Halloween at the Castle
Friday, October 31, 20266:00 to 8:00 pm
Belvidere Historic Neighborhood trick-or-treat at 236 Fairmount Street, Lowell. Free. All ages. Children with an adult.
Torchlight, fog and chocolate gold coins
Every Halloween since 2012, Chateau Fairmount has opened to the neighborhood for two hours of torchlight, fog, music and treats. On a good night, one to two thousand people walk up the drive.
- 22 candelabras, 198 lights — built by hand in 2018 and 2019, each nine feet tall.
- The first floor is open: one way through the grand hall, dining room and library, and out the side door.Owner to confirm: Depends on decision D3 (indoor vs exterior-only) and Fire Prevention review
- Free. Donations are welcome; they keep the lights lit and the restoration going.
What to expect
- The drive and lawn are lit by the candelabras from dusk. The candelabras burn real flames. Please keep children back from the stands.
- Fog machines, a sound system playing appropriately creepy music, a cemetery, and a dragon. Younger children sometimes prefer the lawn to the house, and that is fine.
- Treats are handed out while supplies last.
- The event runs rain or shine; in high wind the torches stay unlit.
- Getting here. Fairmount Street is residential and gets very busy. Please park on side streets and walk up. Do not drive up the driveway or block neighbors’ driveways.
- Access. The entrance has steps. A level view of the house and the candelabras is available from the driveway loop.
- Restrooms are not available.
- This is a private home opened for one evening by its owner. Please treat it, and the neighbors, kindly.
Help keep it going
Donate
Donations this year go toward converting the candelabras to safer electric lighting and toward the ongoing restoration.
Give on GoFundMe Give directly
There is also a cash box at the door.
Volunteer
We need people in costume to hand out treats, guide the route and keep an eye on the lights — an hour or two on the night, or the setup weekend of October 25 and 26.
Share your photos
Tag #ChateauFairmount — and if you have photos from past years, we would love copies for the archive.
Past years
Flyover and timelapse videos from past Halloweens are on the Chateau Fairmount YouTube channel. Video embeds will go here.
A little history
The house was built in 1883 for the Lowell machinist Abel T. Atherton and was later the home of city solicitor Arthur P. Bonney. From 1957 to 2004 it was the Battles Home, a rest home run by a Lowell charity founded in 1901. It stood empty after a 2009 foreclosure until its current owner bought it in 2011 and began restoring it.[C-001, C-002, C-010, C-022, C-023, C-030, C-031]
Good to know
- Photography is welcome. We may take photos of the crowd for next year’s page — tell a volunteer if you would rather not be in them.
- Questions: hello@chateaufairmount.com
Last reviewed 2026-10-10. Thank you to every year’s volunteers.