This October, things are getting spooky around the Thomas Crane Public Library!
Get into the spirit of Halloween with a month filled with festivities for all ages, including our Halloween Night Bazaar, ghost and pumpkin painting, ghost hunting, horror book club, and so much more.
After Hours at the Crane: Night Bazaar
After Hours at the Crane is back. Join us Friday, October 30, 2026 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM at the Main Library on 40 Washington St. in Quincy Center for a creepy carnival featuring free food, entertainment, and games! This event is for guests 21+. A photo ID is required for the cash bar. No exceptions.
This year, TCPL transforms into the Thomas Crane Night Bazaar, a Victorian-themed carnival filled with magic and cursed curiosities. There will be free snacks, a cash bar, eerie tarot readings from Antonio Morales of It’s Tarot Time!, spooky face painting from Glitter Girls, mini games and prizes, crafts, and a creepy juggling performance from Clown Care!
Events for Adults
‘Tis the season to get spooky and creative! Drop in to paint your own wooden ghost portrait. Go with classic Halloween colors, or mix it up with some bright shades, the choice is yours!
Adults of all ages are welcome to join us for a relaxing and festive seasonal activity: painting wooden pumpkins – just the thing you need for your fall decor! Please note that wood pumpkins are flat and are unadorned. All supplies provided. One pumpkin per person.
Registration Required. Register for Adult Pumpkin Painting.
Join us to cross stich your own Jack-o’-lanterns! We’ll have patterns for enough to fill a pumpkin patch.
Registration Required. Register for Jack-‘O-Lantern Cross Stich.
Calling all horror lovers! Join us every other month for Horror Book Club where we read and discuss all things spooky.
This month’s selection: Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson.
LGBTQIA+ folks and allies are welcome to join us for Rainbow Book Club every other last Wednesday evening of the month. This month’s theme is Space Horror. These books are set in space and feature queer characters. Participants can choose between two books:
Selections: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling.
Events for Teens
For teens and tweens! Ever wondered what it takes to be a real paranormal investigator? Obsidian Paranormal will teach you how to use the tools you already have to investigate strange phenomena in your own neighborhood! Join us for a spooky afternoon in the Richardson Room where members of the team from Obsidian Paranormal will show you some of their findings–and teach you how to find some of your own!
Celebrate spooky season with a creepy cupcake craft! With just a few simple ingredients you can make your dessert look like tombstones, witch hats, and more. This program will be while supplies last, and is for students in grades 8-12 ONLY.
Something is brewing at the North Quincy Library! Drop in to make some Halloween-themed slime that you can take home later.
Registration is not required, but supplies are limited. Participation is limited to Grades 8-12.
Events for Children
We want to show off YOUR pumpkins!
At home, decorate a small pumpkin as your favorite book character, then bring it in to the Main Library Children’s Room for display! All pumpkins will win an award. Click HERE to learn more.
Dress up in your Halloween costume a week early and go trick-or-treating for stickers at the Main Library! We’ll be showing off our costumes throughout the library as we visit all the different desks and departments to collect a different sticker at each stop. We’ll finish our trick-or-treating at the library’s Community Meeting Room where families with children ages 4 and up are invited to join us for a spooky storytime with storyteller Rona Leventhal. Children aged 9 and under must be accompanied by an adult on the walk through the library.
Come for our Sticker-Treat event and stay for a spooky storytime for kids ages 4 and up with storyteller Rona Leventhal!
Happy Ducktober! Come decorate and dress up a rubber duck for Halloween. This craft will be available all day (while supplies last), stop by the North Quincy Desk to ask for a duck to decorate!
These programs are made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Friends of the Thomas Crane Public Library.
