Americans know how to do Halloween – and the Silver State might just be the best place to experience it. In Nevada, “spooky” comes with a Wild West twist; think haunted gold-mining towns, paranormal investigations, ghost trains, horror houses, and teams racing coffins down Main Street. From the neon boneyards of Las Vegas, to the eerie streets of Virginia City and the wide-open landscapes beyond, Nevada has an adventure for every level of curious traveller.
Fright-fest in Virginia City – the most haunted place in Nevada
Virginia City is widely regarded as one of Nevada’s most haunted places, with a reputation that extends well beyond the Silver State. Naturally, the town celebrates Hauntober throughout October, with a line-up of spooky experiences and events. Visitors can join paranormal tours, hear stories of reported encounters at historic cemeteries, take part in a haunted saloon crawl and experience the Bats in the Belfry guided ghost tour. The town is also home to historic properties with reported hauntings, including the Mackay Mansion, as well as the Haunted Halloween Graveyard Train. With its Wild West history, tales of unexplained encounters and atmospheric streets, Virginia City offers plenty of reasons to wonder whether the past really does refuse to stay buried.
In Las Vegas’s AREA15, Universal Horror Unleashed delivers a year-round dose of cinematic terror, bringing some of horror’s most notorious movies and monsters to life across four immersive haunted houses:
- Universal Monsters: Follow in the footsteps of legendary monster-hunter Van Helsing and enter the terrifying world of Universal’s most iconic creatures.
- Scarecrow – The Reaping: Navigate fog-shrouded cornfields where twisted scarecrows lurk among the stalks, turning a cursed harvest into a terrifying fight for survival.
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Enter a remote Texas farmhouse where walls stained by terror echo with the screams of past victims – and something unspeakable awaits.
- The Exorcist – Believer: Step into Blumhouse’s terrifying world as two girls are overtaken by an ancient evil. Visitors must navigate a maze of twisted torment before the entity claims them as its own.
Clowning around
For fans of Stephen King’s IT – or anyone with a healthy fear of clowns – The Clown Motel in Tonopah takes creepy to another level. Thousands of clown figurines line the lobby, while each of the motel’s 31 rooms features two or three pieces of custom clown art. Guests looking for an extra dose of the unexplained can request Rooms 108, 111, 210 or 214, which are said to have a reputation for paranormal activity – and with the motel sitting next to the historic Old Tonopah Cemetery, reports of ghostly encounters have only added to its eerie reputation.
All aboard for a spooky ride
Nevada’s historic railways get into the Halloween spirit with themed train rides running across the state each October. For serious scares, the Virginia & Truckee Railroad’s Haunted Halloween Graveyard Train delivers a suitably eerie journey, while the Boulder City Halloween Express offers a more family-friendly ride.
Ready, set… coffin
In Gardnerville, Halloween gets competitive with the Main Street Gardnerville Annual Coffin Races & Fall Festival taking place each October. Costumed teams race homemade coffins down Gardnerville Main Street in a gloriously macabre battle for bragging rights – because in Nevada, even the dead apparently have places to be.
For a different kind of fright, visitors can head to Lake Tahoe, where scary movie nights take place under the stars. Sand Harbor State Park turns into “Spooky Harbor” each season, bringing Halloween movie classics to the beach, giving visitors the chance to watch themed films under the stars and with Lake Tahoe as the backdrop.
Haunted hotels, homes and other places to get spooked
- For those who like their history with a side of haunting, the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah is one of Nevada’s best-known allegedly haunted hotels. The historic property is said to be home to the Lady in Red, a ghostly figure whose presence has inspired decades of paranormal tales. Guests can book a stay on the fifth floor and see whether she decides to make an appearance.
- In Carson City, the Dark Prison Haunted House takes over the former Nevada State Prison, combining live actors, special effects and menacing monsters for an immersive night of fright. It’s one former prison where getting locked up is entirely optional.
- In Las Vegas, Hotel Fear and neighbouring Asylum deliver a double dose of haunted-house mayhem. Hotel Fear plunges visitors into a property reportedly taken over by an unknown government agency, while Asylum invites them inside a supposedly abandoned mental health facility where things are far from what they seem. Together, the attractions offer dark corridors, unsettling characters and plenty of reasons to keep the lights on.
- Just outside Reno, Sparks gets into the spirit with Andelin Family Farm’s annual Corn Creepers event, transforming an outdoor cornfield into a half-mile maze of darkness, scares and things that may or may not be lurking between the rows
And then there’s Nevada Day…
Halloween isn’t the only reason 31 October is a big deal in Nevada. The Silver State officially became a state on 31 October, 1864, meaning Halloween also doubles as Nevada’s birthday. The annual Nevada Day Parade & Celebration in Carson City marks the occasion with a huge parade, hot air balloons, military flyovers, beard competitions, rock drilling championships, live music, food and plenty of old-school Nevada spirit.
