The most spook-tacular month of the year is here! October means pumpkin patches and haunted houses, fall festivals and bewitching trick-or-treat activities, so grab your pumpkin-spice latte and a pen to mark your calendar, and let’s see how many of these hair-raising experiences you can squeeze in this month.

PUMPKIN PATCHES (and more for the whole family!) 

Selecting the perfect pumpkin, listening to live music, and enjoying hayrides, corn mazes and sweet treats are among the favorite things to do at a Halloween pumpkin patch. But Utah pumpkin patches take the holiday to next level with opportunities to participate in multiple activities – think duck races, train rides and light displays – while also showing off this year’s costume creations!

• BooLights at Utah’s Hogle Zoo: Travel through Zoo grounds at night where you’ll encounter not-so-scary light displays that include a haunted graveyard, stormy pirate’s lair, kaleidoscopic light tunnel and other themed entertainment and educational experiences. You can even test your knowledge at the kid-friendly wizard maze. Dates include Oct. 12-15, 20-22, 27-29.
• Fall Festival at Cross E Ranch: Explore the ​​corn maze, corn maze games and a real pumpkin patch featuring 25 different kinds of pumpkins. Other activities include pig races, jump pads, zip lines, mega slides, hay pyramid, hayrides, barrel train and more; runs through Oct. 29.
• Little Haunts at This Is the Place Heritage Park: Wear your costumes and come to the Village for a family-friendly Halloween celebration where you can visit the Story-Telling Witch, go trick-or-treating, get up-close-and-personal with creepy crawlies at Creature Encounters, and enjoy other daily park activities like train rides, the petting coral, pony rides and take-home crafts; Oct. 14-15, 21-22, 28-29.
• Kuwahara’s Pumpkin Patch and Thriller Park 2022: Open through Oct. 30, Kuwahara’s features a pumpkin patch, Halloween village, corn maze, “Zombie paintball,” Scared Haunt Haunted House, an adventure maze, corn hole, food trucks and more!
• Pumpkin Days at Wheeler Farm: A pumpkin patch, corn maze, corn pit, duck races, wagon rides, cow train rides and more are available at this family-friendly, not-so-scary Halloween celebration; runs through Oct. 31.
• WitchFest at Gardner Village: The menace is intentional each year at WitchFest, Gardner Village’s 45-day celebration of everything witchy, complete with witch displays and a scavenger hunt to find them; runs through Oct. 31.

HAUNTED HOUSES

What is it about a haunted house that makes us want to go inside – even when we know it will scare the pants off of us? We don’t know either! But whether it’s the rush of adrenaline, the idea of challenging your fears or simply enjoying a spooky night out with friends, we’ve rounded up a list of the area’s most notable haunted attractions that are sure to satisfy every ghost and goblin in your pack!

• Castle of Chaos: The only underground haunted house in Utah, the Castle of Chaos provides your choice of five levels of fear as well intense Chaos Escape Rooms; runs through Nov. 5.
• Fear Factory: This massive, haunted attraction in Salt Lake City is made up of six buildings, up to six stories high, with two underground passages; runs through Nov. 5. 
• Nightmare on 13th: Choose your own scary adventure at this experience that features multiple attractions including the interactive “Nightmare Courtyard,” the “Institute of Terror,” and even the “Day Haunt for Scaredy Cats,” where you can experience the attraction in full show lighting without the jumps, scares or actors; runs through Nov. 5.
• Night Stalkers Haunted Trail & Fright Lights: Discover four attractions at this one, epic haunted trail including a corn maze, “Creatures of the Corn,” “3-D Slumber,” “The Horror Show” and the newest attraction, “Phobia;” runs through Nov. 5.
• Strangling Bros Haunted Circus: Be ready for a night full of screams and laughs featuring scenes of demonic clowns and freakish chaos. This infectious nightmare includes live music, games, videos, crowd interactions and more; runs through Oct. 31.

THEATER, MOVIES & MORE

From paranormal beats to spooky dinner theater and multiple lineups of your favorite scary movies, Utah has your back for Halloween fun that goes beyond just a bump in the night!

• “The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe” at Salty Dinner Theater: Enjoy this spooky interactive mystery as you discover what happened to the original Halloween master himself! The cast interacts directly with the audience during this fun dinner show; runs through Nov. 1.
• “The Pumpkin Giant” at Parker Theatre: This funny fairytale features fun poetry, bright design and a fearful giant; runs through Nov. 5.
• Tower of Terror at Broadway: Every weekend starting Oct. 28 at Broadway Centre Cinemas, the Salt Lake Film Society will feature horror films that will have you looking over your shoulder! 
• “Forever Dead” at Off-Broadway Theatre: This comical Halloween musical revue features Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein and Mummy singing tight-harmony songs from the ’60s, ’70s and today in an effort to escape their endless torment at The OBT in Draper; runs through Oct. 29.
• Halloween movies at Salt Lake County Library: Family-friendly, big-screen Halloween movies will take your evening from boring to BOO-ring on Mondays through October, while Thursdays are reserved for a frighteningly good lineup of Stephen King thrillers! Bring your own dinner or snacks to enjoy in the library’s dining-room-style theater.
• “Thriller” by Odyssey Dance Theatre: This show has it all – frights, amazement, scares and lots of laughs! This is the last year to see this spectacular Halloween tradition, which is showing at Park City’s historic Egyptian Theatre through Oct. 9 and at four other locations around Utah.
• “Paranormal Percussion” presented by Warehouse 5 Drum Theatre: Inspired by the melodies that haunt your dreams (in a good way), this rhythmic theatrical production of Halloween-themed songs is played by a demented drum group using only percussion instruments; Oct. 11 and 12 at The Rose(check online for other area performances).