Kid Friendly

Fowler Pumpkin Patch

Date: Opening for the fall season on Saturday, September 21
Time: Tuesday through Thursday, 4:00-7:00 PM / Friday through Sunday, 10:00 AM-7:00 PM
Location: Fowler Pumpkin Patch
Admission: Fees may be charged for various activities

Enjoy quintessential fall fun at Fowler Pumpkin Patch, complete with a corn maze, petting zoo, hayrides, u-pick pumpkin patch, and more. Hayrides are offered continuously starting at 11:00 am on Saturdays and Sundays.
 

Trick or Treat Trail

Date: Saturday, October 5
Time:  1:00-4:00 PM
Location: RCA Park
Admission: $6.00 ages 1-10 years old, $2 adult with paid child

The paved trail through the woods comes to life with everyone's favorite movie, storybook, and fairy-tale characters!

Howl at the Moon

Date: Friday, October 11
Time:  7:30-8:30 PM
Location: Switchyard Park
Admission: Free

All dog owners and animal lovers are invited to a glow-in-the-dark walk in Switchyard Park! Walk about 1 1/2 miles on a paved loop through the park. The first 50 dogs receive a glow stick for their collars! All well-behaved dogs are welcome. Dogs must remain leashed and attached to their humans during the walk, and must be current with all vaccinations. 

Trunk or Treat at Starlite Drive-In Theater

Date: Thursday, October 17
Time:  Trunk or Treat at 5:30 PM. Movies at 7:30 PM
Location: Starlite Drive-In
Admission: Free 

Come Trunk or Treat and then enjoy the movies of Scooby Doo 1 & 2.  

Teal Pumpkin Trick or Treat Trail

Date: Saturday, October 19
Time:  2:00 PM
Location: 2420 E. 3rd St. (First United Church)
Admission: Free

The Teal Pumpkin Project is a simple way to make trick-or-treating safer and more inclusive for the children living with food allergies, and other intolerances and conditions. A teal pumpkin signals that, in addition to allergy-conscious candy options, you offer non-food trinkets and treats that are safe for all trick or treaters.

Spooky Beats and Theater Treats featuring the Bloomington Community Band

Date: Friday, October 25
Time: 5:00-7:30 PM
Location: Buskirk-Chumley Theater
Admission: Free

After you have enjoyed Downtown Trick or Treat, join the Bloomington Community Band for more fun with eerie melodies and delicious treats.

Downtown Trick or Treat

Date: Friday, October 25
Time: 5:00-8:00 pm PM
Location: The Downtown Square
Admission: Free

Bring the kiddos in their best costumes to downtown's annual Trick or Treat Walk.  Many business will have treats for the little ones.

Trunk or Treat at the Y

Date: Friday, October 25
Time: 6:00-7:30 PM
Location: Southeast YMCA
Admission: Free

Bring the kiddos in their best costumes to get treats from trunks!

Trunk or Treat in Ellettsville

Date: Saturday, October 26
Time:  1:00-5:00 PM
Location: Chandler Funeral Home Parking Lot (203 E. Temperance St.)
Admission: Free 

Wear your best costume and enjoy Trunk or Treat!

Geology Spooktacular

Date: Saturday, October 26
Time: 2:00-6:00 PM
Location: Indiana Geological and Water Survey (1001 E. 10th St.)
Admission: Free

Wear your favorite geo-costume and explore spooky specimens of Indiana’s oddest fossils and minerals in this family-friendly event. Part museum, part lab, and part classroom, the Learning Lab is where you can compare thousands of rocks, minerals, and fossils, create art inspired by our collections, explore real-time datasets, and participate in interactive activities. Pull open drawers to discover real specimens and question the world beneath your feet using scientific evidence. The Learning Lab is open to people of all ages and abilities in Room 1011 of the Geology Building. Free parking is available in the IU Forrest Avenue garage, located 1 block to the north.

Safe Night Trick or Treat

Date: Saturday, October 26
Time: 5:00-8:00 PM
Location: Monroe County Fairgrounds
Admission: Free

The Monroe County Fair Board & Monroe County 4-H Clubs invite you to trick or treat in costume at this safe night event.

Halloween with the Horses

Date: Saturday, October 26
Time: 5:00-7:00 PM
Location: 7644 W. Elwren Rd. (PALS)
Admission: $7.00 per person, 3 & under free. 

Come in costume, enjoy the festive activities, and meet our incredible horses!

Bloomington Trick or Treat

Date: Thursday, October 31
Time: 5:30-8:30 PM

Official Trick or Treating hours for City of Bloomington. Rain or Shine.

Ellettsville  Trick or Treat

Date: Thursday, October 31
Time: 5:30-8:30 PM

Official Trick or Treating hours for the Town of Ellettsville. Rain or Shine.

Spooky Things

Dearly Departed Cemetery Tours

Date: Saturday, October 12
Time: 5:30-6:30 PM, 7:00-8:00 PM, 8:30-9:30 PM
Location: Rose Hill Cemetery
Admission: $15.00 per person

Enjoy a night of ghost tales and haunted history at the Rose Hill Cemetery. (registration required)

Baker's Junction Haunted Train

Date: Every Friday and Saturday in October
Time: 7:00-10:00 PM
Location: 7898 Fairfax Rd., Smithville, IN 47401
Admission: $20.00 16 and older, $5.00 for kids

Start at the kids Train Station with fun for the kids (not spooky). The brave go to the Haunted Train station and on to the Haunted Train.

Barn of Terror Haunted House

Date: Every Friday & Saturday in October plus Halloween night
Time: 8:00 PM-12:00 AM / 8:00 PM-10:00 PM on Halloween
Location: Barn of Terror
Admission: General admission is $12.00 per person; children 10 & under are $8.00 each.

Visit the Barn of Terror, Indiana's sixth-best haunted house, for a proper night of Halloween frights.

Forbidden Hollows Haunted Farm

Date: Every Friday & Saturday in October 
Time: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM 
Location: Forbidden Hollows Haunted Farm
Admission: Family-friendly Hayride (not scary) ($10 per person, $5 children under 12) and/or Haunted Trail (scary) ($10 per person, $5 children under 12) (tickets sold separately), buy tickets at the door (cash, credit & debit accepted).

Get ready for a night of screams, scares, and unforgettable memories.

Special Events

Haunted Stories and Halloween Fun

Date: Every weekday through Friday, December 20
Time: 9:00 AM-4:45 PM
Location: IU Archives at Wells Library (east tower 4th floor)
Admission: Free 

The IU Archives document numerous stories and anecdotes collected by students.  Students, through the stories they share, have provided folklorists with insight into the traditions, customs, fashion, and tales told during the Halloween season.  This exhibit is pulled from two collections, including the papers of former folklore professor Linda Dégh and a collection of Halloween journals kept by students in 1982 as part of Professor John McDowell's Folklore 101 course.  

Great Glass Pumpkin Patch

Date: Saturday, October 12
Time: 10:00 AM-3:00 PM
Location: Monroe County Courthouse Lawn
Admission: Free to participate (charge for pumpkins)

Pick out your own homemade blown-glass pumpkin or simply admire the display of over 1000 glass pumpkins at the 14^th annual Great Glass Pumpkin Patch! 

Witch Faire

Date: Saturday, October 12
Time: Noon-6:00 PM
Location: Monroe Convention Center
Admission: Free 

A tradeshow where all things witchy and spooky are on display. Peruse unique wares, get a reading from a diviner, and show off your costume in the costume contest.  There will be an hour of trick-or-treating for the kids.

Cider Fest

Date: Saturday, October 12
Time: 1:00 PM-4:00 PM
Location: Bloomington Community Orchard (YMCA, S. Highland Ave.)
Admission: Free  

There will be an Orchard tour with Q&A, local apple and cider tastings (BYOMug!), a community potluck with some special guests and locally baked goodies, as well as activities for the whole family (e.g., pumpkin and face painting, games, haikus, and a free raffle). And, with Halloween just around the corner, we also welcome families to come in costume!

King Bee & The Stingers

Date: Saturday, October 12
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Fowler Pumpkin Patch
Admission: 

Enjoy a night of blues, funk and R&B.

Dennis James Hosts Halloween

Date: Thursday, October 17
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: IU Auditorium
Admission: Starting at $15.00 +

Take the whole family to Dennis James' annual spooky spectacular, packed with music and mayhem! 

Bloomington Pumpkin Launch

Date: Saturday, October 26
Time: 11:00 AM gates open, Launching at Noon
Location: Monroe County Fairgrounds
Admission: $10.00 per vehicle

Launcher teams send pumpkins soaring through the air in competitions for distance and accuracy. 

National Visit A Cemetery Day

Date: Sunday, October 27
Time: All Day
Location: All Monroe County cemeteries
Admission: Free

Visit one of Monroe County's many historic cemeteries on Halloween in honor of National Cemetery Day.

Movies

Movies in the Park: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Date: Friday, October 4
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Switchyard Park
Admission: Free

Pack blankets and snacks and head to Switchyard Park for an outdoor screening of ParaNorman (2012, PG).

IU Cinema Friday Night Frights

Date: Friday, October 4
Time:  10:00 PM
Location: IU Cinema
Admission: $5.00 students, $8.00 general admission

Enjoy a screening of The Brood. A singular, nightmarish vision of fractured family relationships that could only come from the mind of master filmmaker David Cronenberg. 45th anniversary screening.

IU Cinema Friday Night Frights

Date: Wednesday, October 9
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: IU Cinema
Admission: $10.00

Enjoy a screening of In the Mouth of Madness. The Weird Studies podcast is back with horror godfather John Carpenter's wild and beloved cult classic of nightmarish (and bloody) literary inspiration. 30th anniversary screening.

IU Cinema Friday Night Frights

Date: Friday, October 18
Time: 10:00 PM
Location: IU Cinema
Admission: $5.00 for students, $8.00 for general admission

Enjoy a screening of Oddity. A brutal murder, a nearby asylum, a wooden man, a vengeful medium, and an isolated Irish farmhouse combine in one of the most unexpected—and scariest—horror films of 2024.

IU Cinema Friday Night Frights

Date: Friday, October 25
Time: 10:00 PM
Location: IU Cinema
Admission: $5.00

Enjoy a screening of Train to Busan/Busanhaeng. It's a non-stop, high-octane, and totally wild fight for survival for the passengers on a train from Seoul to Busan once a zombie outbreak takes over South Korea.

Rocky Horror Picture Show

Date: Saturday, October 26
Time: 7:00 PM and 11:00 PM
Location: Buskirk-Chumley Theater
Admission: $15.00 in advance / $20.00 at the door

Enjoy Bloomington's annual fall screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Join us 30 minutes prior to each screening for a fabulous pre-show event, featuring a costume contest, devirginization ceremony, and more!

IU Cinema Night Frights

Date: Wednesday, October 30
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: IU Cinema
Admission: $5.00

Enjoy a screening of Candyman. An incisive, visually thrilling approach to the horrors of gentrification and the deep scars of the past combined with the chills that come from the minds of director Nia DaCosta and producer Jordan Peele. Q&A to follow.

IU Cinema Friday Night Frights

Date: Thursday, October 31
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: IU Cinema
Admission: $10.00

Enjoy a screening of Late Night with the Devil followed by The Blair Witch Project. It's a Found Footage Freakout Double Feature with one of this year's best new horror films and a classic that helped start it all.

Adult Friendly 

Spooky Forest Group Show – October Gallery Walk

Date: Friday, October 4
Time: 5:00-8:00 PM
Location: Gather : handmade shoppe & Co.
Admission: Free

Spooky Forest will be a Group Show featuring the best in 'spooky art' that Bloomington has to offer to usher us into spooky season.

Halloween Candy Pairing Tastings

Date: Every weekend from Saturday, October 5-Sunday, October 20
Time: Various times
Location: Oliver Winery
Admission: $25.00 per ticket (includes a souvenir wine tumbler)

Enjoy your favorite childhood candies paired with various wines during the annual Oliver Winery Halloween Candy Pairing Tastings. (reservations required)

Wine & Wildlife:  Spooky Style

Date: Saturday October 5
Time: 5:00-8:00  PM
Location: Butler Winery and Vineyards
Admission:  Ages 21+ $25, Ages 13-20 $10, Ages 12 & under free

Live music, wine sampling, silent auction, & animals...with a super special spooky appearance by Vincent the silver haired bat! Wear your costume for a prize. Rain date Oct. 19. Presented by Wildcare & Butler Winery.

AfterHours: Brews & Boos

Date: Saturday, October 19
Time: 7:00-10:00 PM
Location: WonderLab Museum
Admission: $20.00 for members, $30.00 for non-members, $10.00 for access pass

Learn about how humans deal with death. People all over the world have to confront death, and every culture has their own way of dealing with it. During this time, you will respectfully engage with various traditions surrounding death. Recommended Ages: 21+ with valid ID. 

Hooked for Halloween with Bonita

Date: Saturday, October 26
Time: 9:00 PM
Location: Rusty Anchor Lakeside Saloon (8660 S. Fairfax Rd.)
Admission:  TBD

Costumes and  drink specials! Make your plans now, spooky season is upon us.