Troy Hosts Halloween Night Out, Haunted Ship
Two Halloween events drew families and visitors to downtown Troy and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus on Friday night.
Updated on Oct. 31, 2026 in Other — General
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Troy held two community Halloween celebrations on Friday, October 31, 2025: a family event called "Beneath The Hudson" at RPI's Experimental Media And Performance Center, and Troy Night Out: The Haunting on River Street. Organizers said the River Street event was organized by Odd House with collaboration from the Troy Business Improvement District.
Why it matters
The events offer families and residents a local Halloween option and reflect ongoing efforts to connect RPI and the broader Troy community. Organizers said they plan to make The Haunting an annual Troy event.
About 200 people worked to organize and run Troy Night Out: The Haunting, and EMPAC charged $5 admission for its programs with free food offered. Attendance totals for either event were not reported, and no comparison to prior years' Halloween turnout was provided.
The players
Odd House
Odd House is a Troy-based organization that organized and ran Troy Night Out: The Haunting.
Troy Business Improvement District
The Troy Business Improvement District is a local downtown organization that collaborated on the River Street event.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Experimental Media And Performance Center
EMPAC is the arts and performance venue at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that hosted the Beneath The Hudson event.
Dena Beard
Dena Beard is the Executive Director of EMPAC, who said the center is looking at a lot of collaborative community events coming up.
Matty Dwyer
Matty Dwyer is a co-owner of Odd House who said the plan is to make The Haunting an annual Troy event.
The details
Troy Night Out: The Haunting closed River Street to vehicles from Cafe Euphoria to Congress Street and featured vendor tents, a stage, live music, and drag shows. EMPAC's "Beneath The Hudson" included trick-or-treating, arts and crafts, a themed photo booth, and an underwater haunted ship attraction whose lights, sounds and animatronics were triggered by motion sensors.
Timeline
Friday, October 31, 2025: Halloween community events held in Troy
6 pm, October 31, 2025: Hart Cluett Museum "Murder and Mayhem" walking tour begins
Season Trajectory
The Haunting is positioned as the first edition of what organizers intend to be an annual Troy event, following a planned pattern of recurring downtown programming. Matty Dwyer said the Dwyers plan to pack the winter months with more events, extending the calendar beyond the Halloween season.
Residents planning Halloween outings can look for recurring River Street closures and programming if The Haunting returns annually. EMPAC's events carry a $5 admission fee, with food offered free, which sets a concrete cost for families planning similar visits.
The takeaway
Local Halloween programming in Troy is expanding beyond single events, with organizers signaling both an annual haunt and a fuller winter calendar. Readers who attend should plan around the $5 EMPAC admission and anticipated street closures.
What happens next
Odd House co-owner Matty Dwyer said the plan is to make The Haunting an annual Troy event, and the Dwyers plan to pack the winter months with more events.
Further reading
Explore more local happenings in Troy Other — General.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Troy Record.
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