Variety of Halloween-themed events on tap in Pittsburgh

With a week until Halloween, Pittsburgh is in the midst of spooky season.

From twilight hikes to a haunted speakeasy, here are some upcoming Halloween attractions:

Schenley Park twilight hikes

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is hosting a series of twilight hikes with Pittsburgh park rangers next week.

The first, scheduled for next Tuesday, is fall themed. Hikers will explore fall foliage through the park while rangers chat about plants and park features.

During a nocturnal animal hike Wednesday, the focus will be on the animals that come out after dark.

And the final hike of the series — slated for Thursday — is dubbed the Cryptids Hike. Rangers will regale hikers with local legends and search for signs of mythical creatures.

The hikes will include stairs, walking on cobbled pathways and dark conditions.

People can register online.

‘Silence of the Lambs’ experience

Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in the city’s Oakland neighborhood is transforming itself Friday to a scene of spooky entertainment.

The Silence of the Lambs Cage Night on Friday will feature a life-sized replica of Hannibal Lecter’s cage, as well as the original rug and bedframe from the film.

A Hannibal Lecter actor will pose for photos in the same room where the famed cage scene was filmed.

The event, which opens at 5:30 p.m. Friday, also includes a vendor marketplace and cash bar. Admission is $35 and people can sign up online.

Haunted rivers cruise

The Gateway Clipper Fleet is offering hour-long haunted cruises along Pittsburgh’s three rivers.

The spooky-themed haunted river cruise features a live story, full-service bar and photo opportunities.

It’s appropriate for all ages, and tickets are available online.

Eerie elixirs

At the Omni William Penn hotel in Downtown, a haunted bar is brewing up cocktails and encouraging patrons to come donning costumes.

Through Nov. 1, the hotel’s 1920s-themed speakeasy — a Prohibition-era bar tucked under the hotel lobby — will become a “haunted hideaway.”

Steel City Spooky Market

The Steel City Spooky Market features everything from tarot readings and taxidermy to crystals and food trucks.

It pops up at Frankie Pace Park in Pittsburgh’s Hill District on Saturday.

The market also is selling branded merchandise — featuring a ghost, a pumpkin and bats before a yellow bridge — like tee shirts and stickers.

Trick or treating Downtown

The city of Pittsburgh is hosting an indoor trick-or-treat event for families at the City-County Building on Oct. 30 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

City departments will decorate tables in the grand lobby, where kids can collect candy and show off their costumes.

This comes before the city’s designated neighborhood trick-or-treat hours from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Halloween night.

Smashing pumpkins — literally

Once Halloween is over, the Kamin Science Center is offering a unique way to discard of jack-o’-lanterns.

On Nov. 1, people can toss pumpkins off the science center’s 16-foot-tall portico and watch them splatter.

Anyone who brings carved pumpkins to the science center from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. that day will get $5 off general admission. People are also encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes.

Museum educators also will use liquid nitrogen to make pumpkins explode during special demonstrations.