30+ Bay Area Halloween happenings, haunts and festivals for 2023

With October upon us, ghouls and ghosts are soon to descend on the Bay, and there’s no shortage of eerie events to brave. Here’s a spooky sampling of local ways to get your Halloween thrills and chills, from haunted houses to family-friendly frights and adults-only boos and brews.

Fright Fest at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: Sept. 23-Oct. 31, 1001 Fairgrounds Drive, Vallejo. Six Flags will be transformed this spooky season with a frightful array of haunted attractions, scare zones, entertainment shows and Halloween themed rides. $50-$99. bit.ly/SixFlagsFrightFest2023

LEGOLAND ‘Brick-or-Treat’: Sept. 28-Oct. 31, 870 Great Mall Drive, Milpitas. Scary fun awaits as monsters take over LEGOLAND Discovery Center Bay Area. Get into the Halloween spirit for some monsterrific activities and an exclusive 4D Halloween movie, “The Great Monster Chase.” $26.99-$29.99. https://www.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/bayarea/

‘Unhinged’ at Winchester Mystery House: Sept. 29-Oct. 31, 525 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose. You’ve received an eerie invitation to the grandest housewarming event of the century. But beware, as the night progresses, a mysterious air settles in, revealing more than meets the eye. $65-$100. winchestermysteryhouse.com/unhinged/

Halloween at Jellystone Park: weekends Sept. 22-Oct. 29, 14900 Highway 12, Lodi. This Halloween, Jellystone Park will be crawling with costume and campsite decorating contests, scare zones, haunted trails, pumpkin patches and tons of trick or treating. Free festivities with park admission. towerparkresort.com/halloween

Terror Vault at SF Mint: Sept. 29-Oct. 31, 88 Fifth St., San Francisco. Terror Vault invites you to attend a recruitment seminar for “INsight”, a spiritual cult whose sole purpose is to open your eyes to true consciousness. The cult will help you see the horrors hiding within the darkness. $55-$85. intothedarksf.com/

Pirates of Emerson Haunted Theme Park: Sept. 29-Oct. 31, Alameda County Fairgrounds, Pleasanton. Ahoy! This classic walk-through Halloween experience will leave you trembling with fear as you navigate your way through four terrifying attractions: Demented Dolls, Pirates of Emerson, Halloween Hell and See Sawz Circus. $40-$80. piratesofemerson.com/

Fear Overload Scream Park: Sept. 29-Nov. 5, 2086 Newpark Mall, Newark. Prepare yourself for an adventure filled with mystery, adventure and horror, as you step into the fourth dimension at Fear Overload Scream Park. Dare to enter their two cryptic Bay Area haunted houses, where you get one dim flashlight to unveil chilling secrets. $19.99-$32.99. fearoverload.com/

Boo at the Zoo: Oct. 1-29, 9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland. Oakland Zoo is calling all ghosts, goblins and witches to descend on the grounds for Halloween. Navigate through a 500-bale hay maze, encounter larger-than-life Halloween decorations and follow the clues on a self-guided scavenger hunt to find animal X-rays throughout the zoo. $0-$24. bit.ly/BooattheZoo2023

‘Rocky Horror’ with the Original Brad Majors: 8 p.m. Oct. 4, Curran Theater, 445 Geary St., San Francisco. Join the original Brad Majors, Barry Bostwick, for a screening of the original unedited movie with a live shadow cast and audience participation. Extras include a memorabilia display and costume contest. $60-$183.50. bit.ly/BroadwaySFRockyHorror

Paranormal Cirque: Oct. 6-9 in Oakland and Oct. 13-16 in Antioch. Under this clown castle’s black and red big top, acrobats of the air, illusionists, freaks and mysterious monsters make for a paranormal experience like no other. Enjoy a circus, theater and cabaret fusion that will transport you to a dark world inhabited by mysterious creatures with incredible abilities. $20-$65. paranormalcirque.com/

‘Spooked’ Live: 8 p.m. Oct. 13, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. The hit podcast Spooked comes to life onstage to celebrate Friday the 13th with a night of live storytelling magic. Hear amazing, true-life supernatural stories from people who can scarcely believe they lived them. $29.50-$75. kqed.org/event/3558

‘Dracula’ – The Ballet: Oct. 13-15, Hammer Theatre Center, San Jose. Join in paying homage to Bram Stoker’s haunted novel. Dancers will weave a tapestry of emotions, their bodies conveying the anguish and yearning that permeate every page of Stoker’s gothic tale. $40-$60. hammertheatre.com/

Haunted History Tours at the Claremont: Oct. 13-31, 41 Tunnel Road, Berkeley. These walls have seen many things over their 108-year history, and legend has it, some guests have never checked out. Enjoy an exclusive look down some of Claremont’s legendary halls and restricted areas… including its most haunted room. $40. bit.ly/ClaremontHalloweenTour

Martinez Zombie Brew Crawl: 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 14, Main St., Downtown Martinez. The un-dead are coming to downtown Martinez, and they’re thirstier than ever. Zombies will be strolling the city’s downtown, sampling more than 30 craft beers from various breweries stationed at participating small businesses. $45. bit.ly/MartinezZombieCrawl

RITUAL Halloween Art Market: 12 to 8 p.m. Oct. 14-15, 88 Fifth St., San Francisco. Join Menagerie Oddities Market for the strange, the unusual and the creepy with frightfully-spooky wares, curious creatures, provocative circus entertainment, fortune telling, tricks, treats and more. $10-$75. bit.ly/RitualMarketSF

Candlelight – A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics: Oct. 19-20, Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland. Candlelight joins the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience with the sounds of the most frightful films of all time. $52-$79. feverup.com/m/119855

 ‘Ghostbusters’ at Sundown Cinema: beginning at dusk, Oct. 20, 40 John F. Shelley Drive, San Francisco. In honor of Halloween, San Francisco’s Sundown Cinema will host a screening of the cult classic film, “Ghostbuster,” at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, complete with local food trucks and themed pre-show entertainment. Free admission. bit.ly/SundownCinemaSF

Halloween Jam at Children’s Fairyland: Oct. 20-29, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Come out to Fairyland for decked-out sets and rides, spook-tacular performances and activities, costumed characters, bouncy houses, treat stations, scavenger hunts and a Monster Mash costume parade. $5-$18. bit.ly/FairylandHalloween

Family Halloween Day at Randall Museum: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 21, 199 Museum Way, San Francisco. Randall Museum will be transformed this Halloween. Explore the haunted Animal Room, get creative with creepy crafts, earn prizes as you play Ghoulish Games and enjoy live entertainment in the theater. Free admission. randallmuseum.org/

Haunted Hangar at Hiller Aviation Museum: Oct. 21-29, 601 Skyway Road, San Carlos. Visit the Hiller Aviation Museum this October for a ghoulishly good time at the Kids’ Carnival and Haunted Hangar Festival, complete with spooky decorations and a Great Pumpkin Scavenger Hunt. $0-$21. hiller.org/event/halloween-haunted-hangar-2/