Boo, Y’all: 7 Ways to Do Halloween in Katy, Ranked by How Loud You’ll Scream

Mark your calendar in permanent marker: Halloween 2026 falls on a Saturday. The last time that happened was 2020, and we all remember how that one went. Before that? 2015. So this is the first real Saturday Halloween in eleven years, which means nobody has school in the morning, nobody has a 7 AM meeting, and Katy is about to go absolutely feral with the inflatables.

I did the homework so you don’t have to. Below are seven ways to celebrate Halloween in Katy and the surrounding area, ranked on my official Scare-o-Meter from “safe for the stroller crowd” all the way up to “you will need a minute in the parking lot.” Pick your level.

1. Tent and Treat at Central Green, Saturday, October 31

Scare-o-Meter: 1 out of 7. The only scary thing here is how much candy a three-year-old can fit in one plastic pumpkin.

Halloween morning, 11 AM to 1 PM, Inframark sets up Tent and Treat at Central Green Park in LaCenterra as part of its Water Wise event. Daytime trick-or-treating, tents instead of front doors, and everybody is home in time for nap. Parking is free in the LaCenterra garages. Get the little ones in costume, let them burn off the first round of sugar, and save your energy for the neighborhood loop that night.

2. Katy Area YMCAs Fall Festival and Trunk-or-Treat, Friday, October 23

Scare-o-Meter: 2 out of 7. Mild. Unless you count the line at the food trucks.

Friday night, 5 to 8 PM at the Monty Ballard YMCA at Cinco Ranch on Westheimer Parkway. It’s free, there are food trucks, games, vendors, and a parking lot full of decorated trunks handing out candy. Translation: dinner is handled, the kids are entertained, and nobody had to cook. That is a Friday win in my book. Think of it as the dress rehearsal before the big weekend.

3. Fulshear Scarecrow Festival, Saturday, October 24

Scare-o-Meter: 3 out of 7. Scarecrows only count as scary on a technicality.

Remember in my fall events roundup when I told you the Scarecrow Festival date hadn’t been posted yet? It’s in. Saturday, October 24, 11 AM to 2 PM at Fulshear High School on Charger Way, hosted by the Fulshear Regional Chamber for Commerce. Kid Zone, pumpkin patch, a costume contest, and the scarecrow contest, where local creativity gets very serious, very fast. Admission has been free in past years, though no price was posted when I wrote this.

4. Brookshire Police Department Trunk or Treat, Friday, October 30

Scare-o-Meter: 4 out of 7. Walking up to a police officer on purpose is a strange thrill for anyone who has been pulled over on the Grand Parkway.

Friday, October 30, 6 to 7:30 PM at the Brookshire Police Department, 5100 Highway 90. Costumes, candy, decorated cars, and officers who are a whole lot more fun when they’re handing out Snickers instead of citations. My favorite part: they’re inviting the community to decorate their own vehicles and join in. If you have been waiting for an excuse to turn your SUV into a pirate ship, this is it. (And if your last Grand Parkway trip was a nail-biter, here’s what four years of 99 construction means for Katy.)

5. Día de los Muertos at Central Green, Friday, October 30

Scare-o-Meter: 5 out of 7. Only because we’re talking about the dead. It’s actually gorgeous. Hear me out.

Same Friday, a little earlier: 5 to 7 PM, Central Green Park partners with LaCenterra’s Viva la Vida Celebration for Día de los Muertos, and admission is free. This one isn’t about scares at all. It’s a tradition of remembering and honoring loved ones who have passed, with culture, community, and live entertainment. Marigolds, candles, color everywhere. If your family has never been, go. It’s one of the loveliest evenings Katy puts on all year, and a sweet reminder that the people we’ve lost still get a seat at the party. Ambitious? Start at Central Green at 5 and you can still catch the end of Brookshire’s trunk or treat.

6. Grown-Ups, It’s Your Turn, Saturday, October 31

Scare-o-Meter: 6 out of 7. The scariest thing here is the Uber surge pricing.

The kids got the rest of this list. This one is yours.

The classy route: The Houston Symphony is playing Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert at Jones Hall on Halloween, with the whole movie on the big screen and the score played live by the orchestra. Costumes are encouraged. Yes, at the symphony. Dinner downtown, a costume, a live orchestra. Somebody take a picture.

The rowdy route: Midtown, the Heights, Washington Avenue, and downtown Houston all have Halloween bar crawls that Saturday. The Midtown crawl checks in at Social Beer Garden between 4 and 7 PM and runs until 11:30, with a costume contest and drink specials. Uber there, Uber back. You’re welcome.

The Katy route: Honestly? The best grown-up Halloween party might be your own driveway. A Saturday Halloween means nobody is rushing. Pull out the lawn chairs, fill the cooler, buy the good candy (full-size bars, don’t embarrass yourself), and wave the neighbors over. Some of the best friendships in this town started at the end of a driveway on Halloween night.

7. BOOriffic Nights at Dewberry Farm, Brookshire

Scare-o-Meter: 7 out of 7. Bring a friend you’re willing to push in front of you.

The grand finale. Dewberry Farm’s Fall Festival runs through November 8, and once the sun goes down on select nights, BOOriffic Nights takes over: hundreds of glowing jack-o-lanterns, spooky photo ops, and the haunts. The Haunted Barn and the Trail of Terror are where the real screaming happens, and in past seasons those have been an add-on ticket. The farm calls it more giggles than gore, which is accurate right up until something grabs your ankle. Little ones can stick to the pumpkin glow. Everybody else, wear running shoes. Check the farm’s calendar for nights and tickets before you load up the car.

And for the truly unhinged: Houston’s big haunted houses are open into November. 13th Floor is up north at 7075 FM 1960 Road West, open select nights through November 13. Phobia is on the south side at 5250 South Sam Houston Parkway East, between 288 and I-45, open select nights through November 7, with a smaller second location on the Kemah Boardwalk. Both are a haul from Katy, so make it a night. Godspeed.

Not your speed? Same. Back to the candy.

Before You Head Out

A few Katy-tested rules for Saturday night: put a glow stick on every kid, turn your porch light on if you’re handing out candy (light off means closed, that’s the law of the land), and drive like a turtle through the neighborhoods. There will be tiny ninjas everywhere, and they are very hard to see.

And if trick-or-treating has you eyeing that house on the corner, the one with the yard the whole street lines up for, I know a gal. My team and I guide folks through buying, selling, and leasing in Katy and the surrounding Houston areas all year long. Text or call 281-717-4412 or email MickieC@callMickieC.com. You will be “tickled pink” with our real estate services.

Related Reading: Fall, Y’all: 7 Katy Area Fall Events Worth Sweating For and 99 Problems: What Four Years of Grand Parkway Construction Means for Katy