Things to Do in Nashville for Spooky Season

Cheekwood Harvest

Cheekwood's 55 acres in full fall mode: the Pumpkin Village with three pumpkin houses, a new Marigold River of more than 2,500 blooms, and a Scarecrow Trail of 15 storybook scarecrows by local artists. It's an easy few hours outside for any age, and on Thursday evenings through Oct. 29, Harvest Nights keeps the gardens open late with live music, food trucks and cocktails.

When

• Tuesday to Sunday, 9 AM to 5 PM, through Nov. 1. Closed Mondays.
• Bands on the lawn Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 2.

Tickets

• Adults: $21 Tuesday to Thursday, $23 Friday to Sunday. Add $6 for the mansion.
• Ages 3 to 17: $14 to $22.
• Free for kids 2 and under and members.
• Non-members pay a $2 fee per ticket and $5 to park.

Harvest Nights

• Thursdays, 5 to 9 PM, through Oct. 29. Music from 6 to 8.
• Oct. 8: 50 Shades of Hay, bluegrass. Sold out.
• Oct. 15: The Accords, jazz and swing.
• Oct. 22: The Cowpokes, classic country.
• Oct. 29: the Bootanical Bash, a costume contest and dance party with Lydia Brittan and the Royal Family.
• Tickets: $21 adults, $14 ages 3 to 17, free for members and kids 2 and under.

Good to know

Timed tickets are required, so reserve before you go. On October weekends, use the off-site parking to save money. Parking is tight on Harvest Nights, so take a rideshare. When the lot fills, walk-ups are rideshare only, and the sold-out Oct. 8 night takes walk-ups who arrive by rideshare. Both are on our events calendar: Cheekwood Harvest and Harvest Nights.

Nashville Fall Festival

A farm on the South Harpeth River at 8687 Old Harding Pike with a big corn maze, a 7-acre sunflower field, a pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, hayrides and live music. It's the whole fall farm day in one stop without leaving Davidson County, so you skip the long drive out to the country.

When

• Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only, through Nov. 1.
• Fridays 3 PM to dark, Saturdays 9 AM to dark, Sundays noon to dark.

Tickets

• Online: $23 adults (14 and up), $11 kids 7 to 13.
• At the gate, cash: $25 adults, $12 kids.
• Kids 6 and under free.

Good to know

Online tickets aren't tied to a date, so buy ahead and pick your weekend. It runs rain or shine. Saturdays add tethered hot air balloon rides at golden hour for $25, weather permitting. It's also on our events calendar: Nashville Fall Festival.

Shocktober at the Belcourt

The Belcourt's October horror series, on the big screen at 2102 Belcourt Avenue. Horror classics play differently in a full room at Nashville's nonprofit movie house, especially the late shows and the all-night marathon.

When

• Oct. 11: Michael Mann's Manhunter: The Final Cut, 3:35 and 8:50 PM.
• Oct. 17: 12 Hours of Terror, the all-night horror marathon, from 10 PM.
• Oct. 22: John Carpenter's The Fog (1980), 2:10 and 9:50 PM.
• Oct. 24: An American Werewolf in London, 6 and 10 PM.
• Oct. 29 to Nov. 1: The Rocky Horror Picture Show with the live shadow cast Little Morals. Oct. 29 and Nov. 1 at 10 PM, midnight Oct. 30 and 31. 18 and up.

Tickets

• Prices aren't on the series page. See each film's page on the Belcourt site.

Good to know

It's also on our events calendar: Shocktober at the Belcourt.

BOOze at the Zoo

The Nashville Zoo's grown-ups-only night, with unlimited beer, wine and seltzer samples, at 3777 Nolensville Pike. It's one night only, and a chance to walk the zoo after dark, in costume if you like, when it's normally closed.

When

• Thursday, Oct. 15, 6:30 to 9:30 PM.
• 21 and up, no exceptions.

Tickets

• $80 general admission, unlimited samples.
• $45 designated driver, with a water bottle and a snack voucher.
• Members save $5.

Good to know

Wear a costume if you like, but masks and weapons aren't allowed. Food trucks sell dinner, and no outside food or drinks are allowed. Parking is free after 5 PM. It's also on our events calendar: BOOze at the Zoo.

The Champions Fan Fest

The free Fan Festival for The Champions, the world bass championship on Old Hickory Lake, at Sanders Ferry Park: kids fishing, a petting zoo, food trucks, a beer garden and four bands a day. It's free all three days, and the weigh-ins put you a few feet from anglers fishing for a world title.

When

• Oct. 29 to 31, the three competition days.
• Weigh-ins at 4 PM on Oct. 29 and 30, when the bags come off the boats.

Tickets

• Free.
• Register in the World Bass Enterprises app before you go.

Good to know

The whole event runs Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, with a free outdoor expo at Gaylord Opryland Oct. 29 to 31. Riley Green headlines The Pinnacle on Oct. 30, and for now concert access comes with VIP packages. The full schedule is in our guide to the week.

Partner of NashvilleTN.

Boo at the Zoo

The Nashville Zoo's family Halloween, every night for two and a half weeks, with 10 trick-or-treat stations, lit-up scenes around the zoo, animal shows and a Monster Mash dance floor. It's the easy pick for little kids: candy, free spins on the carousel and a crowd in costume, all wrapped up by 9.

When

• Nightly, Oct. 16 to Nov. 1, 5 to 9 PM.
• Animal shows at 5:45, 6:45 and 7:45 PM.

Tickets

• $19 Monday to Thursday, $23 Friday to Sunday, for everyone 2 and up.
• Under 2 free. Members save $3 a ticket.
• Parking is $10. Members park free.

Good to know

Buy before you go: parking is limited, so tickets are sold in advance only, and it runs rain or shine with no refunds. Trick-or-treating is for ages 2 to 12, and each kid gets a souvenir bag. Weeknights save $4 a ticket. Leave the gory costume at home, because the zoo turns away anything too scary. Grown-ups who want the zoo after dark without the kids have BOOze at the Zoo the night before. It's also on our events calendar: Boo at the Zoo.

Nashville Nightmare

Nashville's big indoor haunted house, at 1016 Madison Square in Madison, with five attractions this year: Jason Universe: Survive the Night, Vector Research Code XIII, Fairy Tale Hell, Creature Feature and Mr. Sweets' House of Horrors. It's the real scare of the season, with live actors and full sets, and add-ons like a laser maze, mini escape games and a 21-and-up secret bar turn it into a whole night out.

When

• October: Wednesday to Sunday each week, plus Monday, Oct. 12.
• Every night from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1.
• November: Nov. 6, 7 and 13.
• Times vary by night. You pick a time slot when you buy.

Tickets

• Fridays and Saturdays from $36.99.
• Sundays and weeknights from $32.99 to $34.99.
• Monday, Oct. 12, from $19.99, the cheapest night left.
• Groups of 20 to 50 get 20% off.

Good to know

Prices change by night and time slot, so buy online ahead and go early in the week to save. It's suggested for 12 and up, and anyone 15 or under needs an adult with them. Costumes are fine, but no full-face masks, full-face makeup or props, and no photos or video inside. The actors won't touch you, and you can't touch them. Parking is free on the streets around it. It's also on our events calendar: Nashville Nightmare.

Haunted Museum Storytelling Festival

The Tennessee State Museum's free Halloween day for kids, at 1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., with spooky stories from Tennessee's past, games, crafts and prizes all through the museum. Kids come in costume, it costs nothing, and it has run every fall since 1998, so it's an easy Saturday morning before the bigger Halloween plans.

When

• Saturday, Oct. 24, 10 AM to 2:30 PM.
• The museum posts the full schedule closer to the day.

Tickets

• Free, for all ages.

Good to know

The museum's free lot fills on weekends, so come early. Make a day of it: the Farmers' Market food hall is across the lot for lunch, and Bicentennial Mall is next door. It's also on our events calendar.

Franklin PumpkinFest

The Heritage Foundation's 41st PumpkinFest fills Main Street in downtown Franklin with live music, costume contests for people and pets, more than 140 arts and crafts booths, about 30 food and drink vendors and a Kids Zone. It's Middle Tennessee's biggest family fall festival, and for the first time it runs two days, so there's a Sunday option this year.

When

• Saturday, Oct. 24, 10 AM to 6 PM.
• Sunday, Oct. 25, 11 AM to 5 PM.

Tickets

• Free to get in.
• Food, drinks and crafts are pay as you go.

Good to know

Parking downtown is tight, so use Franklin Transit's park-and-ride shuttle from The Park at Harlinsdale Farm, $1 each way. Come in costume if you want in on the contests. The same Saturday is the State Museum's Haunted Museum festival, so families can do both, the museum in the morning and Franklin in the afternoon. It's also on our events calendar: Franklin PumpkinFest.

Haunted Franklin ghost tour

Franklin on Foot's 90-minute walking ghost tour of downtown Franklin, about six blocks and five or six stops, with departed socialites, a Civil War spy, failed businessmen, Confederate soldiers and at least one ghost dog. Franklin was a battlefield in 1864, so the history under the stories is real, and they've been telling them since 2003.

When

• Nightly at 7 PM, October through March.
• 90 minutes, rain or shine.

Tickets

• $25 adults.
• $15 ages 17 and under.

Good to know

Book ahead on their site. Tours meet at 305 Public Square, in front of the old Williamson County Courthouse next to Mellow Mushroom, and they hand out umbrellas if it rains. They don't recommend it for small children. The courthouse is part of the story: it was a Federal headquarters during the Civil War and a hospital after the Battle of Franklin.