Fremont Ghost House 2026: Hours, Tickets and Roof Updates

"We are getting a new roof on our 1870's carriage house so our first work party will be on Sept 12, 2026." That line sat on the Candle Lighters homepage at the end of summer. It explains why this year's volunteer season started later than usual. It also says something about how Fremont's Halloween works. The Ghost House charges $5 at the door and raises money for groups across Fremont, Newark and Union City. It runs inside a historic building owned by the City, which is now paying to keep the rain out.

The 2026 house, Ghost Bride Manor, opens Saturday, October 10, and runs through Friday, October 30. Much of the rest of Fremont's October lands on the opening weekend or in the final week.

A $5 Ticket Under a $326,638 Roof

The Chadbourne Carriage House stands in Williams Historical Park at 39169 Fremont Blvd., next to Chili's at the Fremont Hub, between Mowry Avenue and Walnut Avenue. The City's directory says the building was once part of the old Chadbourne Ranch, and Burdette Williams donated the house and the park around it to the City in 1960.

A City staff report on the roof replacement describes the problem plainly. The roof has reached the end of its life. It leaks in rainy weather and keeps maintenance crews busy dealing with water inside the building. The building's shape made the job harder to price. The engineer's estimate was $86,640. During bidding, the City found that the tall building, steep roof and tower structure would add scaffolding and worker-safety costs.

The bids came in well above that estimate:

With the lowest bid withdrawn, Andy's Roofing became the next low bidder. The report adds design, a 20% construction contingency and inspection costs, for an estimated project total of $326,638 from the City's Capital Improvement Fund. The work was proposed to start in summer 2026 and finish by the following winter, so the schedule overlaps this year's Ghost House.

Who Owns the Building, Who Runs the House

The City owns the Carriage House and leases it to the Candle Lighters, a volunteer nonprofit that raises money for nonprofits and community projects in Fremont, Newark and Union City. The group says the Ghost House is its only fundraiser. Local organizations apply for the proceeds. A Proposal Committee checks each one against the group's guidelines and sends eligible proposals to the General Membership for a vote. Money goes out in the order proposals are voted on.

The group started in January 1969 with one goal, raising money to build a Fremont YMCA. Its founding board was Dorothy Pegueros, Betty Sabraw, Anita DeDomenico, Sumi Lampert and Flo Aragon, and the Ghost House was DeDomenico's idea. The group's own history puts the first Ghost House that October in an old brick winery on what is now the Ohlone College campus. The City's directory credits the Carriage House and Williams Historical Park as the event's home every October since 1969. The two accounts differ on where that first 1969 house stood, but both describe a tradition close to six decades old. Candle Lighters says it has raised "well over $1.5 million" for Tri-City projects, though the page doesn't give a date for that figure. Men were allowed to join as members for the first time in 2016.

Tri-City Voice reported on September 15 that the roof repairs were underway and that the house would run October 10 through 30 "at the Fremont Hub." That wording is just a description of where the Carriage House sits. Candle Lighters' 2026 listing still names the Carriage House as the location. If you're bringing small children or anyone with mobility needs, check the group's site the week you go. None of the published sources say how the roof work affects getting in.

Ghost Bride Manor, and the Hours That Matter

This year's story opens on October 13, 1893. Rose Ellen Wilton waits at the altar for Edward Danford, and he never arrives. In the story, later visitors have seen her ghost searching the manor for her missing groom.

The house keeps evening hours on weeknights and opens in the afternoon on weekends:

• Monday to Thursday: 6 to 9 p.m.
• Friday: 6 to 10 p.m.
• Saturday: 3 to 10 p.m.
• Sunday: 3 to 9 p.m.
• Closed: Monday, October 12, and Monday, October 19

Admission is $5, and midway game tickets are $1.25 each. The midway also has caramel apples, a country store and other treats.

Saturday, October 17, is the day for families with younger children. A kids' costume parade starts at 1 p.m. From 2 to 3 p.m., the Lights On Tour runs with the lights up and the sounds and effects off. Room designers are on hand during that hour to explain how the effects work. Students from age 12 through their senior year of high school can volunteer in the house or at the games. Work parties take the first 20 students who sign up.

Opening Saturday Is the Most Crowded Date on the Calendar

Saturday, October 10, is the Ghost House's first day, and three other events land on it.

At Ardenwood Historic Farm, the Harvest Festival runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a corn harvest, live music, historic crafts, the narrow-gauge train and a farmhouse tour. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $8 for ages 4 to 17 and free under 4. Advance online sales through the East Bay Regional Park District end Friday, October 9. The Dig Deep Farms Pumpkin Patch at Ardenwood keeps the same hours and charges its own admission, $5 for adults and $2 for ages 3 to 11.

In Niles, the Niles Main Street Association's Beatles Day fills Niles Town Plaza at 37592 Niles Blvd. with Beatles music from several bands, noon to 6 p.m. Niles Canyon Railway runs a diesel excursion that day too. The steam trips on October 11 and October 18 are already listed as sold out, and the railway notes that departures are from Sunol unless stated otherwise.

Ardenwood and Niles both close by late afternoon. The Ghost House stays open until 10 that night, so a full day can end at the Carriage House.

The Final Week Stacks Up Three More

The calendar fills again from October 23 to 24, a week before the Ghost House closes.

The Diwali Mela and the Spooktacular overlap on Saturday afternoon, and the Ghost House is open from 3 p.m. that day. All three sit on or near Fremont Boulevard and Pacific Commons, so you could fit two into one afternoon if you plan the order. Closer to home, the Fremont Hub's own Halloween listing includes a pumpkin patch and a Spirit Halloween store, both a short walk from the Carriage House.

After the House Goes Dark

The Ghost House closes October 30, and the calendar moves to the holidays. Barnes & Noble plans to return to Fremont in November. The new store is 24,638 square feet with a café and indoor and outdoor seating, in the former DSW space at Pacific Commons. Tri-City Voice reported that DSW moved to a smaller space on the same block. Neither source gives an exact opening day.

On Friday, November 13, the City's free Holiday Edition Artisan Night Market runs 4 to 9 p.m. at the Age Well Center at Lake Elizabeth, 40086 Paseo Padre Pkwy. The Niles Festival of Lights Parade and Tree Lighting follows on Friday, November 27, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The association says the parade usually has more than 60 entries. Niles Canyon Railway's Train of Lights runs November 20 through December 30. As of the railway's October 3 update, every ticket is sold out.

By then the Carriage House should be close to having its new roof. The City's schedule calls for the work to finish by winter, ahead of the rainy season that caused the leaks.

Fremont's oldest traditions depend on people who keep track of the dates, the buildings and the details. That kind of local knowledge matters just as much when your own home is involved. If you'd like to talk about what's changing around you in Fremont, Shawn Shokoor is glad to help. Let's Connect.