In Denton, Halloween lasts for the entire month of October. The second 31 Days of Denton Halloween, a monthlong spooky celebration that helped solidify the city’s new designation as the Halloween Capital of Texas, begins on Wednesday.
The Denton Record-Chronicle caught up with some of the team behind all of the popups, attractions and events on Monday.
Kayla Herrod, the city’s deputy director of marketing and communications, said Denton is bringing back popular attractions from last year and trying a few new things.
“Our vision is to bring back some of the same things that people love about 31 Days of Denton Halloween, but it’s also to provide new experiences,” Herrod said. “So we want to make sure that we give people something new every time that they come back from year to year.”
In its first year, the Halloween attractions drew about 660,000 visitors from all 50 states and some international destinations, according to a news release from the city.
This year, there is a 5,000-square-foot maze in front of the Denton Civic Center, found at 321 E. McKinney St. Designed to be the lab of a mad scientist, the maze features a control console where visitors can press buttons and turn switches, too.
After passing through the lab, visitors can make their way through one of the three sections of the maze.
The maze is for anyone age 8 and older. Children under 12 must be supervised by an adult. Entry to the maze is free.
“We really felt strongly about [the maze] being free,” Herrod said. “We want to make sure that we have a wide variety of experiences, whether it’s paid and it’s ticketed or it’s free. It’s important to add experiences that are accessible to everyone.”
The city funds 31 Days of Denton Halloween through hotel occupancy tax revenue — funds from a 7% tax on overnight lodging, paid by hotel guests, which are used to promote Denton as a tourism destination.
The City Council approved about $250,000 for 31 Days of Denton Halloween this year, and approved the same amount for 2026 in the latest budget.
Herrod said the city has prioritized collaborating with locals to create Halloween events and attractions, as well as working internally with city staff. Local artist Dan Black was involved in creating the maze, for example.
“One of the most important things that’s the same [for this year’s Halloween celebration] is our focus and our collaboration with local businesses,” Herrod said.
Locals also got involved in naming the monster that appears in a new sign on the wall at 108 N. Locust St., the former site of the Denton Mini Mall I. The city used social media to ask what the purple monster should be named, and the most popular answer was Onion.
Onion is also featured on a new Halloween-themed mural found at vintage store Faded Blue, 1100 N. Locust St. Owner Devin Drake commissioned local artist Rheazel Mast to fill a long-empty space with a design that represents both Halloween and all of Denton’s quirks.
“I wanted to be a part of the excitement,” Drake said.
“It fits our community, and our personality and just the vibe ... Denton’s Denton. This is my town, I like doing business here and I just wanted to give back.”
The mural also features a telephone booth, which was a popular attraction last October. As people wandered the downtown Square, they could pose in the phone booth installations for photos or listen to messages through the phone that helped create a larger story. The phone booths are returning this year.
“It’s the same [phone booths], but [they will] have a new story whenever you pick up the phone,” Herrod said. “You’ll hear something different than what you heard last year.”
One phone booth will still be located at Denton County Brewing Co. The other two will be outside the Plot Twist, a romance bookstore and bar, and Hemlock Fox, a witchy sober-inclusive bar at 116 N. Austin St.
“Everyone congregates around the Square, and that’s kind of the heartbeat of the community,” Parks and Recreation Director Gary Packan said. “We wanted to make sure that we’re pushing people to other areas that maybe [don’t] get a lot of traffic.”
The Scary Chairy Orchard, a homage to former local art installation the Chairy Orchard, is another returning attraction. This year, the display is set to have up to 175 chairs.
The Scary Chairy Orchard is located right outside City Hall, at 215 E. McKinney St. There’s also a pop-up cemetery right in front of it featuring headstones with punny names like Penn E. Wise and Nora Gretz.
This year, at night, the cemetery will also feature a “mausoleum” with singing busts and a hologram ghost.
“The first year obviously was a learning experience,” Packan said. “So, we’ve brought everything back from the first year and then looked for ways to improve.”
There are also new nearby attractions, like the Garden of Villains. The outdoor path between City Hall and the neighboring Denton Civic Center now features several mannequins dressed as classic Scooby-Doo villains.
Packan said the city collaborated with downtown shop Rose Costumes to create the display.
Locals and tourists alike will have plenty to do in Denton this month. Packan said there were over 200 Halloween events in the city last year, but that there are more than 300 scheduled for this October.
Although some events are one-time only, there are plenty that will happen throughout the month, so there’s less chance of having to pick and choose between multiple events for one day.
Resident Shaun Treat will host Denton Haunts ghost tours on Friday and Saturday evenings to share ghost stories and Denton history. Storytellers from the Tejas Storytelling Association will tell spooky stories in the cemetery every Saturday evening, too.
There will also be several events hosted in the Big Top Tent, which hosts Denton’s own musical Cirque du Horror during Denton’s Day of the Dead Festival. This year, the tent at 126 E. Oak St. will host a variety of events throughout the month.
There is a full event calendar available on the Denton Halloween website. The celebrations kick off on Wednesday with the Blocktober Party and Pumpkin Drop.