The best places to celebrate Halloween in the US

While a large portion of the world considers Halloween a celebration for kids, Americans of all ages take the holiday very seriously. Starting as early as September, cities begin hosting their favorite eerie events – and almost everyone takes part.

This haunted season across the USA, discover Halloween events that are equal parts charming and creepy. Here are some of our favorite places to celebrate all things ghostly, macabre and just plain fabulous.

Compare your pumpkin-carving skills to the thousands on display at the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, held near Sleepy Hollow each year. Bryan R. Smith/Getty Images

1. Sleepy Hollow, New York 

Best for bringing ghostly fiction to life

Penned by Washington Irving in 1820, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has permeated popular Halloween culture literally for centuries. Luckily for us, the Hudson Valley town at the center of the story is very real and comes alive for a month-long Halloween celebration. 

Take a tour of the historic cemetery by lantern light to learn about Irving and other notable citizens. If pumpkins are your thing, don’t miss the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, which features over 7000 carved gourds, the Museum of Pumpkin Art and even a pumpkin windmill. 

2. Salem, Massachusetts 

Best for learning the history of the witch trials

As the epicenter of the grim witch trials of the late 1600s, Salem, Massachusetts, sits at the heart of the country’s most visceral Halloween lore. Its heritage played a starring role in the Halloween classic Hocus Pocus, and its fame has led people from all over to make the pilgrimage to this haunted spot year-round. 

Visiting Salem during October, however, delivers a special type of energy as the town embraces the year’s biggest opportunity to delve into its history. Take a candle-lit haunted tour of the city; visit the Witch Trials Memorial and the Salem Witch Museum; dive into the world of the unknown at the Psychic Fair and Witchcraft Expo; and top it all off by attending the annual Witches Ball, a masquerade held at the historic Hawthorne Hotel.

Expect scary celebrations with all the flair of Mardi Gras at the Krewe of Boo! Halloween parade in New Orleans. Paul Broussard/Courtesy of Krewe of Boo!

Expect scary celebrations with all the flair of Mardi Gras at the Krewe of Boo! Halloween parade in New Orleans. Kathleen K. Parker/Shutterstock

3. New Orleans, Louisiana

Best for celebrating Halloween with a carnival atmosphere

New Orleans throws a party like nowhere else – and the enthusiasm is not limited to Mardi Gras in February. Many regard the city as one of the most haunted places in the country: ghost tours abound throughout the year, making Halloween a particularly important time here. Hit the French Quarter during October for a supernatural celebration called Krewe of BOO!, which brings Mardi Gras–esque flair to the scary season. 

The parade shows off what New Orleans does best, but with a ghoulish twist: think hand-crafted floats, costumed bands, dancers and even beads (locally sourced in an effort to be environmentally friendly).

Planning tip: Get in training and plan your trip to coincide with the annual Zombie Run (another Krewe of BOO! event), where zombies take to the streets like a scene out of World War Z. 

4. Rehoboth Beach, Delaware  

Best for frightening fun at the seaside

Not all witches dwell on land, it turns out. If your vibe skews nautical, don your seaweed and celebrate Halloween with your seafaring brethren at the Sea Witch Festival in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Festivities include Halloween staples like a parade and costume contest, but also ocean-inflected events like a haunted bonfire, coastal wildlife seminars, a trick-or-treat for kids on the beach, and a scavenger hunt for the sea witch herself. 

Head to New York in late October to witness the annual Halloween parade in Greenwich Village, New York. Andrea Renault/Getty Images

5. New York, New York

Best for fans of the Rocky Horror Picture Show

Head to any US city with an art-house movie theater in October, and you’ll find a live-action showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, complete with costumes, props, callbacks from the audience and a three-dimensional cast shadowing the on-screen antics.

This tradition began in New York City at the now-defunct Waverly Theater and continues today through the work of the NYC Rocky Horror troupe. Check their website to see where they’ll be doing the “Time Warp” next.

While you’re in town, don’t miss the famous Village Halloween Parade, famed for its creativity and sheer size. Watch (or join in) as giant puppets make their way through Greenwich Village, and costumed revelers jam to dozens of ambulatory bands playing music of all genres.

6. Los Angeles, California

Best for silver-screen spirits

Halloween is such a big deal in the US, thanks in part to the role Hollywood has played in delivering legendary monsters right into our living rooms. And Tinsel Town surely delivers some of the nation’s best Halloween experiences.

For large-scale haunts with major production value, don’t miss the Universal Studios Hollywood Horror Nights or Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary, a waterside haunt in Long Beach. Want a proper fright? Make a beeline to Knott’s Scary Farm for haunted mazes and Halloween-themed shows.

If you’re looking for something a bit more low-key, head over to the Hollywood Forever cemetery to catch a scary flick in atmospheric surroundings.

Once the location of the Disney movie ‘Halloweentown’, St Helens in Oregon continues to embrace its alter ego every year. Shutterstock/JasonRenfrow

7. St Helens, Oregon

Best for a family-friendly Halloween celebration

Disney’s wholesome movie Halloweentown was filmed here in the late 90s, and St Helens has really leaned into that legacy, making it a perfect kid-friendly spot for Halloween aficionados.

The Oregon town reinvents itself as Halloweentown every year and hosts its Spirit of Halloweentown festival, which features stage shows, a film-location walking tour and roaming performers. 

Planning tip: St Helens is only about 40 minutes outside of Portland, making it a convenient add-on to a Halloween city break. 

8. Nevada 

Best for a fright-filled road trip

We’re including the whole state for this one. Nevada’s old Gold Rush towns are full of haunted mines, hotels and saloons, and there’s no better way to get into the Halloween spirit than linking them together in an epic road trip. 

Potential stops include Virginia City, home to the haunted Silver Queen Hotel and Mackay Mansion; the underground tunnels of Eureka; the haunted Mizpah Hotel and the creepy Clown Motel in Tonopah; and the abandoned Goldfield Hotel in Goldfield, considered by some to be the gateway to Hell.

Are extraterrestrial frights more your speed? Take a spin down Nevada’s Extraterrestrial Highway for a journey that links together kitschy alien-themed stops and plenty of dark skies for UFO-spotting.

Planning tip: Stay in one of the aggressively-themed rooms at the Sunset View Inn for an extra dose of weird, but follow the instructions they leave on the bedside table and do not go searching for Area 51. Like, really, don’t do it. 

Terrifying real-life figures once occupied the cells at the now-abandoned Eastern State Penitentiary, Pennsylvania. windsketch/Shutterstock

9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Best for spine-tingling haunted house experiences

This historic city does Halloween big. Its claim to Halloween fame is the Halloween Nights event at Eastern State Penitentiary, the US’s largest haunted house, which takes place in the famous prison that locked away criminals including Al Capone and Willie Sutton. Continue with the prison theme at Pennhurst Asylum, which hosts a haunted house as well as paranormal tours. 

If you haven’t had enough ghosts, book one of the many paranormal tours that wander the city’s historic streets, and then grab a beverage at The Cauldron, which has Halloween vibes year-round.