When Emily McGrady was floating the idea of a Halloween-themed market in Pittsburgh, she created an Instagram poll. With events like Summerween and spooky Christmas stretching the holiday far into the off-season, she thought there might be enough interest to bring vendors together for a monthly event. But even McGrady — originally from Indiana, Pa. and a self-described Halloween person — underestimated Pittsburgh’s love of all things spooky.
“People blew the biweekly [option] out of the water,” McGrady says. “They definitely want something more often than not … It’s crazy to think how big this market has grown already, and it hasn’t even happened yet.”
The region’s wish will be fulfilled when Steel City Spooky Market debuts on Sat., Aug. 9 in Frankie Pace Park. The biweekly Halloween-themed event (running weekly in October) will feature local artists and oddities vendors offering handcrafted goods and “spooky experiences” that “celebrate Pittsburgh’s love for all things eerie and eclectic.” Halloween lovers can expect items ranging from spooky art, jewelry, and stained glass to tarot readings, taxidermy, and crystals, along with rotating food trucks. For the grand opening, Black Horizon Tattoo and Piercing will be on-site offering flash tattoos and piercings, while DJ Paris Not France will provide a soundtrack for the Spooky Market’s first season.
“I am so excited to bring the Halloween vibe to Pittsburgh year-round, instead of just for one day,” McGrady tells Pittsburgh City Paper.
McGrady and her family recently moved back to Pittsburgh from Tacoma, Wash., where she sold embroidered apparel and other art through her own shop, The Moonlit Serpent, at the city’s Haunted Farmers Market.
“I wanted to bring something like that to the East Coast, because a lot of people [told me], ‘I wish this was here,’” she says.
Vending at the international Oddities and Curiosities Expo — which this year toured 41 cities across North America — she was amazed at how far people were willing to travel to shop spooky wares. In recent years, she says, where Halloween was once considered niche and alternative, it’s gained wider appeal.
“[It used to be] if you like Halloween, then you’re weird,” McGrady tells City Paper. “It used to be more uncommon than it is now, and it’s definitely become more modern and something a lot of people are getting into, even the oddities like taxidermy and bones.”
Becoming a “one-man operation,” McGrady began planning Pittsburgh’s first all-spooky market, hoping to add “something refreshingly unique to the city’s event scene.” She aims to support a range of small businesses while keeping the market local and engaging with the broader community under the Halloween-themed banner.
“I want it to be good for patrons, vendors — and it’s a free event, so it’s like, hey, come and support all of our local Pittsburgh artists,” McGrady says.
In addition to artists like local favorite After Dark Illustrations, and the goblins, ghouls, and Ghostface earrings you might expect, spotlighted vendors for the inaugural event include Becca Bakes Cookies — perhaps better known for her edible photo booth seen at weddings — and illustrator Brittany Ashcraft of Ashcrafted Imagery, who creates “whimsy-inspired” art including colorful painted planters.
Steel City Spooky Market already has its own merch, featuring a ghost patting a jack-o-lantern under one of the yellow Sister Bridges. The market even has its own official spooky beer brewed, fittingly, by Penn Brewery, reportedly one of the city’s most haunted restaurants.
McGrady says, if the event’s social media is any indication, there’s buzz ahead of the first market with Pittsburghers eager to extend their spooky fun.
“For it to get a response, it definitely warms my heart, and it lets me know that people definitely want to see this come to Pittsburgh,” McGrady says. “And I will do everything I can to make it as successful as I can.”
This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2025.
