Spine-Chilling Halloween Adventures Await Visitors to Omaha

Don your finest costume to sip a drink in style. Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel's Pool Club Bar is transformed into a haunted haven with themed cocktails on Thursdays through Saturdays in October.  At Lauritzen Gardens, you can step into the world of boo-tanical mischief for a Spooky Spirits event on Oct. 18. Durham Museum is also hosting a spook-tacular cocktail hour this year. Durham After Dark, on Oct. 24, will feature live music and storytellers weaving historical intrigue. 

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is celebrating Halloween all month with a 31-day Horror Film Fest. The theater kicks off October with showings of "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," "Speak No Evil," "The Thing," a 16mm Halloween Special of shorts, and more. Whether you're into new releases, like "Never Let Go" (2024), campy cult classics, like "Shaun of the Dead," or classic monster flicks, like "Creature from the Black Lagoon," you'll meet a boo-tiful match here. Film Streams at Ruth Sokolof Theater is playing "The Masque of the Red Death," starring the masterful horror villain actor Vincent Price, on Oct. 5, 6, 12 and 13, and the classic silent horror film "Nosferatu"  on Oct. 19, 20, 26 and 27. 

Visit the “world’s most haunted museum” in downtown Omaha. Museum of Shadows houses more than 3,000 haunted artifacts donated from sources worldwide. Visitors have reported hearing spooky sounds like children’s laughter and growls, feeling unearthly physical presence, and seeing apparitions. Cameras have caught some of the artifacts’ strangeness, like dolls moving independently – rocking in a chair and walking off a shelf. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. For next-level scare enthusiasts, book a ghost hunt (must be 14+). For two hours, tiptoe through the museum, first with your guides and their top-of-the-line paranormal equipment, and next on your own. For the bravest, there is a 10-minute sit challenge. Picture no lights, surrounded by artifacts, and all alone.

Embark on a flashlight-lit night tour at Squirrel Cage Jail on select dates in October. Surprises lurk in this rotary jail built in 1885. Three stacked holding cell levels revolve inside a cage with only one opening. To let prisoners out, the jailer had to revolve the cells until the desired cell was flush with the door. In other words, good luck escaping. Watch out for creepy decorations and scare actors as you follow your guide. Fog machines and strobe lights set the mood on this 45-minute tour.

In West Omaha, explore 20 acres of Halloween thrills at Scary Acres, which has three terrifying attractions: Master’s Castle, House on the Hill, and Haunted Woods. A super combo ticket for $30 gets you into all three. The attraction is rated 13+ due to its terrifying images, blood and gore. By day, Bellevue Berry & Pumpkin Ranch is a family-friendly place with wholesome activities, but at night ... it transforms into The Ranch of Terror. Walk through a zombie jail, tour a haunted house and go for walk through the woods ... if you dare. Find more haunted houses here.