For some, the fall season is about all things spooky. From ghost walks to haunted houses, to trick-or-treating or smashing pumpkins…Halloween is where it’s at and Shores & Islands Ohio offers opportunities to relish in the harvest holiday for both families and daredevils alike.
Get Scared Out of Your Gourd!
Here are some Halloween activities not meant for the timid. These haunted houses and thrilling adventures will get your heart pounding and your blood curdling.
A unique way to view fall foliage, for those into thrilling rides, is ziplining with Common Ground Canopy Tours. Soar above the tree tops Wednesday through Sunday through November 2nd.
Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends after dark is not for the faint of heart! Screamsters roam the park, lurking in every corner, ready to pounce. Brave haunted mazes and scare zones throughout the park, or take in Halloween-themed 
shows. A new experience for 2025, The Conjuring: Beyond Fear is part escape room, part haunted house, and all interactive haunting experience! Cedar Point’s intensely scary Halloween nighttime events are not recommended for those under age 13. HalloWeekends runs Thursday-Sunday through November 2; hours vary.
If you love haunted houses, one of the Midwest’s best is Ghostly Manor in Sandusky, consistently winning awards and open year-round. Each spooky season, they expand their haunted offerings with the pop-up Lake Eerie Fearfest, available Fridays and Saturdays through October 25. Lake Eerie Fearfest offers three additional haunts, both indoor and outdoor, and filled with frightening characters.
Interested in the paranormal and leaning into the history of ghost stories and all things otherworldly? On October 22 and 23 learn about Spiritualism in the Victorian Era at RB Hayes Presidential Center. More than an occult parlor game, Victorian spiritualism was a new religion that channeled the voices of the dead, linked the present with the past, and conjured new worldly and otherworldly futures. There are five nights of Downtown Sandusky Ghost Walks originating from the Shores & Islands Ohio welcome center, October 25 through 29. Join a paranormal investigator and local historian on a 60-minute walking 
tour and hear the stories of curious sites, notable people, and of course, the paranormal! These tours are family-friendly. Hear directly from the authors at a Spooky Book Fair/Author Event at Sandusky Book Bar on October 25 and pick up a great read in the thriller or horror book genre. Learn about Sandusky’s 1849 cholera epidemic and those killed by it during the Cholera Cemetery Walk on October 25 – the cemetery is said to be haunted! Another fully immersive experience combines history, mystery, and modern science at the Echoes from Beyond: A Journey Through Spiritualism event at Historic Lyme Village on Halloween night, October 31.
Feeling Wicked? Spell, yeah!
Conjure up some fun for the family or the whole friend gang at these less frightening/more festive spooky-season events:
Halloween costumes are a lot of work! Looking for as many places as possible to show off those kiddos creative costumes? Visit Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends during the daytime hours for family-friendly fun. Kalahari Resorts & 
Conventions has introduced its Kalahari Spooktacular, a public event every Saturday (plus Friday, October 31) through November 1. In addition to a costume contest, enjoy trick-or-treating, spooky storytime, hayrides, mini-golf, and more. Kelleys Island offers kids Halloween activities all weekend long during Family Halloween, October 10-12, including a kid-friendly “Terror at Town Hall.” Port Clinton offers the Great Pumpkin Party on October 25 which includes downtown trick-or-treat, pumpkin painting, face painting, and delicious food trucks.
Feeling magical? Witch way to the party? These be-witching events will have you in a spell. Hundreds of witches descend on downtown Sandusky on October 18 for the annual Sandusky Witches Walk. This charity event includes an attempt at two Guiness World Records this year! Enjoy the downtown entertainment, witches dance, enchanted market, and cauldron raffle stops throughout town. Step into a world of magic, mystery, and Victorian charm at the Milan Museum’s Witches Tea & Victorian Tea Leaf Reading on October 19. Here, learn how to become a good witch.
Put your Halloween knowledge and hunting skills to the test with a couple of fun events. Spooky Trivia for grown-
ups, covering haunted history to creepy cult classics and all things eerie and strange, takes place at Mockingbird on Mill Road Wine Café on October 9 and at Twin Oast Brewery on October 16. Your keen observation skills will be more at test with the Skelly Hunt at Put-in-Bay on October 18. There will be over 30 locations on the island, including some very interesting ones, to find as many skeletons as you can. The skeletons will be much easier to spot at Shake, Rattle, & Stroll in downtown Vermilion where local businesses adopt silly skeleton scenes in their windows, stores, or storefronts to make you laugh. The fun lasts all month long and will really put you in the mood for Halloween!
As the nights grow longer and a chill creeps into the air, Shores & Islands Ohio comes alive with thrills, chills, and plenty of spirited fun. From spine-tingling haunted houses to lantern-lit ghost walks and family-friendly Halloween festivities, there’s no better place to embrace the spooky side of the season.
As always, a full list of local events can be found on our events calendar. Happy Haunting!
