🎃 October 2025 Halloween Guide | Pumpkin Giants, Lantern Trails & Haunted Cities

Jack O’Lantern Spectacular, Iroquois Park, Louisville KY

October in the U.S. is more than costumes—it’s a month-long love affair with glow, lore, and community. This guide zeroes in on the experiences that define the season: the pumpkin giants that crash records at weigh-offs and anchor small-town harvest festivals; the lantern trails where thousands of hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns turn parks and riverfronts into living art; the parades & theme-park takeovers that range from whimsical daytime spectacles to full-throttle after-dark haunts; and the spookiest cities whose legends are best told by candlelight. We’ve also sprinkled in decor-obsessed blocks where neighborhoods transform their stoops into theatrical sets—proof that Halloween magic doesn’t just happen in attractions; it happens on front steps, too.

Think of this as your curated October roadmap. The Pumpkin Giants block tips you to the can’t-miss weigh-offs and festivals where titans hit the scale and downtowns smell like cider and cinnamon. The Lantern Trails section is all eye-candy—arches, creatures, and sky-high displays built from thousands of glowing pumpkins (perfect for photos and family nights). With Parades & Theme Parks, we cover both ends of the vibe: kid-friendly afternoons with candy trails and craft stations, and ultra-immersive nights with cinematic sets and headline haunted houses. Then we steer you to the Spookiest Cities—places where history and haunting overlap—and finally to the Decor Blocks that locals turn into must-walk corridors every Halloween.

We also spotlight America’s longest-running traditions right alongside brand-new debuts for this year—because October is about honoring what’s beloved and discovering what’s next. Whether you are road-tripping for a bucket-list parade, plotting a pumpkin-lit evening closer to home, or scouting neighborhoods that go all-out with front-yard theater, this list gives you a little of everything: cozy, clever, eerie, and epic.

Ready to plan? Start with the can’t-miss picks below, then dive into Pumpkin Giants → Lantern Trails → Parades & Theme Parks → Spookiest Cities & Decor Blocks. Pick one, pick three, or build a full month around them—either way, you’ll feel that unmistakable October glow.

If you only hit a few, make them these:

• Salem, MA — Haunted Happenings (all October): the country’s most concentrated month-long Halloween takeover—parades, markets, tours, and a packed daily calendar. The 2025 guide and events listings are live, and everything sells out fast. Haunted Happenings+2Haunted Happenings+2

• NYC Village Halloween Parade (Fri, Oct 31, 7 pm): the nation’s most famous costumed street spectacle—tens of thousands marching through Greenwich Village with this year’s theme “Imagine! ALL the People.” Halloween NYC+2Halloween NYC+2

• Half Moon Bay, CA — Pumpkin Week & Festival: watch giants tip the scale at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off (Mon, Oct 13), then celebrate at the 53rd Art & Pumpkin Festival (Oct 18–19). One of America’s longest-running harvest parties—with a $9/lb top prize and a standing $30k bounty for a world record. hmbweighoff.com+3hmbweighoff.com+3Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Fest+3

🧡 Pumpkin Giants (for the awe factor)

• Circleville, OH — Pumpkin Show (Oct 15–18): four days of pumpkin-everything in the self-proclaimed “Greatest Free Show on Earth.” hmbweighoff.com+1

• Laconia, NH — Pumpkin Festival (Sat, Oct 25): New Hampshire’s tower-of-jack-o’-lanterns tradition returns. jackolanterns.com

• Dallas, TX — Arboretum’s Pumpkin Village (through Oct): 100k+ pumpkins, gourds, and squash arranged into whimsical sets (this year’s build is bigger than ever). Universal Orlando Resort

• Morton, IL — Pumpkin Capital Festival (Sep 10–13): deep-roots pumpkin pride in the Libby’s hometown. Jersey Shore Online

🔥 Lantern Trails (thousands of glowing jack-o’-lanterns)

• The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, NY (Sep 12–Nov 16): Sleepy Hollow Country’s iconic walk-through—new 2025 displays and weekly Pumpkin Promenade themes. Visit Sleepy Hollow+1

• Jack O’Lantern Spectacular Louisville, KY (Oct 2–Nov 2): 5,000+ carved pumpkins along a forested trail in Iroquois Park—nightly through early November. Jack O'Lantern Spectacular+2iroquoisamphitheater.com+2

• RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns, Long Island (Oct 3–Nov 1): over 10,000 illuminated objects (7,000 hand-carved pumpkins) on 21 select nights. jackolanterns.com

• Pumpkin Nights Dallas–Fort Worth, TX (Sep 18–Oct 31): a no-gore, art-first trail with 7,500+ sculpted pumpkins and hourly fire shows. pumpkinnights.com+1

• Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns (Denver & L.A.): expanded Denver trail for 2025 and an L.A. run with low-sensory nights on select dates. Magic of the Jack O' Lanterns+1

🥁 Parades & Theme Parks (from whimsical to wild)

• Krewe of BOO!, New Orleans (Sat, Oct 25): the city’s official Halloween parade—Mardi Gras-grade floats by Kern Studios roll at sunset through the French Quarter/Warehouse District. New Orleans

• Toms River, NJ Halloween Parade (Fri, Oct 31, 7 pm): one of the East Coast’s largest community parades—Main Street packs out. Jersey Shore Online+1

• Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights (Orlando & Hollywood): select nights Aug 29–Nov 2 with “Jason Universe” debuting in 2025—a brand-new, headline house announced this summer. Universal Orlando Resort+2Universal Orlando Resort+2

• Knott’s Berry Farm (Buena Park, CA): daytime Spooky Farm (Sep 25–Oct 31; Thu–Sun + Oct 13) flips after dark into Scary Farm. Two vibes, one park. Buena Park

• Eastern State Penitentiary “Halloween Nights,” Philadelphia (Sep 19–Nov 8): a 19th-century prison turned immersive haunt, with new 2025 experiences layered onto its massive footprint. Eastern State Penn+1

👻 Spookiest Cities & Over-the-Top Decor Blocks

• Savannah, GA: “America’s Most Haunted City” stakes its claim with stacked nightly ghost-tour schedules and storied haunts (try the Olde Pink House between tours). Ghost City Tours+1

• Sleepy Hollow/Tarrytown, NY: candlelit cemetery lantern tours run many nights in October—pure Headless Horseman energy in Hudson Valley. Visit Sleepy Hollow+1

• Gettysburg, PA: battle-tested lore with tours that take you inside historic buildings; calendars run nightly through Oct 31. Gettysburg Battlefield Tours+1

• St. Augustine, FL: the Lighthouse’s “Dark of the Moon” experiences and city ghost walks ramp up each fall, often including Halloween night. Visit St. Augustine

• Kenova, WV — Griffith Pumpkin House: a single home glowing with ~3,000 jack-o’-lanterns during C-K AutumnFest (Oct 18–31); small town, giant spectacle. CK Autumn Fest

• NYC’s Decor Blocks: West 69th Street (Upper West Side) has staged Halloween since 1971 and still turns its brownstones into a theatrical walkthrough. iLovetheUpperWestSide.com

Longest traditions, newest surprises

• Oldest vibes: Half Moon Bay’s weigh-off started in the 1970s and is now the sport’s gold standard; West 69th’s street tradition dates to 1971; Salem’s October has grown into a citywide ritual. Axios+2iLovetheUpperWestSide.com+2

• Brand-new for 2025: “Jason Universe” headlines HHN for the first time—an all-new house announced June 13 and now the season’s buzz magnet. People.com

  
  

  Photo: Lou Oms — Jack O’Lantern Spectacular, Iroquois Park, Louisville (2013) — licensed under CC BY 2.0.