Halloween in Johnston: trick-or-treat hours, the trunk-or-treats, the library's haunted night, and the haunted houses worth the drive.
Every October the same three questions land in our inbox: what night is trick-or-treat, where's the trunk-or-treat, and which haunted house is worth the drive. Here's Halloween in Johnston for 2026 in one place, with every date checked against the people running it. We add Johnston events as they're confirmed through the month.
The quick answer
Trick-or-treat is Saturday, Oct. 31, 6 to 8 p.m., porch lights on. The Town Center Trunk or Treat is Wednesday, Oct. 28, 5 to 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, and teens can sign up for the library's Haunted Library After Hours on Oct. 30. For real scares, Linn's is about 15 minutes away and The Docks and The Slaughterhouse about 20.
Mark the calendar
Johnston's Halloween dates for 2026
Thu Oct 22
Try DIY: Spooky MacrameAdults
Johnston Public Library, 6700 Merle Hay Rd, drop in any time 6 to 8 p.m. and make a spooky macramé decoration. Materials provided; for adults 18 and up, and registration is required (city calendar).
Mon Oct 26
Spooky Story TimeLittle kids
Johnston Public Library, 10 to 10:30 a.m. The lights go off for a glow-in-the-dark story time for kids 10 and under, with a grown-up along. No registration (library calendar).
Mon Oct 26
Movie & a Craft: Beetlejuice BeetlejuiceTeens
Johnston Public Library, 1 to 3 p.m., part of the library's School's Out afternoon for grades 6 and up. The movie is rated PG-13; snacks provided and registration appreciated.
Wed Oct 28
Town Center Trunk or TreatKids
Johnston City Hall, 6221 Merle Hay Rd, 5 to 7:30 p.m. Come in costume and trick-or-treat with Johnston police officers, the Johnston-Grimes Fire District and local businesses, hosted with the Johnston Chamber. Businesses that want a trunk sign up through the Chamber (City of Johnston).
Fri Oct 30
Haunted Library After Hours: Halloween TakeoverTeens
Johnston Public Library, 6:30 to 8 p.m., grades 6 through 12. Bring a flashlight for a scavenger hunt in the dark with horror-movie characters hiding in the stacks, plus a costume contest, snacks and a candy prize pack for finishing. Registration required, and it closes at 6:30 p.m. that night (register).
Sat Oct 31
Trick-or-treat nightCitywide
6 to 8 p.m. If you're handing out candy, turn your porch light on during those hours; that's the signal (City of Johnston). Expect a joke or two at the door: here's why.
Sat Oct 31
Trunk or Treat at Pathway ChurchKids
6523 Merle Hay Rd, 6 to 8 p.m., the same window as citywide trick-or-treat. The church invites families to set up a car and mingle with the neighbors (Pathway Church calendar).
Running a Johnston Halloween event we missed? Send the details and a link to the organizer's page to [email protected]. We list events once we can confirm them with the organizer.
Why Oct 31
Wait, didn't Johnston used to do Beggars' Night?
It did. For decades the Des Moines metro trick-or-treated on Beggars' Night, Oct. 30, a custom that dates to 1938. Johnston and most metro cities moved trick-or-treat to Halloween night itself starting in 2025, so this year it lands on a Saturday. The joke-for-candy tradition survived the move, so have a knock-knock ready. The history is on our Johnston holidays page.
Decorated houses
Where are the best-decorated Halloween houses?
Start with FrightMaps, where homeowners register their own displays (FrightMaps: Johnston). Only one Johnston home is registered so far, but the map pulls in a few dozen more in the surrounding suburbs. Listings are posted by the owners, so treat it as a starting route rather than a guarantee. The best nights are the last weekend of October, when most displays are fully up.
Two more lists help. Des Moines Parent's 2026 roundup of decorated yard displays includes two in Johnston (desmoinesparent.com), and the Des Moines Register is taking nominations for central Iowa's best-decorated homes (the Register's call for nominations).
Decorating in Johnston this year? Email your address and a line about the display to [email protected]. We'll add confirmed 2026 houses to this page. We only list a home with the owner's OK.
For the kids
Halloween with little ones
The easy wins are right in town: the Town Center Trunk or Treat on Oct. 28 is built for costumes and candy with police and firefighters on hand, and the library's glow-in-the-dark Spooky Story Time on Oct. 26 is made for kids 10 and under. For a bigger outing, Adventureland's Phantom Fall Fest in Altoona (about 25 minutes) runs a trick-or-treat trail with four stops on Main Street from noon to 5 p.m., plus a kids' costume contest at 2 p.m., on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 31, before the haunts open at 6 (Adventureland). And the pumpkin patches and corn mazes are at their best right now.
For teens & adults
Haunted houses near Johnston, 2026
These are genuinely scary and built for teens and adults. Nights and prices are for 2026, taken from each haunt's own site on Oct. 21, and drive times are from Johnston City Hall without traffic. Most sell tickets online, and buying ahead shortens the line.
~15 min
Linn's Haunted House
Basement of Linn's Supermarket, 3805 6th Ave, Des Moines. A longtime pitch-black, crawl-through classic. Left this season: Thu Oct 22 and Sun Oct 25, 7 to 10 p.m.; Fri and Sat Oct 23 and 24, 7 p.m. to midnight; Thu Oct 29, 7 to 10 p.m.; Fri and Sat Oct 30 and 31, 7 p.m. to midnight. $25, tickets at the door only, cash preferred but cards accepted. Founder Merlyn Linn died Sept. 17, and the house is opening this year in his honor. Linn's
~20 min
The Docks
97 Indiana Ave, Des Moines. Fridays and Saturdays through Oct 31, 7:30 to 11 p.m. $25 general admission, $45 fast pass. The Docks
~20 min
The Slaughterhouse
500 Locust St, downtown Des Moines. All-ages haunt nights left: Thu Oct 22 through Sun Oct 25, then Thu Oct 29 (with a trunk-or-treat), Fri Oct 30, Sat Oct 31 and a final "Black Out" night Sun Nov 1. $30 Thursdays and Sundays, $35 Fridays and Saturdays; gate tickets are always available, and buying online saves the wait. Wednesday Oct 28 is a separate 21+ ticketed event. Calendar & tickets
~20 min
Tunnel of Terror
Tommy's Express car wash, 645 S 60th St, West Des Moines. A haunted ride through the wash from inside your car, Fri and Sat Oct 23 and 24 and Oct 30 and 31, 7 to 9 p.m. $25, with $5-off presale tickets sold on site. Tommy's says it may not suit young kids or anyone who scares easily. Tommy's West Des Moines
~25 min
Phantom Fall Fest after dark
Adventureland, Altoona. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Oct 31: the park turns spooky at 6 p.m. with five haunted houses, four scare zones and rides in the dark, including the new MALICE: Jabberwocky's Revenge. On Fridays the park opens at 6 p.m. Online single-day tickets were on sale from $39.99 when we checked on Oct 21. Adventureland
~30 min
Sleepy Hollow Scream Park
4051 Dean Ave, Des Moines, near the State Fairgrounds. Open Oct 23 to 25 and Oct 29 to 31. Gates open at 7 p.m.; admission stops at 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 9 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays. Park Pass $32 (ages 12 and up) or $30 (11 and under); VIP $48 or $45. Gate tickets are cash only and first come, first served; online tickets guarantee entry. Need to know
~35 min
Haunted Woods
1478 Gateway Dr, Carlisle. An outdoor trail, this year "The Mare Witch 5." Left this season: Thu Oct 22, Sun Oct 25, Wed Oct 28 and Thu Oct 29, 7 to 9 p.m.; Fri and Sat Oct 23 and 24 and Oct 30 and 31, 7 to 11 p.m.; and Sun Nov 1, 7 to 9 p.m. Hours depend on the weather, and admission isn't posted on its site. Schedule
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Saturday, Oct. 31, from 6 to 8 p.m., per the City of Johnston. Homes taking part should turn on their porch light during those hours. Johnston has trick-or-treated on Halloween night itself, not the old Oct. 30 Beggars' Night, since 2025.
Is there a trunk-or-treat in Johnston this year?
Yes. The Town Center Trunk or Treat is Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Johnston City Hall, 6221 Merle Hay Road, with the Johnston Police Department, the Johnston-Grimes Fire District and the Johnston Chamber. Pathway Church, 6523 Merle Hay Road, also holds a trunk-or-treat on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 6 to 8 p.m.
What Halloween events does the Johnston Public Library have?
Spooky Story Time, a glow-in-the-dark story time for kids 10 and under, is Monday, Oct. 26, at 10 a.m. with no registration. Haunted Library After Hours, a lights-out scavenger hunt and costume contest for grades 6 through 12, is Friday, Oct. 30, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and registration is required.
What is the closest haunted house to Johnston?
Of the metro haunts on this page, Linn's Haunted House in the basement of Linn's Supermarket, 3805 6th Ave. in Des Moines, is the closest, about 15 minutes from Johnston City Hall. It is $25 at the door. The Docks and The Slaughterhouse in Des Moines are each about 20 minutes away.
Where can I see Halloween decorations in Johnston?
FrightMaps lists homeowner-registered displays in Johnston and the nearby suburbs, and Des Moines Parent's 2026 list of decorated displays includes two in Johnston. The Des Moines Register is also collecting nominations for central Iowa's best-decorated homes. If you're decorating in Johnston, email [email protected] and we'll add confirmed homes with the owner's OK.
Sources: City of Johnston events calendar (2026 trick-or-treat hours, Town Center Trunk or Treat, library programs); Johnston Public Library event calendar (Spooky Story Time, Haunted Library After Hours); Pathway Church's Church Center calendar (Oct. 31 Trunk or Treat); Linn's Haunted House; The Docks; The Slaughterhouse 2026 official calendar; Tommy's Express West Des Moines location page (Tunnel of Terror); Adventureland (Phantom Fall Fest and daytime activities); Sleepy Hollow Scream Park (Need to Know); Haunted Woods (2026 schedule); FrightMaps (homeowner-registered displays); Des Moines Parent (2026 decorated displays, Oct. 12, 2026); the Des Moines Register via Yahoo (decorated-house nominations, Sept. 23, 2026); Iowa Public Radio, We Are Iowa and dsm.city (2025 end of Beggars' Night). Drive times computed from Johnston City Hall with OpenStreetMap routing. Dates, hours and prices can change; confirm with each event before you go.