Your guide to Halloween and all things spooky, fun, and festive

Halloween is creeping closer. Whether you’re planning a party, searching for haunted places to explore, or just want to embrace every eerie detail of the season, this is your one-stop guide. From chilling ghost stories to cozy fall nights in, we’ve gathered all our best Halloween articles in one place.

Get ready to decorate, dress up, and dive into everything that makes the spooky season so addictive. Click through the sections below to find ideas, inspiration, and local legends that will keep your Halloween spirit alive all month long.

When is Halloween this year 

Halloween always falls on October 31, but the day of the week changes each year. In 2025, Halloween lands on a Friday, which means an entire weekend of spooky celebrations ahead!

That’s perfect timing for parties, movie marathons, and trick-or-treating without worrying about school or work the next morning. Many local events also stretch into the weekend, so you’ll have plenty of chances to get your fill of fright and fun.

Halloween forecast 2025

While it is early for a Halloween weather forecast, the prediction, according to The Weather Network, is a high of 10°C, a low of 5°C and a 30% chance of rain.

The history of Halloween

Halloween didn’t start with costumes and candy. Its roots reach back thousands of years. The holiday began with Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”), a Celtic festival marking the end of harvest season and the start of winter. People believed that on the night of October 31, the boundary between the living and the dead blurred, allowing spirits to roam the earth.

To protect themselves from wandering ghosts, villagers lit bonfires and wore disguises to blend in with the supernatural visitors. These early traditions planted the seeds for what would eventually become Halloween.

When Christianity spread across Europe, All Saints’ Day (or All Hallows’ Day) was established on November 1. This turned the night before into All Hallows’ Eve, which, over time, became “Halloween.”

By the time the celebration reached North America, it had blended Celtic customs with new influences from immigrants and communities across the continent. Pumpkin carving replaced turnip lanterns, costumes became more playful than protective, and trick-or-treating took off in the early 20th century as a community-friendly way for kids to celebrate.

Today, Halloween is a mix of old-world mystery and modern fun — a time when ancient folklore meets creativity, nostalgia, and a shared love of the spooky and strange.

👻 Costumes & Makeup Inspiration

• Halloween Costume Ideas — Fresh ideas for every age, from funny to frightening.
• This Year’s Trending Halloween Costumes — What’s hot this season in costume trends.
• 20 Families Who Absolutely Nailed Their Halloween Costumes — Major family costume inspo from people who went all out.
• What they ordered Vs What they got: Halloween edition — Hilarious look at online costume hits and misses.
• Halloween Stores — Where to shop locally for costumes, decor, and all things spooky.

📽️ Movies & TV to Set the Mood

• Halloween Movies — The best films to stream for spooky season.
• Family-Friendly Halloween Movies — Not too scary, just right for kids and family nights.
• Best Horror Movies — The ultimate horror watchlist for serious scare fans.
• The Evolution of Horror Cinema — A deep dive into how horror movies have changed through the years.
• Halloween TV Shows — From classic sitcom specials to bone-chilling series.

🏚️ Spooky Local Attractions

• Local Scary Things to Do — Haunted houses, eerie trails, and fright nights near Barrie.
• Family Fright: Barrie Halloween — A family-friendly haunted experience in Barrie.
• Local Home Haunts Guaranteed to Scare You Silly — The most creative (and terrifying) home displays in the area.
• Barrie’s Spookiest Halloween Decorations — Tour the city’s best-decorated homes for a frightfully fun night drive.
• The Best Places Near Barrie to Pick Your Own Pumpkin — Where to grab the perfect pumpkin and soak up fall vibes.
• Pumpkinferno at Discovery Harbour — Experience a glowing autumn tradition with thousands of hand-carved pumpkins, themed displays and spine-tingling attractions.
• Friday Harbour Hallowalk — A glowing Halloween trail at Friday Harbour featuring spooky lights, festive activities, and fun for the whole family.
• Canada’s Wonderland: Halloween Haunt & The Conjuring — Experience the terror of The Conjuring: Beyond Fear, a 20-minute interactive SCREAMium attraction at Canada's Wonderland's Halloween Haunt.
• Your guide to fall fairs and festivals in Simcoe County — Explore a roundup of seasonal events across the region, including pumpkin picking, Demolition Derbies, and artisan markets.

🕸️ Safety & Tips

• Halloween Safety Tips — Smart ways to keep kids safe while trick-or-treating.

🎃 More Halloween Fun!

• 5 Things to Do With Your Pumpkins After Halloween — Eco-friendly and creative ways to reuse or recycle your pumpkins.
• Canada Halloween Survey — What Canadians love (and fear) most about Halloween.
• Love It or Hate It: The Great Candy Corn Debate — The sweet treat that divides us every October.
• Spirit Halloween Responds to SNL Sketch — After Saturday Night Live mocked the seasonal retailer, Spirit Halloween fired back with a cheeky social media post introducing a fake costume titled “Irrelevant 50-Year-Old TV Show.”

Keep the Halloween spirit alive

No matter how you celebrate, whether it’s dressing up, watching spooky movies, visiting haunted attractions, or just enjoying fall festivities, there’s something for everyone this Halloween. 

Explore the articles above for inspiration, local events, safety tips, and all the tricks and treats that make the season so special. Bookmark this guide and come back all month long to make the most of every eerie, fun-filled moment!