Denton kicks off a third October as the official Halloween Capital of Texas

Denton officially kicked off its Halloween season on Oct. 8, starting another month of spooky events for all ages in the city the state now calls the Halloween Capital of Texas.

The kickoff tradition is the Blocktober Party and Pumpkin Drop, where pumpkins filled with food items are dropped and splatter on the ground. This year the party was moved to Oct. 8 because of bad weather and held at the Quakertown Civic Center. From there, 31 Days of Denton Halloween runs through Oct. 31 in downtown Denton. It's free and includes more than 400 activities. New this year are Halloween HQ, the Bone Brigade and the Skelly Hunt. Favorites like the Scary Chairy Orchard and Arachnid Alley are back, too. Local artists and businesses teamed up on seasonal installations around the city.

According to the city, the idea started in 2024, when a conversation about Christmas decorations grew into a bigger plan. The goal was to make Denton the Halloween Capital of Texas and give the city's creative and small-business communities a place to shine. The first year drew more than 660,000 visitors. In 2025, the Texas Legislature unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 86, which names Denton the Halloween Capital of Texas through 2035. Attendance grew to more than 800,000 that year.

Interim City Manager Cassey Ogden said the celebration is "family friendly but it really allows you to get out and see Denton and see our culture." She added that local artists and businesses "get to shine."

If you're heading downtown, the North Central Texas College parking garage is open to the public on October weekends. A new park-and-ride shuttle runs Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 8. You'll find the full calendar at dentonhalloween.com.

This story is based on original reporting by NBC 5 DFW, with more details from the Denton Record-Chronicle, a Yahoo-published feature on the 2026 lineup, and the City of Denton.