Halloween Guide 2025: Your guide to a spooky, fun holiday

If you haven't loaded up on Halloween candy, you better find some change under the couch because the clock is ticking on the holiday, and no one wants to be the house giving out breath mints.

Halloween is coming, and we are here to guide you to the best season ever. Check back often as we continue to update you on Halloween events, costumes and candy, trick or treat hours and much more.

Don't love Halloween? We've tucked a few feel-good stories in here to help with those cozy fall vibes.

Delaware professor on how monsters are used to exploit cultures

A piece from the movie 'Frankenstein' is on display during the exhibition 'Guillermo del Toro, At Home with My Monsters' - a collection of personal items and some that he used in his movies - in Guadalajara, State of Jalisco, Mexico, on May 29, 2019. (

Frankenstein’s monster is a Halloween icon that's tall, dark and ransoms the hearts of his fans, in hopes that they'll pay him lots of attention.  

But under the creature's fresh-to-death appearance lies a deeper conversation about what it means to be a monster in America and in other cultures around the world, a local monster expert says.  

Persephone Braham, a professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies at the University of Delaware, specializes in the cultural history of monsters. Her research focuses on how European colonizers used monstrous imagery to justify the enslavement and exploitation of Indigenous and African peoples.  

Hide your crystal ball. There are strange Halloween laws in Delaware

Participants in costumes parade along Rehoboth Avenue during the 35th annual Sea Witch Festival in Rehoboth Beach on October 25, 2025.

Some Delaware towns have odd rules tied to Halloween.

Witches or wanna-be-witches be warned: Casting magic spells in Millsboro is illegal under town code. 

The town's code contains what might be among the weirdest spooky-season rules aimed at the supernatural. It explicitly bars the exercise or "pretend" exercise of the art of conjuration, fortune-telling, palmistry or "dealing with spirits." 

The rules also explicitly bar the practice of "witchcraft" and divination, which Oxford Dictionary defines as seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means. 

It also bars the inspection of leaves, a form of divination that gives us the common saying of "reading the tea leaves." The law also bars the inspection of crystal balls. 

What are Halloween trick-or-treat curfews in Delaware this year?

A young boy joined the crowd that converged on Rehoboth Saturday to watch the annual Sea Witch Festival Parade. Officials estimated more than 100,000 spectators were crowded along Rehoboth Avenue for the event.

Halloween night is generally when most people are going to be out.

So, leave a light on, buy some candy and be generous to all the kids dressed up for the occasion.

Halloween lands on a Friday night this year, meaning there could be crazier drivers.

Be on the lookout for kids in dark costumes in streets and sidewalks, and stay off of the road if you can. Parents and children should be aware of their surroundings while trick-or-treating. Children should stay on the sidewalk and use crosswalks to cross the street.

How much sleep should my kids get on Halloween? What to know before trick-or-treating

Participants in costumes parade along Rehoboth Avenue during the 35th annual Sea Witch Festival in Rehoboth Beach on October 25, 2025.

You know what's scarier than all the Halloween movies and "Friday the 13th" movies combined?

Your child the morning after Halloween.

Between the lack of sleep, the desire to eat more chocolate, and the letdown after the holiday, it's like your sweet darlings removed their costumes and put on their cranky pants.

While children won't have to wake up for school in the morning, you're going to have to deal with your kids all day. So here are some hints to help your kids get the rest they need to avoid the day after horrors.

Sea Witch Festival costume parade in Rehoboth Beach

Participants in costumes parade along Rehoboth Avenue during the 35th annual Sea Witch Festival in Rehoboth Beach on October 25, 2025.

Check out the highlights of this annual event which helped transform what ''beach season'' means in Delaware with photos by Jason Minto on Oct. 25.

What is the candy tax? How parents get their Halloween treats

Halloween candy trick-or-treating

Don't be ashamed; every parent has done it.

You take your child out trick-or-treating, and then for safety reasons, go through the child's candy and scope out your cut.

Call it "the mommy or daddy tax" or whatever, but every parent "steals" candy from their kids.

The website littlesleepies.com studied what parents do with their children's Halloween candy. The site consulted Google Trends to determine the search volume for each candy from Oct. 1 to 31, 2024, and calculated the average search popularity per capita for each candy. The site also surveyed 1,050 parents nationwide. Among them, 34% were men and 64% were women. Additionally, 10% were baby boomers, 35% were Gen X, 52% were millennials, and 3% were Gen Z.

What candy should you give out this Halloween? See what's most popular in Delaware

Remember when you were trick-or-treating and some house, with the best of intentions, gave you a popcorn ball, Three Musketeers or Mounds bar?

You don't want to be that house. That's the house that ends up getting toilet paper in trees or worse. You want to be the house with good candy. So what should you get?

The website APT2B.com investigated the question, analyzing Google Trends data of 40 popular candy bars for just October from the past five years. They compared the search interest for each candy head-to-head to find the most popular ones in every state and used search interest as an indicator of popularity for this study.

Halloween fun includes Barktober and Sea Witch fests and special Renaissance Faire event

1990: Hildegard Marvel, resident of Kentmere Home of Merciful Rest, poses with fellow witches Catherine Hall (left) and Lauren Fritchel of Wilmington Friends School.

Not everyone is a huge fan of the amputated limbs, strands of entrails and zombie babies that pop up in yards and elsewhere this time of year.

This Halloween season, here are some family-friendly events you and your kids can check out in the First State that shouldn't give you nightmares.

Dressing up for Halloween 2025? These are the costumes you're most likely to wear

Costume displays in Spirit Halloween in Dover, in the former Jo Ann Fabrics store on Route 13 North near Kohl's, on Oct. 1, 2025.

Halloween is Friday, Oct. 31, and roughly 13 million people — or 51% of all adults who will partake in Halloween activities, according to industry watcher Toybook — will dress in some form of Halloween costume.

But if you are having trouble selecting a proper Halloween costume, here's the list of this year's top Halloween outfits for adults, children and even pets.

Spirit Halloween brings vacant Delaware stores back from the dead

Spirit Halloween in Bear is in the former Rite Aid site at the corner of Routes 40 and 72.

When a store goes out of business, it leaves a hole – a grave if you will – in a shopping center that can take a long time to fill.

But not so with several stores that recently went out of business in Delaware, as Spirit Halloween has swept in to breathe new life into these zombies.

Rite Aid, Jo Ann Fabrics and Forever 21 are among the chains lost in 2025 from which Spirit Halloween has snatched a former location, along with a long-closed Sears and Kmart – remember those?

Often, the skeletons of those old businesses like the outline of the signs and the characteristic colors can be seen under the skin of the new seasonal home for costumes and decorations. With over 1,500 locations across North America this year, Spirit Halloween’s iconic orange banners cover ghosts of stores past.  

Who has Halloween doughnuts? What to look for at Duck Donuts, Dunkin’

Krispy Kreme announced four spooky new doughnuts coming for Halloween in 2025.

Halloween is Friday, Oct. 31, meaning you only have a few weeks left to enjoy spooky-themed doughnuts. And with more than 70% of all adults participating in Halloween to some degree — which also means erick-or-treating and eating Halloween treats, according to data aggregator Statista — you may want to get these Halloween doughnuts before they're gone.

Here are just a few of the Halloween-themed doughnuts you can pick up this season.

These are the best Halloween events at the Delaware beaches

The annual Sea Witch Parade was held in downtown Rehoboth Beach on Oct. 31, 2022. The festival brings thousands of visitors to the area for a weekend of Halloween activities.

These days, Halloween at the Delaware beaches is nearly as much fun as summertime.

You can show off your costume – or your dog's – at several spooky events, all of which happen a stone's throw from Atlantic Ocean beaches.

Get your calendars out: Here are the major Halloween events to plan for this year.

What's the most popular traditional Halloween costume in Delaware? Study finds answer

Steve Motter (foreground) and Lindsey Motter go out for Halloween on October 31, 1994.

Families around the county are being faced with the same question – what are you going to be for Halloween?

Chicco, maker of child seats and strollers, did a study to find out the most popular traditional Halloween costume in each state.

Chicco analyzed Google Trends data for 35 well-known, classic costumes over the past 12 months and compared search interests across the country to see which costume stood out in each state. For this study, search interest served as the measure of popularity.

From McDonald's to Dunkin' to Home Depot, where to get Halloween boo buckets

McDonald's "Boo Buckets" will return on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

When your children go out to trick-or-treat this Halloween, they're going to need something to hold the gluttonous amounts of candy they'll receive. 

Children are flocking to get special buckets from various sources. Even though they don't hold huge amounts, they are really popular.

Here's a look at Halloween buckets and where to get them. 

Warm fires on cool nights: How to build and put out fire safely, plus burn treatment

Now that fall's chill has arrive, it's time for backyard fire pits and weekend campfires.

If your bakyard is too small to hold a fire pit, find a friend.

But first, (there's always something) you need to be aware of the dangers fires pose and what to do to avoid a disaster — nearly 9 out of 10 wildfires nationwide are caused by humans according to smokeybear.com.

Keeping that in mind, here is a guide to fall fire safety that will help you know how to safely roast marshmallows and sing around a campfire, how to properly extinguish a bonfire or firepit and even how to treat burn injuries.

Dunkin' drops Halloween menu. What candy is in the Candy Bar Latte, how does it taste

Dunkin' Signature Candy Bar Latte balances to flavor of espresso with the sweetness of candy. Here it's paired with a Halloween Strawberry frosted doughnut.

It's Halloween season and there's one thing that gets young and old excited at Halloween – candy.

Sure, some people may say pumpkin spice, but that is overdone. Who doesn't like a Snickers bar, Take 5 or Reese's Peanut Butter Cup?

These are the top places near Wilmington for pumpkin spice lattes, according to Yelp

Now that fall has officially arrived, it seems fitting to talk about pumpkin spice.

Haters are going to hate, and while pumpkin spice is certainly polarizing, those that embrace the blend of spices that flavor pumpkin pie – usually cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and sometimes allspice - enjoy it in everything from cookies to hot beverages

Plan your Halloween as Delaware Trunk or Treat events pop up across the state

It's spooky season.

And while the classic Halloween outing of "trick or treat" may come to mind, with millions of tiny goblins and gools door-knocking for candy across the country, there also will be a few, more mobile options in Delaware.

That is, the "Trunk or Treat."

The event style is likely familiar, with organizers decorating several cars or their trunks in Halloween flare, while children and families stop car-by-car for candy and other goodies. Many credit the set-up as a bit safer and more controlled than walking house-by-house, or more convenient for rural areas with homes spread far apart.

Take a look back at Halloween in Delaware during the 1990s

David Miller, of the Delaware Theater Company, at the Opera Delaware Studio's haunted house on October 21, 1991.

Time travel with us back to the '90s and check out how Delaware celebrated Halloween way back then - it's longer ago than you think!

Delaware Halloween events that are family friendly & not scary

Some people aren't fans of being traumatized during spooky season in Delaware.

Sleeping with every light on the house gets old and it can unnecessarily run up that electric bill. And nobody has time for that.

This Halloween season, here are some family-friendly events you and your kids can check out in the First State that shouldn't give you nightmares.

Sea Witch Festival Parade celebrates Halloween in Rehoboth Beach

Rehoboth Beach's 33rd annual Sea Witch Festival Costume Parade was held in Rehoboth Beach on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, with great weather that brought thousands of people to town to see the ghosts, goblins and any other creature imaginable.

Rehoboth Beach's Sea Witch Festival named one of nation's 10BEST by USA TODAYPortrait of Shannon Marvel McNaughtShannon Marvel McNaughtDelaware News Journal

Rehoboth Beach may be "The Nation's Summer Capital," but its hugely popular Sea Witch Festival has been named one of the nation's Best Fall Festivals in the USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards.

The Sea Witch took fourth place, behind only the third-place Jack Pine Glass Pumpkin Festival in Laurelville, Ohio, second-place Fall for Greenville festival in Greenville, South Carolina, and first-place West Side Nut Club Festival in Evansville, Indiana. You can view the full list here.

All of the fall festivals on the 10BEST list were nominated by an expert panel and voted on by USATODAY readers. Here's what they had to say about the the Delaware beaches' premiere fall event.

Scrambling to find a Halloween costume? Here are a few ideas to get your haunt on

Costumed bar hoppers were out in droves for the Halloween Loop Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017.

You know how it goes: you got so wrapped up in picking out pumpkins or putting up decorations, you forgot to pick out a Halloween costume.  

If you’re one of those people, you’re not alone. Whether it be because of your busy schedule or your spontaneous nature, searching for a fun or unique costume at the 11th hour is pretty common. 

Rest assured, you don’t always need to plan months ahead of time or spend a ton of money to make a stand-out costume. In some cases, all you need is a mask, some accessories, maybe some make-up and your own wardrobe. 

What's the most popular Halloween candy in Delaware? See the answer plus other trends

Bowl of Halloween candy corn.

Walk into Target, Walmart and most grocery stores and you'll see a plethora of Halloween candy.

Whether you're stocking up for Halloween or stocking up with full knowledge that this candy will be eaten before Halloween, the question becomes which candy should you buy?

Everyone has their personal favorite like Snickers, M&Ms or Take 5, but what it the most popular candy in Delaware?

The website APT2B.com investigated the question, analyzing Google Trends data of 40 popular candy bars for just the month of October from the past five years. They compared the search interest for each candy head-to-head to find the most popular ones in every state and used search interest as an indicator of popularity for this study.

How, when to get the new Halloween Stanley cup at Delaware Target stores

It'll soon be Halloween, and you can get in on the spooky fun by picking up one of three Halloween-themed Stanley cups and matching straws at Target stores in Delaware.

Dunkin' fall menu: Here's what's coming for Halloween

Sometimes it's good to break things up a bit to enjoy something a little longer.

Such is the case with Dunkin' unveiling its fall menu with two waves of Dunkin' goodness.

Here's a look at the Dunkin fall menu and Halloween.

Where to pick apples, pumpkins and Christmas trees in Delaware through the end of 2025

Pumpkins for sale at T.W. Smith & Sons in Bridgeville.

If you’re looking for some fall fun with friends, u-pick offerings are the perfect activity.  

Not only is it a great way to get some seasonal photoshoots in, but you also can cross some items off your shopping list while you’re at it.  

Whether you want to fill your kitchen with farm-fresh produce or decorate your home for the holidays, there are plenty of ways to support Delaware businesses and plan an outdoor adventure through u-pick activities.   

Throughout the year, farms across the state offer u-pick fruits and vegetables, as well as pick-your-own pumpkins and Christmas trees.    

McDonald's is bringing back Boo Buckets. Here's what we know

McDonald's will begin offering its Happy Meal Boo Buckets starting Oct. 15 at participating McDonald’s restaurants nationwide.

Boo Buckets are plastic buckets McDonald's gives out with its Happy Meals during October. Children use the buckets to collect their candy booty on Halloween.