Photo by Don Evans
Compiled by Mary Frost
It is said that one night a year, the spirits of Brooklyn past come back to roam again. As the light fades, ghosts and ghouls wander the streets of our borough, scaring the willies out of anyone who crosses their path.
This year goblins of all shapes and sizes (even doggie goblins) will be haunting parades, parties, and streets and alleys. What follows is a list of where they may be found — for those who dare.
Gravesend Inn Haunted House at City Tech, Voorhees Theatre, 186 Jay St. in Downtown Brooklyn. Oct. 20 – 22, Oct. 27 – 29, Oct. 31. Thursdays, 1 – 5 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 1 – 5 p.m. and 6 – 9 p.m. and Monday, October 31, 6 – 9 p.m. $6. Call (718) 260-5588 or http://gravesendinn.org
Harvest Festival and Halloween Costume Parade on Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Saturday, Oct. 22, 10:30-1 p.m. Erin Lee and the Up Past Bedtime Band at 10:30 a.m., and The Pop Ups at noon. Craft activities and more. Pier 6 dog run volunteers will host a fun activity for your pooch.
Pumpkin Patch Festival, 170 Joralemon St. Sunday, Oct. 23, all day. Visit Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights for a full day, all-out pumpkin patch with rides, games, two haunted houses and more.
Halloween Harvest in Old Brooklyn, Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum, 5816 Clarendon Rd. Saturday, Oct. 22, noon – 4 p.m. $5 for adults, $3 for children and seniors; members free. (718) 629-5400,www.wyckoffassociation.org/museum/events_programs.html. Tour the house and listen to its “former” inhabitants talk about the “family.” Enjoy freshly pressed cider, live music and more.
Egghead Halloween at Gowanus Print Lab, 54 Second Ave., Brooklyn. Saturday, Oct. 22, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The Gowanus Print Lab will host Egghead Halloween!, a no-mess, family-fun Halloween craft activity. $20. Call (718) 788.3930 to register.
Harvest Festival at Old Stone House, 336 Third St. in Park Slope. Sunday, Oct. 23, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition to pony rides, a petting zoo and other fall fun, kids and grown-ups can make banners, puppets or costume pieces related to this year’s BOO-klyn theme at Park Slope Parade. info@theoldstonehouse.org or (718) 768-3195.
Halloween at the New York Aquarium, Surf Avenue and West Eighth Street. Halloween-themed activities on weekends through Oct. 30 at the New York Aquarium, turning the aquarium into the “Ascarium.” A haunted Sea-fari Adventure, spooky storytelling, musical performances, magic shows and more. Call (718) 265-FISH or visit www.nyaquarium.com.
Monster Mash at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29. Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s annual Monster Mash party. Dress in your best Halloween finery. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. and 3–7:30 p.m. Visit brooklynkids.org for updates and ticket information.
Haunted Halloween Zombie Dance Party and Film Screening, Grand Army Plaza, Friday, Oct. 28, 4 p.m. Brooklyn Public Library hosts a Haunted Halloween Zombie Dance Party and Film Screening. Come learn about the ghost of Agatha, who is rumored to haunt the Central Library. Dance party and a Zombie photo booth. www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org
Haunted Halloween Carnival of Puppetry Arts, First Street Recreation Center of P.S. 372 between Third and Fourth avenues, Park Slope. Saturday, Oct. 29, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Special guest R2-D2 from Star Wars, monster shadow puppet games, crafty masks and crazy hats. Spooky crafts, face painting, and carnival games. Raffles and giveaways. Come dressed to spook for the costume contest at 3:30 p.m. with amazing prizes. The first 200 kids get a free trick-or-treat bag. Puppetry Arts provides costumes and trick- or-treat bags to over 200 at-risk youth from area shelters and foster care programs. Free admission.
Ghouls and Gourds at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Saturday, Oct. 29, noon–6 p.m. Bring your costume, instrument and silly attitude to one of New York City’s wackiest Halloween extravaganzas. Performances by musical groups, children’s book authors and illustrators, junk instrument-making workshops, Halloween costume parade and drum circle.www.bbg.org/visit/event/ghouls_and_gourds_2011/
Brooklyn Heights Halloween Parade at Pierrepont Playground, Pierrepont and Columbia Heights. Saturday, Oct. 29, at 10 a.m. Bring your little ghouls and goblins to show off their best costumes. Bake sale will benefit the Brooklyn Heights Playground Committee. Professional photographer and face painters.www.bhplaygrounds.org/. Rain date: Sunday, Oct. 30
Brooklyn Bridge Park Weekend Family Program: Making Masks, Main Street and Pier 1. Oct. 29 and Oct. 30. Transform into animals, super heroes and princesses! Two sessions on Saturday and Sunday: Noon – 2 p.m. and 4 – 6 p.m. Contact: Alison Hughes, (718) 802-0603, ahughes@bbpc.net
All Hallows Eve Bash, hosted by the Brooklyn Bridge Park Junior Committee. Saturday, Oct 29, – Sunday, Oct 30, 8 p.m. – 1 a.m., One Brooklyn Bridge Park. This year’s theme is Heroes and Villians — prizes for the best dressed guests. Brooklyn Radio’s Dan Martino, aka Soultastic, will spin tunes. Silent auction. Guests must be 21 or over. Contact: Tiffany Gibert, (718) 802-0603
Halloween Karaoke Party in Carroll Park, Saturday, Oct. 29 – 6 – 9 p.m. Party with friends & family near the Robert Acito Park House and sing some of your favorites with Lion’s Roar Karaoke. Hot cider, and snacks. Suggested donation of $1/song to benefit Friends of Carroll Park.
Halloween Haunted Walk and Carnival in Prospect Park, Prospect Park Southwest and 16th Street. Saturday, Oct. 29, noon – 3 p.m., free. Zombies, wolf men, headless horses, good and bad witches and other creepy characters on Lookout Hill. (Young children need to be accompanied by parents or guardians.) (718) 965-8999, www.prospectpark.org/calendar/event/halloween
Musical BOO-Fest at the Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza, Saturday, Oct. 29, 4 p.m. Brooklyn Conservatory of Music presents Musical BOO-Fest: a variety show of ghoulish music performed by costumed characters. Movement, face-painting, a costume contest and candy. www.heartofbrooklyn.org/halloween
Flappers Delight All Hallows Eve Ball at Brooklyn Museum and nearby, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2 – 4 p.m., and 8 p.m. Learn how to make 1920s headdresses and accessories at Brooklyn Museum (tickets required) before attending a Flappers Delight All Hallows Eve Ball with Rosie 151 and the Red Hook Ramblers at The Way Station (8 p.m., 683 Washington Ave.). Stop by Bar Sepia (234 Underhill Ave.) for its Halloween Mash at 10 p.m. Adults.www.heartofbrooklyn.org/halloween
Coney Island Halloween Parade, Oct. 29, 11:30 a.m. (parade at 1 p.m.). Come dressed up for the annual Coney Island Children’s Halloween Parade and costume contest, and an afternoon of fun. Kids must be accompanied by an adult, and pre-register. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. Line up starts at 12:45 p.m. Parade will begin at Peggy O’Neill’s, on Surf Avenue at MCU Park, and finish at the NY Aquarium (Surf Avenue and W. 8th Street).
Boo at the Zoo at Prospect Park Zoo, Saturday, Oct. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 30, all day (most events noon – 3:30 p.m.). Festivities include costumes, arts and crafts, and treats for the animals. The barn has been transformed with special lighting and fog to create a spooky barn experience. www.heartofbrooklyn.org/halloween
Scary Stories from the Past at Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park, Flatbush Avenue at Empire Boulevard. Oct. 29 and 30, 2 and 3 p.m. Free. Master story teller Tammy Hall keeps the tradition of scary stories alive with tales from old Flatbush. (718) 789-2822,www.prospectpark.org/calendar/ event/676528.
Halloween Festival in Fort Greene Park, Saturday, Oct. 29, noon – 3 p.m. Great PUPkin Dog Costume Contest (see below), Hay Wagon ride around historic Fort Greene Park. This year, a second horse-drawn wagon has been secured. For more, visit www.fortgreenepark.org.
Great PUPkin Dog Costume Contest, Saturday, Oct. 29, noon – 3 p.m. Part of Fort Greene Park Conservancy’s annual Halloween Festival. Many prizes. Suggested donation of $5 per dog. Contact info@fortgreenepups.org. Rain date: Sunday, Oct. 30.
Franklin Avenue Halloween Kids Parade, Saturday, Oct. 29, details to come For more, email tengrandfab@verizon.net.
Red Bull Trick-or-Treat in Brooklyn, Newtown Barge Park, Commercial Street, Brooklyn. Saturday, Oct. 29, 5 – 11:30 p.m. Red Bull Trick or Treat is a Halloween themed BMX event. In Newtown Barge Park, 32 of the most respected BMX riders in the country will compete in the new “Live or Die” format. Halloween-themed obstacles in a graveyard layout, with grindable coffin boxes, a tombstone vert wall, a curved grim reaper rail box, and a 32-foot long cross box. Twitter: #rbtrickortreat.
Green-Wood Cemetery Tours, Saturday, Oct. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. Visitors will celebrate the fall season with tales of murder, mayhem, spirits and ghosts on these annual tours led by Green-Wood historian Jeff Richman. Visitwww.green-wood.com/tours/events or call (718) 210-3080. Reservations are strongly recommended.
Howl-o-Ween Doggie Costume Parade and Contest, starts on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade at the Remsen Street entrance. Sunday, Oct. 30, 1-3 p.m. Pets come dressed to the nines. Entries can be purchased at Perfect Paws at 102 Hicks St. (718) 852-6200, $25 per entrant. All proceeds go to the Friends of Hillside Dog Park and No Kill pet shelters. All entries receive a goodie doggie bag. At 4:30 p.m., costume contest winners announced at the Vinegar Hill Vet clinic in DUMBO (57 Front Street). Join the after-party.
Mummies, Mysteries, and the Book of the Dead: The Halloween Tour, Sunday, Oct. 30, 4 p.m. Brooklyn Museum is presenting mummy-themed tours throughout the month of October led by Museum Guide Roy Capps.www.heartofbrooklyn.org/halloween
Halloween Kids Parade in Carroll Park, Sunday, Oct. 30, 12:30 p.m. Gather at 12:30 in the park and parade at 1 p.m. up Smith Street toward Sackett, then back down Court Street to the park. The first 200 kids to arrive in costume get free noisemakers.
Annual Park Slope Halloween Parade, Monday, Oct. 31, 6:30 p.m. rain or shine. The largest children’s Halloween parade in the United States, organized by the Park Slope Civic Council. This year’s theme is “BOO-klyn,” so be ready for ghosts, goblins, witches and other things that go bump in the night. Starts at 14th Street and Seventh Avenue, continues along Seventh Avenue to Third Street, then left on Third Street toward Fifth Avenue. Parade ends at the Old Stone House, where the party continues until 8:30 p.m.
BAMboo! At BAM, Free, and held in front of the BAM Peter Jay Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street in Fort Greene. October 31, 4-7 p.m. BAM’s 10th annual Halloween celebration includes storytelling, roaming artists, games, moon bounce, candy giveaways, and a costume contest. Free trick-or-treat bags, costume contest with prizes.
Jam on DUMBO’s Musical Halloween Parade: October 31 at 4:00PM. Main and Plymouth Streets. Prior to trick or treating, join Jam on DUMBO.
Halloween Haunted House, Haunted Walk and More in Owl’s Head Park,Monday, Oct. 31, 1-9 p.m. at Owls Head Park in Bay Ridge, at Colonial Road and 68th Street. Immensely popular Haunted Walk, Fairytale Forest, Halloween games, vendors, food and pony rides. Younger kids should go to the Fairytale Forest (1:30-3:45 p.m., 4:15-6:30 p.m.), while older and braver kids can attend according to their scare level: scary, scarier, scariest. Scary-2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Scarier- 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Scariest- 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Midwood West Halloween Parade on Prospect Park South, Oct. 31, 6 p.m. Parade down historic Glenwood Road off Rugby to Westminster Road.
Clinton Hill Children’s Halloween Walk and Performance, Pratt-Clinton Hill Community Garden (corner of DeKalb and Hall). Oct. 31, 5 – 6:30 p.m.
The Brooklyn Halloween Show in Clinton Hill, held in Clinton Hill on 227 Waverly Avenue (between Dekalb and Willoughby). Oct. 31 at 6:30, 7 and 7:30 p.m. (check for updates, may change). Part of the Clinton Hill Halloween Walk. Pick up a map of selected houses for candy and decorations. Dead Zombie Band and candy.www.brooklynhalloween.com
Greenpoint Children’s Halloween Parade. The parade begins at 176 Java Street. Oct. 31, 2 p.m. The parade route continues along Manhattan Avenue to Nassau and returns to Java. Optional: Bring the kids for a little party after the parade, at 176 Java until 5 p.m. Party tickets sold at the Greenpoint Toy Center.
Williamsburg Witches Walk and Halloween Parade, from North Sixth Street to Bedford Avenue, and then to McCarren Park. Oct. 31, 2- 6 p.m. Bring your hipster kids to Williamsburg. Parade begins at 4:30 p.m. Post-parade party starting at 5:15 p.m. at Play, 33 Nassau Ave.
Halloween Face Painting by Alisha Zebulon-Sow, Oct. 31, 2-5 p.m. Alisha of Atlantic Antic fame will be on hand to create the best Halloween characters for your little one. Reservations are required. Call Gumbo (718) 855-7808 for a scheduled time and specify your request. By appointment, $10.
Freaks Night Out in Coney Island, 1000 Surf Ave. Oct. 31 in Luna Park, 6 p.m. – midnight. Luna Park is teaming up with Coney Island USA to bring thrills, wild rides, rock and roll, burlesque, haunted mazes and more. Coney Island Costume Contest. Music by the Moto Wrays and Spanking Charlene. Tickets are $40. (718) 372-5159 www.coneyisland.com.
Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!, 37 Main St., DUMBO. Halloween Night Book Launch Party at The powerHouse Arena. Oct. 31, 7 – 9 p.m. Horror aficionado Otto Penzler in conversation with Tom Blunt. Drinks will be served. (718) 666.3049. Please RSVP: rsvp@powerHouseArena.com.
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