Eery Halloween Travel in Vancouver, BC, Canada

Ghost Trains Whistle and the Dead Walk for a Spooky All Hallows Eve

Oct 17, 2008

Most of the year BC is known for its relaxing beaches and superb scenery, but each Halloween in Vancouver something darker emerges from the bricks and mortar of the city.

There’s lots of fun in Vancouver for Halloween as the city’s dark and scary side surfaces. From ghostly Gas Town to an other-worldly party on Commercial Drive, Vancouver welcomes the undead each Halloween.

Parade of Lost Souls, Commercial Drive

This unique event celebrates life and death with a Day-of-the-Dead feel, while providing an alternative to the traditional Vancouver Halloween night. Musicians and vibrantly costumed dancers become the parade as the procession moves slowly around the Grandview Park and Commercial Drive area.

Dance down the street, watch a shadow puppet theater, or admire the performers spinning poi. The lively event, organized by the Public Dreams Society, attracts more than 20,000 people annually. The Parade of Lost Souls braves the night the Saturday preceding Halloween.

According to the website of the Public Dreams Society, which organizes and runs the event, there is no Parade of Lost Souls in 2009.

Haunted Vancouver Trolley Tours

From mid-Oct. to early Nov. the Vancouver Museum runs blood-curdling tours that begin at the museum and reveal the macabre history of the west coast city. From the museum, those who are brave enough hop on a trolley tour that travels to the massive Mountain View Cemetery (on Fraser between 31st and 41st), and then come to a final resting place at the old city morgue for an autopsy lesson.

Tours depart each evening from the museum, 1100 Chestnut Street (near the Burrard St. bridge), but are not suitable for children under 13.

Stanley Park Ghost Train

The ghost train heads through Stanley Park revealing the pirate stories of those who searched these lands for treasure. Watch for ghosts as the tours venture into the deep, dark forest nightly from mid-Oct. to early Nov. The Vancouver Parks event is a perfect Vancouver Halloween event for younger children with additional activities including a visit to the farmyard and craft-making.

Creatures of the Night, Stanley Park

The Stanley Park Ecology Society leads night walks heading out each evening, offering an ecology conscious take on a Vancouver Halloween. Learn about the bats, night owls, and squirrels that call the park home and venture out only under the cover of darkness. Tours generally run Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, but call 604-718-6522 for tour dates.

PNE Fright Nights

The gruesome faces and chilling sounds will raise the hair and rattle the bones of all who dare to enter. A visit to Fright Nights is only for the bravest of Vancouver Halloween-goers. From being buried alive to exploring a nuclear disaster, the Pacific Nation Exhibition grounds become take on a new level of fear from mid-Oct. to early Nov.

Alternate Vancouver Halloween Activities

In addition to the above Vancouver Halloween events, Fort Langley morphs into a scary spot for Eerie Nights of Fright and the Burnaby Village Museum stages the Great Candy Train Robbery. And, there’s always the old-fashioned and ever-popular Halloween trick-or-treating throughout Vancouver.

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