Our video on visiting the Spirit of Halloweentown festival in St Helens, OR
It was a dark and stormy night when I first learned about the Spirit of Halloweentown in St Helens, Oregon. I was in a Lyft car, on the way home from the airport.
The Lyft driver grinned and turned slightly in her seat, waiting for a traffic light. “You’ve got to check it out. It’s the real Halloweentown, where the movie was filmed. Parts of Twilight were also filmed there.”
So the Friday evening before Halloween, Bryan and I and our friend Patrick headed north from Portland to the small town of St Helens, Oregon to see what the Spirit of Halloweentown was all about.
It was the Friday evening before Halloween. Low clouds blotted out the sky, throwing a spooky gray cast over the landscape as we neared St Helens. At first, a sprawling suburban anywhereville came into view, the plastic signs announcing Subway and Taco Bell clashing somewhat with the Halloween vibes. But then we turned into the main part of town, and everything transformed.
Spirit of Halloweentown in a Nutshell
We found ourselves in the pedestrian town center of St Helens. It was dusk, and lights were beginning to glow from the shop windows. I soon caught sight of much more than lights in the shop windows. Many of them were chock-full of Halloween displays, from carved wooden pumpkins to Halloweentown accessories. The rooftop of a restaurant sported a life-size werewolf that actually moved and howled.
Sidewalk sign posts had been transformed into ghouls and ghosts for the occasion. We even spotted a cloaked skeleton sitting at an outdoor cafe table.
The core of the Spirit of Halloweentown festivities soon came into view: the courthouse plaza, AKA the Pumpkin Plaza. A copy of the giant pumpkin from the Halloweentown movie glowed in the fading light. As we strolled past a parked taxi, a magnified voice boomed out.
“What was that?” asked Bryan, looking around.
It soon became clear the voice was issuing from the cab itself. I stepped closer and noticed a skeleton at the wheel. This was no ordinary taxi, but the haunted taxi from Halloweentown.
An artsy map of St Helens, Oregon stood on an easel in the square. Colorful likenesses of key Halloweentown and Twilight filming locations and other buildings of interest were painted cheerfully on the canvas.
“Look,” I said, stepping closer. “It’s Bella’s house from Twilight. Let’s walk over and check it out.”
St Helens, Oregon Twilight House
Getting to the Twilight house looked easy enough on the map. But, we quickly learned the map was an imaginative representation of the St Helens geography. When our supposedly straight street wound around a corner, never to intersect with our next turn, I pulled out Google Maps. With the help of the trusty blue dot, we were able to make our way at last to the St Helens, Oregon Twilight house—Bella’s house in the movies.
While the Twilight story takes place in Forks, Washington, it wasn’t filmed there. Much of it was actually filmed in Oregon!
As we got closer to Bella’s house, “No Parking” signs began to crop up on either side of the street. Just a heads-up that the house is in a normal neighborhood on a very narrow street, so you’ll need to walk in. Take care to be respectful of the neighbors.
As we approached, several people walked out of the house. I thought at first that someone must live there, but we looked it up and learned that it’s an Airbnb. Here is the link, in case you’d like to stay in the Twilight house yourself!
On our circuitous route to and from the Twilight house, we passed an unbroken series of elaborate household Halloween displays. The whole town really turns out to celebrate.
When to Visit the Spirit of Halloweentown
The Spirit of Halloweentown runs annually from mid-September through the end of October. 2022 dates were September 17 – October 31. Check the Spirit of Halloweentown website for updated dates in the year you visit.
If you visit on a weekday (as we did), parking is free. You’re free to wander around town and check out the movie set locations and Halloween decorations free of charge. The crowds are small.
On weekends, St Helens can get packed as crowds descend on the Real Halloweentown. But, the event goes next-level, with dancing witches and other street performers, vendors selling treats, costume contests, and more. Spirit of Halloweentown tickets can be purchased for paid attractions like the Haunted House or train ride. It’s a bit pricey, with parking tickets at $15/vehicle on weekends and general admission at $30/adult (in 2022).
Have you been to the Real Halloweentown? Let us know in the comments!
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