Rock City's lit pumpkin trails, Boo in the Zoo, Aquascarium, Dread Hollow and a ghost-story train: every Halloween event in Chattanooga for 2026, with dates, times and prices checked against each venue.
October in Chattanooga is busy. Rock City fills its trails with lit pumpkins, the Zoo and the Aquarium both turn into trick-or-treat routes, and a haunted house off Browns Ferry Road spends five weeks trying to make grown adults scream. There's enough going on that you can pick your own level of scary, from "my toddler is dressed as a bee" to "I'd like to regret this."
We checked every date, time and price below against the venue's own 2026 page. Events are split into two groups: the ones built for kids, and the ones that are not.
Halloween 2026 in Chattanooga at a Glance
- Now through October 31: Enchanted Pumpkin Patch at Rock City, ODDtober at the Tennessee Aquarium, Lantern Tour: Ghost Walk Edition at Ruby Falls (select nights)
- Thursday to Sunday nights, October 1 to November 1: Dread Hollow
- Weekends through October 25: Rails, Wizards & Spells at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
- October 9 and 10: Monster Bash at Creative Discovery Museum
- October 9-10, 16-17, 23-24 and 31: Boo in the Zoo
- Friday, October 30: Aquascarium, Haints & Haunts, Rocky Horror Picture Show Live
- Sunday, November 1: Haunted Market at the Chattanooga Market
Not-Scary Halloween Events for Kids
Enchanted Pumpkin Patch at Rock City
Rock City's Enchanted Pumpkin Patch runs daily through October 31. Four trails wind through the gardens past large lighted jack-o'-lantern displays, and Rock City's own description is "spooky, but never scary." There's a Cursed Cauldron stop at Prospector's Point, pumpkin painting, and roaming characters like a Bumbling Bewitched Scarecrow and a Living Tree.
It's included with regular Rock City admission, and the park lists hours of 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. during the event, with last entry 45 minutes before close. Go late in the afternoon so you get the views from Lover's Leap in daylight and the pumpkins after dark. If you're making a day of it, our Lookout Mountain guide covers what else is up there.
If you'd rather pick a pumpkin straight from the field, our list of pumpkin patches and corn mazes near Chattanooga covers six farms with hayrides and corn mazes, plus this season's dates, hours and prices.
Boo in the Zoo
Boo in the Zoo takes over the Chattanooga Zoo on seven nights: October 9-10, 16-17, 23-24 and Halloween itself, from 4 to 8 p.m. Kids get candy stations around the grounds, a scavenger hunt, character meet-and-greets, costume shows, a bounce house, and a chance to meet the "creepy crawly" animals (snakes and spiders, mostly).
Tickets are $11.95 for members, $17.95 for non-member kids ages 3 to 12, and $20.95 for non-member adults. Kids 2 and under are free. Two things to know: tickets are sold online only, and the Zoo closes at 3:30 p.m. on event days before reopening for the evening, so don't plan on arriving early and staying through.
Monster Bash at Creative Discovery Museum
Monster Bash is two evenings only, Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10, from 6 to 9 p.m. The Creative Discovery Museum calls it "not-too-spooky fun," with themed activities and hands-on play throughout the building, and kids are expected to show up in costume. Tickets are $22 general admission, $10 for members and $5 for EBT cardholders. It's a good pick for the preschool and early elementary crowd.
ODDtober and Aquascarium at the Tennessee Aquarium
The Tennessee Aquarium spends the whole month on ODDtober, a celebration of the strange side of nature. New for 2026 are spotlights on the odd residents of the Scuttlebutt Reef gallery: lumpsuckers, moray eels and glowing swellsharks. The part kids remember is underwater pumpkin carving, when SCUBA divers carve jack-o'-lanterns inside the River Journey tanks while fish circle around them. That happens every Saturday at 2 p.m. (October 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31).
The big night is Aquascarium, the Aquarium's trick-or-treat event, on Friday, October 30 from 4 to 8 p.m. Expect costumed divers, music, and pirates and mad scientists handing out candy with a side of fish facts. The Aquarium says it often sells out, so buy tickets ahead of time.
Rails, Wizards & Spells
The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum has retired its old Halloween Eerie Express name. This year's ride is Rails, Wizards & Spells, running weekends through October 25. You start in an Enchanted Forest and a Wizards Way Village with potion-making, outdoor games and a gentle hay ride, then board a vintage train for a round trip from Grand Junction to Chamberlain Crossing with "visiting wizard professors" on board.
Plan about two and a half hours total, with roughly 50 minutes of that on the train. Tickets are $35 per person for ages 2 and up, and departure times vary by date.
Haunted Market at the Chattanooga Market
If Halloween night gets rained out, or the costume deserves a second outing, the Haunted Market is the day after: Sunday, November 1, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at First Horizon Pavilion. Vendors across the Chattanooga Market hand out candy while you shop, and there's a costume parade at 1:30 p.m. on the Sunday Funday Stage. Admission is free.
Haunted Houses and Scares for Teens and Adults
Dread Hollow
Dread Hollow is the haunted house run by Ruby Falls, and it's the real thing. It's open Thursday through Sunday nights from October 1 to October 31, plus a Blackout Night on Sunday, November 1. Alongside the main haunt there are horror-themed escape rooms.
It sits at 321 Browns Ferry Road, about five minutes from Ruby Falls, not inside the cave. The official warning mentions blood, violence and gore and advises parental discretion, so this isn't one for younger kids. Tickets are sold online at DreadHollow.com.
Lantern Tour: Ghost Walk Edition at Ruby Falls
For something eerie without anyone jumping out at you, the Ghost Walk Edition of the Ruby Falls Lantern Tour runs on select nights through October 31. It's an after-hours walk through the cave by lantern light, with ghost stories from the history of Ruby Falls and older Chattanooga legends along the way. Tours are small and on select nights only, so check dates before you plan around it.
Haints & Haunts
The railroad museum's grown-up counterpart to the wizard train is Haints & Haunts, on Friday, October 30, with departures at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. You get a 45-minute train ride with live ghost storytelling, a haunted hayride, ghost-hunting demonstrations and a bonfire with yard games. Tickets are $35 and the museum recommends it for ages 13 and older.
Horror Classics at the Walker Theatre
The Bobby Stone Film Series at the Walker Theatre on McCallie Avenue leans hard into October. All of these are 2 p.m. matinees:
- The Shining, Friday, October 16
- The Bride of Frankenstein, Saturday, October 17
- Rosemary's Baby, Sunday, October 18
- Suspiria, Sunday, October 25
- Psycho, Thursday, October 29
The series closes the month with Rocky Horror Picture Show Live on Friday, October 30 at 9 p.m., the one night showing with a live cast.
How to Plan Halloween Weekend
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which means a full three-day run.
- Friday, October 30: Aquascarium from 4 to 8 p.m. for families. For adults, Haints & Haunts at 7 or 8:30 p.m., Rocky Horror at 9 p.m., or Dread Hollow.
- Saturday, October 31: Underwater pumpkin carving at the Aquarium at 2 p.m., then Boo in the Zoo from 4 to 8 p.m. It's also the last night for the Enchanted Pumpkin Patch and the Ruby Falls Ghost Walk.
- Sunday, November 1: The free Haunted Market from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Dread Hollow's Blackout Night to close out the season.
A Few Tips Before You Go
- Buy tickets early. Boo in the Zoo is online-only and Aquascarium often sells out. The last two weekends of October go first.
- Leave extra time for Lookout Mountain. Rock City and Ruby Falls are both in the Lookout Mountain area, and fall color brings traffic up the mountain on October weekends. Weeknights are calmer.
- Bring a layer. Evenings on the mountain run cooler than downtown, and Ruby Falls' cave stays cool year-round.
- Match the event to the kid. Everything in the first section is built to be friendly. Dread Hollow and the R-rated films are not.
More to Do in Chattanooga This October
Halloween isn't the only thing on the calendar. Wine Over Water is October 10, the 25th Annual Chattanooga Oktoberfest and the Chattanooga Apple Festival both land on October 17-18, and Between the Bridges fills Coolidge Park on October 24-25. Our fall guide to Chattanooga has the full season, and the events calendar is updated every week.
Details about businesses mentioned in this article (hours, offerings, atmosphere, and more) may change or may not be fully accurate. Spot something that needs a correction? Let us know and we'll fix it right away.
