Spooky season has officially begun, and we’re already gearing up for the big event: Halloween!
No matter what describes you best—studious spirit, partying paranormal, musical monster, or fearless phantom—the District is hosting a Halloween event that’s perfect for you!
Below, check out some of the best haunts D.C. has to offer:
1. Grab your wand and head to Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience
Now open just in time for Halloween, this Harry Potter-themed woodland adventure in Leesburg is a perfect plan for any Potterheads this fall! This year’s experience promises more magical moments and iconic characters than ever before.
Tickets are already selling out, so don’t wait to reserve your spot! Fortunately, the event will stay up until early December, so if you don’t see it by Halloween, you still have time to soak up the magic!
2. Do a thrilling escape room and see if you crack under pressure at The Escape Game DC in Georgetown
Located in Georgetown, The Escape Game DC is one of the premier options in the District with its 6 unique escape room options and ability to host groups of up to 10 people!
- A Pirate’s Adventure – Fit for up to 8 players with a difficulty rating of 8/10.
- The Cabin – Fit for up to 8 players with a difficulty rating of 6/10.
- The Depths – Fit for up to 8 players with a difficulty rating of 7/10.
- The Curse of the Mummy – Fit for up to 8 players with a difficulty rating of 7/10.
- Titanic – Fit for up to 8 players with a difficulty rating of 8/10.
- Dr. Whack’s Elixir of Life – Fit for up to 8 players with a difficulty rating of 8/10.
The escapes are timed to be completed within an hour and have a range of difficulty, which makes this a perfect spot for all audiences.
Location: 3345 M St NW
3. Attend a family-friendly Halloween-themed afternoon at Mystery Mansion
Including a family-friendly haunted house and a bonfire bash that will be fun for all ages, this plan is a perfect plan to get the whole family into the spirit of spooky season!
There are a dozen rooms in the haunted house, live music, a bonfire event, food, and so much more available.
4. Step into a spine-tingling cocktail bar
Trouble Bird in Navy Yard has totally transformed for spooky season and is now home to The Black Lagoon, an epic pop-up cocktail experience.
Filled with haunting Halloween drinks and decor, the chilling cocktail bar offers expertly crafted cocktails with thrilling titles like the Siren’s Song, Nightmare Fuel, and Blood Lust. The Black Lagoon is only in D.C. from October 8th to November 2nd, so don’t miss out!
5. Dining in the Dark: A Unique Blindfolded Dining Experience
While D.C.’s Dining in the Dark experience takes place year-round, there is certainly an element of spookiness as you enter a darkened restaurant.
Once blindfolded, you will have your remaining senses to experience your meal from an entirely different perspective. Brave enough to put your taste buds to the test? Snag tickets here for this one-of-a-kind dining experience.
6. Take a haunted ghost tour of D.C. for Boos and Booze
With rich history comes mysterious and inexplicable happenings, so there have been whispers that D.C. is plagued with ghosts and spirits of the past!
If you dare, this ghost tour will show you the haunted side of the District you never knew!
7. Don your best costume for one of D.C.’s Halloween-themed bar crawls
Halloween isn’t just for kids—and what’s better for adults than trick-or-treating for booze?! D.C. has several Halloween-themed bar crawls this month, encouraging you to dress up and do the “Monster Mash” until you wake the dead!
- Trick or Drink Washington DC Halloween Bar Crawl
- DC Halloween Crawl
- Nightmare in Navy Yard
- The Nightmare Before Bar
- Nightmare on M Street
8. Enjoy a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt at the O Museum
Hidden D.C. gem, the O Street Museum, is celebrating Halloween all month long! A mansion and hotel teeming with kitschy objects and collectibles for sale, themed hidden rooms, and more than 80 secret doors—the O Street Museum is giving itself a spooky spin by making its scavenger hunt Halloween-themed! But be careful—who knows what’s behind each door!
9. Get into the spooky spirit with Boo at the Zoo
It’s a dream come true! You can now reserve tickets for October 18th, 19th & 20th for Boo at the Zoo—a family-friendly event filled with spooky activities and Jack O’Lantern adorned animal habitats at the National Zoo!
Boo at the Zoo is sponsored by Mars Wrigley Confectionery, so it’s safe to say that there will be plenty of treats in store for those who come.
10. Take in a classical rendition of your favorite Halloween haunts
Taking in the sounds of classical renditions of your favorite Halloween haunts amidst soft candlelight? Spooky season just got better! The Fever Originals Candlelight series is the perfect way to get into the Halloween spirit (or spirits). With multiple genres and musical themes to choose from, there’s bound to be a creepy concert that’s perfect for you!
- Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics at St. Francis Hall
- Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics at Miracle Theatre
- Candlelight: Best Horror Movie Soundtracks
11. Get tickets to the real-life Squid Game experience coming to NYC this fall
Netflix’s Squid Game took the world by storm not long ago and with season 2 of this hit show slated to come out in December of this year, you’re not going to want to miss out on this incredible event happening right by Penn Station in Midtown, Manhattan!
The experience will open on October 11th, but with the popularity of the event and how quickly tickets are selling out, you might want to grab your tickets now before it’s too late!
Tickets start at around $50 for standard admission tickets to participate in 5 unique challenges inspired by the show!
Once the challenges are over, you’ll also be able to check out the incredible pop-up Squid Game shop, which is packed with limited edition merch that you can rock on Halloween.
Where: Midtown, Manhattan, NYC
12. See a perfectly reconstructed sarcophagus at Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures
With more than 1,000 reconstructed Egyptian artifacts, Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures offers guests an unparalleled glance into Ancient Egypt. From October 28th to November 3rd, visitors who attend the exhibit wearing Halloween costumes can get 25% off merchandise! 
13. Check out the #5 haunted house in the nation just an hour from DC
“Bennett’s Curse“, officially ranked America’s fifth-best haunted attraction is located near the Eastpoint Mall in Eastern Baltimore, roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes from D.C. by car!
What better way to get into the spirit of Halloween than by getting scared witless with a couple of your friends?
14. Go Trick or Treating at some of the Embassies around DC
If you’re wondering where to score some unique international treats this Halloween, look no further than DC’s famous Embassy Row!
Here’s a full list of embassies that have already publically stated their participation in Halloween this year:
- Embassy of Belize from 12 to 5 pm – 2535 Massachusetts Ave., NW
- Embassy of Greece until 4 pm – 2217 Massachusetts Ave., NW
- Embassy of Paraguay from 12 to 4 pm – 2209 Massachusetts Ave., NW
- Embassy of Portugal from 9 am to 5 pm – 2012 Massachusetts Ave., NW
- Embassy of Lesotho until 4 pm – 2511 Massachusetts Ave., NW
- Embassy of Slovenia until 4:30 pm – 2410 California St., NW
- Embassy of Indonesia from 12 to 4 pm – 2020 Massachusetts Ave., NW
15. Get some affordable frights by seeing one of the horror films currently in theatres at a discounted price
Whether you’re the fearless friend who loves horror or the scaredy cat of your relationship, the one thing you won’t have to fear for sure is overpaying for movie tickets this Halloween season if you choose to catch one of the movies currently in theatres!
Whether it be a Regal Cinema or AMC theatre, you can find discounted tickets and vouchers for snacks, drinks, or candy today!