If you're in Toronto between October 19 and 23, the city is serving up a strange and very affordable mix of trivia, horror and free culture — with a few late-night extras thrown in.

Start with the free stuff, because there's more of it than usual. The Aga Khan Museum, home to a permanent collection of over 1,200 masterpieces, waives admission every Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. during extended hours. Just down the road, the Gardiner Museum does the same every Wednesday after 4 p.m., no registration needed. And if you didn't know: all 10 Toronto History Museums — including Fort York, Mackenzie House, Spadina Museum and Todmorden Mills — are free at all times, a City of Toronto policy aimed at opening heritage spaces to everyone.

Halloween season is in full swing, and the big-ticket option is Casa Loma's Legends of Horror. The hilltop castle has run this event every October for a decade, turning its gardens and tunnels into an hour-long haunted loop full of scare actors and ghoulish sets. Family-friendly hours run Friday to Sunday at 5:30, 6 and 6:30 p.m., with regular scares from 7 p.m.; tickets start at $35 plus fees and it runs daily until October 31. Out in Vaughan, Halloween Haunt at Canada's Wonderland packs in mazes, hundreds of monsters, scare zones and night rides on select nights until November 1, with a Conjuring-themed immersive attraction among the draws. Tickets start at $45 plus taxes and fees.

For something gentler but still after dark, Ghost Walks: Hidden Histories After Dark runs Fridays until October 30, 7 to 9 p.m., for $15. The guided tour gets you into normally off-limits spots including Scadding Cabin — Toronto's oldest surviving building — and the Horse Palace at the Exhibition Place grounds.

Over in Etobicoke, Halloween Nights of Lights and Pumpkinville at CF Sherway Gardens claims more than 1.5 million lights, 15,000 real pumpkins, midway rides and seasonal food. It runs select dates until November 1, with adults from $21.99 plus fees and kids from $16.99.

If horror isn't your thing, there's food and drink aplenty. Harry's Charbroiled Burgers has teamed up with Boxcar Social for a limited-time breakfast collab at Waterworks Food Hall on weekends, 8 to 11 a.m. — breakfast sandwiches from $14.50, plus hash browns, coffee combos and cookies. Meanwhile Honey on King Street West has gone late-night, with DJ nights in Portland Square every Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. (free entry, spiked tea cocktails encouraged). And on Tuesdays, Local in East York runs free trivia hosted by Quizmaster Jess — the winning team takes a $100 gift card, with Steam Whistle prizes for runners-up.

Why care? Because this is a snapshot of how cheap a good week in Toronto can be if you time it right: two free museum nights midweek, a free city-run museum network year-round, and entry-level Halloween tickets from $15 to $35. If you're visiting in late October, stack the Wednesday museum visits, a Friday ghost walk and a weekend haunted house, and you've got a proper autumn city break without spending much on admissions at all.