St. Cloud Main Street doesn't run its Historic Ghost Tour as a Halloween special. It's a regular program, held on the fourth Wednesday of each month from September through May alongside the Monthly Market, with the November and December dates moved earlier to clear the holidays. In 2026 the fourth Wednesday of October is the 28th, so next week the downtown ghost walk falls three days before Saturday's trick-or-treat and block party.
That timing gives downtown two Halloween nights in one week. They take place on the same grid of numbered streets, and the stories told on Wednesday are about the buildings people will walk past in costume on Saturday.
The Week on One Page
| Day | Event | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed., Oct. 28 | Historic Walking Tour, $10 | 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. | St. Cloud Main Street, 903 Pennsylvania Ave. |
| Wed., Oct. 28 | Historic Ghost Tour, $20 | 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. | St. Cloud Main Street Office, 903 Pennsylvania Ave. |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | Toddler Boo Bash, ages 2 to 4 | 10:30 a.m. to noon | Civic Center, 3001 17th St. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | City of St. Cloud Trunk or Treat | 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. | Centennial Park, 1214 10th St. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Main Street Trick & Trunk-or-Treat | 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. | Participating downtown businesses |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Maniacs & Witches Block Party | 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. | Downtown St. Cloud |
The tour times and prices come from the walking tour and ghost tour event pages. The online ticket page for the ghost tour has shown a different price and start time, so check the details at checkout before you plan dinner around 8 p.m.
Wednesday Is a History Night Before It's a Haunted One
The two tours on the 28th split the evening between them. The 45-minute walking tour starts at 5:30 and covers the people, places and landmarks that shaped St. Cloud. The ghost tour leaves from the same office at 8:00 and promises "chilling tales of fiery disasters, daring bank heists, local legends, lingering spirits, and the history behind some of our most familiar downtown landmarks."
There are about two hours between the end of one tour and the start of the other, and the Monthly Market fills that gap. In earlier years, Main Street's Wednesday-evening market brought local crafters, vendors and food trucks to New York and Pennsylvania avenues, and downtown businesses stayed open late. If this year's market follows that pattern, you can take both tours with dinner in between and never move your car.
The ghost tour's material comes from things that really happened downtown. Most of it is on public record, and much of it took place within a few blocks of the tour's starting point.
The Year Downtown Burned and the Bank Failed
St. Cloud was surveyed and platted in 1909 as a town for Civil War veterans, and it became known as "The Soldier City." Within eight years, downtown had its worst night. One of St. Cloud Main Street's own historic downtown murals records it this way:
Just after midnight on July 28, 1917, a suspicious fire started in a storeroom and spread to businesses and apartments on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue between Tenth and Eleventh Streets. Volunteers formed bucket brigades to put out the fire. ... Although arson was suspected, the case was never solved.
The mural adds that people carried out much of what was inside two grocery stores, other businesses, the post office and homes before the flames forced them back. The Osceola News-Gazette reported that the fire destroyed most of the wood-framed buildings in that area and that the Pennsylvania Avenue structures were rebuilt. So the block between 10th and 11th that you walk today is the rebuilt one. The ghost tour starts at 903 Pennsylvania Ave., on the same avenue.
The same year brought a second blow. According to Main Street's historic markers page, the First National Bank opened in 1910 as the only national bank in the county and failed in December 1917. The ghost tour promises heist stories, and the guides will tell those their own way. The documented record is enough on its own. By the end of 1917, the fire case was still unsolved and the town's national bank had closed.
The Landmarks That Carry the Stories
Main Street's marker program covers several more downtown buildings that the walking tour's description of "people, places and landmarks" points toward. Main Street hasn't published the 2026 route, so take these as a reading list rather than a list of confirmed stops.
- G.A.R. Memorial Hall, completed in 1914, is tied to the veterans who founded the city.
- Hunter Arms Hotel, at 1029 New York Ave., opened on January 22, 1927. It replaced the Bon Air Hotel, and the Peckham Building and New York Stores were torn down to make way for it.
- St. Cloud Heritage Museum, at 1012 Massachusetts Ave., is in the former Veterans Memorial Library. It opened in 2008 and holds local records and artifacts.
- Mount Peace Cemetery was established for Union veterans and recorded their burials from 1910 to 1942.
Hunter Arms is the one building with a named ghost in print. The Florida Department of State says the hotel opened in 1927 as a winter-only operation, with a flat seasonal rate that covered a room and two meals a day. The builder, Hunter, had planned to sell it, but the 1929 crash and the Depression ended that plan, and his wife, Nona, ran the hotel for many years after his death in 1953. The same page describes "Vivian," a ghost rumored to haunt the building. Guests have reported strange sounds, sudden cold spots, doors slamming on their own and faucets turning on by themselves. That's lore, and it's the kind of lore an 8 p.m. walk exists for.
The building's later history is better documented. It fell into disrepair, was bought and restored as a bed-and-breakfast in 1994, and was bought again in 2016 by ADMC International, which kept restoring it. The hotel takes up three-quarters of a city block. Its website still takes bookings.
Saturday Puts Costumes on the Same Blocks
On Saturday the 31st, the downtown that the ghost tour described three nights earlier fills up with families.
The City's Trunk or Treat runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at Centennial Park, 1214 10th St., with costumes, music, candy and prizes. It's sponsored by Orlando Health and Hopkins Heroes, and the City suggests bringing a candy bucket. Main Street's Trick & Trunk-or-Treat runs at the same time, from 5 to 8 p.m. at participating downtown businesses. At 8 p.m. the Maniacs & Witches Block Party takes over until 11, with music, dancing, games and vendors.
The costume contest is free and has four groups:
- Ages 7 and under, Best Overall
- Ages 8 to 14, Best Overall
- Ages 15 to 20, Best Overall
- Ages 21 and up, Best Overall and Best Group
Winners get gift cards from local businesses. Saturday's sponsors are Osceola County Commissioner Ricky Booth, the City of St. Cloud, Phyre Saloon and Steakhouse, Land Title Professionals and Rick Heuser.
Because the City and Main Street events overlap from 5 to 7 p.m., a family can start with trunks at Centennial Park and then walk to the businesses before the block party begins. Families with younger kids have another option on Thursday: the Toddler Boo Bash at the Civic Center, 3001 17th St., offers costumes, games and crafts for ages 2 to 4 from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
After October
The fourth-Wednesday schedule runs through May, so if Wednesday doesn't work, the tours aren't gone until next fall. Main Street does say November and December tours move earlier in the month, so check the events calendar before assuming the usual week. A spring walk covers the same 1909 founding, the same unsolved 1917 fire and the same 1927 hotel. You'll just be out in milder weather.
Our team spends a lot of time on these downtown blocks, and we're always glad to talk about the history behind St. Cloud's older streets and how that history shows up in the homes around them. If you'd like to talk through what's for sale near Pennsylvania and New York avenues, Jim Mcquade and the McQuade Home Team are happy to help. Schedule a Consultation whenever it suits you.
