Savannah leans into Halloween harder than most Southern cities, and it does it with a straight face rather than a costume. Spanish moss, wrought iron, and a downtown cemetery with more than 10,000 burials and fewer than 1,000 markers give the Historic District a head start most places have to build from scratch. The atmosphere here is not seasonal. Ghost tours run nightly, year round, through the same squares in April as in October.
What October adds is a calendar, and in 2026 it lands on two Saturdays. On October 24, Trick or Treat on River Street, the Savannah Pride Festival and the first day of Wag-O-Ween share a single afternoon, and the SCAD Savannah Film Festival opens the same day. Halloween itself falls on Saturday, October 31, which is also the festival’s closing night. They are two different kinds of weekend, and choosing between them is most of the decision.
Why Downtown Feels Like One Long Evening
Most cities make you pick a venue and stay in it. Within a defined stretch of downtown Savannah, you do not have to.
Under the city’s ordinance on consumption of alcohol on city streets, a licensed bar or restaurant inside that area can sell you one drink in a paper or plastic cup to carry out with you. One at a time, nothing over 16 fluid ounces, and nothing in glass or a can.
The area runs from the river south to Jones Street and takes in the squares between. Forsyth Park sits just past that southern edge, though permitted events inside the park, Pride among them, are covered separately for anyone 21 and over.
The practical effect on a busy Saturday is that the separate events stop feeling separate. You are not moving between ticketed rooms. You are moving through a neighborhood where the street is part of the evening, and the walk between two things is often the better half of the night. It is also the clearest reason to stay inside the Historic District rather than drive in and out of it.
October 2026 at a Glance
- Saturday, October 24: Trick or Treat on River Street, 2 to 5 p.m. Savannah Pride Festival in Forsyth Park, noon to 11 p.m. Wag-O-Ween day one, noon to 5 p.m. SCAD Savannah Film Festival opens.
- Sunday, October 25: Wag-O-Ween day two, noon to 5 p.m., in the Starland District.
- Saturday, October 24 to Saturday, October 31: SCAD Savannah Film Festival runs all week.
- Friday and Saturday, October 30 and 31: Bonaventure Cemetery extended after-hours tours.
- Saturday, October 31: Halloween. Block party at Chippewa Square from 2 to 6 p.m., A Nightmare on Congress Street in the evening, and the film festival’s closing night.
- All month: nightly ghost tours, as they run year round.
Which Saturday Is Yours
Come for October 24 if your trip has a dog or a child in it. Both of the family-shaped events land that weekend. Trick or Treat on River Street runs in the afternoon, Wag-O-Ween runs across Saturday and Sunday, and you can reasonably do one of each. It is also the day for Pride in Forsyth Park and the film festival’s opening night, so the city is full.
Come for October 31 if you want Halloween itself. It is the quieter daytime and the bigger night. The block party at Chippewa Square is free and open to everyone in the afternoon, the costume crowd takes over after dark, and Bonaventure runs its extended after-hours tour on both October 30 and 31. If you are picturing Savannah in costume, this is the Saturday you are picturing.
Come for either if you are here for the film festival, which runs straight through from one Saturday to the other.
October 24 in Detail
On Trick or Treat on River Street, more than 30 merchants along River Street hand out candy to costumed children from 2 to 5 p.m. It is free, organized by Savannah’s Waterfront, and needs no ticket or registration.
Two things worth knowing before you go down. River Street sits below the bluff along Bay Street and is reached by a series of stairways and ramps rather than one flat entrance, so a stroller has a much easier time at the ramps. And a bag holds up better than a bucket across thirty-plus stops. The list of participating merchants goes up closer to the date on the organizer’s own event page.
The Savannah Pride Festival fills Forsyth Park the same day, noon to 11 p.m., with music, drag, a vendor market and food trucks, free to attend. Our full Pride guide covers the day’s format and which inn sits closest to the park.
Wag-O-Ween turns Pulaski Square and the Starland District into a two-day trick-or-treat route for dogs, noon to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Prices, both locations and where to stay with a dog are in our full Wag-O-Ween guide.
The SCAD Savannah Film Festival opens the same day and runs through October 31, screening at Trustees Theater and the Lucas Theatre, with some pass tiers already sold out. Pass prices, venues and the closest inn are in our full festival guide.
Halloween Night, October 31
A Nightmare on Congress Street is a costume bar crawl that starts at Stafford’s Public House and works through a list of participating downtown bars, with a cash costume contest attached. It is organized by Savannah Bar Crawl and runs that evening.
Earlier in the day, McDonough’s Public House and several other local businesses host a Halloween block party around Chippewa Square, free and open to all ages, from 2 to 6 p.m., with live music, a DJ, tarot readings and a costume photo booth.
After dark, Bonaventure Cemetery runs an extended after-hours tour on both October 30 and 31, and Ghost Coast Paranormal runs a hands-on investigation inside the Savannah Theatre with ghost-hunting equipment. Both need booking ahead.
Halloween for All Ages
Savannah runs ghost tours nightly and year round, on foot, by trolley and by lantern, through the squares and along the bluff above the river. October is not when they start, it is when visitors think to ask. Bonaventure adds its own after-hours tours on selected nights most months, with the extended version on October 30 and 31 this year.
For the full rundown of tours, cemeteries and each inn’s own resident ghost, see our Ghosts and Haunts of Savannah guide.
With Children or a Dog
East Bay Inn is the only one of the four Historic Inns of Savannah that takes children, and the only one that takes dogs. Kehoe House, Eliza Thompson House and The Gastonian are all adults only. If your October trip includes either, East Bay Inn is the one to book, and it happens to be the closest of the four to both family events on October 24.
Getting Around
October 24 carries three separate events, so expect downtown and the streets around Forsyth Park to be busier and more walked than an ordinary Saturday. Walking beats driving that weekend, and the squares make it pleasant rather than a chore.
Parking is included at East Bay Inn and Kehoe House. Eliza Thompson House has none on site, with metered street parking nearby.
Where to Stay
Traveling With a Dog or a Child
East Bay Inn, at 225 East Bay Street across from the Riverwalk, is the only one of the four open to children and pets, with parking included in the amenity fee. It sits close to the Trick or Treat on River Street route and a short rideshare from both Pulaski Square and Starland Yard.
Quiet, Residential Streets
Eliza Thompson House, at 5 West Jones Street, sits on one of the Historic District’s quieter residential blocks, about four minutes’ walk from Pulaski Square and six from the Forsyth Park fountain. Adults only, 21 and up, no pets, and four floors with no elevator.
Architecture and the Squares
Kehoe House, at 123 Habersham Street on Columbia Square, puts you in the run of squares closest to the film festival’s two main theaters, about three minutes from Trustees Theater, with the Davenport and Owens-Thomas Houses and Colonial Park Cemetery all within a block. Adults only, parking included nearby.
A Quieter Autumn Weekend
The Gastonian, at 220 East Gaston Street on the north edge of Forsyth Park, is two 1868 mansions with working fireplaces, claw-foot tubs, and about five minutes’ walk to the Forsyth fountain. Adults only, no pets.