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Luna Park at Coney Island Halloween Harvest
Photograph: Courtesy of Luna Park at Coney Island

The best Halloween events for 2022 in NYC

Check out the spookiest and coolest Halloween events NYC has ever seen including parties, parades, and haunted houses

Shaye Weaver
Rossilynne Skena Culgan
Written by
Shaye Weaver
&
Rossilynne Skena Culgan
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We're throwing the spookiness into high gear with events for Halloween in NYC. October is filled with costumed parties, jump scares at haunted houses, corn mazes and parades — and we're ready! Don't bother breaking out your sewing kit, New York's greatest Halloween stores have plenty of options to make you look really spooky. Make sure to check out our NYC events in October too for even more activities to finish off the month in killer spirits. 

Bookmark this link because we'll be updating this guide all month long.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Halloween in NYC

Halloween events 2022

  • Things to do
  • Festivals

The Village Halloween Parade—NYC’s creative and spooky procession—is one of the best Halloween events in Greenwich Village and it's coming back this year on Halloween, Monday, October 31. Each year, more than 50,000 zombies, ghouls, witches, monsters, robots, Jedis, giant puppets and more things that go bump in the night take to the streets for a night of costumed revelry that you won't want to miss. 

  • Things to do

Autumn is the time to pick two of the season’s most emblematic fruits: apples and pumpkins. Fortunately there are some fantastic farms where you can go apple and pumpkin picking near NYC. These farms and orchards will get you into that fuzzy fall feeling in no time.

There’s nothing quite like taking a bite out of a crisp apple straight from the tree (even better, taking home a basketful for making pie), and your Halloween pumpkin will be that much more special when you pick it right off the vine. You’ll find a wide variety of apples and pumpkins at these farms, plus fun activities like hayrides, corn mazes and petting zoos. Don’t miss hot apple cider and other fresh-made treats at the farmstand. 

For pumpkins in particular, check out Hank's PumpkinTown in the Hamptons with plenty of pumpkin picking plus three (!!!) corn mazes.

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  • Things to do
  • Weird & Wonderful
Thousands of stories lie beneath the grounds at the historic Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, and this season, those tales are coming back to life through a variety of tours. Tours highlight everything from the cemetery’s Egypt-inspired art to fall foliage to tales of murder, mayhem, spirits, and the utterly bizarre. If you dare, there are also midnight and after-hours tours where you can explore the grounds after dark.
  • Art
  • Art

Forget seasonal tales of ghosts and goblins. One of the most terrifying stories in American history is on display right now at New-York Historical Society—and it's completely true.

In just one year from 1692 to 1693, more than 200 residents of Salem, Massachusetts, were accused of witchcraft, leading to the executions of 20 people—most of them women. Now 330 years later, the echoes of those horrific events still resonate. A new exhibition called “The Salem Witch Trials: Reckoning and Reclaiming" gives new meaning to the famous trials through a contemporary lens by examining how mass hysteria can lead to fatal injustice.

In addition to the exhibit itself, don't miss a special Historical Hallowe’en event on Sunday, October 30.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals
A free pumpkin patch is making its return on the 172-acre Governors Island this fall. Pumpkin Point will debut on October 22, offering visitors the chance to choose their own pumpkin for free with a suggested donation. From 10am through 5pm on October 22, 23, 29 and 30, folks will get to browse through 1,000 different pumpkins of all sorts throughout Nolan Park. All leftover fruits will be composted on the island itself or donated to local organizations that aim to fight hunger. Plus, don’t miss pumpkin painting, craft sessions, magic shows, drag story hours, and trick-or-treating.
  • Things to do
  • City Life

Picking the perfect pumpkin is a rite of passage for many New Yorkers every autumn, but this year, you don't have to go far to to get into the fall spirit. For the first time, Greg's Great Pumpkin Patch is popping up in Domino Park with some 4,000 pumpkins in all shapes and sizes, plus lots of fall festivities.

In addition to the rows upon rows of pumpkins, each one carefully stacked onto hay bales, you can also have some harvest-themed fun with photo opps and a hay maze. 

Find Greg's Great Pumpkin Patch at Domino Park (South 1st Street and River Street) through Halloween, open from 9am-9pm daily (and often until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays). 

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

A favorite during the warmer summer months, the iconic Luna Park at Coney Island has turned into the ideal cold-weather destination this month as well.

Now through October 30, fun roller coasters, trick-or-treating sessions, tractor racing opportunities, balloon twisting fun, seasonal decorating stations and giant pumpkins will take over Luna Park's Halloween Harvest events. Dining destinations on site are serving delicacies like apple fries, pumpkin spiced funnel cake, Halloween-themed cotton candy, pumpkin spiced fried Oreos candy apples and more. 

  • Things to do
  • Weird & Wonderful
Add this one to your fall bucket list: Get into the fall spirit by seeing if you can navigate this three-acre corn maze at a farm in Queens. Called The Amazing Maize Maze, this plant puzzle at the Queens County Farm Museum lives up to the hype. This year, the maze pays homage to Georgia O’Keeffe’s iconic “Ram’s Head, Blue Morning Glory” painting, and it was developed in collaboration with Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. The maze is open on Fridays (noon-4:30pm), Saturdays (11am-4:30pm), and Sundays (11am-4:30pm) from September 16 through October 29. It’s also open Monday, October 10 (11am- 4:30pm). Pricing is $12 for adults and $8 for kids.
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  • Things to do
  • City Life
From September 30 to October 31, Los Angeles’ beloved Haunt O’ Ween will finally pop up on the East Coast in Holmdel, New Jersey—an hour’s drive from NYC. Haunt O’ Ween gives similar spooky but quirky, family-friendly vibes with around-the-clock trick-or-treating, a carnival with rides and face painting, and a walkthrough and tunnel of glowing jack o’lanterns, including nine “worlds” you can explore across 200,000 square feet. Of course, there is a pumpkin patch perfect for picking out your gourd and a carving station where you can bring it to life with a design. There will also be a DIY Potion Bar at “Moonlight Magic,” Dance Domes in a “Beyond The Grave Rave.”
  • Things to do
  • Weird & Wonderful

Ulster Park's Headless Horseman Haunted Hayrides and Haunted Houses is replacing its hayrides with a haunted walk called "The Haunting of Pumpkin Jack" that'll give New Yorkers an opportunity to slowly pass the creepy crawly things in the darkness and see the headless horseman himself.

"Are you brave enough to walk into the darkness of the Horseman's trail to find Pumpkin Jack and come face to face with the Headless Horseman? It can be done, but can you do it? How fast can you walk? Will the Horseman catch you? Some questions can't be answered until you Walk the dark trail!"

The experience is not kid-friendly, so no one's surprised.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals
The Museum of Ice Cream has been transformed for the season into the Museum of I-Scream (ha!)  Among the various sweet creations on offer will be candy corn popsicles, hard scoops with honey toppings and delicacies from an ice cream "grave" station. We're not entirely sure what that means but we are confident it will consist of some spookily delicious yumminess. Go feel the sugar rush through October 31.
  • Things to do
  • Weird & Wonderful

Hotels these days offer all kinds of quirky amenities, like in-room beer taps, customized aromatherapy, and record players with vinyl, but this new offering from The James New York - NoMad turns the typical cultural experience to an occultural one.

The hotel will host its own witch-in-residence for the month of October offering astrology, “real ass hexing,” love conjuring, tarot, and more. Guests can book experiences with Shawn Engel, the in-house, on-demand witch-in-residence, through the hotel’s digital concierge.

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Halloween Orchestra Concert
Photograph: Courtesy of Brooklyn Chamber Orhcestra

13. Halloween Orchestra Concert

The Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, led by Artistic Director Phil Nuzzo, will perform a night of Halloween-inspired music at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn Heights on Saturday, October 29.

"Hear the skeletons dance in Saint-Saëns classic Dance Macabre. Franz Liszt treats us to his usual fiendish pyrotechnic display in his Piano Concerto #2," the Orchestra says. "Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique give us a musical decapitation and a wild witches dance and Shakespeare’s witches continue the danse in Verdi’s Prelude and Ballet music from his opera Macbeth."

Pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski will return as a special guest, handling Liszt’s fiendish virtuoso tour-de-force. 

Tickets start at $40.

P.S. For families, there's a kids' version of the concert that morning.

  • Comedy
  • Comedy

Laughing in a funeral home might feel as taboo as shouting in a library or microwaving fish in the office, but Ben Wasserman’s Live After Death comedy show performed in a Brooklyn funeral home will have you laughing out loud. 

He's ending his fall season with a show on Halloween weekend (Saturday, October 29) with a show that promises juggling, karate, a seance, ventriloquism and intimate discussions with the audience about grief.

Get a ticket for $15.

 

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  • Theater
  • Theater & Performance

The stars are coming out for Halloween again this year. After two years of streaming-only editions, Broadway's frightful-delightful annual fundraising concert I Put a Spell on You will be held live again at Sony Hall on October 23.

Audience members are encouraged to wear Halloween outfits of their own, and can win prizes in a costume contest; the show is followed by a blowout dance party. 

Tickets start at $35, with pricier tax-deductible packages available for larger donors, and can be purchased here through the Broadway Cares website. VIP packages include a pre-show party and gift bags. 

  • Things to do
  • Walks and tours

To really get in the mood for Halloween, these NYC ghost tours should be on the checklist too. The city is full of legit spooky spots and haunted places, from cemeteries and haunted mansions to a crumbling hospital and tragedy-prone island.

These ghost tours will take you through all the nooks and crannies where real-life horrors and paranormal sightings happened right in our own backyard. Be warned, however: you may never look the same way at certain neighborhoods ever again. These are the best ghost tours around town.

Other things to do for Halloween

  • Things to do

Get ready ghouls and girls for an epic Halloween in NYC! The city is bursting with terrifying haunted houses, Halloween parties and more pumpkin-packed events. Whether you enjoy getting seriously spooked while watching the scariest horror films of all time or prefer to celebrate Halloween by leaf peeping while visiting some of the greatest fall getaways from NYC, we’ve got you covered.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in fall

  • Things to do

It’s the freakiest time of year, and we couldn’t be more excited to scream our guts out at the scariest haunted houses NYC has to offer. Haunted houses may bring plenty of frights, but if you’re looking to get shaken to your core this season, check out these immersive experiences that will bring out your darkest, deepest fears from killer clowns to claustrophobic. To get you in that creepy mood, or if immersing yourself in the world of goblins and ghouls is too much for you, try prepping with one of the best horror movies on Netflix beforehand.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Halloween in NYC

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  • Bars

Halloween in 2020 is scary in ways we've never known before. But come October 31st, New Yorkers will more than likely want to include a stop at some of the Halloween bars NYC has to offer. Whether you’re looking for pre-game drinks before one of the city’s best Halloween parties or spooky haunted houses, you can still slap on a costume and check out these festive pubs and bars come Halloween.

RECOMMENDED: All coverage of Halloween in NYC

  • Things to do

In the city that never sleeps, there are haunted places in NYC whose inhabitants might keep you up at night or heading home early. From historic haunted houses to long-time taverns, the tenants at these venues might give off an eerie feeling or prompt a sudden urge to change your plans. Fact or fiction, these personas of paranormal activity will put you on high alert if you’re brave enough to pay a visit or take ghost tours. So keep your eyes wide open while reading about some of the spookiest places in NYC.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Halloween in NYC

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Don’t miss the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze!

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