Tampa Bay’s Autumn Delights: Festivals and Ghost Tours for Halloween Enthusiasts

From spooky ghost tours to family-friendly pumpkin festivals, there are plenty of activities to enjoy in the Tampa Bay area from now through October. Here’s a list of some of the events and attractions you can check out:

1. Ghost Tour Safety Harbor: Take a spine-tingling journey through Safety Harbor’s historic and haunted areas, where you’ll hear dark stories of ghosts, spirits, and supernatural beings. Tours run from September 20 to October 31, departing from Gigglewaters Social Club and Screening Room.
2. Ghost Tour Tarpon Springs: Explore Tarpon Springs’ haunted history with paranormal equipment like spirit boxes and dowsing rods. Tours run from September 20 to October 29 at the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks.
3. Tampa Terrors Ghost Tour: Join Tampa Terrors to explore historically haunted locations in Tampa. Tours run on various dates from September 20 to October 29, starting across from Tampa Theatre.
4. Nightly Spirits Ghost Tour and Haunted Pub Crawl: Discover Ybor’s haunted stories and follow in the footsteps of cigar smugglers and rum runners. This tour is for adults 21 and older and includes stops at local pubs. Tours run from September 21 to October 31 at Tampa Bay Brewing Co.
5. Scream-A-Geddon: Experience six terrifying attractions in one location, including haunted houses and zombie paintball. This event runs on various dates from September 21 to October 31 in Dade City.
6. Fall Pumpkin Festival and Haunted Farm: Enjoy a kid-friendly pumpkin festival during the day and a scarier experience after 6 p.m. Activities include pumpkin painting, hayrides, a haunted barn, and more. Held on various dates from September 22 to October 29 at Rapranger Family Farm.
7. Harvest Holler Corn Maze: Navigate a corn maze and visit a pumpkin patch while enjoying activities like hayrides and haystack climbing. Open on various dates from September 22 to October 29 in Polk City.
8. Howl-O-Scream: Busch Gardens transforms into a terrifying Halloween experience with haunted houses, scare zones, shows, and thrilling rides. This mature event runs from September 22 to October 31 at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.
9. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party: Enjoy Disney’s annual Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom, featuring Disney characters in costume, trick-or-treat stations, parades, and more. Runs on select dates from September 22 to October 31 at Walt Disney World.
10. St. Petersburg Ghost Tour: Take a candlelight walking tour through St. Petersburg’s historic district to hear true ghost stories. Tours run from September 22 to October 31, starting at Sweet Divas Chocolates.
11. Undead in the Water: Explore a historic WWII cargo ship, the SS American Victory, haunted by a possessed cult. This experience runs on various dates from September 22 to October 28 in Tampa.
12. Spooktacular at Busch Gardens: Enjoy a not-so-spooky Halloween party for kids at Busch Gardens with trick-or-treating, a costume parade, and family-friendly entertainment. Runs on weekends through Halloween at Busch Gardens.
13. Brick or Treat: Kids can trick-or-treat throughout Legoland and enjoy Halloween-themed activities and fireworks. Held on September 23 at Legoland Florida.
14. Fall Family Festival: Celebrate local families at Water Works Park with interactive exhibits, vendors, family resources, games, food trucks, and entertainment. Takes place on September 23 in Tampa.
15. Haunted Train Depot Tour: Experience a real paranormal investigation and a lock-down inside the old train depot in Plant City. Runs on various dates from September 29 to October 28.
16. Sir Henry’s Haunted Trail: Celebrate the 10th season with three outdoor haunted trails, a haunted hayride, escape games, and ax throwing. Runs on select dates from September 29 to October 29 in Plant City.
17. The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Barry Bostwick, the original Brad Majors, will be at this screening in celebration of the 48th anniversary of the original unedited film on September 29 in St. Petersburg.
18. Fall Kickoff: The pumpkin patch opens with a pumpkin photo wall, scarecrow treasure hunt, food truck, and seminars on decorating and plant care on September 30 in Seffner.
19. Creatures of the Night: Enjoy an after-hours, family-friendly Halloween party at ZooTampa at Lowry Park with a vampire ball theme. Takes place on September 30 and October 6 in Tampa.
20. National Ghost Day: Learn about ghost-hunting techniques and tools at the St. Petersburg Museum of History on September 30 in St. Petersburg.

These are just some of the Halloween and fall-themed events happening in the Tampa Bay area. Be sure to check specific event websites or contact the organizers for more details and to confirm event dates and times.