October is the month Flagstaff dresses up: cold nights, early dark and a downtown built for it. The dated calendar below is the town's October. Freaky Foot Tours has walked the original Flagstaff ghost tour downtown since 2015 and walks it every night of the month; the tour details follow the events.
Every line names its date and, where the organizer has published them, time, place and cost, and links the listing we checked. Verified September 14, 2026; past events come off the list as they pass.
Halloween and spooky-season events in Flagstaff, October 2026
The costume-season lineup in date order. Nearly all of it sits downtown or a short drive out, and the Orpheum Theater on Aspen Avenue, which hosts two of these nights, is also a stop on the ghost tour.
- Oct 10: Flagstaff Creepy Con, a horror, paranormal and true-crime convention from the team behind the Creepy Coffees podcast, 10 AM to 6 PM at the Little America Hotel, 2515 E Butler Ave. $20 in advance and about $25 at the door; children 12 and under free with a paying adult; vendor-hall trick-or-treating for kids in costume. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing; organizer site flagstaffcreepycon.com.
- Oct 10: Spooky Science and Freaky Finds, the Museum of Northern Arizona's haunted laboratory, 10 AM to 3 PM at 3101 N Fort Valley Rd. Free with regular museum admission, children 9 and under admitted free; owl-pellet dissection, touch tables and a craft station, costumes welcome. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing.
- Oct 22: Hocus Pocus, a 21+ ladies' Halloween night from The Beauty Boost Flagstaff, 6 to 8:30 PM at Mother Road Brewery, 7 S Mikes Pike. $35; tarot, palm readings, nail art and a trick-or-treat swag bag; costumes encouraged; tickets are non-refundable but transferable. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing; tickets on SweatPals.
- Oct 24: The Rocky Horror Picture Show with shadow cast The ConGLAMorate, two 18+ screenings at the Orpheum Theater, 15 W Aspen Ave. Early show doors 6 PM, show 7:30 PM, $14 to $19; late show doors 10 PM, show 11:30 PM, ticketed. Sources: the early show and late show listings on Discover Flagstaff; tickets through orpheumflagstaff.com.
- Oct 24: Pumpkin Walk at The Arboretum at Flagstaff, 3:30 to 7:30 PM at 4001 S Woody Mountain Rd, about 4 miles southwest of downtown. Hundreds of lit jack-o'-lanterns, beer, food trucks, music and kids' activities. Presale $19 non-members, $14 members, $8 ages 5 to 17, under 5 free; at the door $25 non-members, $20 members, $10 ages 5 to 17. Leave the Arboretum by 7 to make the 8 PM ghost tour departure downtown. Source: thearb.org, corroborated by the Discover Flagstaff fall events page.
- Oct 24 and 25: Celebraciones de la Gente, the Museum of Northern Arizona's 23rd annual Dia de los Muertos weekend with Flagstaff Nuestras Raices, 3101 N Fort Valley Rd. Saturday 10 AM to 7:30 PM, Sunday 10 AM to 4 PM; mariachi, ballet folklorico, ofrendas and sugar-skull decorating. Weekend tickets $20 general, $10 members, $8 ages 10 to 17, 9 and under free, museum entrance included. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing.
- Oct 27: Freaky Fall Flavors Beer Dinner, a five-course dinner by Chef Angela paired with Lumberyard Brewing beer, 6 PM at Brews and Cues at Beaver Street Brewery, 11 S Beaver St. $70 per person, 21 and over. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing; organizer page at beaverstreetbrewery.com.
- Oct 29: Creepy Houses paint night with Creative Spirits, 6:30 to 8:30 PM at Mother Road Brewery, 7 S Mikes Pike. $35 includes a 20 oz beer or non-alcoholic drink, an 11x14 canvas and supplies; not BYOB; arrive 15 minutes early. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing.
- Oct 30: Shrek Rave, a Friday-night party on Halloween weekend presented by Phenomenon Concerts, doors 9 PM at the Orpheum Theater, 15 W Aspen Ave. 18 and over per the organizer listing on flagstaff365.com; ticketed, price not posted as of September 14, 2026. Sources: Discover Flagstaff listing; flagstaff365.com listing.
- Oct 31: Creative Kids painting class, Starry Halloween theme, 5 to 6 PM at Creative Spirits Downtown, 13 N San Francisco St, Suite 104. $25 per child; intended for ages 5 to 10. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing.
- Oct 31: Book of Shadows: Nocturne, Momentum Aerial's All Hallows Eve aerial and circus show with SUN Entertainment, doors 7 PM, show 8 PM at Prochnow Auditorium on the NAU campus, 326 W Dupont Ave. NAU students free; public tickets through NAU Tickets; costumes encouraged, with a costume contest. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing.
Saturday, October 24 is the crowded day: the Pumpkin Walk and Celebraciones both run to 7:30 PM, Rocky Horror opens its doors at 6, and the 8 PM ghost tour departure is the one that fits after either. Howl-O-Ween, our pet parade and costume contest, runs the same afternoon: 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Heritage Square, free to watch, with the parade stepping off around 5:30 PM. One Halloween fixture is still missing from the list because its 2026 date is unpublished as of September 15, 2026: the Downtown Flagstaff Trick or Treat Trail. Each joins the calendar when its organizer posts a date. One venue to cross off: the Museum Club on Route 66 closed on October 31, 2025 and is for sale as of September 2026; its story lives on in our Museum Club haunted history page, not in a night out.
More things to do in Flagstaff in October 2026
Beyond the costume calendar, October is festival month at 7,000 feet: dark-sky nights, Oktoberfest in the park where the ghost tour meets, science week and a Route 66 centennial season. In date order:
- Sep 25 to Oct 4: Flagstaff Festival of Science, ten days of free talks, field trips and open houses across town on the theme Driven by Curiosity, aligned this year with the Route 66 centennial. Programs for all ages; the keynote takes free advance registration. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing; schedule at scifest.org.
- Oct 1 to 3: Flagstaff Star Party, part of the 2026 Celebration of the Night from the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition, 6 to 10 PM each night at Buffalo Park, 2400 N Gemini Rd. Free; telescopes, night-sky orientations, music and talks; weather dependent. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing; updates at flagstaffstarparty.org.
- Thursdays through Oct 29: Route 66 to the Grand Canyon, Theatrikos Theatre Company's interactive centennial show, 3 PM Thursday matinees at the Doris Harper-White Playhouse, 11 W Cherry Ave, with Oct 29 the closing performance. About 75 minutes, no intermission, all ages; ticketed, with purchase through the Theatrikos site. Sources: theatrikos.com and the Greater Flagstaff Chamber listing.
- Oct 3: Flagstaff Oktoberfest, the 17th annual, 10 AM to 9 PM at Wheeler Park, 212 W Aspen Ave. Polka, brat-eating and stein-holding contests, a root beer garden and puppy races with High Country Humane; ticketed through flagstaffoktoberfest.com, kids 12 and under free. Wheeler Park is also the ghost tour meeting point, so allow extra time to find your guide that evening. Plan to park a few blocks away that night; the parking guide lists the garages. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing, corroborated by the Greater Flagstaff Chamber.
- Oct 3: Barks and Brews, the 10th annual dog-friendly downtown pub crawl, noon to 4 PM with check-in on the county courthouse lawn at 200 N San Francisco St, then eight brewery stops with two 5 oz samples each. About $55 on Eventbrite; proceeds benefit local animal rescues. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing; tickets on Eventbrite.
- Oct 6: The Rock Orchestra by Candlelight, 14 classical musicians playing rock and metal anthems by candlelight, 8 PM at Ardrey Auditorium on the NAU campus. About $46 to $120 by seat. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing.
- Oct 16 to 25: Much Ado About Dinosaurs, the Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival's interactive family play by Matthew Windham, at the Beaver Street Theatre, 11 S Beaver St, Suite 2. About 75 minutes, written for all ages; showtimes and tickets at flagshakes.org. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing.
- Oct 17: Fall Festival and Quilt Show, 9 AM to 4 PM at The Outpost, 2404 E Route 66, with 25 or more quilt artists, demos and a free kids' craft table. Free admission. Source: Discover Flagstaff listing.
- Oct 23: Dreams of America, the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra's America250 concert with three new works including Route 66 centennial pieces, 7:30 PM at Ardrey Auditorium, 1115 S Knoles Dr. $30 to $85 per the Chamber listing, with family, military, student and educator discounts. Sources: Discover Flagstaff listing and the Greater Flagstaff Chamber listing.
- Oct 24 (date only so far): the 25th anniversary of Flagstaff's 2001 designation as an International Dark Sky City, marked with community festivities; venue, time and cost not yet published as of September 14, 2026. Source: Discover Flagstaff celestial events page; organizer flagstaffdarkskies.org.
- Oct 25: Amber Moon Rising, the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition's full-moon concert at Buffalo Park, 2400 N Gemini Rd, a Sunday evening as the moon rises. Free, with a free ticket requested for planning; start time to be announced. Source: flagstaffdarkskies.org; listed on the Discover Flagstaff celestial events page.
For the daylight side of an October visit, our one perfect day in Flagstaff itinerary covers the town before dark, and two of our own walks fit the season: the Flagstaff Mural Tour at 10 AM Thursday through Saturday from the Orpheum, and the Route 66 Centennial Walking Tour from Heritage Square, 22 E Aspen Ave, 90 minutes, $29 adult, $25 student and $22 child. Evening departures; confirm tonight's start time on the booking calendar. On typical 6 PM nights it ends in time for the 8 PM Friday and Saturday ghost tour a few blocks west. Both book on TripWorks.
Every night in October: the Flagstaff ghost tour
The Downtown Flagstaff Haunted History Tour is 75 minutes and about 1 mile of walking, departing nightly at 7 PM from Wheeler Park, 212 W Aspen Ave, near City Hall, with a second 8 PM departure on Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are $29 for adults, $25 for students and $22 for children; the tour is all ages and recommended for 13 and up. Arrive 15 minutes early. Booking is online through TripWorks; the calendar shows which October nights are open, so check it for Halloween weekend before you plan around it.
What you get is documented Flagstaff history told from the sidewalks of downtown: the phantom bellboy and the other reports inside the Hotel Monte Vista, the stories of the Weatherford Hotel, the Orpheum Theater, and the 1937 Walkup family case that co-founder Susan Johnson chronicled in her book The Walkup Family Murders. There are no actors, no costumes used as scares and no staged jump scares on any of our tours, in October or any other month. Arizona's Family (3TV and CBS 5) featured the tours in October 2023 and again on October 31, 2025.
Bringing kids, or unsure which night suits your group? Our family guide to the ghost tour covers what to expect with children, and which Flagstaff tour is right for you compares every walk we run. Book ahead for October weekends and Halloween week; direct bookings carry a full refund when canceled 24 or more hours before the tour.
Friday and Saturday nights at 9 PM: the 18+ tour
Mountain Town of Madness is the after-dark version of the same tour: 90 minutes, about 1 mile, Friday and Saturday nights at 9 PM from Wheeler Park. Tickets are $39 for adults and $35 for students. Every guest is 18 or over and guides check ID, so there is no child ticket. The route overlaps the 7 PM walk; the stories do not. This is where guides open the county courthouse case of a man acquitted of murder on a skin-walker defense and the other files the all-ages tour softens or skips. On its own TripAdvisor product listing, Mountain Town of Madness holds a 4.8 of 5 rating from 21 reviews as of September 2026.
October 2026 has five Friday and Saturday pairs, and Halloween itself falls on a Saturday. Booking is on TripWorks and the calendar shows which nights are open. Downtown parking kiosks stop enforcement at 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, so the 9 PM tour parks free. For a side-by-side of the 18+ tour and the 21+ pub crawl, see our adults-only ghost tours of Flagstaff page; planning a bachelorette weekend around it, see bachelorette party ideas in Flagstaff. After the tour, our guide to things to do in Flagstaff at night maps the hotel bars and late kitchens still open.
Private October bookings: cemetery, pub crawl, paranormal, Southside
Four Flagstaff experiences book privately, for your group on your date, and none sells public tickets. The Flagstaff Cemetery Tour was for years a Halloween-season walk that ran in October alone; it now books privately any month, 75 minutes on uneven ground from the Citizens Cemetery gate at 1300 S San Francisco St, from $300 for the group. The Flagstaff Paranormal Investigation puts EMF meters, spirit boxes and thermal cameras in your hands for 90 minutes, up to 15 guests, from $350 for the group, first-timers welcome. The Southside Haunted History Tour walks the other side of the tracks, 90 minutes, from $300 for the group.
Spirits With The Spirits, the 21+ haunted pub crawl, is also a private booking: about two hours through downtown's haunted bars, up to 16 guests, drinks purchased at each stop and never required, valid ID for everyone in the party, from $400 for the group. For any of the four, send an inquiry with your group size and preferred October dates, or call or text (928) 224-0518. Our private tours in Flagstaff page covers how the booking works.
What to wear and where to park at 7,000 feet
Flagstaff sits at 7,000 feet, and clear October nights drop near freezing after sunset. Layers, a hat and closed shoes cover every event on this page; the early-month evenings still start in twilight, and by Halloween the 7 PM departure leaves in full dark. Tours run rain, snow or starlight, and a dusting of early snow on a ghost tour is a Flagstaff specialty. If Freaky Foot Tours ever cancels a departure, you get a full refund or a free rebooking.
Downtown runs on ParkFlag pay-by-plate kiosks. Enforcement ends at 5 PM Sunday through Thursday, so evening tours park free those nights, and runs to 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, so pay the kiosk through 8 on weekends. The Wheeler Park lot at 212 W Aspen Ave sits beside the meeting spot; our downtown Flagstaff parking guide maps the rest. Staying the night where the stories happened, see our guide to the haunted hotels of Flagstaff; the full library of sites is in our haunted places of Flagstaff hub. Everything else, from restrooms to route surfaces, is in know before you go.
Elsewhere in Arizona this October
Heading south? Halloween in Tucson covers the Old Pueblo's October, where the Downtown Tucson Haunted History Tour departs Hotel Congress at 8 PM. Halloween in Prescott covers Whiskey Row, where the Prescott ghost tour walks nightly at 7 PM. All three Octobers sit side by side, with the statewide event calendar, in Halloween in Arizona; if you are comparing the walks themselves, our roundup of ghost tours across Arizona does that job.
Questions people ask
What is there to do in Flagstaff in October?
Festivals by day and a ghost tour by night. The dated calendar on this page lists the October 2026 events with their sources: a dark-sky star party, Oktoberfest, a horror and paranormal convention, a pumpkin walk, a Dia de los Muertos weekend at the Museum of Northern Arizona and Halloween-weekend shows at the Orpheum and NAU. Freaky Foot Tours walks a ghost tour nightly all month; details are above.
Is there a haunted house in Flagstaff?
As of September 14, 2026, no walk-through haunted house attraction in Flagstaff has published 2026 dates that we could verify. The Haunted Ice House, a one-night walk-through at the Historic Ice House on Birch Avenue, ran on October 31, 2025 and has not posted a 2026 date. The closest things on the 2026 calendar are Creepy Con on October 10 and the Arboretum's Pumpkin Walk on October 24; the 18+ Mountain Town of Madness is the darkest walk we run. Beyond the calendar, Flagstaff has documented haunted buildings you can stand inside, the Hotel Monte Vista, the Weatherford Hotel and the Orpheum Theater among them, cataloged in our guide to the haunted places of Flagstaff. The ghost tour visits them with no actors and no staged jump scares; the history does the work.
Are the Flagstaff ghost tours kid-friendly at Halloween?
The 7 PM Downtown Flagstaff Haunted History Tour is all ages and recommended for 13 and up, with a $22 child ticket. There are no actors, no costumes used as scares and no staged jump scares; the stories are documented Flagstaff history, told the same way in October as in June. Mountain Town of Madness is 18 and over and guides check ID. Our family guide to the ghost tour covers what to expect with kids.
What is happening in Flagstaff on Halloween night 2026?
Halloween 2026 is a Saturday. On the calendar above: Book of Shadows: Nocturne, Momentum Aerial's aerial and circus show at Prochnow Auditorium, doors 7 PM and show 8 PM; and the Starry Halloween kids' painting class at Creative Spirits Downtown, 5 to 6 PM. On the standard Saturday schedule the Downtown Flagstaff Haunted History Tour departs at 7 and 8 PM and Mountain Town of Madness at 9 PM; the booking calendar shows which departures are open, so check it before you plan the night around one.
When is trick-or-treating in downtown Flagstaff in 2026?
The Downtown Flagstaff Trick or Treat Trail has not posted a 2026 date as of September 14, 2026. It joins the calendar above when Discover Flagstaff or the downtown organizers publish it.
Can I book a private ghost tour for a Halloween party or group?
Yes. Four Flagstaff experiences book privately for your group and your date: the Citizens Cemetery tour from $300, the Southside haunted history tour from $300, the paranormal investigation from $350 and the 21+ Spirits With The Spirits pub crawl from $400, each priced for the group. None sells public tickets. Send an inquiry with your group size and preferred October dates, or call or text (928) 224-0518.
Book your October night in Flagstaff
Proof at the company level: Freaky Foot Tours holds a 4.9 of 5 on TripAdvisor from 350+ reviews (as of September 2026) and a 4.9 on Google from 725+ reviews (as of September 2026). 2,000+ five-star reviews. Best of Flagstaff three years running.
Book the Downtown Flagstaff Haunted History Tour on TripWorks: $29 adult, $25 student, $22 child, nightly at 7 PM from Wheeler Park, with 8 PM departures on Fridays and Saturdays. Book Mountain Town of Madness, $39 adult and $35 student, Friday and Saturday at 9 PM, 18 and over. For a private cemetery, pub crawl, paranormal or Southside booking, send an inquiry. Direct bookings carry a full refund 24 or more hours before the tour; more answers are on our Flagstaff FAQ.
