Our Picks for the Most Haunting Halloween Towns

After a year of countless surprises and spooky realities, it’s finally time to celebrate the Halloween season! From family raves to full-blown parades and a 3,000-candle pumpkin house to movie sets, there are countless places to travel to and spend the holiday. We’ve listed our favorites. Did we name your top spooky town?

Salem is a city with the most Halloween-centric historical background due to the witch trials that took place back in 1692. These trials took the lives of 19 innocent victims who were accused of being witches, earning Salem its infamous nickname: “Witch City.” Now the region is known for its Haunted Happenings Parade, Salem witch tours, psychics and the cinematic masterpiece “Hocus Pocus.” The movie’s roots run deep here; you can even visit Max, Dani and Allison’s houses from the film! If you can’t make it to the spooky town this Halloween, be sure to watch the movie to get your Salem fix!

You probably know the Sleepy Hollow name from Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” an 1820 story of the headless horseman who torments the eponymous town. This story is known as one of the first ghost stories in American literature and forever imprinted on the town thanks to the author, who is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Besides looking for the mysterious spirit of the headless horseman, you can now attend a great Jack O’Lantern blaze, a cemetery evening lantern tour and multiple ghost tours.

New Orleans may be best known for Mardi Gras, multi-colored beads and amazing Southern cooking, but the Crescent City’s Halloween truly is something to write home about. From voodoo shops to haunting world-famous cemeteries and the spooky Frenchmen Street parade, thousands of people gather in this city to get their ghost and goblin fix each year. You can also grab a cup of hot cider and walk along all the highly decked-out homes around the Garden District/Uptown! And, if you’re a fan of American Horror Story like us, you’ll gush over the multiple destinations where Coven was filmed around the city. You can also take a peek at the haunted Bourbon Orleans hotel mentioned in our past blog.

If you wait all year to watch the 1998 film “Halloweentown,” then this is the spooky town for you. St. Helens is where the original Halloweentown was filmed and celebrates the Spirit of Halloweentown each year. You can take a self-guided tour of the Halloweentown and Twilight movie filming locations (yes, you team Edward/Jacob fans, you can see Bella’s house in person), walk through the town center, book tickets for the alien museum, enter a costume contest or get your tarot cards read! The options are endless in this town, and you’re guaranteed an unforgettable Halloween experience.

If you’re planning on spending your Halloween in the UK, London is the perfect place for you. London’s long history has left multiple haunted locations around the city to explore. You can also walk through Hogwarts on the Warner Bros studio tour or visit Platform 9¾ for your Harry Potter fix. Don’t forget to go on a London Dungeon tour, snap some cute pictures in your pumpkin picking attire or attend one of the city’s spooky family raves. There is something for families and friends of all ages!

Tokyo goes all out for the Halloween season, and it’s truly an experience. If you’re looking for a huge Halloween parade, you have to attend the virtual Shibuya parade the weekend of Halloween. It features incredibly creative costumes and lots of laughs. You can also attend the Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival or Disneylandto celebrate the holiday to its fullest!

Whether you’re spending the holiday in the US, Europe, Asia or another wonderful part of the world, enjoy the festivities with as much candy and excitement as possible. We’re making up for last year too, right? And let us know your favorite place to spend Halloween – you might see it on next year’s list!