From spooky parades and parties to haunted houses and ghost trains, Canadians know how to celebrate Halloween! If you’re looking for creepy and fun-filled outings or attractions with scares not for the faint of heart, check out our top suggestions for spooktacular Halloween events in Ontario.

Fun for all ages

1. Boo at the Zoo — Province-wide

halloween events in Ontario - pumpkins glowing

Photo: Taylor Foss via Unsplash

If you have a love for animals as well as the halloween season, then Boo at the Zoo is the event for you! Whether you visit the Safari Niagara or Toronto Zoo, Boo at the Zoo allows guests to shop from 100 local vendors, participate in seasonal photo ops, dance parties, as well as many other seasonal activities. Not to mention, the icing on the cake, where guests can trick or treat throughout the park! For an even better reason to come out to this event, every year they collect non-parishables to donate to local shelters and food banks. So, bring your family and come in your best costumes to help support local vendors and small businesses, as well as celebrate the spookiest time of year. For prices and more information, feel free to visit their website here.

Dates vary based on location.

2. Halloween Nights of Lights & Pumpkinville Scarborough Town Centre

Halloween events in Ontario - Nights of Lights and Pumpkinville at Sherway Gardens Mall

Photo via nightsoflights.ca

If you’re not the biggest fan of haunted houses, there’s no need to worry! You can celebrate the spooky season at Scarborough Town Centre. Halloween Nights of Lights is a thrilling walk-through experience. Enter through the immersive lights festival featuring over 1.5 million LED and RGB lights animated and synchronized to some of your favourite Halloween tunes.

End your Night of Lights experience inside Pumpkinville – a fun fair featuring larger-than-life pumpkin sculptures and houses in a candy forest made from over 25,000 REAL pumpkins. Furthermore, Pumpkinville is free by purchasing Halloween Nights of Lights tickets or can be purchased as a stand-alone Halloween event. This is a must-see Halloween event in Ontario for all ages.

September 30 to October 31st – Thursdays through Sundays from sundown until 11 p.m.

3. Pumpkin Mania Rounds Ranch in Elmvale, ON

You can take your family to Rounds Ranch to get in the spirit of Fall during their Pumpkin Mania Festival! Located just 25 minutes north of Barrie, east of Collingwood, and south of Midland, Rounds Ranch has added new activities each year since its inception in 2002. Enjoy wagon rides, goofy pumpkin bowling and pie-eating contests, flashlight corn mazes, farm animals, and a Western Playground! In addition, you can take a tractor ride out to their large pumpkin patch; then everyone can pick their pumpkin to take home – ANY SIZE! Purchase your tickets here.

Starting September 23rd (on weekends) until October 29th: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Open Thanksgiving Weekend: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Flashlight Corn Maze every Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

4. Halloween Spooktacular — Santa’s Village in Bracebridge, ON 

Calling all goblins, ghouls, and ghosts – Santa and his Elves have transformed Santa’s Village at Muskoka’s Theme Park into Halloween Spooktacular weekends! As a result, you can enjoy many of your favourite rides and attractions and some spooky tricks and treats up your sleeve. In addition, make sure to visit family-friendly activities like pumpkin carving; character meet and greets, and trick-or-treating! Don’t forget to wear your costume and enter the costume contest at Guest Services for your chance to win a Family of 4 pass for the 2023 Santafest event!

Running on weekends from September 23rd to October 29th

5. Pumpkins After Dark — Country Heritage Park in Milton, ON

Pumpkins After Dark in Milton, Ontario

Photo via pumpkinsafterdark.com/milton

Come and enjoy Canada’s award-winning outdoor Halloween event! Pumpkins After Dark features over 6,000+ hand-carved pumpkins, and this one-of-a-kind walk-through experience is the must-see event of the Fall season. Explore the magical pathway of lit pumpkin sculptures and displays with music, sounds and special effects. Also, new this year for 2023, on select nights, your four-legged friends will be able to join in the fun for the last three weekends of October! Enjoy dinosaurs and dragons and movie and pop culture icons on display, along with classic Halloween characters. So, if you are looking for a top Halloween event in Ontario, Pumpkins After Dark has something for everyone.

Event running from September 23rd to October 30th, Pet nights on weekends from October 14th to 28th

6. Spooktacular Light Show — GO Stations in Mississauga & Richmond Hill, ON

Locations: Meadowvale GO Station in Mississauga / Richmond Hill GO Station in Richmond Hill

One of the biggest and brightest Halloween light events in the Greater Toronto Area has returned better. Bring the family to experience an enchanting Halloween light show like no other. This drive-through event is not one to be missed! Its creators have packed their Halloween extravaganza with extensive and unique light displays, like the haunted house, a pumpkin-filled tunnel, a menagerie of ghouls, witches, and more. Additionally, some lights sing and dance to the music, and you can tune into the dedicated radio station for Spooktacular Halloween hits during your creepy cruise. As a plus, children receive Halloween candy during their visit! And you won’t want to miss the special simulated fireworks’ main nightly feature that will light up the area. The Spooktacular Light Show is taking place at Mississauga and Richmond Hill.

Running from September 23rd to October 31st

Events not for the faint of heart

7. Snyder’s Fear Farm Bright, ON

Halloween events in Ontario - a haunted house event at Snyder's Farm Fear Farm

Photo via fearfarm.ca

Fall brings the resurgence of apple picking, pumpkin patches, and haunted tours. Perhaps one of the most infamous haunted tours is the legendary Fear Farm in Ontario. Located just south of Kitchener, Ontario, it has six different terrifying attractions you can explore, including a hay ride, a pitch-black corn maze, a multi-level haunted house, and a carnival. The farm is haunted, so who knows if a real ghost spooks you. Additionally, these interactive haunted experiences will have monsters and freaks popping out of every corner when you least expect it. In addition to the farm, this year is a campfire experience for those not keen on getting scared. So, take comfort that you can sit by a pre-lit campfire and roast some marshmallows to make s’mores with the kit provided.

Running September 30th through October 31st 

8. Bingemans Screampark Kitchener, ON

Bingemans Screampark

Photo via bingemans.com/screampark

The famed Bingemans Screampark in Kitchener is back! This Halloween favourite will frighten even the most steely-nerved of its visitors. With six horrifying attractions, like Carnival Cannibal and The Slaughter Shed, Screampark is not for the faint of heart and guarantees all will have a frightful time. Operating hours vary throughout its run, so be sure to visit their website online before heading out. When it comes to Halloween events in Ontario, this is one you won’t want to miss.

Select nights starting September 29th to October 29th

9. Halloween Haunt — Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, ON

Halloween events in Ontario - Pandemonium at Canada's Wonderland's Halloween Event

Pandemonium – Photo via canadaswonderland.com

Halloween Haunt returns to Canada’s Wonderland with a sinister transformation! This event turns the theme park into a scream park filled with Halloween attractions that offer unforgettable thrills and unspeakable horror. Immerse yourself in the Nightmare of Haunt, a Halloween event where the streets are filled with terror. Additionally, you’ll see hundreds of monsters, terrifying scare zones and mazes, ghoulish street performers, live music, thrilling night rides, and electrifying live shows. So, if you’re looking for things to do – or places to scream – this fall in Toronto, don’t miss Canada’s largest Halloween event.

September 22nd through October 29th

10. Legends of Horror Casa Loma in Toronto, ON

Legends of Horror at Casa Loma

Photo via legendsofhorror.ca

This Halloween, the grounds of Casa Loma will once again be transformed into the immersive experience of Legends of Horror. Done in the presentational form considered “promenade theatre,” stroll through the 2km trail at your own risk. Throughout the experience, you will be immersed in various theatrically-designed sets in gardens and chambers below the castle. Afterward, the production’s climax is the 3D projection on the castle’s exterior, which brings the characters of the storyline and the castle’s walls to life. Also, this year be sure to check out their new attraction Zombie Apocalypse located close by for more frights in Toronto’s largest zombie-themed haunted attraction. Be sure to visit the site to get your tickets early to this one-of-a-kind Halloween event!

September 30th to October 31st

11. All Hallows’ Eve Ghost Tour — Old Fort Erie in Fort Erie, ON

A man directing the ghost tours in the night with a lantern

Photo via niagaraparks.com

If you’re brave, you can venture through Canada’s bloodiest battlefield at Old Fort Erie by candlelight. You might even spot a real ghost! The All Hallow’s Eve Ghost Tour takes you through the ‘Erie’ grounds and barracks by torch and candlelight. Hear spooky Halloween tales and learn about the fascinating history of some of the most beloved Halloween traditions. Furthermore, you’ll see the Officers’ quarters, where the bedroom of Captain Kingsley of the King’s 8th Regiment of Foot is said to be haunted by his spirit. Also, if you are in the mood for more haunted ghost tours around the GTA, there are many others offered in places like the Distillery District, and the AGO Meeting of the Monsters. Or if you are not located in the GTA, ghost tours are offered all over Ontario this spooky season.

Select nights from October 20th to 29th

12. Haunt Manor & Frightmare in the Falls Niagara Falls, ON

No Halloween events in Ontario guide would be complete without including these two attractions. Niagara Falls has lots of terrifying attractions to scare you. However, these are two of the best. Haunt Manor has been named Canada’s scariest haunted attraction and the number one Halloween attraction in the country. It’s located just west of the Battle of Lundy’s Lane, where the bloodiest battle in history took place. Not surprisingly, many people report sightings of ghosts in the area. In addition, the attraction has a theatrical hayride, corn maze, and seven themed haunted houses. Each year, the themes for the haunted houses change, artfully carried out by the 100-plus actors, staff, and design crews who are specially trained to entertain and frighten visitors. For more information on the schedules of the different experiences provided, feel free to visit their website.

Frightmare in the Falls is set to take over the Scotiabank Convention Centre on October 28th and 29th in Clifton Hill. It will be a mashup of everything horror-related, including celebrity guests, horror-themed vendors, memorabilia, panels, movies, displays, movie cars, cosplay, special effects props, artists, haunted attractions, and much more!

Friday, October 27th to 29th

We hope our list of frightful attractions has inspired you to get out and enjoy this spooky holiday. Whether it’s family-friendly festivals or scream-worthy sites, there is something for everyone to enjoy this Halloween. We hope one of these spooktacular Halloween events in Ontario gives you all the thrills and chills you seek this October. Happy haunting!

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