South Street Seaport Museum announces a robust schedule of Halloween offerings beginning October 3, 2026. Activities include Halloween Paper Crafts and Letterpress Printing, A Haunted Harbor Halloween: Onboard Panel and Ferry Tour, and Ghost Stories from the Oregon Coast.

Ghost Stories from the Oregon Coast
October 3 | 12pm | Wavertree | Free | Book Here
Attend a fashion show where maritime history meets childhood memory, folklore, and contemporary design in the work of Austin Korth. As the show progresses, set against the backdrop of the 1885 tall ship Wavertree’s masts and rigging, you will see how the collection draws inspiration from the golden age of seafaring and the rugged landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.

Watch the visual language of life at sea take on new forms as weathered sails, sailors’ tattoos, fishing nets, shoreline treasures, nautical chinaware, and Victorian sailor uniforms are reimagined as unexpected elements of modern garments. Each piece evokes an artifact from an imagined past—a relic shaped by memory, myth, and life along the water.

Sign up today to explore a collection that bridges the Oregon coast of the designer’s childhood with the maritime legacy of New York, where clothing becomes a vessel for stories carried across time and place. Following the show, models will disperse throughout the ship to allow attendees to get a closer look at the work. Surrounded by Wavertree’s historic decks, this is your chance to experience a fashion collection in a setting that brings its maritime inspiration vividly to life.

Halloween Paper Crafts and Letterpress Printing
October 11 | 12–2pm | 207 Water Street | Free | Book Here
Embrace spooky season and unleash your creativity at Bowne & Co.’s Halloween-inspired drop-in workshop.
Visit anytime between 12pm and 2pm for a free hands-on experience crafting Halloween paper decorations, paper chains, and folded-paper bats. For an extra thrill, our skilled Bowne designers will be on hand to guide you through crafting your own letterpress-printed broadside posters using a 19th century printing press from the Seaport Museum’s working collection.
Don’t miss this opportunity to add a touch of spookiness to your seasonal decorations and learn more about the art of traditional letterpress printing. Join us and get into the Halloween spirit!
A Haunted Harbor Halloween: Onboard Panel and Ferry Tour
October 24 | 3pm | Brooklyn, NYC Ferry, Wavertree | Scaled Pricing | Book Here
Take a special East River Halloween crossing with the Seaport Museum and Holes in Wall Collective that ferries you into the strange, spooky, and unexpected.

The adventure begins at a Brooklyn neighborhood watering hole before boarding the NYC Ferry for an engaging sail from one waterfront to another. As the city drifts by, the ferry becomes a floating salon, with a series of bite-sized encounters featuring experts offering a splash of witches, legends, folklore, natural magic, and mysteries connected to New York Harbor and Lower Manhattan.

At the Museum, gather on the 1885 tall ship Wavertree for seasonal cider, more conversation, and Halloween fun as the ship glows by candlelight. This is the perfect atmospheric setting to raise a glass to the Harbor, swap stories, and discover the more mysterious side of New York’s waterfront.

Seaport Museum Book Club: All That Is Wicked
October 31 | 12pm | Wavertree | Free | Book Here

For spooky season, the book club selection is All That Is Wicked: A Gilded-Age Story of Murder and the Race to Decode the Criminal Mind by Kate Winkler Dawson. Together we will dive into the thrilling true-crime story of Edward Rulloff, a serial murderer once deemed “too intelligent to be killed.”

Expanded from the first season of her hit podcast, acclaimed crime historian, podcaster, and author Kate Winkler Dawson draws on hundreds of sources and never-before-shared historical documents to explore one of the earliest attempts to understand the mind of a serial killer—more than a century before the term was coined—and the scientists whose work would influence criminal justice for decades to come.

On Halloween, join Museum staff and fellow readers for a spirited discussion aboard the covered quarterdeck of the 1885 tall ship Wavertree. 

About the South Street Seaport Museum
The South Street Seaport Museum, located in the heart of the historic seaport district in New York City, preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Founded in 1967, the Museum houses an extensive collection of works of art and artifacts, a maritime reference library, exhibition galleries and education spaces, working 19th century print shops, and an active fleet of historic vessels that all work to tell the story of “Where New York Begins.” seaportmuseum.org

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