Vancouver Halloween Events

Halloween activities take place in Vancouver in October including Haunted Houses, trick-or-treating, costume parties, tours and other events.

There are activities appropriate for Children of all ages, and other events Just for Adults.

This article includes a list of the following types of Halloween and autumn-themed events:

Click any of the above links to jump to a specific kind of event, or continue reading to learn all about the Lower Mainland’s various Halloween-themed events and attractions.

Halloween in Vancouver

Halloween highlights in the Lower Mainland include especially frightening things like Haunted Houses, but also other great fun stuff like dressing up at work and trick-or-treating with children around the neighbourhood.

In this article we list events that take place most years. Some events listed below didn’t happen in 2021, but hopefully most return in 2022.

The following Halloween-related events usually take place in Vancouver:

Vancouver Horror Show – a horror movie film festival showcasing both Canadian and international films. In 2021, opening night was Tuesday, October 26th.
Reaper’s Maze of Terror – a popular Halloween attraction for fright seekers in Chilliwack. It ran on select dates from September 24th until October 31st in 2021.
Brinkworth Dungeon – an exceptional haunted house in Langley that ran from October 7th until Halloween in 2021.
Halloween at FlyOver Canada – a family-friendly multidimensional film about Canada with a Halloween theme at Canada Place in October. The show is a great way to learn about and experience Canada while celebrating the Halloween season.
Playland Hallowed Eves – amusement rides and Halloween-themed entertainment happened at the PNE in 2021. It ran for 15 nights between October 8th and Halloween night.
Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours – spooky walking tours for adults and older youth in downtown Vancouver.
Vancouver Mystery Nights – outdoor adventure games in the streets of downtown Vancouver.
Halloween Boat Parties – a number of night club-like parties take place on chartered yachts in the waters around downtown Vancouver.
Vancouver Horror Nights – a haunted attraction with an indoor Fear Maze at a theatre venue in Port Coquitlam.
Maan Farms Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze – family-friendly activities at a farm in Abbotsford from late September onwards.
Bad to the Bone Halloween – Halloween activities took place at Britannia Mine Museum between West Vancouver and Squamish on the last two weekends of October 2021.
Burnaby’s Haunted Village – although free in the summer, admission at Burnaby Village during this family-friendly event cost about $10 for adults, seniors and youth in 2021.
Potter’s (now Cougar Creek’s) House of Horrors – two exceptional haunted houses in Surrey run for most of October.
Haunted Corn Maze – a scary Halloween attraction for older youth at Maan Farms.
Pumpkin Patches – pumpkins and child-friendly autumn activities at various farms throughout the Lower Mainland.
Fright Nights – Playland’s annual Halloween celebrations take place most years at the PNE grounds at 2901 East Hastings Street. Fright Nights features half a dozen haunted houses and over a dozen rides. The haunted houses attraction didn’t run in 2020 and 2021. Hopefully it returns in 2022.
VanDusen Glow in the Garden – lit-up carved pumpkins and Halloween activities at VanDusen Garden at night during the last week or two of October. In 2019 the theme was a story that followed an owl, Anna the hummingbird and her friends through the gardens. This event didn’t happen in 2021, but hopefully it returns in 2022.

Whatever you do this Halloween, have fun, but remember to be responsible and stay safe!

Halloween Walking Tours

An interesting and entertaining way to enjoy the Halloween season is by taking a guided tour. There are some great walking tours to choose from, including the following (which take place throughout the year too):

Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours – a selection of exceptional and highly recommended guided tours. Perfect ones for Halloween include the Lost Souls of Gastown and Dark Secrets of Stanley Park. See below for details about each.
- The Lost Souls of Gastown tours are about 1 km in length and include stories about smallpox, fire and murder. The tours are great for Halloween and start at Cathedral Square (at the corner of Richards and Dunsmuir) and end at Maple Tree Square in Gastown.
- The Dark Secrets of Stanley Park tours explore world-famous Stanley Park, including its seawall and paths through the forest. They take place on Wednesday and Saturday and involve stories about Deadman’s Island, cemeteries and crime scenes.

Vancouver Gastown Walking Tour — Lost Souls of Gastown Tour at Halloween

Halloween Boat Parties

Arguably even more fun than a party at a regular night club is a dance party on a chartered yacht off the coast of Vancouver. Below are some Halloween cruising opportunities from 2021.

Boat parties on Friday, October 29th, included the following:

Freaky Friday Halloween Boat Party
Vancouver Halloween Boat Party (Cancelled)

Boat parties on Saturday, October 30th, included the following:

Halloween Boat Party Vancouver (Cancelled)
Lost in Sea Halloween Boat Party

In all of the above cases, passengers had to wear face masks when not sitting at a table or eating or drinking. Also, proof of full vaccination status was required.

To learn about these and boat party events at other times of the year, see our articles about Vancouver Boat Parties and Halloween Boat Parties.

Halloween-Themed Movies & Theatre

Because of the Halloween season, October is the perfect month to see horror movies (assuming you like that sort of thing). It’s also a great time to see kid-friendly Halloween-themed movies too. Below are some of the film opportunities to consider.

FlyOver Canada at Halloween – Vancouver’s multi-dimensional flying experience film at Canada Place had a wonderful, family-friendly Halloween theme every day in October of 2021. In the show you got to fly with witches and it was suitable for all ages (i.e., in no way was it a horror film).
Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival – in 2019 it was a 2-day event featuring over 30 short horror flicks from 9 different countries. The event was for all ages (but parental discretion was advised). In 2021 it was a virtual event with films shown online between October 27th and November 7th. There was also a live in-person event on Tuesday, October 26th.

Halloween Trains

The Lower Mainland is home to a couple of miniature train attractions that go all out at Halloween. Both offer fairly tame tours for little kids in the afternoons and early evenings, but then really ramp things up for youth and young adults at night.

Bear Creek Halloween Train – child-friendly Halloween Pumpkin Express miniature train rides in Surrey were from 10:00 am until 4:30 pm from October 9th until the 31st in 2021. The cost was about $10. The Haunted Forest Scream Train was at the same place, cost about $3 more and ran from around 6:30 to 10:00 pm (but it started a week or so later than the Pumpkin Express).
Stanley Park Ghost Train – family-friendly miniature train rides with a Halloween theme. In 2019 the train ran every day from October 11th until Halloween on October 31st. It was cancelled in 2021.

Special Halloween Events

Metro Vancouver is home to numerous attractions, like miniature trains and haunted houses. They run for either most of the month or at least the last few days of October. In addition to the “attractions” though, there are also a number of special one-day events, including the following:

Halloween Fireworks – music, kids’ activities, fire juggling, a magic show and fireworks take place at Minoru Park in Richmond on the evening of October 31st. This is a free event, but it was cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
Celebrate the Night – an evening of family-friendly activities and fireworks at Memorial Peace Park in Maple Ridge. In 2020 the event happened online. In 2021 it took place as an in-person event on October 22nd.
Parade of Lost Souls – an annual grassroots parade event where the location isn’t revealed until midnight on the Friday before Halloween (although one can assume it’ll be somewhere in the Commercial Drive neighbourhood). The event was scheduled to take place on October 30th in 2021.
Night for All Souls – free Halloween-type activities take place in the evening at Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery on the last Saturday in October most years.
Vancouver Halloween Parade – a fun family-friendly parade in downtown Vancouver. In 2019 the parade took place on Sunday, October 13th, which was the Thanksgiving weekend. This event was cancelled for 2021, as was the related Vancouver Halloween Expo.

For more special events click Halloween Weekend or Halloween for Adults.

Vancouver Halloween Parade on Granville — Vancouver Halloween Parade

Other Haunted Venues

In addition to the above-mentioned attractions, the Lower Mainland has numerous other wonderfully scary haunted houses.

Click Vancouver Haunted Houses for a list of more spooky places in the Lower Mainland.

Some of the best haunted houses include North Shore venues like the Haunt of Edgemont, Brinkworth Dungeon in Langley, Anmore Manor just north of Port Moody, Reapers in Chilliwack and the list goes on and on!

In addition to the above list, there is also a wide variety of other events and activities for people of different age groups, both on the big day of October 31st as well as throughout the entire second half of the month.

Halloween Activities for Children

Check out Vancouver Children’s Halloween Activities for a list of other family-friendly and only-moderately-spooky fun. Attractions with kid-friendly activities include FlyOver Canada and other places of interest. In October there are also Pumpkin Patches and Corn Mazes all over the Lower Mainland.

Note: Due to COVID-19, Not all attractions were able to run in recent years. The annual Halloween event at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, for example, wasn’t able to take place in its usual format. A number of other events elsewhere, however, did take place.

Click Vancouver Children’s Halloween Activities for ideas on what to do with kids.

Bose Farms Pumpkin Patch

Halloween Activities for Adults

Click Adult Halloween Activities for a list of Halloween events for people age 19+, or click Lower Mainland Haunted Houses for a list of haunted attractions suitable for adults and older youth.

In addition to haunted houses, adult Halloween activities include boat parties, night club parties, spooky walking tours and mystery games.