Halloween in Savannah: A Local's Guide for 2026

Halloween in Savannah fills the last two weekends of October. In 2026, the highlights are Trick-or-Treat on River Street on Saturday, October 24 (2 to 5 p.m., free), the SCAD Savannah Film Festival from October 24 to 31, special after-dark cemetery tours on Halloween weekend, and Halloween night itself on Saturday, October 31. Ghost tours run every night of the season, and the busiest nights sell out, so book ahead.

Savannah has a reputation as one of the most haunted cities in America, and October is when the whole city leans into it. We think the best Halloween days start slowly, with a fresh scone and a good cup of coffee. Our Downtown Coffee Shop & Scone Shop sits on Congress Street in the middle of it all, so here is how we would plan a Halloween visit.

Ghost tours: book early

Ghost tours are the heart of Halloween in Savannah. You can walk the squares with a guide, ride a trolley, or join a pub tour that mixes ghost stories with stops along the way. Most tours leave from the Historic District after dark and last one to two hours.

Tours fill up quickly around Halloween. Reserve a few days ahead, and earlier for Friday and Saturday nights. Wear comfortable shoes. Savannah's brick sidewalks are uneven, and the best stories are told on foot.

Places with the best stories

You do not need a tour to feel the history. A few places to see in daylight:

• Colonial Park Cemetery, on Oglethorpe Avenue, is one of the oldest burial grounds in the city, in the middle of the Historic District and open to visitors during the day.
• Bonaventure Cemetery, east of downtown, is famous for its live oaks, Spanish moss and carved monuments. It is open to visitors during the day. On Halloween weekend, local guides run special after-dark lantern tours that sell out quickly.
• The historic house museums around the squares tell the stories of the families who lived there, and many ghost tours stop outside them.

Our Savannah squares walking route covers seven squares in about an hour and pairs well with an evening ghost tour.

Halloween with kids

Trick-or-Treat on River Street is Savannah's family Halloween tradition. On Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 2 to 5 p.m., more than 30 waterfront shops and restaurants hand out candy to costumed kids. It is free, and participating businesses put posters in their windows.

Wormsloe Historic Site also hosts a Halloween scavenger hunt on Saturdays in October, a good daytime option outside downtown.

Not into spooky? The SCAD Savannah Film Festival

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival runs October 24 to 31, 2026, with screenings across SCAD's historic theaters downtown. It is the largest university-run film festival in the country and draws more than 74,000 people each year. Tickets and passes are sold at the SCAD Box Office at 216 E. Broughton Street and online.

The festival and Halloween share the same week, so expect a busy, lively downtown from the 24th through Halloween night.

Halloween night downtown

Halloween falls on a Saturday in 2026, and downtown will be crowded from the afternoon on. River Street, City Market and Congress Street fill with costumes after dark, and bar crawls run Halloween weekend for the 21-and-over crowd.

Parking fills early on Halloween weekend. Our guide to parking in downtown Savannah covers the garages closest to River Street and City Market.

A fall morning before the frights

Halloween night starts late, so start the day slowly. Our Downtown Coffee Shop & Scone Shop at 31 W Congress Street opens at 8 a.m., Monday through Saturday. Grab a coffee and a scone before a morning walk through the squares. Our scones are baked at our Midtown Bakeshop, and the menu changes every week. See what is baking on this week's menu.

For more on the season, read our local's guide to fall in Savannah.

If you are visiting for Halloween and want to bring a little Savannah home, we ship our scones nationwide through Goldbelly.

Happy Halloween from all of us at Savannah Scone Company.