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There are many ways in which the holiday Halloween is celebrated in the American city of Portland, Oregon.
One house in Southeast Portland has hosted a large display since 2020. Known for participating in PDX Sidewalk Joy, the house's Halloween display has approximately 100 skeletons, including one inspired by Post Malone called "Post Mabone", as well as 50 pumpkins. [1] An annual display in northeast Portland's Alameda neighborhood attracts hundreds of people. [2] Crestfallen Manor in northeast Portland has displayed elaborate Halloween decorations for three decades. [3] Local artist Mike Bennett released a series of Halloween decorations in 2023. [4]
Fear PDX claims to be Portland's largest haunted event. [5] [6] ScareGrounds PDX is hosted at Oaks Amusement Park. [7] [8] In 2010, the park hosted a Halloween Bazaar. [9] Oaks Park hosted a "haunted drive-thru" in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. [10] [11] In 2023, Willamette Week said of the event:
Oaks Park's Halloween attractions are never not scary. The lingering atmosphere of ramshackle whimsy, DIY mischief, and carny pride fully blossoms each autumn as the deceptively vast environs host three separate attractions: The Silver Scream warns of a demented projectionist run amok amid a crumbling movie palace; The Complex's medical maelstrom writ expressionist claymation threatens the genuinely terrifying specter of Laika-rendered Dr. Caligari fever dreams; and The Slayers' promotional art features an ax-wielding Abraham Lincoln, which neither offers nor requires further explanation. [12]
Underhill’s Season of Screams has been held at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. [5] [13] FrightTown has been held at the Moda Center. [14] Fearlandia is in southwest Portland. [15] The Portland Erotic Ball, described as the city's "biggest sexiest Halloween party", has been held at the Crystal Ballroom. [16] The local performance company Night Flight has offered Halloween aerial shows for over a decade; [17] the event has been held at Alberta Rose Theatre and features aerialists and trapeze artists. [18]
The annual witch paddle is held during the Halloween season. [19] The Halloween experience Doll Asylum had approximately 1,000 dolls. [20] [21] Portland participates in the annual Thrill the World event ahead of Halloween. The event sees people dress as zombies and dance to Michael Jackson's song "Thriller" (1983). [22] [23] [24] The ice skating rink at the Lloyd Center has played Halloween music and allowed guests to wear Halloween costumes. [25] Animals at the Oregon Zoo have been gifted pumpkins around Halloween. [26]
Various locations have hosted "trick or treating", [27] including Kennedy School. [25] Various theaters have screened horror films for the Halloween season, including Academy Theater, Clinton Street Theater, Hollywood Theatre, and Tomorrow Theatre. [28] In 2025, "Blumenauer Witching Hour" was held on the Blumenauer Bridge in celebration of Halloween and Día de los Muertos. [29] A vegan Halloween market was held in 2023. [30] Portland has also held Halloween bar crawls, balls, dance parties, and poetry slams, [31] as well as events with dogs wearing costumes. [32]
Spirit Halloween operated a location on 82nd Avenue in 2009. [33] There were no Spirit Halloween stores in the city in 2025. [34]
In 2022, Hey Love hosted a Halloween pop-up Black Lagoon. [35] The bar The Uncanny hosted a Halloween pop-up called House of Unholy in 2023 and 2024. [36] [37] Among notable bars that have served Halloween-themed cocktails are Creepy's, Raven's Manor, and The Uncanny. [38] Coffee shops and restaurants like Cheese & Crack Snack Shop and Memento Mori Cafe, which displays Halloween decorations all year, [39] have also offered Halloween-themed food and drink options. [40]
In 2011, one Portland school banned Halloween costumes. [41] In 2024, Portland State University deemed a costume worn by a student "harmful". [42] [43] Some participants of the "emergency" edition of the World Naked Bike Ride during the 2025 protests in Portland wore Halloween costumes. [44]
