This story has moved to Go2! Originally published on our much acclaimed New Jersey site, it now lives here as a guide to the type of celebrations that you can enjoy in the garden state for Halloween. There are bound to be some of these events still going on strong after all these years and others that aren’t around anymore.
My friend Anne told me a ghost story this week. In Upper Black Eddy there used to be this woman named Witchy Walberg. She’d moved out here from the city and bought an old house on a mountaintop after she’d gotten rich selling a tool that made the perfect pie crust. She built a tower onto the house to look out over the valley and the river in the distance. On the weekends she’d invite friends out to take ghost tours of her haunted house. Her neighbors thought this was quite funny. They’d lived there their entire lives and never heard anything about any ghosts. They said that she must have brought the ghosts with her when she moved in. They loved to make fun of her and one night Charlie Potter decided to get these old ghost hunters good. He took some scissors, cut two holes in a sheet, threw it over his head and hopped on his motorcycle, and rode up and down the road in front of the crowd. The next day Charlie overheard somebody saying that the ghost hunters had thought that he was part of the show.
You too can be part of the show this weekend in a Halloween parade or costume contest near you. Here’s my bewitching forecast for the fifth weekend of October of 2010, the 44th weekend of the year. In North Jersey, there’s a Day of the Dead Party at the Newark Museum, a spooky celebration for the kids at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, and a wacky pumpkin catapult competition in Belvidere. In Central Jersey, there’s a $5,000.00 costume contest and Circus of Hell Party in Asbury Park, a walk through Riverside Cemetery in Clinton, and a Live Dead concert in Red Bank. In South Jersey, there’s a $20,000.00 costume contest at the Borgata, a War of the Worlds event in Cape May, and the second largest Halloween parade in the world is held in Toms River on Saturday night.
The events are listed below by region with a little more detail and a link to the main event listing page. You can now bookmark our This Weekend in New Jersey Page so that you can come back and get the updates for every weekend in the same place.
Halloween Weekend in North Jersey:
Last Fling Pumpkin Sling – October 30 and 31, Belvidere, Warren County
BELVIDERE – Sponsored by the Highlands Tourism Partnership, the Last Fling Pumpkin Sling will encourage students in junior high, high school, or involved in civic groups to build a catapult or trebuchet that can sling a pumpkin. The project will be a collaboration of brain and brawn as students work together as a team. The teams will come together to compete on October 30 & 31, 2010 at Hensler Farms on Route 519 just outside of Belvidere, NJ.
Morris Museum, Halloween Family Festival, Saturday, Morristown, Morris County
MORRISTOWN – Enjoy a day of spooky fun for the entire family at the Morris Museum’s Halloween Family Festival on Saturday, October 30 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. The cost for the festival is $7/child, $10/adult (free for museum members), which includes admission to the museum and a 1 p.m. show of the …
Pumpkin Land Festival, Friday, Saturday, Vernon, Sussex County
VERNON – Ten acres of fun await you at the 2010 Pumpkin Land Festival in Vernon, New Jersey. The festival runs from September 18th to October 31st, including Columbus Day. The festival begins with a hayride to the pumpkin patch along the scenic countryside showcasing the rich history and the beautiful landscape of the Vernon Valley. After the hayride you …
Dia De Los Muertos, Day Of The Dead, Saturday, Newark, Essex County
NEWARK – Celebrate with friends and family the age-old customs of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) at the Newark Museum on Saturday, October 30, from 12:30 pm -4:30 pm. Be part of this exciting Latino Heritage Festival on a fun-filled day to honor the spirit and rich cultural heritage of generations gone before with live music and dance, gallery tours, and more
Chester Halloween Costume Contest and Parade, Sunday, Chester
CHESTER – Chester’s Annual Halloween Costume Contest and Parade will be held on Halloween, Sunday, October 31st, 2010 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Does your little monster have a fang-tastic costume? If so, Historic Chester invites you to join their Annual Halloween Costume Contest and Parade. Trick or Treating throughout Downtown Chester will begin at 2:00 pm. The parade line-up will begin at 4:30 pm at …
Haunted Acres Hayride, Friday, Saturday, Vernon, Sussex County
VERNON: At day’s end, the tormented spirits of forgotten villagers rise out of the darkness along the Haunted Acres Hayride every Friday and Saturday night. The horror-filled hayride travels through an abandoned village hidden along trails through overgrown cornfields and woods. The evil and troubled ghost of a young girl leads the hayride into the eerie and gruesome undertakings …
Spooktacular, Friday and Saturday, Halloween at the Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, Hudson County
JERSEY CITY – For a creepy Halloween treat, check out Liberty Science Center’s “Things That go Bump in the Night” Spooktacular, featuring classic monsters on October 29th and 30th from 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm. Let your imagination run wild just before Halloween! Teens and adults will thrill to the fearsome factors in a dark and dangerous maze where “things go bump in the night,” and then see hair-raising live science shows, electrifying entertainers, and creepy costumed …
Halloween Weekend in Central Jersey:
Halloween Pumpkin Path, Haunted House, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Warren Somerset County
WARREN – The Wagner Farm Arboretum will host a Brite Nites Halloween Event on two consecutive weekends: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 22, 23, 24, and 29, 30, and 31. The event will feature a Pumpkin Path and Haunted House Showcase. This first-of-its-kind event, Brite Nites will consist of a pumpkin path that wanders through the fields and gardens …
$5,000.00 Halloween Costume Contest and Circus of Hell Party Saturday, Asbury Park, Monmouth County
ASBURY PARK – Pyramid Productions brings one of the biggest and scariest Halloween parties in Asbury Park every year with past parties including “the Halloween Block Party in 2008 and the Shining at the Berkeley in 2009. This year’s party titled the Circus of Hell is sure to be the biggest to date that the city has seen in decades. Hosted at the Convention Hall on October 30, this event will raise the deceased as it awards over $5000.00 in costume and cash prizes. “This year’s party is not your ordinary …
Halloween at the State Theatre Trick or Treat – Friday – New Brunswick – Middlesex County
NEW BRUNSWICK – On Halloween, the State Theatre presents Leo Lionni’s Swimmy, Frederick & Inch by Inch performed by the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia on Sunday, October 31, 2010, at 11 am. Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia transforms three of Leo Lionni’s Caldecott Honor books into an enchanting theatrical experience for kids. Also, parents and kids can kick off …
Live Dead – Recreation of Grateful Dead Songs – Saturday – Red Bank – Monmouth County
RED BANK – In just 9 months of 1970, the Grateful Dead recorded and released their 4th and 5th studio albums, Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. Featuring 18 songs like “Uncle John’s Band,” “Casey Jones” “Box of Rain,” “Friend of the Devil,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Ripple,” “Brokedown Palace,” and “Truckin’,” they fused rock, blues, bluegrass, folk and especially country music, changing the direction of the band, and popular music overall away from psychedelia toward a traditional …
Riverside Cemetery Walk – Saturday – Clinton – Hunterdon County
The Silent City: A Walk Through The Riverside Cemetery will be presented on October the 30th, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. Once again mayor and town historian extraordinaire Allie McGaheran lends her expertise for an informative walking tour of two of Clinton’s most interesting cemeteries, the Riverside Cemetery and Clinton Presbyterian Church Cemetery located on Center Street in Clinton. Mrs. McGaheran will discuss the history of several notable local residents and historical dignitaries who have been …
Corn Maze and Cider Making at Howell Living History Farm – Saturday, Sunday – Titusville – Mercer County
TITUSVILLE – The Howell Living History Farm in Titusville will host two events this weekend: a corn maze and an apple cider-making demonstration. The events are part of the farm’s extensive education program. There’s always something happening there. The apple cider-making demonstration features all the tools and methods required to make apple cider as well as apple …
Haunted Mill – Friday – Clinton – Hunterdon County
CLINTON — Covering over nine acres of haunted terrain, this bone-chilling fund-raiser benefits both the Red Mill Museum Village and the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department. This year’s event will take place on Friday and Saturday nights October 15, 16, 22, 23, and 29, from 6:30 pm to midnight, and is seeking community and business support to make this our biggest Halloween extravaganza ever. Talented helpers with any and all skills are in demand. Produced by Jennifer Frick and Roy …
Brew & Chocolate – Sunday – Flemington – Hunterdon County
FLEMINGTON – Spirits of Brew & Chocolate will abound at Main Street Manor in Flemington, New Jersey, on Sunday, October 31, 2010, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.. With Halloween just around the corner, if you’re seeking some grown-up temptations for the witching hour, join us here at the Inn! Heart-pounding appetizers, potions made with local wine, and our favorite palm reader Joan will be available for readings from 3 or 4 until 5 pm…then our Main event begins!
Halloween Weekend in South Jersey:
Toms River Halloween Parade – Saturday – Toms River – Ocean County
TOMS RIVER – The Toms River Halloween Parade is the second-largest Halloween parade in the world. The 73rd annual parade will be held Saturday, October 30th on Main Street. The parade, sponsored by the Toms River Volunteer Fire Company #1 draws as many as 100,000 visitors and 6,000 participants from all over South Jersey. It’s such a big …
$20,000.00 Halloween Costume Contest – Saturday – Atlantic City – Atlantic County
ATLANTIC CITY – Celebrate Halloween at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and dress to win over $20,000 in prizes awarded to the best costumes of the weekend! Kick-start the holiday on Saturday, October 30th with Twilight star Kellan Lutz and continue the party on Sunday, October 31st with True Blood’s Joe Manganiello before dancing the night away on Monday, November 1st with the …
Tunes from the Crypt – Spooky Organ Music and Walking Ghost Tour – Friday – Salem – Salem County
SALEM —With Halloween fast approaching, the Salem County Cultural & Heritage Commission and the Salem County Arts Alliance are presenting an appropriately bone-chilling evening of entertainment for the whole family on Friday evening, October 29, 2010. “Tunes from the Crypt” features Joanne Koerber Owen at the …
Not SoOo Scary Halloween – Friday – Chesterfield – Burlington County
CHESTERFIELD – Join the staff at Fernbrook Farms Education Center on Friday, October 22 and 29, 2010 from 6:30-8:30 pm for our annual Not SoOo Scary Halloween event in Chesterfield, New Jersey. This is Fernbrook’s alternative to the haunted hayride and it is geared toward ages 10 and under for an exciting event to help younger ones enjoy the holiday. Bring the whole family to play some fun Halloween games and join us on a wagon ride around the farm to meet and learn about some fun spirits from …
Ghost Tour of Ocean City – Saturday – Ocean City – Cape May County
OCEAN CITY – Do you believe in ghosts? Push aside the cobwebs of Ocean City’s buried past and unearth bone-chilling tales of real haunted houses, true ghost stories, and where they buried the bodies! Join us for a Candlelight Walking Tour every Saturday at 8:00 pm through Halloween. Tours depart from 9th Street and Asbury Avenue in front of …
Cape May Halloween – Murder Mystery Dinners – Haunted Houses – Ghost Tours – Friday, Saturday, Sunday – Cape May – Cape May County
CAPE MAY — Discover what makes Victorian Cape May a hotbed for paranormal activity from Friday, October 15th through Sunday, October 31st. Seaside spirits take up residence in their favorite historic haunts, spooky sights, and sounds surround the City, and things are going bump in the night for more than two weeks. Embrace the other side of Cape May and get in the spirit of the season with Halloween-themed tours and events including ghost trolley tours, and spooky tours of Cape May’s original haunted house.
Ocean City Halloween Parade – October 29 – Ocean City – Cape May County
OCEAN CITY – The 63rd annual Halloween Parade will take place on Thursday, October 28th beginning at 7:15 pm. The Ocean City Exchange Club, in conjunction with the City of Ocean City, organizes and sponsors the event. The parade, one of the longest-running of its kind in New Jersey, will march along Asbury Avenue from 6th to …
War of the Worlds in Cape May – Friday, Saturday – Cape May – Cape May County
CAPE MAY—Relive the most famous Halloween in New Jersey history when the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities and Shadow Stalkers turn back the clock to October 30th, 1938 for “Cape May’s War of the Worlds” from Friday, October 29th through Saturday, October the 30th. New in 2010, the Looking Glass Mystery Adventure Weekends are a series of nonstop, think-on-your-feet investigations into some very unusual crimes. “Cape May’s War of the Worlds” is the theme for the weekend-long …
Haunted Prison – Friday, Saturday – Mount Holly – Burlington County
MOUNT HOLLY – The Haunted Prison is a haunted attraction that is built within the massive courtyard of the Burlington County Prison Museum in Mount Holly, New Jersey. Yes, It is very scary! One of the scariest in the tri-state area. Excerpt from The Burlington County Prison Museum Website: The “dungeon” or maximum-security cell, was in the center of the top floor. That location was carefully chosen to prevent escape by digging, to minimize communication with criminals in the cell blocks, and to ensure constant surveillance by guards making rounds. This was the only cell without a fireplace. It is flanked by niches for guards or …
Halloween in the Wildwoods – Halloween Parade – Fair – Haunted House – The Wildwoods – Cape May County
THE WILDWOODS – Halloween in the Wildwoods kicks off on Thursday, October 28 at 6:30 p.m. with the 5th Annual Centennial Trunk or Treat hosted by the Wildwood Crest Recreation Department. The event consists of adults bringing their Halloween-decorated vehicles to the Wildwood Crest Pier parking lot at Heather Road and Ocean Avenue, where they will distribute candy from the trunks of their vehicles to children outfitted for Halloween. The event includes other Halloween-related activities, a DJ …