Most of Lexington's Halloween calendar this year happens at three old addresses: Buckman Tavern, Munroe Tavern and the Old Burying Ground. Lexington History Museums runs a paranormal night at Munroe Tavern and a candlelight graveyard tour that leaves from Buckman Tavern. The two events fall on back-to-back nights, October 23 and 24. The town's own Haunted House is on the first of those nights. After that weekend, Cary Memorial Library and Wilson Farm take over, with crafts on weekday evenings and weekend cider donuts at the farm through November 1.
To plan the week around Lexington's history sites, start with those two nights and build outward.
October 23: One Night, Two Audiences
On October 23, the night splits cleanly by age. The Town of Lexington's Haunted House runs at the Community Center, 39 Marrett Road, from 7 to 10 p.m. The town calendar lists crafts, pumpkin painting, sensory-friendly tours, a movie and games.
An hour after the Haunted House opens, Munroe Tavern opens its doors for something very different. Lexington History Museums is hosting a Paranormal Investigation of Munroe Tavern from 8 to 11 p.m., led by Shari DeBenedetti of Ghost Hunters. The museums describe it as a look at "the methods, technology, and ethics of modern paranormal investigation," followed by a hands-on investigation of the museum itself. It is limited to adults 18 and over, space is limited, and the listing says plainly that "paranormal activity is not guaranteed."
| Haunted House | Munroe Tavern Investigation | |
|---|---|---|
| Host | Town of Lexington | Lexington History Museums |
| Location | Community Center, 39 Marrett Road | Munroe Tavern |
| Hours | 7 to 10 p.m. | 8 to 11 p.m. |
| Audience | Families, with sensory-friendly tours | Adults 18 and over |
| Cost | Not listed on the town calendar | $50 members, $65 nonmembers |
The two schedules overlap, so a household with children and adults can cover both: the children at Marrett Road in the early evening, the adults at Munroe Tavern later. The tavern event costs $50 to $65 and has a capped headcount, so it is the one to book first. Tickets are sold through the museums' Eventbrite page.
Saturday, October 24: Candlelight at the Old Burying Ground
The next evening, the same museum organization moves outdoors. Ghosts & Graves is a candlelight tour of the Old Burying Ground, billed as a chance to "meet the ghosts of Lexington's past." Tours leave Buckman Tavern every five minutes from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. Each tour lasts about 45 minutes, covers a half-mile walk, and is open to ages 5 and up. Members pay $15 for adults and $8 for children. Nonmembers pay $20 and $10.
Friday's tavern event is adults only, and Saturday's graveyard tour is open to families. With departures every five minutes, Ghosts & Graves runs as a staggered series of small groups rather than one large crowd. Booking a specific departure time lets a family plan dinner in Lexington Center around it.
The same ground hosted a different tour the Saturday before. Stories in Stone, on October 17, was a daytime walk of about a mile through the Old Burying Ground. It focused on the mortuary art on the stones, "from skulls and crossbones to willow trees and urns," and introduced some of the town's notable early residents. Ghosts & Graves covers half the distance, by candlelight, a week later. Anyone who took the October 17 walk will be on familiar ground in the dark.
The Weekdays Move to Cary Library and Wilson Farm
After the weekend, the town's history sites go quiet on the published calendars and the Halloween programming moves indoors. Two places carry it, both on weekday evenings.
Cary Memorial Library, 1874 Massachusetts Avenue, has three Halloween-season programs over two days:
- Slightly Scary Stories & Creepy Crafts, Tuesday, October 27, 6:30 to 8 p.m., in the Large Meeting Room. Halloween stories paired with crafts.
- Crafternoon: Sock Monster, Wednesday, October 28, 4 to 6 p.m. A spooky-season craft.
- Felted Pumpkin Hoop, Wednesday, October 28, 4:30 to 6 p.m., in the Children's Activity Room.
Wednesday, October 28, is the busiest weekday of the week. Both library crafts end at 6 p.m. Half an hour before that, Wilson Farm starts its Haunted Gingerbread Workshop at 5:30 p.m., a guided class in decorating a Halloween-themed gingerbread house. A household with more than one child could split up that afternoon, with one at the library and one at the farm. A single child would be choosing between them. The farm's October class lineup also includes a Halloween-themed succulent garden workshop.
Wilson Farm's Weekends Run Through November 1
The weekends after October 24 belong mostly to Wilson Farm. Its events page lists apple cider donuts and caramel apples every weekend through November 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. That leaves October 24 and 25, then Saturday, October 31, and Sunday, November 1.
The farm's pumpkin village opened Saturday, October 10, and runs on October weekends. It is set up as a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish. The listing doesn't give pumpkin village hours, so check with the farm before a late-afternoon visit. Saturday, October 24, works well as a full day. Spend the day at the farm, then go to the Old Burying Ground for a Ghosts & Graves departure that evening.
Halloween itself falls on a Saturday this year, so the last donut weekend runs right through it. October 31 is the only day in the week that is both a weekend farm day and the holiday.
Between Stops, Lexington Center's Shop Windows
ArtWalk 2026 runs the whole week and well beyond it. Munroe Center for the Arts' annual fall show puts local artists' paintings, photography, sculpture, pottery and fiber arts in the windows of Lexington Center's shops and restaurants. As The Lexington Observer reported on October 2, the work stays up through November 17. Some pieces are for sale, and each piece displays the artist's contact information. Munroe Center's event listing gives the dates as October 2 to November 17.
ArtWalk needs no ticket and has no start time, so it fits around the scheduled events. That makes it a natural thing to do before a Ghosts & Graves departure or after a Tuesday evening at Cary Library, which is also on Massachusetts Avenue.
One addition to Lexington Center is still on its way. The Lexington Observer reported in May that Commune All Day Cafe would take over the Lexington Liquors space, and its owners expected to open before the end of the year. That report did not give an opening date.
The Week, Night by Night
- October 23. Haunted House at the Community Center, 39 Marrett Road, 7 to 10 p.m. Paranormal Investigation of Munroe Tavern, 8 to 11 p.m., 18 and over.
- Saturday, October 24. Wilson Farm donuts and caramel apples, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the pumpkin village. Ghosts & Graves departures from Buckman Tavern, 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.
- Sunday, October 25. Wilson Farm donuts and caramel apples, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Tuesday, October 27. Slightly Scary Stories & Creepy Crafts at Cary Memorial Library, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 28. Sock Monster Crafternoon, 4 to 6 p.m., and Felted Pumpkin Hoop, 4:30 to 6 p.m., both at Cary. Haunted Gingerbread Workshop at Wilson Farm, 5:30 p.m.
- Saturday, October 31, and Sunday, November 1. Final weekend of Wilson Farm's donut and caramel apple hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Through November 17. ArtWalk 2026 in the windows of Lexington Center's shops and restaurants.
If you would like to talk about Lexington's older homes or how life around the Center shapes a property's appeal, Levy RE Group would be glad to have a quiet conversation with you.
