Edmonton goes all-in on Halloween, and 2026's lineup covers just about every appetite for fright. Whether you want a stadium-scale rave, a haunted house with your knuckles firmly clenched, or a three-course dinner inspired by a serial killer's final meal, the city has something running on or around Oct. 31.

The heavyweight is Scream at the Edmonton Expo Centre, a Halloween rave that started 26 years ago in a hospital-adjacent hall and has grown into a Canadian institution. This year's bill includes Sara Landry, Alesso, Tiësto and Kream, with the party running 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. across Oct. 30 and 31. Passes start at $149.95, though a waitlist is in play — check the site before writing it off.

If actual scares are the point, Deadmonton on 47th St. NW is the city's scariest haunted house, with three new haunts this year, open 6 p.m. to midnight from $54.99. Fort Edmonton Park hosts DARK, where four separate haunt experiences (one brand new) plus roving entertainment and a live DJ take over the park from 7 to 11 p.m., tickets from $50. Out in Vegreville, about an hour east, The Haunted Hike splits its audience: a no-scares, self-guided Kids Hour ($14.99, 3 to 5 p.m.) and a full 4D Scary Hour with live actors across 20 themed rooms ($34.99, 6 to 11 p.m.).

For a softer, glow-lit evening, Pumpkins After Dark at Borden Park has rebuilt its carved-pumpkin trail for 2026 and opens its first Edmonton weekend on Oct. 31, 6:30 to 11 p.m., from $25.76 — easily the most family-friendly ticket on the list alongside the Horizon Drive-In at Edmonton Valley Zoo, where three screenings of horror and Halloween-friendly films roll at 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. from just $10.

Food and drink get a look-in too. District 102's Last Meal Series serves a chef-designed three-course dinner and themed cocktail riffing on Ted Bundy's reported last breakfast — think strawberry French toast bread pudding and baked Boursin bruschetta — at $75 a head, 6:30 p.m. And if you'd rather just drink your way through the night, the Fright Crawl sells a $79.56 wristband for entry to multiple Whyte Avenue bars from 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

A quick bit of strategy: the big-ticket events (Scream, the Fright Crawl) reward early booking, while the haunted houses tend to have walk-up availability but sell out fastest closest to midnight. Vegreville's Haunted Hike is worth the drive if you're travelling with kids — the early Kids Hour slot means you can be home before the grown-up scares begin. Costumes, clearly, are expected almost everywhere.

Article based on a roundup by Curiocity.