4 Ways to Have a Frightfully-Fun Time in Wisconsin This Halloween Season

While Halloween may be a holiday that many people look forward to year after year, everyone who celebrates does so a little differently! Some folks find their fun and excitement at haunted houses, while others are content to sit back with some candy corn and admire a lit-up pumpkin display. Luckily, Wisconsin offers experiences and events for each “Halloween personality” out there. Ahead, pick the category that screams “you”  and choose your own spooky or sweet adventure. 

Spine-Tingling Experiences for Horror Thrill Seekers

Here in Wisconsin, we don’t just have haunted houses—we have entire haunted experiences guaranteed to give you and your pals the willies.

If you’re someone who loves to be scared down to the tips of your toes, look no further than Burial Chamber in Neenah, the Midwest’s largest haunted complex with two different haunted houses, the spookiest woods ever and an immersive experience called “Trapped Buried Alive.”

Other hair-raising happenings include Mount Horeb’s Terror at Tyrol (you’ve never seen a ski hill like this…), Mount Pleasant’s Abandoned Haunted House Complex and Merrill’s The Haunted Sawmill. For a uniquely-scary experience you and your fellow happy haunts won’t soon forget, go to Connell’s Field of Screams in Chippewa Falls for a hayride turned terrifying or book a trip on the Dells Ghost Boat in Wisconsin Dells for a moonlit voyage into a haunted canyon. Or you could sign up for an American Ghost Walk in Bayfield to learn all about the monsters and ghouls that frequent these parts. You and your friends will be talking about these bone-chilling experiences for weeks.

Frightfully-Fun Events for the Whole Family

For some family-friendly spooks that don’t go bump in the night, pack up the little ones for Boo at the Zoo at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Filled with decorations the kiddos will love, a haystack maze and Halloween-themed train rides, you’ll snap plenty of pics of your costumed kids posing alongside their favorite animals.

Madison hosts its own Family Halloween downtown, complete with hayrides around the Capitol Square, art projects and trick-or-treating.

At the Cave of the Mounds in Blue Mounds, don’t miss HOLLOWeen at the Cave, a guided experience in which littles will get their own reusable cloth bags and “trick or treat” for crystals and fossils throughout the cave tour.

At Old World Wisconsin in Eagle, add Halloween Legends and Lore to your itinerary, where you can explore the historic village in the moonlight, readied with storytelling and performances that are sure to delight everyone in your family.

Spell-Binding Sweets for Sugar Fanatics

‘Tis the season for candy, and lots of it. If you and your clan can’t get enough of the sweet stuff, Wisconsin has you covered, from trick-or-treating galore to Halloween-decorated candy shops.

To get all dressed up and have plenty of places to go, look to a myriad of trick-or-treating events around the state, like Trick-or-Treat at the Ballpark, hosted by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers minor-league baseball team at their stadium in Appleton—there’ll be treats, of course, along with face-painting and balloon artistry. Manitowish Waters has their Trick-or-Trunk-or-Treat event, where local businesses and participating cars will be ready to hand out sweets to little ones in their Halloween best.

If you want to make your sugar-fueled Wisconsin vacation truly epic, look no further than Uncle Tom’s Candy Store in Ellison Bay, where they go all-out with amazing Halloween decorations served up alongside their homemade chocolate, fudge and brittle. Head to Wisconsin Dells to go to the largest candy store in the state: Goody Goody Gumdrop and look on as your kids gleefully run from candy bin to candy bin—and don’t forget to grab something sweet for yourself, too.

Fall-Inspired Haunts for Pumpkin-Spice Enthusiasts

Perhaps your idea of the perfect spooky season involves pumpkin-patch frolicking and all manner of hot drinks.

For a Halloween trip that celebrates autumn at its finest in Wisconsin, visit Meadowbrook Pumpkin Farm & Market in West Bend for their Creepy Cornfield, a day and night corn maze filled with characters and scenes (and for a family-friendly bonus, no scary characters will jump out). Or go to Whitefish Bay for their Great Pumpkin Festival in Old Schoolhouse Park, where visitors can enjoy grand displays of lit-up, carved pumpkins. But to get the full-on fall-meets-Halloween experience brimming with things like a pirate ship, hayrides, face-painting, pumpkin-picking and even a haunted granary, you’ve gotta head to Waldvogel’s Pumpkin Farm in Juneau — Wisconsin’s largest pumpkin farm is a must-visit, and you’ll make so many fall memories with your entire family.