There are two kinds of people in October.
There are the people who hear “haunted house” and immediately start looking for the nearest line. And then there are the rest of us, aka the people who would prefer to spend Halloween season somewhere between Hocus Pocus and a really cozy fall afternoon.
If the thought of being chased by a chainsaw-wielding stranger through the woods makes you want to stay home, Columbus still has plenty of ways to get into the Halloween spirit. You can sip a spooky cocktail, wander through historic neighborhoods, browse a witchy shop, watch a creepy movie, visit an old cemetery in broad daylight and eat approximately one million pumpkin-flavored things without ever having to wonder what is lurking behind the next curtain.
Basically, this is Halloween for people who want the aesthetic without the adrenaline. Here’s how to build yourself a very Columbus spooky season.
Start With A Walk Through Columbus’ More Gothic Side
Columbus has no shortage of buildings that look considerably more dramatic once the leaves start changing.
Downtown is a particularly good place to start. Columbus Landmarks has documented a number of historic churches with Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival architecture, including First Congregational Church, Holy Cross Church, St. Joseph Cathedral and Trinity Episcopal Church.
First Congregational Church is probably the closest thing Columbus has to a classic movie-version gothic church. Columbus Landmarks describes its late Gothic Revival design as featuring Gothic arches, stained glass with stone tracery and a copper spire surrounded by gargoyles. Holy Cross, meanwhile, dates to the 1840s and is the oldest surviving church structure in downtown Columbus.
You can also take a look at St. Joseph Cathedral at 212 E. Broad St. Its Gothic Revival design includes pointed-arch windows, vaulted ceilings and marble columns.
These are active houses of worship, so this is more of an admire-the-architecture-and-be-respectful situation than a Halloween attraction. But that is part of what makes the experience better. You are looking at actual Columbus history, not a set built for October.
For an especially atmospheric walk, pair the churches with a stroll around German Village, where brick streets, historic homes and mature trees do a lot of the spooky-season heavy lifting without requiring a single artificial cobweb.
Go Cemetery Exploring, But Make It Historical
A cemetery in October can be atmospheric without being scary, especially when you approach it as a history walk instead of a ghost hunt.
Green Lawn Cemetery is the perfect place to start. The historic cemetery functions as both a burial ground and a park-like green space, with mature trees, monuments and mausoleums. It was established in the 1840s and eventually became one of Columbus’ major cemeteries. It is also an arboretum and an Ohio Audubon Important Bird Area.
That combination makes Green Lawn especially good for an October afternoon. You get the old monuments and dramatic trees, but you also get birds, walking paths and enough daylight to keep things firmly on the non-haunted side of the spectrum.
You can also learn some very Columbus-specific history at Old Franklinton Cemetery. The Franklinton Historical Society notes that the cemetery is the final resting place of several early Columbus-area figures, including Colonel Robert Culbertson. Lucas Sullivant and members of his family were also originally buried there before being reinterred at Green Lawn Cemetery.
And if you want the history without doing the cemetery walk yourself, Columbus Metropolitan Library is literally hosting programs called Spooky Columbus this October. Local History and Genealogy librarians will discuss graveyards, possible hauntings and creepy stories from Columbus’ past at several branches, including events on October 15, 20 and 26.
That might be the perfect option for people who want spooky stories but would prefer to hear them while sitting in a library.
Spend An Afternoon Getting Lost In A Bookstore
There is something inherently October-ish about wandering around a bookstore while it is chilly outside. And Columbus has a few particularly good options for this.
The Book Loft in German Village is the place to be if you want maximum atmosphere. The bookstore occupies a collection of connected centuries-old buildings, with a maze-like collection of rooms, hallways, and staircases. In other words, you can wander around for a while and pretend you’re in the opening scene of a gothic mystery.
For something smaller and more curated, Prologue Bookshop in the Short North is another good stop, particularly if your ideal October afternoon involves finding a new mystery novel and then getting coffee somewhere nearby.
You could also make the bookstore itself the event. Columbus Metropolitan Library is hosting a Books and BOOs evening in Dublin on October 14 with hot cocoa and cider, a spooky dance party, jack-o’-lanterns and family-friendly ghost stories.
No haunted maze required. Just books that may make you double-check the hallway before going to bed.
Do Some Witchy Shopping
If you like the witchy side of Halloween, Columbus has enough metaphysical shops to make an afternoon of it.
WitchLab is one of the best. The Columbus shop carries witchy and occult goods and hosts classes and events centered around those themes. It’s now located in Franklinton, making it easy to combine with an afternoon exploring the neighborhood’s historic buildings and Old Franklinton Cemetery.
The Magical Druid in Clintonville is another option, with candles, herbs, incense, spiritual goods, and other witchy supplies.
And if you are looking for crystals, books, candles, or other mystical shopping rather than a traditional Halloween store, Pearls of Wisdom has been serving Columbus since 1991.
You can also make a trip to North Market Bridge Park on October 8 for Coven & Cocktails, a free witchy mini market featuring tarot, spell making, candles, jewelry, herbal products, spooky art, books and more.
Have A Spooky Cocktail
This is where the no-scares Halloween plan really starts to come together.
Land-Grant Brewing’s Nightmare on Town Street is back in 2026, transforming its taproom at 424 W. Town St. into a Halloween bar with oversized decorations, creepy cocktails and other spooky surprises. The brewery is also running Spooky Tuesdays, with Halloween movies in the beer garden throughout October.
And if you want your cocktail with considerably more plants around it, Franklin Park Conservatory is hosting Spirits & Spells on October 29. The adults-only event includes local drink vendors, food, music and after-hours access to the Conservatory’s Pumpkins Aglow experience.
The Conservatory’s regular Cocktails at the Conservatory series has become one of the better ways to have an evening out in Columbus without feeling like you’re simply sitting in another bar. For the Halloween edition, you get cocktails, pumpkins, plants and a little spooky atmosphere, but nobody is hiding in a wall waiting to grab you.
Watch Something Creepy From The Safety Of A Theater Seat
You don’t need to enter a haunted house to experience suspense.
Gateway Film Center’s annual Hitchcocktober series is back in October, screening classic Alfred Hitchcock movies throughout the month. Hitchcock is a particularly good fit for this guide because the tension can be intense without requiring somebody in a mask to sprint at you.
If you want something a little more social, Land-Grant’s Tuesday movie nights pair trivia with a movie under the stars. The brewery has them scheduled for October 6, 13, 20, and 27.
Downtown Columbus is also hosting free Thursday-night Halloween-themed movies at Columbus Commons throughout October, while NightLight614 has outdoor screenings at Genoa Park.
See A Halloween Show That Knows It’s A Show
For people who want their Halloween entertainment with costumes, music and theatrical nonsense, Columbus has options that don’t involve a haunted attraction.
The Rocky Horror Show returns to Short North Stage from October 22 through October 31. The R-rated production is the ninth year of the show’s run at the Garden Theater and brings the familiar camp, costumes and chaos to the stage.
If you’re looking for something less campy and considerably darker, Sweeney Todd is also running at Short North Stage through October 18. It’s obviously not exactly a cozy pumpkin-spice outing, but it does satisfy the desire for something macabre while keeping you safely seated in a theater.
And for a more family-friendly historic Halloween experience, Ohio Village is opening for All Hallows’ Eve on October 17 and 24. The event includes historic Halloween fun and a retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow around a bonfire. Ohio Village is otherwise closed for its ongoing campus renovations, so these special events are one of the unusual opportunities to visit this year.
That is probably about as close as you can get to living inside a spooky historical novel without actually having to move into one.
Go Looking For Pumpkins Instead Of Ghosts
Sometimes you don’t need a Halloween attraction. You just need a ridiculous number of pumpkins.
Franklin Park Conservatory’s Harvest Blooms runs through November 1, filling the gardens with thousands of pumpkins, chrysanthemums, cabbages and other fall plantings. There are also two pumpkin houses, because apparently one pumpkin house was not enough.
Then, on select October evenings, Pumpkins Aglow takes over the Conservatory with illuminated displays, a pumpkin house, a singing pumpkin patch, skeletons, performances and a light-up dance floor. It runs October 7 through November 1 on select Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
This is probably one of the best choices for someone who wants Halloween to look like Halloween.
There are pumpkins. There are skeletons. There are lights. There are spooky surprises.
But there is no need to run in terror, and that’s exactly what we’re looking for.
If you want to go even bigger on pumpkins, the Circleville Pumpkin Show runs October 21-24. It is one of Ohio’s classic fall traditions and is considerably more interested in enormous pumpkins, pumpkin food and parades than frightening anybody.
Go See Columbus’ Halloween Decorations
You do not need to pay admission to see Halloween decorations.
Sometimes the best spooky activity is simply taking a walk around a neighborhood where somebody has gone completely overboard.
Old Oaks is one place worth keeping an eye on. The historic neighborhood is hosting its annual pumpkin sale and fall market on October 3, with pumpkins, mums, gourds, corn bundles and other seasonal decorations available around the neighborhood’s park gazebo.
And around Columbus, historic neighborhoods can do a lot of the atmospheric work for you. German Village, Olde Towne East, Victorian Village and parts of Clintonville are all good places for an evening walk when the leaves are changing and porch season is still hanging on.
The unofficial rule: walk slowly, look at the houses, do not trespass, and resist the urge to judge someone’s inflatable skeleton collection.
And that is it.
No chainsaws. No actors hiding behind doors. No one chasing you through a field.
Just pumpkins, old buildings, books, cocktails, fall leaves, and enough Halloween atmosphere to make you feel like you actually participated in spooky season. Enjoy your October, Columbus!
