Haunted Museum (18+)
October 16, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
At the Museum
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When: Friday, October 16, 2026, 6–10 p.m.
Where: Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Tickets: $30 ($25 for Carnegie Museums members)
Nature is wild; it’s beautiful, bizarre, and sometimes even scary!
Step into the strange side of the natural world during Haunted Museum, our annual 18+ Halloween celebration! Come in costume and spend the evening exploring curious specimens, eerie encounters, and unexpected oddities throughout the museum.
Your ticket includes:
- — A trick-or-treat scavenger hunt featuring some of the museum’s strangest objects and specimens
- — A virtual ghost tour with Haunted Pittsburgh
- — Mix-up a kooky concoction with Songbird Artistry
- — Spooky photoshoots from Willowghast, LLC.
- — A Keynote presentation from Matt Lake, author of Weird Pennsylvania
- — Conversations with museum scientists about fascinating creepy-crawlies and other creatures of the night
Whether you’re drawn to ghosts, folklore, strange science, or things that go bump in the night, this is your chance to experience the museum after hours and discover just how weird nature can be.
Want even more Haunted Museum fun? Register for Behind the Scenes Tours of the museum’s Invertebrate Zoology and Amphibians and Reptiles collections. Led by curators and researchers, these tours are extremely limited, register now to snag your spot.
Haunted Museum is an 18+ event. Costumes are encouraged.
Behind the Scenes: Invertebrate Zoology Collection Tour
When: 6:30 & 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $50
Join Curators and Collection Managers of Invertebrate Zoology, for a haunting tour of the bug collection as part of Haunted Museum (18+). Venture off the beaten path for an up-close look at our spookiest specimens, walk the halls where Silence of the Lambs was filmed, and learn about the terrifying bug research happening at the museum today. Enjoy this rare opportunity to go behind-the-scenes and ask your questions about museums, bugs, and natural history collections.
Register for 6:30 p.m. Tour →
Register for 7:30 p.m. Tour →
Behind the Scenes: Amphibians and Reptiles Collection Tour
When: 6:30 & 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $50
Join Dr. Jennifer Sheridan, Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, for a tour of the collection as part of Haunted Museum (18+). Discover snakes, lizards, frogs and more as you venture into the mysterious space called the Alcohol House. Enjoy this rare opportunity to go behind-the-scenes and ask your questions about museums, amphibians and reptiles, and natural history collections.
