7 Safe and Spooky Ways to Celebrate Halloween in Vancouver


Seeing as we’ve all been wearing masks for the last eight months, it feels a bit like the entire year has been leading up to Halloween 2020. With so much lead up to the spookiest time of year, we’re itching for ways to safely celebrate, and show off our festive face coverings. Things may be a little different this time around, but why should that scare us away from participating in a safe, and socially distanced All Hallows’eve? Whether you’re planning on a family outing to Gastown, or creeping through a haunted house with a couple of your best ghouls, these are the Vancouver events that have Oujia boards rattling in anticipation.

 

Slayland: A Night of A Thousand Screams

Scare Level: Hearty Scream

One of YVR’s scariest locales, darkness is falling on the Playland fairgrounds once again. This year, the rides will be revved up by the resident maniacs, and the gates will be thrown open for eager thrill-seekers. 20 blood-curdling rides in total, all more ghastly than the last: The Beast, Murder Hornet Express, The Skeleton Swinger and of course, the most terrifyingly named one of all… the wooden roller coaster. It all adds up to an evening of laughs, screams, and pumpkin spice mini donuts! To top off a month of mayhem, on Halloween weekend the Slayland drive-thru series continues with A Taste of the PNE: Tricks & Treats Edition. All your little monsters can safely collect candy and watch the friendly ghosts play as you drive through the winding path.

Perfect for: Anyone over the age of 8 who’s looking for a few chills and thrills!

Days open: Select dates until Oct 31

Book your tickets here.

 

HowlOver Canada

Scare Level: Goosebumps

Take to the skies for a brooms-eye view of the great white north. Young witches and warlocks will adore this spooky spin around mountain ranges under cover of night. Your tour guide is certified Swiffer jockey, Biker Mama the Witch. Accompanied by her band of spooky sidekicks, you’ll swoop through chimneys and treetops on your way to a ghostly music festival. It’s a family-friendly flight around Canada that will have you practicing your cackle all the way home.

Perfect for: All covens big and small

Days open: Every day until Oct 31

Special Offer: Get 25% off this attraction by using the promo code COMEBACKTOTRANSIT at checkout when you book on Viator.

 

Shattered at The Beaumont: A Wicked Walkthrough Experience
Scare Level: Chattering Teeth

If you’re looking for a step up in scares, make your next stop The Beaumont Studios, just outside Olympic Village. A wicked walk through experience, this hands-free haunted house is all about perception. You’ll venture through creepy lighting effects and illusionary tricks complete with a room sandwiched between two 3D screens. With hand sanitizer available on site, and masks required when entering, this is the safest journey through madness you’ll ever take! While The Beaumont recommends this show for kids ten and up, if you’ve got a little lunatic who’s feeling brave, parents are welcome to accompany them in as well. 

Perfect for: Anyone looking for a 2020 twist on the traditional haunted house. 

Days open: Every day until Oct 31

Book your tickets here.

 

Lost Souls of Gastown Tour
Scare Level: Shocked Gasp

What better time to take a peek into Vancouver’s seedy underbelly! Forbidden Walking Tours offers this guided walk with a flair for the dramatic. Led by guides trained in the art of intrigue, you’ll follow their lantern down the cobbled streets of Blood Alley, through stories of shady dealing and historic crimes.

Perfect for: Families looking to swap an evening of reruns for a little fresh air street theatre. 

Days open: Select dates until Nov 28

Special Offer: Get 25% off this attraction by using the promo code COMEBACKTOTRANSIT at checkout when you book on Viator.

 

Vancouver Mysteries: Halloween Mystery Nights

Scare Level: Exhilarated YelpHere’s your chance to stake out the Vancouver streets looking for clues to unsolved murders and top-secret plots. Choose from spy game Secret Mission or murder mystery Crime in Downtown and compete against friends from a safe distance! Each team receives a spy kit or detective kit with everything they need to solve the mystery: clues, a map, artifacts, and tools. Sign up with your bubble of 2 to 6 players. Games are outdoors in downtown Vancouver. Only 5 teams per game, space is limited. Book online and then look for an email with further instructions, including where to meet the detective or spy who begins and ends your game.

Perfect for: Anyone who loves puzzles and mysteries

Days Open: Every day until Oct 31

Book your tickets here.

 

Britannia Mine Museum: SPOO-OOK-TACULAR Halloween

Scare Level: Faint Shiver

Journey into a mountain to see what spooky discoveries lurk there. This historic mine and landmark hosts a Halloween-themed exploration into both the scientific and the creepy. This family event focuses on learning, history, and maybe a ghost story or two. 

Perfect for: Curious creatures, ready to dig deep.

Days open: Oct 24, 25, 31

Book your tickets here.

 

Vancouver Police Museum: Morgue Ghost Tours

Scare Level: Shrieking Repeatedly

If you’re brave enough to step into Vancouver’s first morgue after dark, then you’ll be rewarded with captivating stories of the supernatural. Follow real paranormal investigators into one of the most storied buildings in the city, and hear all about the things that go bump in the night. Backed up by witness testimony and video evidence, you’re sure to catch a few shivers as you wander through the coroner’s quarters. A YVR tradition that has been chattering teeth for years. Spots are filling quickly so book your tour soon!

Perfect for: Brave souls, 16+ and hungry for a scare

Days open: Oct 24

Tickets are currently sold out but be sure to join the waitlist here!

 

No matter what antics you and your brood get up to, be sure to wear a mask, or at least pull your cape over your face in a sinister fashion. Follow attraction guidelines and keep at least one coffin length between you and other visitors. This year is a good chance for all the creatures of the night to take a moment and consider others, even Count Dracula had his generous moments!

GIVEAWAY: Join the #VanMaskerade! We want to see how you’re Halloweening safely. Show us how you’re incorporating your protective face covering into your costume this year by snapping a selfie at one of the attractions listed above to be entered to win! 

Share your photo on Instagram using the hashtag #VanMaskerade or enter online at www.tourismvancouver.com/maskerade

 

 

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