The holiday where adults and children alike delight in our dark side is upon us. Contemporary Halloween celebrations involve all manner of ghosts, goblins and witches, things that go bump in the night, trick-or-treating, ghoulish decorations and costume parties. In Montgomery County, the holiday inspires an abundance of events that will entertain and frighten at levels that may suit a taste for terror or simply seasonally-themed merriment.

City of Gaithersburg’s Arts on the Green:

Arts Barn:

311 Kent Square Road
301-258-6394 | www.gaithersburgmd.gov

• Halloween Film & Brew Party: 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19. Costume party with refreshments; 7:30 p.m. screening of Mel Brooks’ comedy “Young Frankenstein,” Count Gore de Vol (host of Creature Feature and WDCA’s Captain 20) will deliver pre-film Gaithersburg-centric video message.Cash bar available; photo ID required. Tickets: $5 advance, $8 at door.
• Ghosts of Gaithersburg: Candlelit Ghost Tours(of the Kentlands Estate): 6-7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, 6-7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 27, reserved ½-mile tours leave every 15 minutes from Arts Barn lobby. Tickets: $12.
• Halloween Film & Brew Party: Friday, Oct. 26, 6 p.m. beer tasting, 7:30 p.m. silent film “Nosferatu” (1922 adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”) with live piano accompaniment by Andrew E. Simpson and introduction by Arch Campbell. Tickets: $5 film only, $10 film and beer tasting (advance); $8 film only, $12 film and beer tasting (at door). Beer tasting, photo ID required.
• Ghosts of Gaithersburg: Haunted Happy Hour: 7-9 p.m.Saturday, Oct. 27, Karen Lottes, author of “In Search of Maryland Ghosts: Montgomery County,” recreates stories of the county’s most haunted places. Admission: $5 (advance), $8 (at door). Cash bar available; photo ID required.
• Boo! at the Barn:11 a.m.-1 p.m.Sunday, Oct. 28. Children’s program with Halloween-themed games, costume parade, trick-or-treating, live animal ambassadors, photo opportunities, free admission

Kentlands Mansion

320 Kent Square Road
301-258-6425 | www.gaithersburgmd.gov

• Murder at the Mansion: “Last Call at Chez Mort”: 8 p.m. Friday & Saturday, Oct. 26 & 27; 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28. A Taste for Murder Productions’ interactive murder mystery. Recommended for ages 15-plus, wear 1920s attire for a chance to win a prize. Tickets: $35 per person, $60 couple, includes dessert buffet and non-alcoholic beverages. Cash bar available, photo ID required.

Community Museum

9 South Summit Ave.
301-258-6160 | www.gaithersburgmd.gov

• Discovery Day: FrankenSTEM:1-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28. 200th anniversary celebration of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”with a mad scientist experience including monsters, chemistry and electricity. Free admission.

Glen Echo Park:

• Fall Frolic: 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, Glen Echo Park Partnership’s annual Halloween-themed family event. Hands-on crafts, pumpkin decorating ($2 per pumpkin), face painting and a costume contest (3:15 p.m.) in the Spanish Ballroom; trick-or-treating – or visiting –studios, galleries and theaters. A costume parade through the park at 3:30 p.m. (weather-permitting) will conclude the festivities. Free admission. 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. https://glenechopark.org

Rockville:

• Ghosts & Gravestones Haunted Tales of Rockville’s Past Old Baptist Cemetery: 7:30, 8 & 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19. Peerless Rockville and Montgomery History’s lantern-led walking tour through Rockville Park, accompanied by creepy stories of hauntings, spooky urban legends and spine-chilling tales from Rockville’s dark history. Locations include The Old Baptist Cemetery, Stonestreet’s Museum of 19th Century Medicine and The Beall-Dawson Historic house. Tours begin at the Old Baptist Cemetery, 115 West Jefferson St., for ages 13-plus, $20 admission, registration recommended, 301-340-2825, info@montgomeryhistory.org
• Heart of Maryland Chorus:A Funky Franky Fable: 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, Musical plus costume parade for children, picture time with the show’s Monsters and M&Ms, trick or treating, $15, $7 ages 17 and younger, F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, Rockville Civic Center Park, 603 Edmonston Drive, 240-314-8690, https://fscottfitzgerald.showare.com

Silver Spring:

• Zombie Walk & Dance Party: Saturday, Oct. 27, 6 p.m. Gathering Party at Denizens Brewing Co., 1115 East-West Highway; walk starts at 9 p.m. and ends at AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, for an 11:55 p.m. viewing of “Zombie.”www.downtownsilverspring.com/events/silverspring-zombie-walk-and-dance-party
• Halloween on Screen: AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road, Seasonally-appropriate films include “Frankenstein” (1931) Oct. 26 & 27; “Halloween,” Oct. 27 & 31; “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” Oct. 27 & 28; “Suspiria” Oct. 27, 28, 31: “Witchfinder General,” Oct. 27-31; “Zombie,” Oct. 27, Admission:$13 General, $10 Seniors (65+), students and military (with valid ID) $9.50, 301-495-6700, http://afi.com/silver

Montgomery Parks:

• Halloween Eye Spy Trains: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 28, Cabin John Miniature Train & Wheaton Miniature Train rides through “Trainsylvania,” Cabin John Regional Park, 7400 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda; Wheaton Regional Park, 2000 Shorefield Road, $6, ActiveMontgomery.org
• Zombies: Fact or Fiction: 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, Children (ages 9-14) look through microscopes and learn about parasites; wear monster costumes, Locust Grove Nature Center, 7777 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda, $6, 301-765-8660, www.montgomeryparks.org
• Spooky Skull Hike: 10-11:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, Children (ages 3-plus) take clues on self-guided hike in search of skulls, Maydale Conservation Park, 1638 Maydale Drive, Colesville, free, 301-495-2595
• Bootanica: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, Children’s garden costume parade (ages 3-12), pumpkin painting, pumpkin treats, storyteller Gary Lloyd’s “Pumpkin Tales for the Young,” Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave. Wheaton, $18 children, free for parents, www.montgomeryparks.org
• Make It & Take It: Halloween Masks: 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, Oct. 27, Children of all ages create creature masks, $2 per craft, Black Hill Visitor Center,20926 Lake Ridge Drive, Boyds, 301-528-3493
• Storytime On the Lake: A Not too Scary Halloween: 1-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, Children (ages 1-plus), wearing costumes, board the pontoon boat; a naturalist will read aloud Halloween stories, search for mysterious lake creatures, dress warm, meet at pontoon boat dock in boat rental area, $5, Black Hill Regional Park, 20930 Lake Ridge Drive, Boyds, 301-528-3493
• Spooky Skull Hike: 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, Children (ages 3-plus) take clues on self-guided hike in search of skulls, free, Brookside Nature Center, 1400 Glenallan Ave. Wheaton, 301-962-1480

Fright Fests:

Olney

• Field of Screams Maryland: 4501 Olney-Laytonsville Road. Opens at dusk on Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 4 and most Thursdays and Sundays. Two haunted trails, a house, a hayride, bonfires, snacks. For past visitors, designers have reworked the trails and hayride for new horror. Not recommended for children younger than 13, $15-$20 per attraction, passes available for multiples. www.screams.org

Dickerson

• Markhoff’s Haunted Forest: Calleva Farm, 19120 Martinsburg Road. Opens at dusk Friday and Saturday, Oct. 12-13, Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 18-21 & 25-28, Wednesday, Oct. 31. TwoHaunted Trails, the Town, Passes: $25-$40 plus activities (Zipline, Death Jump, Carnival Games), www.markoffshauntedforest.com, 301-216-1248