Bozeman isn’t too spooky a place, but October brings out the communities best efforts to bring out the Halloween spirit for both young and old. We’ve done our best to bring it all together for you in chronological order so you can be a part of Bozeman’s chilling holiday.

Since late September the Bozeman Hay Maze has been open on Mandeville Lane behind Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply off North 7th. The 4-6 foot tall stacks of hay bales create a wagon this season and is designed to challenge visitors of all ages. The maze includes a color sequence maze, 2nd puzzle maze, straw house, corn bin, as well as many courtyard activities and a photo area. Admission of $7 gets you access to all of this fun and children 4 and under are free with an adult. Discounts of $1/person are available for groups of 10 or more. Additional activities include a kids train for $3/person, 1 adult rides free with a child under 4, and a bungee trampoline for $7. Pumpkins and concessions are also on site, but you’ll have to bring your own flashlight if you visit after dark. The Bozeman Maze is open Friday nights in October from 5-8:30pm, Saturdays 10 am to 8:30 pm, Sundays 12 noon to 6 pm and PIR Days 12-5 pm.

On October 4th at 8pm the centuries-old tradition of American musical tales revolving around tragedy will continue at Peach Street Studios. A Night of Murder Ballads will provide an intimate evening of chilling story-in-song hosted by Joe Knapp & Chris Donahue. Doors will open at 7pm and you can take in the evening for a $5 suggested donation. The recorded show will be featured as a Live From the Divide Halloween 2013 Radio Special on KGLT October 31.

If you don’t already have your kids costumes all put together, or your son has been Batman for several years in a row, you can check out the 3rd Annual Montana Parent Magazine Kids Halloween Costume Swap. The Costume Swap will take place at the Gallatin Valley Mall on October 5th from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon. Bring your clean, gently used children’s Halloween costumes to the Gallatin Valley Mall and exchange them for another.

The Verge Theatre has a Halloween themed puppet show intended for adult audiences in October. A museum, archaeology and unexplained deaths… This comic and frightening take on the B-horror movies of the 1950 and 60s, created with larger-than-life sized puppets, hand puppets, and shadow puppets — Mummy Dearest will debut on Oct 18th and run Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm through November 2nd. Tix are $12 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. Buy tix online at vergetheater.com or by phone at 587-0737, ext.1. Verge Theater is located at 2304 N. 7th Ave. in Bozeman.

The Museum of the Rockies will get into the Halloween spirit a little early this year with a Family Grossology Halloween Party on Saturday, October 19 from   2 — 5pm. The Grossology party is free with Museum admission or membership. Families are encouraged to wear their best costumes and create fake wounds, slime, and other disgusting concoctions. The MOR will provide Halloween crafts, spooky Halloween stories, creepy crawlies from Montana Outdoor Science School and experiments with the Children’s Museum of Bozeman, and young goblins will receive a treat bag.

If you’re interested in learning more about people important in Bozeman’s past, the Extreme History Project, a local non-profit organization dedicated to making the humanities more fun, interesting and accessible to the general public, will host walking tours of Sunset Hills Cemetery the weekend of October 26 and 27. Tours are $7 for the general public, $5 for students and seniors, free for children under 12. Walkers meet in the parking lot of the Sunset Hills Cemetery Saturday, October 26 at 10:00 am and Sunday, October 27 at 1:00 pm. You must register for the tour online at www.adventurethroughtime.org you may pay with cash or check at the time of the tour, or with a credit card online.

October 25th and 26th is an All Hallows Eve Living History Weekend in Nevada City, MT. You can get back to Montana’s roots in a real Ghost Town on the very scary haunted trail. A kid safe non-scary zone will also be included along with face painting and other kids activities. For more info please call the Montana Heritage Commission at (406)843-5247.

The Main Street Arts & Entertainment Complex will be celebrating Halloween on October 25th with a Mad Max IV Thunderdome of Bass party. Main Street Arts & Entertainment Complex (THE COMPLEX) is located at 1332 E Main St. (formerly KO’s) and has been converted into a multi-purpose social & community arts and entertainment complex. It is home to Live Shows, Dance Parties, Wedding Receptions, Dance classes and more. Check out the Complex on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MainStreetArtsEntertainmentComplex.

The Children’s Museum of Bozeman is hosting its 10th Annual Spooktacular Costume Ball Fundraiser on Saturday, October 26th from 6pm to midnight in the Baxter Hotel Ballroom. The evening’s theme is Endless Universe, extraterrestrials of all kinds are welcome to celebrate Halloween in style with an evening of dinner and dancing, and an incredible array of silent and live auction items. All proceeds support the Children’s Museum of Bozeman, and its educational programs, interactive exhibits and outreach events. Tickets for Spooktacular are $40 per person; for $400, you can reserve a table of 10 for your entire otherworldly crew! The evening at the Baxter may be just for grownups, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave the kids at home: children ages 5 to 11 are welcome to attend the Little Goblins Party, held at the Children’s Museum from 6pm to 11:30pm during Spooktacular. For $25 per child, Spooktacular attendees can drop the little ones off at the museum for an evening of Halloween fun and games, a pizza dinner and healthy snacks, and a family-friendly movie. Tickets are available at the CMB (202 South Willson in Bozeman, phone 406-522-9087), and can be purchased on the museum’s website, at www.cmbozeman.org.

Halloween, Wednesday, October 31 will get going for the youngest ghouls before dark in Downtown Bozeman. The Downtown Bozeman Association and over 150 Downtown Businesses will provide a safe evening of traditional trick or treating in Downtown Bozeman from 3-6pm. Hot drinks will be available outside the Downtown Visitor’s Center at 8 East Main Street. This year patrol cars, intersection attendants and “safety Sams” will be located at all the downtown intersections to help slow down traffic and make your experience as safe as possible!   Downtown Trick or Treating is FREE and open to the public and will go on snow or shine. The DBA is seeking volunteers to be intersection attendants during the event to help make it a safe and enjoyable event for our Bozeman families. If you are interested, please call 586-4008 or email Ellie Staley at ellie@downtownbozeman.org.

The Gallatin Valley Mall is proud to be hosting its 33rd annual Halloween Trick or Treat Walk from 5-8pm on Halloween night. The whole family is invited to the mall for an absolutely unforgettable Halloween filled with tons of candy, a costume contest, FREE family photos, and of course, tons of family fun!

The Little Red School House across from Anderson School five miles south of Huffine Ln on Cottonwood Road has long been one of the scariest places in Bozeman for Halloween. For over 20 years the 8th grade class at Anderson school has been scaring the residents of Bozeman with their sensational haunted house, and they are sure to make you scream this year Oct 31 and Nov 1st and 2nd. Even the lights on hours from 5:30-7pm are scary, and the lights are off from 7-10pm. This year the Little Red School House will be transformed into an old school haunted house called “House of the Dead”. You can help the Anderson 8th graders get to Yellowstone National Park and Washington DC by enjoying their Little Red Haunted House for $5 per ticket or a $10 fast pass that will get you to the front of the line!

Plonk Wine and Verge Theatre are coming together on Halloween with a Rocky Horror themed party at Plonk. The cast from the Rocky Horror stage show will perform scenes and songs from the Cult Classic play. Bozemanites are invited to dress up as your favorite character from the show or just grab your bustiers and fishnets for a gender-bending good time. The good time starts at 8pm, Oct 31 at Plonk.

For the musically inclined Dr. T & the Bozebones will put on a Scary Good Halloween Brass Recital and Show on October 31st at 7:30pm at Reynold’s Recital Hall at MSU. Contact the MSU School of Music at (406) 994-3562 for more information.

Cure for the Common will appear as “The Talking Dead” and David Dalla G & The Stryde as “The Catholic Church” at the Filler Halloween Party October 31st. Tickets are $10 presale tickets available now at Cactus Records, Nu2u, and online at www.FillerHalloween.com. $15 tickets at the door. “Because everybody deserves a chance to party in costume.”

We are sure we’ve missed plenty of frightfully good things happening in Bozeman this October, but you can always add your own events to our online calendar at www.bozemanmagazine.com/calendar. Happy Halloween!