It's Spooky Season Witches!

Halloween is just around the corner, and Cortland County has all the thrills, chills, haunts, and happenings you're searching for. Whether you want to scream 'til you cry, commune with the beyond, or enjoy a little family-friendly trick-or-treating, we've got your 2025 guide to Halloween and spooky fun in Cortland County.

Oct 4-5 | Courthouse Park, Downtown Cortland

Celebrate one of Cortland County’s most iconic fall traditions! The Great Cortland Pumpkinfest transforms Courthouse Park into an autumn wonderland filled with live music, family activities, delicious festival food, and rows of local artisan vendors. From pumpkin decorating and pony rides to hot cider and handmade crafts, it’s the perfect way to kick off October in true Cortland style.

For more info click here.

Oct 24 | 2-4pm | Downtown Cortland

Ghosts, goblins, and tiny dinosaurs assemble! Downtown Cortland is hosting the annual Trunk or Treat where local cars become candy caravans and your littles can parade their costumes in broad daylight (the safest kind of spooky). Expect sweet treats, friendly frights, and lots of community spirit. It's perfect for families, strollers, and anyone who thinks October should be 90% candy. Costumes, decorated trunks, grab-and-go candy stations, and a whole lot of community cheer. Bring a bag, bring your best boo, and bring the kiddos. This one’s made for the littles and the young at heart. Family-friendly. Costumes encouraged. Candy inevitable. Rain Date: Sunday, October 26.

For more info click here.

Oct 25 | 4:30-7:30pm | Downtown Homer

Get ready for a night of frightful fun in the Village of Homer! On Saturday, October 25, the annual Halloween Parade will fill the streets with costumes, laughter, and spooky spirit. Gather at Village Hall at 4:45pm to line up, and watch the parade set off at 5:15pm, winding its way to the Village basketball courts.

When the parade ends, the fun is just beginning! From 5:30-7:30pm, the Homer Community Building will transform into a Halloween Kid Zone, bursting with festive activities. Enjoy costume contests, sweet treats, a lively kids zone on the courts, and plenty of bounce house thrills to keep the spooky celebration going all evening long.

For more info click here.

Oct. 25-26 | 12-6pm | Daisy Hollow Farm

Bring the kids out to Daisy Hollow Farm for the annual Happy "Hollow"een on the Farm, October 25-26, from noon to 6 pm! Try your luck at a trick-or-treat scavenger hunt, snuggle all the fuzzy farm animals enjoy a pony and enter the costume contest. Don't worry, there's more then candy. Fill your bellies with roasted hot dog around the bonfire. 

For more info click here.

Oct 26 | 12-3pm | 1890 House Museum

Put on your boo-tiful costumes and bring the whole family for a spook-tacular day of fun at the 1890 House Museum! On this frightfully festive visit, you’ll meet VIP guests straight out of your favorite fairy tales and comics, perfect for magical photo ops. Kids can enjoy ghoulishly good games, haunted scavenger hunts, creepy-cute crafts, and plenty of tasty treats along the way. With tickets just $5 per person (and free for little pumpkins ages 2 and under), it’s a fang-tastic way to celebrate the season together. 

For more info click here.

Oct 30-31 | 6-10pm | Midson St, Cortland

The Chiller Haunted House returns to Madison Street on October 31, from 6-10pm! Be afraid, very afraid. All the boos you've been searching for. Special children's hours on October 30 for not so scary tours 6pm to 9pm, where ghosts, monsters and scary noises will temporarily be exorcised from the haunted house. Admission is free, donations accepted.

Oct 31 | 5-7pm | Midson St, Cortland Country Music Park 

The Cortland Country Music Park is brewing up some frightful fun at their 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat! Families can wander through a campground of creepily decorated cars handing out candy and goodies galore before hopping on a Halloween Hay Ride—complete with hot cider to keep the chills away. Little ghouls can bounce off their sugar rush in the bounce house, while creative spirits compete for prizes for the best-decorated space. It’s a spook-tacular night of treats, tricks, and a hauntingly good time!

For more info click here. 

Oct 10-25 | Greek Peak 

For one chilling weekend in October (10-11), the woods will crawl with the restless dead—and the only way out is through the air. Take on a 2-Line Zip Tour where zombies lurk in the shadows, groaning from the forest floor as you soar above their grasping hands. Each glide through the darkness brings you face-to-face with the horde, their screams echoing through the trees. This hair-raising, hour-long adventure will have your heart pounding as you race the undead through the night sky. Dare to join the flight… before the zombies catch up.

For two terrifying weekends in October (17-25), the Mountain Coaster at Greek Peak Adventure Center is overtaken by creatures of the night! As your cart rattles down twisting tracks through the darkened woods, monsters stir in the shadows, waiting to lunge from the trees and chase you through every hairpin turn. Each ride is a heart-pounding plunge into a world where the line between thrill and fright disappears, and the only way out is to hold on tight and hope the creatures don’t follow you home. One ride, one night, endless screams—are you brave enough to face what waits on the mountain?

For more info click here.

Oct 11 | 5pm | Lime Hollow Nature Center 

Oct 11-12 | 1890 House Museum 

Oct 11-12 | Port Watson Mini Conference Center 

Step beyond the veil at the Experience Psychic Fair. Seek guidance from respected psychics and spiritual mediums, or capture your spirit in a full-color aura photo that reveals what the eye cannot see. Wander among vendors offering curious treasures and metaphysical oddities, and take home a free gemstone with every admission—a token said to carry its own mysterious energy. The fair runs October 11–12, 2025, open Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $10, with free entry for those 16 and under. Whether you come seeking answers, insight, or simply the thrill of the unknown, prepare for a weekend of strange discoveries and uncanny encounters.

For more info click here.

Oct 11 | 7-9pm | 1890 House Museum 

Dare to explore the dark side of history? Step beyond the velvet ropes and into the shadows of the 1890 House Museum for an exclusive after-dark public paranormal investigation led by Empirical Paranormal.

This immersive evening invites you to become an active part of the investigation as you explore the mansion’s eerie halls and candlelit rooms alongside a professionally trained group of investigators accredited by The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS). Learn ghost-hunting techniques, use real investigative tools, and experience firsthand what it’s like to communicate with the other side.

Guests are welcome to bring their own investigative equipment or borrow gear from the team as you move throughout the museum, seeking out the spirits said to still linger within its storied walls.

For more info click here.

Oct 17 | 11-15pm | The Vault

Oct 24-Nov 1 | Cortland Repertory Theater 

This October, give yourself over to absolute pleasure as Richard O’Brien’s cult classic The Rocky Horror Show storms the stage at the Cortland Repertory Theatre.

Directed by NYC-based Bryan Knowlton, this outrageous, interactive rock musical promises a twistedly fun night of music, mayhem, and audience participation. With eight electrifying performances running October 24 through November 1 at Cortland Repertory Theatre Downtown, the show culminates in a late-night Halloween spectacular featuring dancing, games, and a costume runway that’s as wild as the show itself. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a first-time visitor, you’ll want to dress up, join in, and get ready to shout, sing, and shiver with antici…pation.

For more info click here.

Oct 25 | 6-9pm | Center for the Arts

The Cortland County Historical Society marks 100 years with the Centennial Soirée on October 25 at the historic Center for the Arts in Homer. Step into history with live music, a curated 1920s fashion display, and a walkabout feast featuring local pasta, crisp salads, and decadent desserts. Costumes aren’t required, but guests are encouraged to channel their favorite era—from flapper fringe to Victorian lace to ’80s shoulder pads—for an evening that celebrates the past, present, and future.

For more info click here.

Oct 30 | 7pm-12:30am | Center for the Arts

Get ready to shred! Punktured: Night of the Living Shred takes over the Center for the Arts on October 30 with four killer bands, four cult horror films, and a whole lot of Halloween chaos. The community room will be shaking with punk, rock, and metal, while horror classics flicker in the theatre. Between sets, fuel up on spooky snacks and cocktails, shop oddities like bones, taxidermy, and vintage finds, snap pics in the photobooth, and enter the costume contest for a shot at the coveted pumpkin trophy.

For more info click here.

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