Looking for spooktacular family fun in Ottawa this weekend? Whether you’re a fearless adult or a tiny trick-or-treater, the City of Ottawa museums have an adventure that’s perfect for you. Here’s the details, in their own words.
Haunted Historic Village – October 24 and 25
Experience starts at 7:30 pm with the last admission at 10:00 pm
Cumberland Heritage Village Museum
Confront your most basic fears in Ottawa’s newest and hottest Haunted Village! Our cast and crew will chill you to the core as you wander unassisted in small groups through creepy forested areas and dozens of historic buildings in the pitch black dark of night. This experience will disorient and frighten you over and over again until you’re not sure what you’ve imagined and what was real. Are you sure you can handle it? We’ve got a safe word, just in case.
Cost: $10/person. Not recommended for anyone under the age of 14. Visitors under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
Edwardian Séances – October 24, 25, and 26 from 7 pm to 9:30 pm
Billings Estate National Historic Site
Your senses will be in overdrive during these popular events as you look, listen, and feel for changes in the environment that signal a presence from the beyond. Psychic Connie Adams leads a size-restricted group of participants through a traditional séance in one of Ottawa’s oldest wood-framed houses. Sign up soon as our séances are super popular and sell out fast!
Cost: $30/person. Registration required. Adults only, please.
Ghost Stories of the Ottawa Valley – October 25 from 7 pm to 9:30 pm
Pinhey’s Point Historic Site
A common form of entertainment, storytelling has remained popular throughout human history. During this event, you’ll be led through the site in the dark by a costumed guide, making stops at different vantage points next to historic ruins or overlooking the Ottawa River, and listening to different haunting ghost stories.
Cost: $15/person. Registration required. 14+ years of age only, please.
Halloween Party – October 26 from 10 am to 4 pm
Billings Estate National Historic Site
Child-sized scale models of some of Ottawa’s most iconic landmarks – like Parliament Hill and Rideau Hall – set the scene for some truly epic trick-or-treating! But the fun doesn’t end there. Wear your costume and create your own legendary monster using our large-scale mix -’n’-match book and then use a Nerf gun to capture some of these fiends for further investigation! Have your face painted and be the star of our costume parade!
Cost: $6/person, $10/pair, $16/family
Halloween Hijinks – October 26 from 10 am to 4 pm
Cumberland Heritage Village Museum
Looking for a safe location to trick-or-treat but want a more authentic neighbourhood feeling than a mall can provide? Our Halloween Hijinks lets your family enjoy all the fun of going door to door to pick up treats and learn a thing or two along the way from our historic costumed characters like Little Orphan Annie, Popeye and Olive Oyl, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and the all-time classic characters from the Wizard of Oz. Play a game to match our characters to their history and make a 1930s tabletop lantern to take home in your goodie bag!
Cost: Regular admission
Halloween at Horaceville – October 26 from 10 am to 4 pm
Pinhey’s Point Historic Site
Family-friendly ghost stories, turnip and pumpkin carving, making a miniature birch bark canoe, playing fortune-telling games, and crafting traditional Halloween greeting cards make Halloween at Horaceville a great choice for an October weekend. You and your family will be treated to 19th century snacks cooked over an open fire using historic recipes, too!
Cost: $6/person, $10/pair, $16/family
Pumpkin Party – October 26 from 1 pm to 4 pm
Nepean Museum
Looking for a safe, family-friendly place to celebrate Halloween? We’re pulling out all the spooky stops with a costume parade (make sure to don your Halloween best!), fortune-telling games, bobbing for apples, face painting, and pumpkin decorating. The museum is definitely the place to be for Halloween fun!
Cost: $6/person, $10/pair, $16/family
Disclaimer: The City of Ottawa is a sponsor of this blog and provided the information about the various events. I wouldn’t share them if I didn’t think they were terrific family fun!
