Trick or treating, haunted houses, parades, parties & more: 30 ways to celebrate Halloween on Cape Cod

Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll, Cape Cod Times
·12 min read

Halloween is a special time of year, especially for — but not only for — kids, with its costumes, candy and parties. And for those who like to be scared, special for its creepy stories, ghoulish decorations and events with a fright factor.

For the weekend before and the Oct. 31 holiday itself, Cape Cod offers choices from completely benign to creepy, plus so many chances to wear costumes. Trick or treating, or trunk or treating options are many, there are a few haunted houses to navigate, and various organizations are holding parties, parades and unusual ways to see museums.

On local stages: Romance, music & spooky humor: Why critics say you should see these 4 Cape Cod theater shows

Check out the ideas from one end of the Cape to the other:

Sam Govoni Roderick is a mysterious figure in black for the Academy of Performing Arts Haunted House.
Sam Govoni Roderick is a mysterious figure in black for the Academy of Performing Arts Haunted House.

Haunted houses

► Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre will hold what it calls a “Scary Haunted House,” from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Monday, Oct. 27-31 at the Arts Center, 265 Sisson Road, Harwich. Admission: $10 at the door (no advance ticket sales). The scary goings-on are not intended for little children, officials say. Information: https://capecodtheatrecompany.org/.

► A collaboration between The Friends of Crosby Mansion, the Brewster Recreation Department and the Nauset High Players has created the first-ever Crosby Haunted Mansion in the historic home built in 1888. “Thrills and chills” are promised for ages 7 to 107 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 27-29 at the mansion, 163 Crosby Lane, Brewster. Tickets: $12. To make reservations: www.brewsterrecreation.com. Information: 508-896-1744. The groups will also host a Halloween Crafts and Game Day at the mansion from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. Separate online reservation is required.

From left, Camille Moore, Mila Medeiros and Mallory Roderick create a scary scene for the Haunted House at the Academy Playhouse in Orleans.
From left, Camille Moore, Mila Medeiros and Mallory Roderick create a scary scene for the Haunted House at the Academy Playhouse in Orleans.

► The Academy of Performing Arts will hold the final weekend of its Haunted House from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 and Sunday Oct. 30, plus 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Academy Playhouse, 120 Main St., Orleans. Groups are due to go through every 10-15 minutes and reservations must be made for particular time slots. The scary factor is due to be high, so the event isn’t recommended for small children. Also on Saturday, there will be a Haunted House Kid-Friendly Stroll for the younger folk from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. as part of the Orleans Halloween Stroll. Admission: $15 for the regular haunted house, $10 for the stroll; reservations and information: https://theacademyofperformingarts.thundertix.com/.

John Levins, then 2, of Marstons Mills put on a shark costume for a past treat event on Main Street in Hyannis.
John Levins, then 2, of Marstons Mills put on a shark costume for a past treat event on Main Street in Hyannis.

Trick or treating

► The Harwich Community Center (100 Oak St.) will hold a Halloween Trick-or-Treat Drive-Thru at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, with children invited to dress up in costume and pick up a prepackaged goodie bag (limit one per child) with a family drive-by. The event will last until bags are gone. Information: https://www.harwich-ma.gov/community-center.

► Children in costume can trick or treat through the halls of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy Center (235 Orleans Road, North Chatham), checking out exhibit halls and ocean animals and meeting scientists while getting treats from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Reservations are required, with anyone age 2 and up needing a separate ticket. Participants are asked to arrive anytime within the first 30 minutes of their time slot, and note that this is a nut-free event. Information: https://www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/.

Ideas: Fall reading: 5 new books by Cape Cod authors

► For “Halloween at the Batwood,” children can dress in costume and tour through the spookily decorated Atwood Museum, 347 Stage Harbor Road, Chatham from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Candy will be distributed at the free event open to all families, no reservations required. Information: https://chathamhistoricalsociety.org/.

► Pilgrim Congregational Church (533 Route 28, Harwich Port) will host a Community Trunk or Treat from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30  in its parking lot. Candy will be distributed from cars, plus there will be games and refreshments in Monbleau Hall. No registration is required. Information: 508-432-1668; https://www.pcchp.org/.► The John Wesley United Methodist Church (270 Gifford St., Falmouth) will hold a Trunk or Treat event from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30 with chances for children to walk between cars in the parking lot to pick up candy. All ages welcome and costumes encouraged. Information: 508-548-3050, https://johnwesleyumc.org/.

Season runs through the spring: Vengeance story 'Medea' kicks off season of Metropolitan Opera live transmissions to Cape Cod area theaters

► Three buildings in Yarmouth Port will open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31 for the 2022 “Haunted Halloween Around the Common” trick or treating: the Edward Gorey House Museum (8 Strawberry Lane, https://www.edwardgoreyhouse.org/), the Captain Bangs Hallet House Museum (11 Strawberry Lane, https://www.hsoy.org/captain-bangs-hallet-house-museum) and Thacher Hall (266 Route 6A, http://www.yarmouthportcommon.org/). The Gorey House will also open at 2 p.m. for free admission, offering a Halloween Artist Market on the front lawn, and a Chez Gorey Tattoo Parlor set up in the backroom with a selection of Gorey Art offered as permanent and/or temporary tattoos on arms or legs.

► Main Street, Hyannis will be shut down for the annual Safe Trick or Treat on Halloween event from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31. Stores and businesses will offer treats as children go from place to place in costume. Information: http://www.hyannismainstreet.com/.

Abigale Gross of Falmouth, then 5, chooses her treat from Eric Jensen of Falmouth during a past Trunk or Treat at Cape Cod Church in East Falmouth.
Abigale Gross of Falmouth, then 5, chooses her treat from Eric Jensen of Falmouth during a past Trunk or Treat at Cape Cod Church in East Falmouth.

► The 14th annual Trunk or Treat Festival will be held 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31 at the Wellfleet Drive-In Theatre, 51 Route 6, South Wellfleet. Children may go between decorated cars to get candy, and there will be free hot dogs and cider for all. Car owners and children from Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham and Orleans are invited to participate. Information: https://trunkortreatfestival.com/.

► Wellfleet Preservation Hall (335 Main St.) will host its third annual “Pumpkin Palooza” from 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31, with a free party for trick or treating, cider and fun — with costumes encouraged. People are asked to bring decorated pumpkins by 3 p.m. that day to be displayed in the yard. Information: https://www.wellfleetpreservationhall.org/.

In theaters: 'A.J. Fikry' movie to open with Cape Cod as backdrop for Kunal Nayyar-Lucy Hale romance

► Cape Cod Church (1250 Nathan Ellis Highway, East Falmouth) is bringing back its Community Trunk or Treat from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31. There will be lots of candy given away from the trunks of decorated cars, but also food trucks, inflatable toys, carnival games and face painting. Information: 508-540-6884. https://capecodchurch.com/

Events

► Spooky Bear Weekend coincides with Halloween weekend to offer a roster of shows, parties and events throughout Provincetown. Early events include live performances of "Frank, A Night of Rocky Horror in Provincetown" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26 and 9 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Crown & Anchor resort (247 Commercial St.). Activities for the weekend produced by the Northeast Ursamen group include tea dances, a Heroes and Villains party, a costume ball, shows (including "Dina Martina Halloweena") and Spooky Bear Bingo. Information on all: https://ptown.org/calendars/halloween/.

► The annual Halloween parade from Brewster Ladies Library will meet up at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 28 at the library, 1822 Main St., with costumed participants marching to the Brewster General Store for treats and songs, then to First Parish Brewster Unitarian Universalist Church (1969 Main St.) for more treats, ending at Kinlin Grover Real Estate. The Singing Princesses will be guests joining the fun. Information: https://www.brewsterladieslibrary.org/.

Then 2-year-old Inesse Bailey took on the roll of a bumble bee at a past Brewster Ladies Library annual Halloween program and parade along Route 6A.
Then 2-year-old Inesse Bailey took on the roll of a bumble bee at a past Brewster Ladies Library annual Halloween program and parade along Route 6A.

► The Atwood Museum and Chatham Historical Society will hold a new Cemetery Walk and Tour, with groups leaving noon to 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28 (rain date Nov. 4). A guide will lead a stroll through the historic Union Cemetery, which officials say is “the resting place of some of Chatham’s most famous and influential residents.” Actors playing four Chatham residents of the past — Joseph C. Lincoln, Alice Stallknecht, Levi Atwood and Margery Atwood — will talk about their lives and effect on Chatham. Groups will be transported for the one-hour tour from the museum (347 Stage Harbor Road), then brought back there for coffee, hot chocolate and apple cider donuts, plus the chance to see the museum. Admission to all: $25. Information: https://chathamhistoricalsociety.org/.

► Falmouth Museums on the Green will host a children’s Halloween celebration called “Wicked at Wicks” from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 at the museums, 55 Palmer Ave., Falmouth; https://museumsonthegreen.org/. The family event will include trick-or-treating at several historic properties on the campus, pumpkin painting, storytelling and a costume parade. Participants will also be able to learn about local history, including stories about Halloween in Falmouth in years past. Costumes encouraged. Admission: $10; $5 for members’ children. https://museumsonthegreen.org/

In theaters and on demand: Adding 'so much style': Provincetown a key part of Billy Eichner gay rom-com 'Bros'

► “Bloody Mess” will be the theme from the Mosquito StorySlam that will be held 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. The sign-up to tell a bloody story is at 6:30 p.m. Tickets: $20 in advance (recommended), $21 at the door; https://www.wellfleetpreservationhall.org/.

A skeleton will greet audience members at the Friends of the South Harwich Meetinghouse, which will mark the holiday on Oct. 29 with “Halloween: UNHINGED,” an unusual concert experience with special effects.
A skeleton will greet audience members at the Friends of the South Harwich Meetinghouse, which will mark the holiday on Oct. 29 with “Halloween: UNHINGED,” an unusual concert experience with special effects.

► The Martha's Vineyard Film Festival will hold a Fright Fest weekend Friday, Oct. 28 through Sunday, Oct. 30 with costumes encouraged for all shows, free popcorn for those wearing costumes on Saturday night and a virtual costume contest to be held on Instagram on Halloween. Movies showing at the Grange Hall (1067 State Road in West Tisbury) will include "Bodies Bodies Bodies" at 7 p.m. Friday and "Mad God" at 7 p.m. Saturday. Then at 7 p.m. Sunday, the 1920 silent film classic "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" will be screened with live organ music as accompaniment at the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury (1051 State Road). Information: https://tmvff.org/fallprogramming2022.

► The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History with the Brewster Chamber of Commerce will present a “Halloween Spooky Species Special” from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at the museum, 869 Main St., Brewster. Children (welcome to wear costumes) can learn about endangered species along with enjoying games, scavenger hunts, craft-making, a “treat trail with a twist,” and ice cream pops and grilled cheese sandwiches available from the Local Scoop. Admission: $7 per person at the door (infants free, but no strollers allowed). Information: 508-896-3867, ext. 133; https://ccmnh.org/.

► Costumed participants are due to meet at 1:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St. for the Wellfleet Recreation Department's 2 p.m. Halloween parade down West Main, Bank and Commercial streets to Baker's Field. There, activities will include ponies, snacks, music by JT and DJ Angel and a Haunted Playground. Rain date: Sunday, Oct. 30. Information: 508-349-0314, Recreation@wellfleet-ma.gov.

Costume prize-winner Jackie Reeves, left, and David Kuehn, executive director of Cotuit Center for the Arts, join revelers at a past Arts & Soul Ball at Cotuit Center for the Arts.
Costume prize-winner Jackie Reeves, left, and David Kuehn, executive director of Cotuit Center for the Arts, join revelers at a past Arts & Soul Ball at Cotuit Center for the Arts.

► Friends of the South Harwich Meetinghouse will mark the holiday with “Halloween: UNHINGED,” an unusual concert experience on Saturday, Oct. 29 directed by Jim Byrne, featuring music by a Haunted Celtic Band, vocals by a Ghastly Chorus and special effects. The event will take place at the meetinghouse, 270 Chatham Road, Harwich, and begin at 6 p.m. with a lantern-lit Cemetery Tour through the South Harwich Cemetery. Pumpkin carvers can bring their creations at this time, and there will be a parade for winners during the concert. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets: $25, $15 for age 12 and under, available at the door or in advance at https://www.eventbrite.com. Information: https://www.southharwichmeetinghouse.com/, 508 364-5223.

► Cotuit Center for the Arts is again celebrating Halloween with a big party, holding its 21st annual Art and Souls Masquerade Ball starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. This year's theme is “Cinema Screams!” and the party will feature DJ Ian Lee at the turntables, dancing in the main theater and a cash bar. Costumes are encouraged, though not required, and couples and groups often develop themed costumes. Prizes will be awarded to the “Funniest,” “Scariest,” and “Best Group” costumes. Tickets: $10. Information: https://artsonthecape.org/, 508-428-0669, ext. 0.

On view through Dec. 31: Cape artists pair paintings in exhibit that calls attention to 'fires ignited by racism'

► Cape Cod Pride will hold two events this weekend aimed at LGBTQ+ revelers. There will be a Halloween party from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, with a prize for best costume, at Winslow Street Tavern, 477 Yarmouth Road, Hyannis. Admission is $5. Then there will be a free-admission LGBTQIA Halloween Tea Dance, with a kings and queens theme, held (in collaboration with radio station Y101 FM) from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30 at the Music Room Gallery & Wine Bar (541 Main St., West Yarmouth) with DJ Billy Teed. Information: https://www.capecodpride.org/.

► Highfield Hall & Gardens (56 Highfield Drive, Falmouth) will offer a drop-in Halloween crafts activity from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday, Oct. 30 in the Billiard Room that’s free with museum admission. There will be crafts options for all ages, as well as a fortune teller and photo booth. Information: https://highfieldhallandgardens.org/.

Last year, this nurse was one of a dozen figures that greeted guests at Graziella's Artisan Pizza Co. in Sandwich. The restaurant is again decorated for the holiday and will hold a Halloween party for guests.
Last year, this nurse was one of a dozen figures that greeted guests at Graziella's Artisan Pizza Co. in Sandwich. The restaurant is again decorated for the holiday and will hold a Halloween party for guests.

► Graziella’s Artisan Pizza (289 Cotuit Road, Sandwich) is transformed for the month with Halloween decorations for families to enjoy. Then it will host a Halloween Party from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, offering a free slice of pizza to all kids 12 and under who visit in costume, a costume contest with a prize, a bounce house plus ice cream from neighboring Penguins Ice Cream Factory and cupcakes from Krua Khun Thai. Information: https://www.graziellaspizza.com/.

► Osterville Village Library is the end point for this year's Osterville Halloween Costume Parade, sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Osterville and Mashpee, which will start at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30 at the village flagpole. Adults, children and dogs can parade through town, then officials promise “a treat, and maybe a trick or two,” plus a Halloween movie to watch at the library. Information: https://ostervillevillagelibrary.org/ or 508-428-5757.

Contact Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll at kdriscoll@capecodonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @KathiSDCCT.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod Halloween: trick or treating, haunted houses, parties, parade