How to celebrate Halloween in Melbourne

From October 25 to November 2, Luna Park is transforming into its spooky alter-ego for a five-day festival of Halloween frivolity. While the sun shines, the park remains child-friendly, but as darkness descends the terrifying scares begin. Expect thrilling rides, a ghost train, roaming horror actors, live music, horror make-up artists and much more. Dare to enter the terrifying Behind the Screams maze, where you'll be taunted by creepy clowns and forgotten dolls, or take a ride on the End of the Line train. There's also special VIP adults-only CarnEvil parties on selected nights. Find out more here.

Melbourne Museum is opening its doors after dark for a frighteningly fun inaugural Halloween party. There'll be family-friendly trick-or-treat from 6pm to 8.30pm, eerie campfire stories with tales of creepy creatures, spine-tingling science experiments, and experts ready to share freaky facts about the weird and wild wonders of the world. Plus, Halloween-themed music will keep the dancefloor going all night, and after 8.30pm, it's adults-only. Once the sun sets, expect freaky beats, watch horror film clips or take a ghost tour. Dress up or come as you are, all are welcome. Find out more and buy tickets here. 

It's obviously fitting that this historically haunted site in Melbourne would host a Halloween event, where you can roam through the cells that onced housed some of the country's most notorious criminals. Hear harrowing historic tales, go trick-or-treating, snap a mugshot or go on a guided ghost tour. Find out more and buy a ticket here. 

As part of its GodzillaFest, ACMI is throwing a spooky soiree after-dark on Halloween night – with Godzilla-themed activities, as well as tunes, vintage video games and food. The party wraps up at 9pm, but if you're keen to stay deep into the evening you can kick on with a Godzilla movie marathon and trivia until late. Get the deets and grab a ticket here. 

To celebrate spooky season, one of Melbourne's beloved indie cinemas is putting on special screenings of some cult-fave horror films in the lead up to Halloween, including Eyes Without A Face and Lake Mungo. Check out the session times and buy tickets here. 

This infamous prison is inviting brave Melburnians into its notorious H-Division (aka Hell Division), the cell block where some of the city's worst offenders were once detained. Explore the block at your own pace, as guides share stories of the prison's grim past. Costumes are encouraged to add to the spooky experience. Find out more and buy tickets here. 

The Royal Melbourne Hotel on Bourke Street is housed within a 250-year-old heritage-listed former jail, so you already know that it's likely to be pretty haunted. On Friday, November 1, it's hosting a massive emo night headlined by a secret artist yet to be announced. It's a massive shindig over two floors with four rooms and five themed bars. Expect to hear tracks by Nine Inch Nails, Bring Me the Horizon, Amity Affliction and more. Plus, there's a free photobooth and fire dancers. You can grab tickets here. 

The Heide Museum of Modern Art is a historic contemporary art museum located on 6.5 hectares of sprawling parkland inside an 89-year-old farmstead. With such an extensive history, it makes sense that the site probably has a ghost or two lurking. The museum's head gardener will share stories of the spookier aspects of Heide's history and lead a twilight walking tour of the gardens and cottage where the original owners lived. You'll even learn about some unexplained supernatural sightings that occurred on the grounds. The tour will run on Halloween night and you can book tickets here. 

Learn about dark episodes in Melbourne's history while visiting hidden bars across the city to sip on some frighteningly good cocktails during this spooky walking tour. The guided walk will tour across Melbourne to uncover the scary stories linked to some of the city's main buildings, that have connections to notorious criminals like Jack the Ripper. To break up the scary stories, the tour will visit three bars where you'll stop for a refreshing bevvy along the way. The tour will take three hours and will run on Halloween with one afternoon and one evening session time. Find out more on the website. 

This virtual escape room has a very Halloween-esque game on in October, aptly running alongside spooky season. It's a subversive take on the classic zombie horror genre, in which players get to be on the side of the bad guys. The premise is this: the year is 2040 and zombies have successfully taken over earth for the last nine years, but now are under threat with the discovery of an antitode created by human scientists that could wipe zombies off the face of the earth. Fight alongside your zombie friends to survive and win! Check out the website for more details. 

The year is 1899, and amongst the shopfronts of Melbourne's once-thriving Eastern Market, a sudden attack on a popular fortune teller has left her husband dead. The culprit? Well, that's up to you to figure out in Eastern Market Murder, an augmented reality murder mystery that can be played on-site in Melbourne. It takes 1.5 hours to play, and will lead you and your mates through hidden alleyways of the city. Learn more here.

There are plenty of haunted locations in Melbourne to visit if you're game, where you might have a spooky supernatural encounter or at the very least, be seriously creeped out. You can even go on a proper ghost tour, where experienced guides will tell you scary tales about alleged hauntings. There's no better time to check one out than Halloween, so we've put together a list of the most haunted sites for you to discover – if you dare.