The Spirit of Halloweentown | The Official Guide to Portland (2024)

It’s no “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” or” Night of the Living Dead,” but once in the 1990s, the peaceful waterfront city of St. Helens was overrun by something worse than zombies or headless horsem*n — a Hollywood movie crew! Now, every October the lovely Oregon townjust 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Portlandtransforms into a Halloween haven.

Each year, St. Helens, the filming site of the nostalgic favorite “Halloweentown,” remembers its entry into lighthearted Halloween canon with Spirit of Halloweentown, a fun, family-friendly celebration of the spookiest holiday around. Thecelebration of the creepiest day of the year extends into every weekend in October, starting with the lighting of the Great Pumpkin in thecity plaza.

Events include parades, costume contests, trick-or-treating through St. Helens’ Old Town District, haunted tours and scarecrows galore. Visitors will find a fun atmosphere, decorations and photo opportunities at every turn, including carved pumpkin displays and a replica of the vintage taxi driven by the skeleton cab driver Benny in the “Halloweentown” movie.

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Credit: City of St. Helens

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Credit: City of St. Helens

During Spirit of Halloweentown, local merchants are dying to get you inthe spookyspirit, with costume shops stocking everything from frisky vampire getups to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shells. And with an array of events from ghost talks, tarot card readings and face painting leading up to the big day, you’ll want to be dressed and ready for action. So be sure not to miss it, or you’ll be haunted with regret — at least until next year.