The countdown is on! Find out when the spooky holiday lands this year so you can plan ahead.

Halloween is almost here!

If you're just starting to think about a costume and buying candy for trick-or-treaters, not to worry. You've still got time. How much time, however, is another story.

Perhaps you may not have enough runway to assemble a Heidi Klum-grade ensemble like one of these Halloween masterpieces, but certainly there are plenty of DIY costumes you can put together as late as October 31.

Either way, you may be wondering, “When is Halloween and what day does it fall on this year?”

The day of the week that Halloween lands on is an important detail. After all, it's a lot more fun to host a spooky soirée on a Friday night than it is, say, on a Monday.

Fortunately, we've got everything you need to know on Halloween 2024, as well as other fun facts and Halloween trivia on the history of this macabre holiday.

We've even tossed in what day of the week October 31 lands on next year if you want to get a jumpstart on your 2025 festivities, along with 2026 and 2027 dates, just in case.

Armed with these essential calendar facts, the only things you need to worry about between now and Halloween are making a list of all the scary horror movies to watch in honor of the season and cueing up your favorite Halloween tunes playlist before the doorbell rings.

When is Halloween in 2024?

This year, Halloween falls on Thursday, October 31, 2024.

While you might be wishing it fell on a weekend, sadly, this year, the spooky holiday is on a Thursday. However, if you play your cards right, you can celebrate the weekend before, then keep the party going right on through November 1.

Is Halloween on the same day every year?
Though the day of the week it falls on changes every year, Halloween itself always falls on October 31.

Since 2024 is a leap year, Halloween was pushed out an extra day. And that's great because next year, in 2025, Halloween is on a Friday and that truly is something to celebrate!

You might be interested to know that the last time Halloween fell on Friday was way back in 2014. After 2025, Halloween won't be on a Friday again until 2031.

Even so, in 2026, Halloween will be on a Saturday, which is scary good news and October 31, 2027 is on a Sunday.
The history of Halloween
Halloween has a long, storied history that’s as full of spirit and intrigue as the holiday itself.

Many believe that Halloween originated with the Celts, who lived two centuries ago in the areas now known as Ireland, England and northern France. On October 31, they celebrated the festival of Samhain (pronounced SAH-win) to mark the end of summer before the new year started on November 1.

In other words, it was a time to party before the cold weather and snow arrived.

But here's where the haunts of Halloween come into play. The Celts believed that on the night before the new year, ghosts had the ability to return to the earth. As a result, they wore costumes to ward off evil spirits, made bonfires and tried to predict the future through fortune-telling.

Once the Romans conquered areas of the Celts, they began to borrow some of the Samhain traditions like bobbing for apples. The holiday continued to live on in various forms through Christian cultures.

Why we celebrate Halloween
Halloween arrived in its near-modern form in the 1840s when Irish immigrants arrived in the United States to escape the Irish Potato Famine.

Nearly two centuries later, Halloween is now celebrated in the United States, Ireland, Italy, England, Mexico, Portugal and many other countries around the world.

While we may not necessarily wear costumes with the intention of warding off evil spirits, we’ve developed our own modern-day Halloween traditions, like queuing up scary movies, decking out our houses with spooky decorations and competing in costume contests, among other popular Halloween activities.

As for the impact the holiday has on the economy, Halloween is big business. Last year, 73 percent of consumers planned to participate in Halloween-related activities, spending upwards of $12.2 billion (yes, billion) on decorations, costumes, candy and greeting cards, according to findings from the National Retail Federation.