New Orleans was practically built for Halloween. Explore 15 of the city’s spookiest experiences, including French Quarter ghost tours, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, haunted hotels, vampire legends, historic Voodoo sites and the spectacular Krewe of BOO! Halloween parade.
Ghosts, vampires, cemeteries, voodoo history and one parade where monsters throw candy at you
I’ve written about Halloween destinations for years, and there’s one problem with creating a list of scary things to do in New Orleans:
You could write 50.
Maybe 100.
New Orleans doesn’t put its supernatural history into storage on November 1.
Ghost tours operate year-round. Voodoo traditions are part of the city’s living culture. Above-ground cemeteries cover entire city blocks. French Quarter buildings have been collecting stories for centuries.
Then Halloween arrives and New Orleans says:
You know what this needs?
A parade.
So here we go.
These are 15 of the scariest—and most wonderfully New Orleans—things to do this Halloween.
1. Take a French Quarter Ghost Tour
👻 Scare Meter: 9/10 — Start with the classics
If you’re visiting New Orleans for Halloween and skip the ghost tour, we need to discuss your vacation-planning privileges.
New Orleans has an enormous selection of tours covering ghosts, haunted mansions, vampires, cemeteries and voodoo history. New Orleans & Company currently lists everything from traditional French Quarter walks to late-night paranormal investigations.
Go after dark.
Choose a historically grounded operator.
Wear comfortable shoes.
And pay attention when your guide points to an upstairs window.
That’s never followed by:
“Something adorable happened there.”
2. Visit St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
👻 Scare Meter: 9/10 — Welcome to the City of the Dead
New Orleans’ above-ground cemeteries are unlike practically anything else in America.
Because of local burial traditions and environmental conditions, elaborate above-ground tombs became a defining feature of the city’s cemeteries.
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is particularly famous because it contains the tomb associated with legendary Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau.
Access is regulated, so use an authorized tour rather than assuming you can wander in independently.
This is also an active historic burial ground.
Treat it that way.
City Unknown Tip: Take the history seriously. You don’t need fake cobwebs when you’re surrounded by two centuries of New Orleans stories.
3. Stand Outside the LaLaurie Mansion
👻 Scare Meter: 10/10 — The history is worse than the ghost stories
The LaLaurie Mansion may be New Orleans’ most infamous private residence.
The story centers on Delphine LaLaurie and horrific abuse of enslaved people discovered following a fire at the property.
Over time, the mansion became surrounded by ghost stories and sensational retellings. New Orleans haunted itineraries continue to identify it among the city’s major supernatural landmarks.
The building is private property.
See the exterior from the public street as part of a legitimate tour.
Don’t trespass.
City Unknown Tip: This is one location where documented human cruelty is disturbing enough. The actual history deserves more attention than exaggerated paranormal mythology.
4. Experience Krewe of BOO!
🎃 Scare Meter: 4/10
Fun Meter: 11/10
Only New Orleans would look at Halloween and say:
“Needs Mardi Gras floats.”
The 2026 Krewe of BOO! Halloween Parade rolls Saturday, October 24 at 6:30 p.m., traveling from the French Quarter toward the Warehouse District. It’s free, family-friendly and features giant monsters, ghosts, vampires, marching groups and Halloween throws.
This isn’t merely something to do.
If you’re planning a New Orleans Halloween trip in 2026, I’d seriously consider building your dates around this.
City Unknown Tip: Bring a bag for throws.
Apparently even werewolves understand souvenir marketing.
5. Visit the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
👻 Scare Meter: 8/10 — 19th-century medicine was terrifying enough
Sometimes history provides better horror than Halloween attractions.
The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum occupies a historic pharmacy dating to 1823 and contains authentic medical and pharmaceutical artifacts.
The museum’s own FAQ cheerfully answers whether the building is haunted with essentially:
Of course it is—it’s the French Quarter.
It does, however, prohibit paranormal investigations.
Even without ghosts, old surgical equipment and 19th-century medicine will provide all the nightmares you need.
City Unknown Tip: Take the guided tour if available.
You’ll discover that modern healthcare is one of civilization’s better ideas.
6. Learn the Real History of New Orleans Voodoo
👻 Scare Meter: Depends on how much Hollywood you’ve watched
This needs a little care.
Voodoo is a real religious and cultural tradition, not simply Halloween decoration.
New Orleans Voodoo developed through African spiritual traditions interacting with Catholic and Creole culture and became strongly associated with figures such as Marie Laveau.
Visit a respected museum, shop or educational tour that treats the tradition seriously.
Don’t go expecting movie-style curses and dolls full of pins.
You’ll learn something far more interesting.
City Unknown Tip: Good spooky travel respects the culture that created the stories.
7. Walk the French Quarter After Midnight
👻 Scare Meter: 7/10
This one’s free.
After the biggest daytime crowds disappear, the French Quarter shifts.
Gas lamps.
Iron balconies.
Narrow streets.
Old shutters.
Horse-drawn carriages passing in the distance.
Jazz drifting from somewhere you can’t quite locate.
New Orleans is one of the few American cities where the architecture does almost all the Halloween work for you.
Stick to active public areas and use normal city awareness.
No need to wander into dark alleys just because a ghost-tour guide pointed at one earlier.
8. Have a Drink at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop
👻 Scare Meter: 8/10 — Rum with a side of pirate legend
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop is one of those New Orleans places where history and legend have spent so long together they’ve basically become roommates.
Stories connect the building to privateer Jean Lafitte, and local ghost lore claims his spirit occasionally appears near the fireplace. Hotel Provincial even includes Lafitte’s among its suggested local haunts.
Historic bar.
Low light.
Bourbon Street.
Possible pirate ghost.
That’s efficient Halloween tourism.
9. Dine With a Ghost at Muriel’s Jackson Square
👻 Scare Meter: 7.5/10 — Make a reservation for three
New Orleans has multiple restaurants associated with ghost stories, but Muriel’s is particularly fun because it embraces the supernatural side of its history.
Have dinner around Jackson Square.
Explore the atmospheric interior.
Then continue your nighttime French Quarter walk.
City Unknown Tip: New Orleans’ haunted restaurants make a great compromise when one person wants ghost hunting and the other just wants gumbo.
Relationships saved.
You’re welcome.
10. Visit the Museum of Death
💀 Scare Meter: 9/10 — No paranormal activity required
Not every creepy attraction needs ghosts.
The New Orleans Museum of Death deals with actual death, crime and macabre material.
This is absolutely not the place I’d casually add to a family itinerary.
Older teens and adults interested in true crime and macabre collections may find it fascinating; others will find it deeply unsettling.
Which is precisely why it belongs here.
City Unknown Tip: Read the attraction’s current content information before going.
There’s spooky…
…and then there’s “I really didn’t need to see that before lunch.”
11. Go Vampire Hunting in the French Quarter
🧛 Scare Meter: 7/10 — Cape optional
New Orleans vampire lore has become nearly as famous as its ghosts.
You’ll find vampire-focused tours alongside witch, ghost and supernatural walking tours throughout the French Quarter. New Orleans’ tourism bureau specifically promotes vampire tours as part of the city’s supernatural scene.
Are actual vampires wandering Royal Street?
That is not a claim I’m prepared to make.
Do some people on Bourbon Street at 2 a.m. look suspiciously undead?
Absolutely.
12. Explore Old Ursuline Convent
👻 Scare Meter: 8/10 — The vampire legends arrive here too
The Old Ursuline Convent dates to the French colonial period and is among the oldest surviving buildings in the Mississippi Valley.
Naturally, New Orleans folklore eventually attached vampire stories to it.
The famous Casket Girls legend has evolved dramatically over generations, often straying well beyond documented history.
Visit for the real architecture and history.
Enjoy the vampire tale afterward.
That’s the better order.
13. Attend Boo at the Zoo
🎃 Scare Meter: 2/10 — Tiny ghosts welcome
Traveling with children?
Here’s your palate cleanser.
Boo at the Zoo returns October 16–18, 2026, with trick-or-treating, costumes, animals, Halloween activities and a kid-friendly haunted house.
Friday’s Li’l Boo runs until early evening, while Saturday and Sunday offer the classic daytime experience.
This is where you take the kids before Grandma volunteers to babysit and you disappear into the French Quarter ghost-tour circuit.
Excellent teamwork.
14. Join the Krewe of BOO! Monster Mash
🎃 Scare Meter: 3/10
Party Meter: 10/10
After the October 24 parade, New Orleans naturally throws another party.
The official Monster Mash begins at 8 p.m. on October 24, 2026 at Generations Hall with costumes, live entertainment, DJs and a costume contest.
That’s the genius of New Orleans Halloween.
In other cities:
Haunted house.
Go home.
Here:
Haunted house.
Parade.
Second line.
Costume party.
Breakfast eventually.
15. Attempt the Ultimate New Orleans Halloween Day
👻 Scare Meter: 13/10
Here’s how I’d do it.
Start with a morning or early-afternoon tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.
Then visit the Pharmacy Museum.
Have a late lunch.
Explore the French Quarter and stop outside LaLaurie Mansion with a history-focused tour.
Go back to the hotel.
Change.
Have dinner near Jackson Square.
Then take a nighttime ghost/vampire tour.
Finish with a drink at an old French Quarter bar.
And then…
Walk back to your room at Hotel Monteleone, Bourbon Orleans or Dauphine Orleans.
That’s the crucial part.
Your ghost tour guide has just spent two hours telling you why practically every building surrounding your hotel is haunted.
Now turn out the light.
Sleep well.
🎃 City Unknown Tips for Halloween in New Orleans
Book ridiculously early. Halloween is a major event here, and New Orleans & Company describes it as second only to Mardi Gras for sheer celebration.
For 2026, circle October 24. That’s Krewe of BOO! night, with the parade rolling at 6:30 p.m.
Don’t confuse Voodoo with horror-movie mythology. It’s a genuine spiritual tradition deserving respect.
Use authorized cemetery tours. Cemetery access rules vary, and some historic cemeteries have controlled entry.
Wear comfortable shoes. The best spooky New Orleans experiences involve a surprising amount of walking.
And don’t overschedule.
The most memorable Halloween moment might not be an attraction at all.
It might be walking along Royal Street after midnight, hearing footsteps behind you…
