St. Augustine, Florida, known as the nation’s oldest city, is offering a range of Halloween-themed events and haunted tours throughout October. The city’s historical background, with centuries-old cemeteries, narrow brick streets, and Spanish fortresses, provides a setting for stories about ghosts and other supernatural phenomena.
Haunted tours are scheduled nightly during October. These include the Night Watchman Ghost Tours, which recount local history from the viewpoint of night watchmen who once patrolled St. Augustine’s streets. The Ghosts & Gravestones tour uses the Trolley of Doom to visit haunted sites across downtown and is open to visitors of all ages. Other options available each evening are St. Augustine Dark History Tour, Ghost Tours of St. Augustine, Old Jail After Dark, Nightly Spirits Ghost Tours, A Ghostly Encounter, GhoSt Augustine, and After Dark Investigations.
Water-based experiences such as Florida Water Tours’ Moonlit Mysteries: Haunted History Boat Tour run Thursdays through Saturdays. On land, The Beetlejuice Pub Crawl with Tasting Tours operates on Fridays and Saturdays using electric vehicles to take participants to haunted venues serving themed cocktails.
From October 30 through November 2 there is St. Augustine Haunted in Pink—tours in pink carts that feature ghost stories along the way. Each Friday and Saturday in October at the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum includes “Mortality & Mourning: Women in Black,” focusing on women’s experiences with loss in 19th-century St. Augustine.
The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum hosts its Dark of the Moon Ghost Experience every weekend night in October; visitors can hear ghost stories before climbing 219 steps up the lighthouse tower.
On October 18th there will be an event called Old St. Johns County Jail: A Haunting Experience at the former jail site where some of Florida’s most notorious criminals were once held.
Between October 24-26 at GTM Research Reserve’s EstuSCARY Haunted Trail guests can explore a South Beach Hammock Trail set up for scares and surprises.
On October 25th Castillo by Candlelight: Sharks in the Moat offers an opportunity to learn about both historic legends and real-life tales involving sharks around Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.
Family-friendly activities include Sykes Family Farms Crop Maze (open weekends from early October through November 2), featuring corn mazes and hayrides; CROCtoberfest – Brew at the ZOO! (an adults-only beer tasting event); improv comedy shows at Third Space Improv starting mid-October; “Dark and Stormy Night” storytelling by Tale Tellers of St. Augustine at Limelight Theatre on October 22; a charity Jail Break 5K race followed by a costume contest on October 25; Scream City Con horror convention over two days beginning October 25; Headless Bangers Costume Ball with live music also on that date; Poetry Open Mic on October 26; and Séance Sketches art workshops by candlelight at St. Augustine Art Association.
Trick-or-treating opportunities are planned for children at various locations including Creatures of the Night (October 24-26) at St. Alligator Farm Zoological Park—a combination of candy collection stations amid nocturnal animals—and Trick-or-Treating and Harvest Festival at Ximenez-Fatio House Museum on October 25 for safe daytime trick-or-treating inside a historic home.
Other family events include Tricks and Treats hosted by St. Augustine Beach Police Department on October 24 featuring games and emergency vehicles for kids to explore; Hastings Trunk or Treat & Movie in the Park on October 25; as well as participation from shops along famous walking street during the annual St. George Street Trick or Treat celebration.
Florida’s Historic Coast spans between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville covering areas like Ponte Vedra’s golf resorts as well as rural communities such as Hastings and Elkton alongside more than forty miles of Atlantic beaches.
More information about these events is available through visitor centers or online via www.FloridasHistoricCoast.com.
