With Halloween just around the corner, CTV News Edmonton has compiled a list of spooky events and activities to get you in the spirit ahead of Oct. 31. Deadmonton The Edmonton staple boasts a “premier haunted experience” as 2025 marks its 12th year in operation. Deadmonton began in a small warehouse building behind MacEwan University and moved to the old Paramount Theatre on Jasper Avenue before moving to its current home in the old Edmonton Sun building. This year features three experiences: The House of Madame Tortura, Danse Macabre, and Biogen Organics: The Human Experience. Tickets for Deadmonton, which runs from Sept. 26 to Nov. 8, run between $50 to $100. The experience is recommended for those aged 12 and up. DARK While Fort Edmonton Park is closed for the season, the outdoor living history museum is open to deliver some tricks and treats through the month of October. DARK, deemed “Edmonton’s Halloween festival,” runs from Oct. 3 to Nov. 1. There are two scare zones, three returning haunts plus one new haunt. There are also local food vendors, spooky tunes and other activities. Tickets range from $50 to $80, plus tax. Fort Edmonton Park also hosts paranormal tours, separate from DARK, where you can walk through Firkins House, the Fort, and Rowand House. The tours, which run from Oct. 5 to Dec. 3, are authentic investigations which use tools and techniques to detect paranormal activity. Tickets are $67 plus tax. Both experiences are recommended for people 14 or older. NorthwestFEARFest This year, Metro Cinema hosts NorthwestFEARFest, a film festival showing 15 horror films – new and old – through Oct. 15 to 19. Some of the features include Eli Roth’s 2025 found footage thriller Dream Eater, 1985 classics Return of the Living Dead and The Goonies, practical effects film Mr. Melvin, and Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. Sunday will see a double feature with showings of this year’s Bodycam and Night of the Reaper, the latter of which will have the filmmaker in attendance. Tickets for each film run from $13 to $22.50. Refinery: Jumpscare The spooky dance party returns to the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) on Oct. 25. Inspired by the grit of VHS horror, Refinery: Jumpscare turns the AGA into a “darkly cinematic house party” packed with 90s nostalgia. Tickets for the 18+ event are $45 and include a themed drink. There will be retro horror trivia, sensory twists and jump scares, and of course, a dance floor. Pumpkins After Dark The family-friendly event at Borden Park is a walk-through experience made up of more than 10,000 hand-carved pumpkins and filled with eerie music, sounds and special effects. There will be live pumpkin carving demonstrations, fall treats and a celebration of all things Halloween. Pumpkins After Dark runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 31 with tickets are around $20. Children under the age of three get in for free. Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics The global Candlelight Concerts will be holding two Halloween shows in Edmonton at the Betty Andrews Recital Hall on Oct. 24 and 25. The string quartet, featuring two violins, one viola and one cello, will play tunes from classic Halloween films like Beetlejuice, Psycho, Ghostbusters and The Addams Family, as well as other spooky songs to make your neck hair stand up. Tickets for each show range from $44 to $57. Fright Night at Galaxyland West Edmonton Mall’s indoor amusement park will be filled with zombies on Oct. 25 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for Fright Night. Tickets, which are $45 online or $50 at the door, include unlimited rides. A live DJ will play spooky beats all night. Edmonton Ghost Tours While ghost tours can be booked at any time of the year, October is the opportune time to get you into the Halloween spirit. Hosted by award-winning storyteller Nadine Bailey, Edmonton Ghost Tours take you through some of the city’s historic locations like the University of Alberta and Old Strathcona. You can also take a ride on the street car over the High Level Bridge for a Haunted Trolley Tour or hit some of the bars on Whyte Avenue while hearing about ghosts, hauntings, murders and mysteries. Tickets are around $20.
