NYC for Halloween? This guide includes all the best things to do over the spooky season in New York City!
With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it was a good time to put together a huge NYC Halloween guide with all the best things to do in the city, as well as the best spooky season events happening throughout the city. I already have a complete guide to visiting NYC in October, but this guide is specifically for those spending Halloween in the city.
You’ll find everything you need to know about the world-famous NYC Village Halloween Parade, as well as plenty of other Halloween festivities and events for you to check out over the coming weeks!
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The best Halloween events in New York City
While New York City might be more famous for its Christmas festivities, the City That Never Sleeps also puts on a pretty spectacular show when it comes to all things spooky season! In my guide below, you’ll find everything you need to know about the best Halloween parties in New York City, the renowned New York Halloween Parade, as well as various other events such as the Bronx Zoo Harvest Glow, The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail, and much more!
NYC Village Halloween Parade
Undoubtedly the biggest and best Halloween event in NYC is the annual Village Halloween Parade which is hosted in Greenwich Village and welcomes more than 50,000 people each year, all dressed up in hundreds of scary, fun, and creative costumes.
It’s completely free to watch the parade, and you can even participate in it for free; the only catch is that you have to be dressed up! The parade begins at 7 PM and finishes at approximately 10 PM on October 31st; if you’re participating in the parade, you’ll begin at Canal St and 6th Avenue and conclude on East 15th Street and 6th Avenue.
If you want to watch the parade, you can do so on the East or West side of 6th Ave between King St and West 15th Street. You do not need to purchase a ticket to watch the parade as it is completely free to attend, but you can purchase “VIP” tickets if you want to watch from a more private viewing area; tickets for this start at $125pp and go up to $450pp, but I really don’t think it’s worth doing this!
If you are thinking of taking part in the NYC Halloween Parade, be sure to head to Spirit Halloween, Abracadabra, or Halloween Adventure Shop for your costume!
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail at NYBG
The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx is most notably famous for hosting the annual Holiday Train Show over the festive season, but the garden also hosts some incredible Halloween events and this year, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail is returning to the NYBG!
The light trail will run from the 25th of September until the 30th of November, so even if you’re not in New York City on Halloween itself, you still have over two months to enjoy this epic experience!
You will need to purchase a timed-entry ticket via the NYBG website; tickets start at $33 for kids aged 2-12 and $45 for people aged 13+, so it’s certainly not a cheap Halloween event in NYC, but it is very much a fun and festive way to partake in the Halloween spirit!
Bronx Zoo Harvest Glow
The Bronx Zoo is located within the same park as the New York Botanical Garden (approximately a 20-minute walk away), so if you really wanted to make a day of some of the best Halloween things to do in NYC, why not combine a visit to the Bronx Zoo Harvest Glow and The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail at the NYBG?!
This incredible Halloween event boasts an animal-themed illuminated trail with more than 5,000 jack o’ lanterns, a Dinosaur Safari lit up at night, as well as live pumpkin carving, a Wildlife Theater, and more, all for just one ticket price!
The Bronx Zoo Harvest Glow can be enjoyed from the 25th of September to the 31st of October on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. Tickets start at $24.95 for kids aged 3-12, and from $34.95 for ages 13+.
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze®
If you’re in New York City for a few days over Halloween, you may want to dedicate a day to getting out of the city, specifically to the Hudson Valley area of New York to experience The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze®, which is one of the biggest Halloween events in the tri-state area!
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze® features a remarkable display of more than 7,000 illuminated jack o’ lanterns, complete with a synchronised light and music show! There’s also fantastic pumpkin carving displays, a “Pumpkin Planetarium”, a 24-foot spider web, and so much more.
The event runs from the 12th of September to the 16th of November and you must purchase tickets online in advance; tickets start at $24pp. If you’re looking to get out of the city and experience a truly American Halloween, the Hudson Valley Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze® is one of the best places to be!
The best way to get to the Hudson Valley from Manhattan is to take an Amtrak train from Penn Station to Croton-Harmon which takes around 1 hour, with prices starting at around $20pp for a return journey. You can plan your complete journey on the Amtrak website.
Best things to do on Halloween in New York City
Madame Morbid’s Trolley Tours
Madame Morbid’s Trolley Tours is one of the best things to do on Halloween in NYC if you want to avoid the chaotic streets once the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade commences, as the tours take place across various historic neighbourhoods of Brooklyn, such as Park Slope, Williamsburg, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Bridge, and Prospect Park.
On the tour, you’ll hear gruesome stories based on both folklore and legend, and learn about some truly spooky happenings in the New York City borough! While the tour obviously has a “spooky” vibe to it, they actually claim to be family-friendly, as the stories and experiences are more fun and silly, rather than downright horrifying! Ages 13 and above would probably be the most suitable age range for Madame Morbid’s Trolley Tours.
Tours are available Wednesday through Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday) and start at $69pp. The tours begin at 7 PM or 9 PM on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and at 4 PM, 7 PM, and 9 PM on Saturday and Sunday, and last for approximately 90 minutes.
Experience BloodManor
BloodManor is renowned for being one of New York City’s most iconic haunted house attractions, and if you’re a fan of the truly terrifying on Halloween, a visit to BloodManor is sure to get your heart racing!
The history of BloodManor alone is absolutely fascinating (albeit pretty frightening), but I won’t go into too much detail, as it’s much more fun to experience it for yourself. BloodManor is open on select days throughout October (including Halloween itself), so be sure to check out their website for full booking details and to purchase tickets in advance (prices start at $50pp).
It is a pretty petrifying experience, so it’s not recommended for children under 14, although even grown adults will find the whole thing truly terrifying! The BloodManor haunted house experience lasts for around 30 minutes (although they claim just 20 minutes if you run through it all in fear!).
Greenwich Village Ghost Tour
The Greenwich Village Ghost Tours can actually be experienced all year-round in NYC, but there’s no better time to take part in a walking haunted tour of the neighbourhood than over the Halloween holiday.
This particular tour takes you on a 2-hour exploration of Greenwich Village’s most haunted spots, including the Murder House, the Hanging Tree, the Church of the Ascension, and even Washington Square Park!
The tour starts at $39pp and operates every day throughout October, so it’s the perfect activity to get you into the festive spooky mood!
Go trick-or-treating on Halloween in New York City
If you’re visiting NYC over Halloween with kids in tow, you’ll likely want to experience the fun and festivities of trick-or-treating and thankfully, there are numerous NYC neighbourhoods that are perfect for this particular Halloween tradition.
The Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, and Park Slope in Brooklyn are all excellent places to go trick-or-treating with kids in NYC.
Visit Sleepy Hollow
The villages of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown in Westchester County, New York are famous for being some of the best Halloween-themed places in the US, largely thanks to their connection to the Headless Horseman legend!
The best and easiest way to get to Sleepy Hollow/Tarrytown from NYC is to take the express Metro-North Railroad—Hudson line from Grand Central Station to Philipse Manor station, which takes around 1 hour.
Once you’re in Sleepy Hollow, you can take a haunted hayride, visit various farmers markets, go on a cemetery tour, watch the Tarrytown Halloween parade, experience The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze®, and much more!
Head to Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is located in Brooklyn, approximately 45-minutes via subway from Grand Central Terminal and it’s one of the most famous cemeteries in the USA, as it’s the resting place of many notable figures, such as Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ebbets, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and more.
While a trip to the cemetery might not be considered the most fun activity to enjoy in New York City, it is certainly very on-theme if you’re experiencing Halloween in NYC, and as Green-Wood Cemetery is one of the largest and most beautiful cemeteries in New York, it might be worth a visit over the Halloween season!
The best Halloween themed bars/restaurants in NYC
Beetle House
Beetle House is located in the East Village and is arguably the best Halloween restaurant in New York City.
The Tim Burtonesque aspect of the restaurant really shines through all year-round, but it’s arguably best experienced over the Halloween season when the restaurant really goes above and beyond with its spooky decorations and fancy themed menus.
They offer both an à la carte dining menu, as well as their “Poltergeist Feast” menu from $65pp which consists of a three-course menu with one appetiser, one main course, and one dessert per person. It’s a good idea to make a reservation online in advance, especially if you want to dine on Halloween night itself, or indeed anytime around the holiday.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde is a world-famous dining establishment in New York City and it’s known for its lavish holiday displays throughout the year (most notably at Christmas time, but it puts on an excellent show for Halloween, too!).
With extravagant decor such as floating clowns, giant spiderwebs, spooky skeletons, and creepy circus-themed decorations, Oscar Wilde really do go all out for the Halloween season.
It’s a good idea to book a table online in advance at Oscar Wilde, and you can do so up to 30 days in advance (so if you want to dine there on Halloween night, be sure to grab a table as soon as it becomes available to book at the beginning of October!).
Lillie’s Victorian Establishment
Lillie’s Victorian Establishment is another spot that’s renowned for going crazy with holiday decorations throughout the year, and their Halloween decorations are no different.
Halloween at Lillie’s features terrifying clowns, creepy skeletons, and overall spooky decor! I’d recommend booking a table in advance at Lillie’s to avoid disappointment.
Fraunces Tavern
Fraunces Tavern is renowned for being one of the oldest bars in New York City, and it also claims to be one of the most haunted, too! With ancient decorum and creaky floorboards, Fraunces Tavern in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan is a must-visit if you’re heading to New York over Halloween!
It’s not necessarily the most over-the-top Halloween-themed place in NYC, but this ancient establishment certainly gives off enough creepy vibes! It’s not essential to pre-book Fraunces Tavern in advance, but if you want to guarantee a reservation there over Halloween, it might be a good idea to book a table online.
Loreley’s Haunted Beer Garden
Loreley Beer Garden is a lively tavern that is known for its German fare and fun beer garden vibes, but from the 16th of October to the 3rd of November, it’s transforming into a “haunted beer garden” where you can enjoy Halloween-themed specialty cocktails, pumpkin kegs tapped with pumpkin beer, pumpkin spiced hot and cold beverages, and much more!
It’s free to enter Loreley Beer Garden and there’s no cover charge, but it is a good idea to reserve a spot online in advance to guarantee a seat.
Conclusion – how to spend Halloween in New York City
I hope you found this Halloween NYC guide useful and I hope it helps you plan your very own spooky trip to New York! There are so many awesome things to see and do in NYC on Halloween; if you miss anything, you’ll just have to go back and do it all over again next year!
Read more: Thanksgiving in New York City
Pin for later – Halloween in New York City
Is there anything else you’d add to this list of the best Halloween events and things to do in NYC? Let me know in the comments or in my New York Facebook Group!
