‘Tis the season of scary movies, costume parties, and everything pumpkin we can get our hands on. While here in Texas the weather is a bit indifferent, there’s still plenty of ways to enjoy the autumn in Dallas. Read on to discover 20 terrific things to do in Dallas this October!
1. Harry Potter: The Exhibition
Harry Potter: The Exhibition invites fans into a spellbinding journey through the Wizarding World, where iconic moments, beloved characters, legendary creatures, and magical settings are brought vividly to life.
Step beyond the screen to explore authentic props and costumes, test your skills on the Quidditch pitch, try your hand at potting a mischievous Mandrake, and uncover countless other interactive surprises. An enchanting experience for witches, wizards, and Muggles alike—discover the magic for yourself! Harry Potter: The Exhibition kicks off on October 24. Tickets are now on sale!
2. Forest of Shadows: An Immersive Dark Tale
This October, Forest of Shadows beckons you into a realm where fear takes root and the unknown comes alive. Step into an immersive dreamscape where light bends into illusion, whispers drift through the trees, and unseen presences watch from the darkness.
Conceived by Moment Factory—the visionary creators of Astra Lumina—this haunting fusion of sound, shadow, and spectacle offers a chilling journey unlike any other.
3. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: The Immersive Quest
Prepare to enter the realm of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS in a way you’ve never imagined. This groundbreaking adventure thrusts you into a living fantasy, where you’ll set out on a perilous quest to defend the realms from looming darkness.
As you delve deeper into a labyrinth of mystery, legendary beasts emerge, challenges test your courage, and every decision draws you closer to a climactic battle. Blending immersive theatre, cinematic storytelling, elaborate sets, and cutting-edge multimedia, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: The Immersive Quest is poised to be the ultimate fantasy experience in DFW.
4. Dark Hour Haunted House
Enter the spine-chilling world of Dark Hour Haunted House in Dallas! With frighteningly realistic live actors and cutting-edge special effects, your worst nightmares come alive, immersing you in terrifying realms like you’ve never experienced. Make this Halloween unforgettable by visiting one of the most highly rated haunted houses in the DFW area!
701 Taylor Dr, Plano, TX 75074
5. AirOtic BITE!
Step into the shadows with BITE!, Dallas’s daring Halloween cabaret that blends dark allure with jaw-dropping spectacle. This limited-run production entwines gravity-defying cirque acts, sultry burlesque, surprise pop-up performances, and an indulgent cocktail hour into one electrifying night of thrills. Haunting, provocative, and unforgettable—this is Halloween entertainment with a wicked twist.
6. Stroll through the Enchanting Pumpkin Garden at the Dallas Arboretum
Every year, the Dallas Arboretum holds their beloved (and highly acclaimed) autumn festival. You know what they say: “everything is bigger in Texas” — well that seems to be the case at the Arboretum. In its 19th year, the festival will feature a dazzling display of autumn flowers embellished with the likes of 100,000 pumpkins, gourds, and squash courtesy of Floydada, Texas. Additionally, you’ll be able to stroll by the four 20-foot tall pumpkin cottages!
7. Experience an Amazing Candlelight Concert
Start your fall in Dallas magically with at Fever Originals wildly popular Candlelight series in the form of intimate concerts lit by candlelight at breathtaking venues, including: Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics.
8. Dallas Dia de los Muertos Parade and Festival
The massive Dia de los Muertos Parade and Festival returns to Dallas for its sixth year this October. Taking place on Saturday, October 25, the festival is set to feature a full-scale celebration complete with vibrant floats, tasty concessions, live music, arts, crafts, and much more! Dallas City Hall 1500 Marilla St.
9. Edgar Allen Poe Speakeasy
Descend into the shadowed world of Edgar Allan Poe in an intimate speakeasy unlike any other. Within this candlelit hideaway, the spirit of a bygone era lingers as master mixologists serve cocktails inspired by four of Poe’s most haunting tales. Guided by Poe scholars and the speakeasy’s lead bartender, each drink becomes a passage into mystery, melancholy, and madness. This rare evening of literature, spirits, and storytelling promises an intoxicating experience as chilling as it is unforgettable.
10. Cosmic Howl at Meow Wolf
The psychedelic wonderland that is Meow Wolf has something special in store for Halloween enthusiasts this October. On Halloween night, Meow Wolf will transform its exhibition into a haunted house party complete with a killer soundtrack, costume contest, virtual reality performers, and enticing libations. Cosmic Howl is a 21+ event.
11. Rooftop Cinema Club
Spooky season returns to the Rooftop Cinema Club in Fort Worth this October. Kicking off with a screening of the nostalgic horror comedy, Hocus Pocus, the venue’s Halloween-themed program is set to feature a spine-chilling assortment of cult-classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and The Exorcist, as well as recent horror hits like Longlegs and Maxxxine, Harry Potter, Twilight, Halloweentown, and more!
12. Enter the Black Lagoon
Something wicked(ly fun) comes this way. Kicking off on October 13, Nickel City in Fort Worth is transforming into an immersive Black Lagoon pop-up. Here, ghouls and goblins can enjoy terrific tunes, themed drinks, and all things Halloween!
13. Go for Dinner in the Haunted Castle Cafe
If you’re someone who embraces the Halloween vibe all year long, make your way to the Haunted Castle Cafe in Plano, a wickedly entertaining dining spot that combines gothic charm with a welcoming, family-friendly environment for guests of all ages. The real draw here is the cafe’s fully immersive gothic setting, blending the feel of a museum with the thrills of a haunted house.
14. Oak Lawn Halloween Block Party
One of the biggest Halloween street parties in Dallas returns to Cedar Springs Road on Saturday, October 25. The festive event is set to feature a costume promenade, food booths, live DJ performances, pop-up bars, DJs, and more!
Cedar Spring Rd & Oak Lawn Ave 3024 Oak Lawn Ave
15. Let The Good Times Roll At This Inventing Gaming Alley
Whether you’re young or an adult, games never get old. And while you can find a bowling alley in any given city in America, you’d be hard pressed to find pin toss anywhere else in the world (to our knowledge). Bowl Games in Dallas is a one-of-a-kind gaming bar that offers shuffleboard, foosball, and the aforementioned pin toss – a bowling and football hybrid that leaves no joy to spare.
16-18. Sneak Into A Speakeasy
There’s something special about speakeasies. The secretive, vicarious forbidden feel of transporting back to the prohibition make imbibing cocktails all the more tantalizing.
- The only sign post at this bar takes the form of two ambiguous As on a door in a crusty alleyway behind Henry’s Majestic. For those that can get past the initial sketch factor, however, a warm-lit cove of tantalizing libations await
19-20. Tour Texas’s Most Haunted
Gather around the campfire, folks, for Halloween season is here. Ushering in the celebration of all that is spooky, we’ve compiled a list of the most haunted places in and around Texas as well as the grim tales that beseech them.
- The most haunted small town in Texas is just outside of Dallas! In addition to its glorious Victorian homes and fall foliage, the town of Jefferson is home to numerous haunted establishments including the Excelsior House Hotel, rumored to have been the inspiration for Poltergeist.
21. Experience Pumpkin Pandemonium at Pumpkin Nights
For the rest of the season, Pumpkin Nights is inundating Howell Farms with an un-gourdly amount of fall festivity for their autumn-exclusive Pumpkin Nights event running all October long.
22. Fight the Demagorgon in the Upside Down
Ahead of the final installment of Stranger Things, Sandbox VR have launched Stranger Things: Catalyst, an electrifying experience that transports players to Hawkins’ most famed locations. Here, players can harness the telekinetic powers of Eleven to ward off all sorts of malevolent, supernatural creatures!