Local businesses are gearing up for Halloween, which is now the second-largest U.S. commercial holiday next to Christmas.
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Statistics suggest that more than 70% of us celebrate the October event and will spend an estimated $13.1 billion on the trappings of this spooky celebration in 2025 alone. Here are some of my favorite haunted happenings around San Francisco Bay.
Oakland’s Piedmont Avenue: Round up the family and head to Piedmont Avenue from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 25 for the neighborhood’s 38th annual Halloween celebration.
There’ll be haunted houses, live music, pumpkin patches and a parade that starts at 11 a.m. at Pet Food Express and ends at Mountain View Cemetery, where kids can pick out a free pumpkin and enjoy a Halloween carnival with their folks. Visit piedmontavenue.org online for details.
Oakland’s Rockridge district: Add the family dog to the mix for another three hours of trick-or-treating on College Avenue (from Broadway to Alcatraz Avenue) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 26. There’ll be a costume contest and treats galore at more than 40 local businesses. Go to rockridgedistrict.com.
Alameda: This island city’s waterfront performing arts center, Radium Runway, is hosting a night of spontaneous and spooky tales Oct. 30.
Guests will sit under the big top tent to hear the Bay Area’s most compelling storytellers from KQED, TV’s “The Tonight Show” and NPR’s programs “Snap Judgement” and “Spooked.” Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the show will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available online for purchase now through Eventbrite at runwaystoriesthesideshow.eventbrite.com.
San Francisco’s North Beach: The Stretchy Pants Gourmet Ghosts Tour is a decadent dine-around to some of this iconic neighborhood’s most storied stops. Start at the hauntingly historic San Remo Hotel for tasty tales and a side of antipasto at Fior d’Italia.
A brisk walk through the neighborhood’s hidden alleyways unveils San Francisco’s sinister past before a heavenly focaccia sandwich at the legendary Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store Café. The tour stops for a slice at a noted pizzeria and wraps up with desert at an old beatnik watering hole. Along the way, you’re regaled with San Francisco history that will raise the hairs on your neck. Book tours online at stretchy-pants.com.
S.F.’s Nob Hill district: How would Alfred Hitchcock celebrate Halloween? Immerse yourself in his presence at Carlotta’s Cocktail & Wine Bar in San Francisco’s old Hotel Julian, where the Master of Suspense filmed dizzying scenes from his movie “Vertigo.”
Not only does Carlotta’s run Hitchcock movies on a loop, it serves some of the favorite food and drinks enjoyed by that cinematic genius (gin, anyone?) On Oct. 30 and Nov. 26, guests are encouraged to don noir-inspired attire for a murder mystery called “Midnight at the Masquerade.” Tickets are available at carlottassf.com if you dare.
South of Market in S.F.: Imagine what an artist like Vincent van Gogh (van Ghost?) might do to create a Halloween spectacle.
San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts will have its own “Artistically-Twisted Haunted House” this year from Oct. 25 through Nov. 1. Visitors will wind their way through an artist-made maze before ending up in a graveyard featuring a bar, dance floor and other campy, somewhat spooky surprises. Visit ybca.org/thehaunt online for full schedule and times.
Ginny Prior can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and at ginnyprior.com.