19 Best Halloween Events in Tampa Bay

Oct 21, 2022 | Family Fun, Good News Tampa, Holiday Events, Tampa Bay Guides

All things spooky have invaded Tampa Bay for Halloween! The area has filled with tons of themed events and activities. Everyone has their own taste for frights of the night so we have categorized these events into three levels:

  1. Kid-Friendly – Nothing too scary here, just some great family fun.
  2. Spooky – Halloween themed events that wont scare your pants off.
  3. Thrill Seekers – For those looking for a real scare, the most hardcore events.

Kid-Friendly

1. Creatures of the Night

Location: ZooTampa – Tampa, FL

Dates: Select nights Sept. 30 – Oct. 30

Time: 4-10pm

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

Kids of all ages can come and join mischievous characters for a night of Halloween adventures complete with animals, spooky frights, and festive treats!

2. Tampa Riverwalk Trick or Treat

Location: Riverwalk – Tampa, FL

Dates: Oct. 29

Time: 4-7pm

Tickets needed? No – it’s free

Children in costume and their families are invited to trick or treat along the Riverwalk as well as enjoy fun activities.  There will be over 50 treat stations participating along the Riverwalk from Water Works Park to MacDill Park including Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

3. Tampa Riverwalk Halloween Lighted Boat Parade

Location: Riverwalk – Tampa, FL

Dates: Oct. 29

Time: 6:30-9:30pm

Tickets needed? No – it’s free

Join Friends of the Riverwalk and the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation for a Halloween boat parade along the Hillsborough River in Downtown Tampa. This event

4. Spooktacular

Location: SeaWorld – Orlando, FL

Dates: Select nights Sept. 17 – Oct. 31

Time: 11am-one hour before park close

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

SeaWorld’s Spooktacular is back with fun surprises, candy, costumes and more! Kids love trick-or-treating (with purchase of reusable bag) during this daytime event as they explore our decorated trail and meet colorful characters.

5. Brick or Treat

Location: Legoland – Winter Haven, FL

Dates: Saturdays and Sundays Sept. 24 – Oct. 30

Time: Normal park hours

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

The signature Halloween event is better than ever this year! Brick-or-Treat will bewitch LEGOLAND® Florida Resort with tons of candy, an all-new show line up, never-before-seen exclusive LEGO® characters, and more!

6. Haunted Carnival

Location: Armature Works – Tampa, FL

Dates: Oct 27 – 30

Time: Time varies on date

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

300,000 square feet of carnival rides, fun food, and Halloween activities. There will be a dedicated Kid zone for little ones to enjoy themselves and later in the night there are special DJ performances.

7. Halloween on Central

Location: Central Avenue – St. Petersburg, Fl

Dates: Oct. 20

Time: 12-5pm

Tickets needed? No – it’s free

22 blocks of St. Petersburg Central Avenue will be dedicated to trick or treating for kids! There is also entertainment, giveaways, music and more!

8. Teal-O-Ween

Location: Al Lopez Park – Tampa, FL

Date: Oct. 30

Time: 2-4pm

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

Tampa Bay’s only allergen-friendly Halloween event! There will be games, crafts and giveaways. Of course, there will also be trick-or-treating, but it will not include any food.

Spooky

9. Haunted River Tour

Location: Tampa Convention Center – Tampa, Fl

Date: Select nights – Oct. 14-30

Time: Departure times – 7pm, 8pm, 9pm

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

Enjoy a crew of haunted storytellers sharing well-known tales of terror and Tampa’s eerie past! The cruise will include terror filled-storytelling, ghostly horror, and haunted happenings on this 45-minute storytelling ride aboard one of Tampa’s most popular attractions

10.  An Eerie Evening at the Tampa Bay Hotel

Location: Henry B. Plant Museum – Tampa, FL

Dates: Oct. 28-30

Time: 6-9pm

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

See the Museum in moonlight as you’ve never seen it before and explore Victorian horror stories brought to life! Period lighting and candles set the stage for tales of monsters, fantasy, crime and more.

11. A Nightmare on Franklin Street

Location: Tampa Theatre – Tampa, FL

Dates: Select nights in Oct.

Time: Time varies based on event

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

In late October, the hair-raising historic landmark goes 100% Halloween with classic horror movies, guest stars, ghost tours, spine-chilling stage shows, spooky storytelling, and family-friendly frights!

12. Ybor City Ghost Tour

Location: King Corona Cigars – Tampa, FL

Date: Year-round

Time: 8pm

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

Tampa’s famous “Latin District” has no lack of strange and creepy happenings. It is home to some of the most haunted buildings in America, and you can investigate them with award-winning guides.

13. Tampa Theatre Ghost Tours

Location: Tampa Theatre – Tampa, FL

Dates: Select nights in Oct.

Time: Varies based on date

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

Learn the Theatre’s secrets and stories with a “balcony to backstage” tour that will focus on the historic movie palace’s ghostly guests, preternatural patrons and eternal employees.

14. Vault of Souls

Location: The Vault – Tampa, FL

Dates: Oct. 28, 29, 30

Time: 7:30pm

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

Upon arrival, enjoy a cocktail bar, dancers, magicians and a tarot card reader. Then descend into the underground labyrinth where coded notes from the past guide your path. Be sure to also experience the garden oasis while enjoying delightful aperitifs.

Thrill Seekers

15. Undead in the Water

Location: Sparkman Wharf – Tampa, FL

Dates: Weekends in Sept. and Oct.

Time: 7:30pm

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

In the fifth iteration of UNDead in the Water, a mysterious female apparition and her possessed cult threaten passengers across 60,000 square feet of cavernous cargo holds and open-air decks.

16. Howl-O-Scream

Location: Busch Gardens – Tampa, FL

Dates: Select nights Sept. 9 – Oct. 31

Time: Varies based on night

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

Busch Gardens® Howl-O-Scream® returns in full force, taking over the entire park with haunted houses, scare zones, sinister shows and more. Unspeakable horror lives in every dark corner, including on Busch Gardens’ pulse-pounding thrill rides.

17. Scream-A-Geddon

Location: Dade City, FL

Dates: Oct. 23-31

Time: 7-11pm

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

SCREAM-A-GEDDON is what happens when the best minds in the haunted house industry come together in Tampa Bay, Florida to produce a premier Halloween horror park.

18. Scarehouse Pinellas

Location: Largo, FL

Dates: Select nights in Oct.

Times: 7-11pm

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

A haunted house with 10,000 sq ft of horror. The terrifying tour takes you through the aftermath of last year’s red tide outbreak. Creepy and unexplainable events are happening every day, no telling what will happen next. Enter only if you dare.

19. Halloween Horror Nights

Location: Universal Studios – Orlando, FL

Dates: Select nights Sept. 2 – Oct. 31

Time: 6:30pm-2am

Tickets needed? Yes – purchase here

Summon your scream squad to Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, The World’s Premier Halloween Event. Face 10 haunted houses, 5 scare zones, 2 live shows and some of Universal Studios Florida’s most exciting attractions.

 

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