Top 20 Best Places to Celebrate Halloween in the US (+ Parties, Parades & Festivals)

Salem, Massachusetts, has to be right at the top of our list of the best places to visit for Halloween.

As you probably know, this town once hosted some of the most famous witch trials in history. Salem still leans into this part of history to this day (even outside of Halloween).

When Halloween rolls in, though, the entire town of Salem changes for the spookier. Parties and events galore, many of those that ‘celebrate’ the history of the town. 

From August onwards (we told you they take Halloween seriously), the town comes alive with spooky shenanigans.

Think scary circuses, ghost tours, events related to the witches, Vampire Balls (essentially dress up like a vampire and dance), and pumpkin picking events.

Everybody should go to Salem at least once in their life for Halloween. They won’t regret it.

Recommended tours:

September is when the ball really starts to roll on the St. Louis Halloween events. It all begins at Six Flags in St. Louis, which really goes all-out on the Halloween fun.

The amusement park transforms into a spooktacular, suitable for both kids and adults.

Although it is the early part of the day when the kids will be kept amused, and in the evening, all sorts of creepy monsters will start wandering the park looking for their next victim.

Away from Six Flags, you have the Eureka Fear Farm, which is 100 acres of trails through ‘haunted’ woods. Corn mazes, haunted hayrides, and demonic spirits are there to terrify you.

Head further into the city, and you have music events, major parties, attractions at the zoo, and more. This makes St. Louis one of the best places to go for Halloween.

New Orleans has a reputation for being one of the most haunted cities in the United States, and this is something that the city leans into heavily. It has always been a place of spookiness, ghosts, voodoo, and more.

As one of the best places to celebrate Halloween, New Orleans will have no shortage of events during the spooky season.

Think ghost tours through the French Quarter, voodoo shops where you can learn about this ancient practice, and walks through cemeteries lined with celebrities.

Oh, and New Orleans has some of the largest Halloween street parties in the US. If you want to join the fun, we're sure you'll have no trouble tracking down a costume or two from the stores to rock out.

Finally, New Orleans hosts the largest LGBTQ Halloween gatherings in the US, so if you're part of that community, it may be worth heading to the city.

Recommended tours:

You wouldn't think Dallas is one of the best cities to celebrate Halloween. It isn't a place that has really leaned into the creepy vibes. But trust us on this one; there are few places in the US that do Halloween better.

Dallas boasts some of the top haunted houses in the United States. In fact, one of them, The Boneyard, holds the record for the world's largest haunted house.

It is included in the Guinness Book of World Records and everything. It is insanely creepy and certainly not a place where the faint of heart should wander around.

If you are not a fan of haunted houses, then there are a few events at Dallas Zoo at the end of October, as well as movie nights on Main Street (Hocus Pocus in 2023), for those looking to keep the kids entertained.

The Dallas Arboretum will often have an event or two.

How many of you had Anoka as one of your choices of the best places to celebrate Halloween? Not many of you, right? Well, this is, without a doubt, one of the most important Halloween destinations in the world.

Do you know all of the jovial Halloween excitement that we have nowadays? You can thank Anoka in Minnesota for that.

It is the 'world's capital of Halloween' because it was Anoka that held the first proper Halloween parade and made Halloween into the more commercial event that we have today.

It is certainly not one of the spookiest places for Halloween, but if you are looking to get into the history of modern Halloween, then we don't think there is a better place in the US for that.

Plus, the fantastic parades held each year are incredible amounts of fun!

St. Helens is located about 45 minutes from Portland, and this is a place that goes all out for Halloween, and we mean all out.

Most of the Halloween attractions throughout the United States have opening hours. Not St. Helens. The entire town is converted to Halloween decor, and you can wander the haunted streets 24/7.

Interestingly, St. Helens started its haunted history fairly recently, and it isn't down to ghosts or anything like that.

Those that grew up in the 90s may remember a Disney movie called 'Halloweentown'. Well, St. Helens was converted over to Halloweentown for that movie, so the town decided to celebrate that every year.

Lots and lots of events happen on Halloween Night, and if you’re a fan of 90s ‘made for TV’ movies, then you’ll probably love St. Helens.

Atlanta, Georgia, is your typical Halloween City. We're talking haunted attractions, parades, costume shops, Halloween parties, and more.

However, there is one event that we really want to draw your attention to here. It is the Little 5 Points Halloween Parade…and is anything but little!

The Halloween Parade attracts around 35,000 people each year, making it one of the most-attended Halloween Parades in the United States and possibly the world. Music, costumes, and fun are the name of the game here.

If you're looking to have your socks scared off of you, you may want to head to the Netherworld Haunted House but bear in mind; it is creepy.

Really creepy. It is said to be the most immersive Halloween haunted house experience in the country, and it is. The costumes will terrify you. You really will feel like you're being chased by a demon.

Spooks and candy. Two of the things that people most associate with Halloween, right? Well, what if we told you that you could experience both at once in Seattle?

Seattle Chocolate offers a great experience and is one of the best Halloween events in the US, especially for children.

Every Halloween, Seattle Chocolate's Factory will transform into a spooky haunted house. If you can brave the 'terrifying' haunted chocolate factory, you'll get a delicious treat at the end of it.

If you want a scare while also exploring the history of Seattle, we suggest you keep an eye out for the Seattle Underground Tour.

You won't be going underground, don't worry! Instead, you'll be exploring the places with historical mob ties, e.g., the old speakeasies, gambling dens, and drug huts (none are active). Later in the evening, the tours will turn to ghost hunts instead!

You've probably heard of Sleepy Hollow. The town was the setting for a scary book and then a movie starring the terrifying Johnny Depp.

Fictional legend believes that Sleepy Hollow is haunted by the ghost of the headless horseman. A legend that the town clings to, making this the best place for Halloween in the USA if you want to experience a town that lives and dies by its spooky literary fame.

Street fairs, gothic mansions, parties, and more make Sleepy Hollow a tremendous place for Halloween as it is.

However, one of the more exciting things is the 10K Halloween Run (which is US famous), where people run, for charity, in their Halloween garb.

Do bear in mind that because this is one of America’s best places to celebrate Halloween, the events sell out quickly.

A lot of haunted houses are booked up a month or two in advance, so if you want to head to one of the best Halloween destinations in the US, then make sure that you book early.

Savannah is one of the oldest cities in the south of the United States, so it has always been a hotbed of ghost-hunting activity, and not just during Halloween.

It happens throughout the year. Although Savannah really cranks it up a notch during the spooky season.

If you’re a fan of alcohol, then there are haunted pub crawls. You’ll be tackling multiple spirits if you know what we mean! Perfect for adults that have all their Halloween gear ready to roll. 

If you're not drinking or have kids in tow, you'll want to check out the Ghosts and Gravestones tour. This spooky tour is ideal for those 6 years and up. You'll go through many of the haunted Savannah locations.

Other events include hearse tours and the historic 7 pm bike ride through Savannah (suitable for families).

Recommended tours:

• Savannah Dark History Tour
• Savannah Ghosts and Gravestones Tour with Low House Entry

Williamsburg has a reputation for being one of the most haunted locations in the United States, and there are plenty of pictures to prove it. Blurry pictures, mind you. A picture is a picture, though, right?

Williamsburg, Virginia, actually has the second oldest ghost tour in the United States, 'The Ghosts of Williamsburg', which manages to attract a lot of buzz around Halloween, and for good reason too.

It is scary! It isn't the only ghost tour happening in the town, either. You'll find plenty in the lead-up to Halloween. It is like the entire place just wants to show off how spooky it is!

Other events include movie nights, adult-only Rocky Horror Picture Show performances, events at Busch Gardens, and a whole lot more. Trust us; you are not going to be hurting for fun in Williamsburg.

Recommended tour: Williamsburg Haunted Ghosts, Witches, and Pirates Tour

Sin City never sleeps, and that is especially true when Halloween rolls around. Obviously, Las Vegas will be filled with the usual horrors of gambling, drinking, and $1 lobster deals. But, many of the places go all-in on the Halloween fun.

Expect costume parties, escape rooms, haunted houses, and more. There'll be a lot of parties, and many hotels & casinos will run special events for those in the mood for a dash of intense partying. They go on for a long while, and the events are ticketed.

You’ll also find some ghost tours and some mob attraction tours. After all, Las Vegas only got big because of the mob.

Chicago is fast becoming one of the best cities to celebrate Halloween, especially if you have a family in tow.

Many of the awesome Halloween activities that happen in the windy city are 100% free to attend, and most are suitable for children.

Chicago will be rife with Halloween parades, ghost tours, haunted museums, and more. If you are in Chicago for Halloween, then make sure that you head to the Navy Pier. You’ll always find one or two amazing activities to dabble in there.

One of our favorite events happens at the Chicago Botanical Gardens, where, every Halloween, the place is decorated with countless pumpkins, all lit up. It is better than looking at a Christmas tree!

Telluride is an old, Victorian mining town, and you know how the Victorians were when it came to creepy stores! They lived for them, so many legends have certainly grown up around Telluride.

One of the best events is the Halloween film festival (Telluride Horror Show), where new and classic horror movies are screened. You'll also find lamplight cemetery tours.

However, oddly, the most exciting part about Telluride isn’t the Halloween adventures.

It is that you are right there in the Rocky Mountains, and this is one of the best times of the year to hike if you want the changing colors of Fall.

Orlando is the theme park capital of the world, so it makes sense that this is one of America’s best places to celebrate Halloween.

All the theme parks will have some sort of Halloween event going on here.

If you’re in the mood for childish scares, then the best Halloween festivals in the US will happen in Disney World (mostly The Magic Kingdom), where Halloween Horror Nights (a separately ticked event) will have you wandering around in Halloween costumes while riding on Halloween-decorated Disney rides.

It is scary, but not so frightening for children.

If you're after the scariest stuff for adults, Universal Studios is where you need to head. Their haunted houses are absolutely terrifying once the night starts to roll in. We're getting shivers just thinking about it!

New Hope is another place that probably wouldn’t be on your list of the scariest Halloween cities in the US, and that’s fine. Sure, it isn’t as terrifying as some of the other places in the United States, but it has some unique events.

Think along the lines of murder mystery parties (in 2023, one of them is, strangely enough, focused on the Golden Girls), haunted hayrides, ghost tours, and more.

You'll also find a few adult trick-or-treating events around the winery, which, thankfully, will mostly be delicious alcoholic treats.

If you're in New Hope, you'll almost certainly want to take a cemetery tour when the Fall evening starts to set in.

It is crazy scary wandering around the spooky, old gravestones with nothing but lamplight to guide you. You can't help but think of those people buried there centuries ago.

As you can probably guess, Keene has a lot going on during Halloween. It is an American Halloween, after all.

However, the main reason people head to Keene for Halloween is the Keene Pumpkin Fest, where all the locals get to work carving out pumpkins and putting them on display.

There are many unique designs, and whenever we've been to Keene, we've really loved wandering through them.

There’ll be lots of events around the Keene Pumpkin Festival, including refreshments, costume parties, and more.

Romeo is a small town. It probably isn’t on that many people’s radars, but every Halloween, there is one event that seems to capture America; ‘Terror on Tillson Street’.

Terror on Tillson Street isn't a government-run event. Oh no. A long time ago, the residents of Tillson Street started to decorate their homes to keep the local children entertained.

This event continued expanding, and nowadays, the entirety of the Tillson Street neighborhood trims with some of the best residential Halloween decorations in the US.

Wander down Tillson Street in the last 2 weeks of October, and you’ll have fun. When Halloween rolls around, thousands and thousands of trick-or-treaters navigate the streets, so the candy starts to flow freely then!

Asheville is a city known for its art scene, and many of the top artists come out in full force when the Halloween season is upon us.

Asheville has many unique events, including glass-blown pumpkins in a pumpkin patch (it is picking your own!), Halloween meals and trivia, drag shows, and more.

If you're after the more standard Halloween experience, that's fine too! You have countless ghost tours, driving tours around the most-haunted Asheville locations, comedy shows, and murder mystery parties.

Honestly, for such a small place, you'll always find countless events to take part in. It is one of the reasons why Asheville is up there, with one of our favorite places to be.

As Independence is a large place, plenty is going on for Halloween, but we want you to pay special attention to the Neewollah Festival.

Started in 1919, it was originally designed as a festival to keep pranking Halloween children entertained, but now it has expanded into a massive amount of fun.

The 10-day festival includes countless parades, haunted shows, musicals, movie nights, marching bands, chili cookoffs, and more.

While it has expanded well beyond the original Halloween roots of the festival, it always has a spooky feel to it.