Looking for a simple, no-cost way to add Halloween magic to your downtown or district? Story City’s new Universal Adventures offer interactive, GPS-guided Halloween stories you can place in your city in just 15 minutes using only your phone. Once live, your area becomes the focal point of an adventure for anyone opening the Story City app nearby.
Each adventure is a 60-minute walkable experience that gets people exploring your activation district’s local landmarks and sharing their fun online with spooky photo filters. It works in any city and is entirely phone-based, meaning no complicated setup or approvals; just pick a story, place it, and invite the community to play.
Quick, free to place, and instantly boosts foot traffic. It’s the kind of last-minute Halloween win that can build vibrancy in your neighborhood. Below, we break down of how to launch one in 15 minutes, what Universal Adventures are, and why this low-lift tool can be a game-changer for downtown engagement.
Step 1: Download the App & Select a Halloween Story
Grab your phone, and download the Story City app.
Then pick one of 3 Halloween-themed stories in the search to place in your activation district. Just search by name or click the links below once the app is downloaded:
Step 2: Place Your Route
This is your step-by-step guide to placing an adventure in your city.
Universal Adventures can be placed anywhere you want! Once you pick you stories in step 1 above, just follow the 4 easy steps below to get it in your neighborhood:
- Tap on your chosen story in the search to see the story overview.
- Scroll down and tap the “Place in Your City” feature. The app will open a map where you can choose your own locations for the story.
- Follow the prompts to place pins in spots that fit the story’s scenes as you get creative and choose your own locations and landmarks in your district!
- Don’t forget to select “Save as Community Route” to make your route publicly accessible to users in the app.
Once your route is set, the app will guide users who take your route between each location, showing the fastest path between them, just like any map app.
Step 3: Share!
Now it’s time to spread the word. Story City provides this special discount link to share, giving your locals access to the adventure for just $3.99 stories (normally $12.99)!
Even better, below is a ready-to-go social media post for you to promote your new route. Share the link and invite residents and visitors to come explore the adventure you’ve created.
Social Media Caption (Copy/Paste to share with your community):
🎃 This Halloween, adventure comes to [District Name]! 👻
Be a rookie ghost hunter, train as a secret agent, or chase pirate treasure through our streets in a 60-minute interactive story you play on your phone. Ready to explore? Download the Story City app using this link to access $3.99 adventures (normally $12.99).📲[LINK]
#HalloweenIn[CityName] #DowntownAdventures #StoryCity
By following these three steps, you’ll have a fully operational Halloween adventure in your downtown with virtually no hassle. But what exactly are Universal Adventures, and what makes them such a great fit for city activations? Let’s take a quick look.
What are Universal Adventures (& Why Use Them?)
Universal Adventures are interactive stories on the Story City app (think Pokemon Go meets storytelling) that can be placed and played anywhere; they’re “location-flexible” experiences. Story City launched the first batch of these globally placeable adventures this season (Frightnight Ghost Tours, Spy Academy, and Pirate Captain), with new adventures rolling out every month. For city organizers, this means there’s always something fresh to engage your community, which doesn’t require staffing, or assets to watch, and you can be the first to bring a new adventure to your town.
Here’s how the system works: each Universal Adventure comes with a built-in storyline and set of challenges, but you get to decide the real-world route. Through the app, you pick spots in your city that fit the story (for example, a creepy alley or old courthouse for the ghost tour, or a park for a pirate’s treasure stop). The app then guides players to each location with GPS, triggering story segments and challenges at those spots. It’s like a choose-your-adventure meets walking tour, and you can control where it happens in your district.
Setting up an adventure is incredibly low-lift: all you need is about 15 minutes, your smartphone, and your local know-how to select fun locations. The platform handles the rest, no tech integration or city permits required. In fact, placing a story is completely free for partners (the app is free to download, and there’s no cost to create or host a route). Once you hit “publish,” anyone nearby can discover and play it using just their phone. Some cities may already have these adventures running, but if yours doesn’t, you can launch one instantly and put your downtown on the Story City map. It’s a turnkey way to offer an interactive Halloween event without the usual planning headaches.
Frightnight Ghost Tours – A Spooky Downtown Adventure
The flagship Halloween story, Frightnight Ghost Tours, is a perfect fit for a downtown Halloween activation. It turns players into rookie ghost hunters on a mission to investigate paranormal activity through your city’s streets. The adventure plays out as a live-streamed ghost tour – participants must follow clues, make decisions, and even contend with a restless spirit that’s determined to up the scare factor.
Do your community members have what it takes to outlast the hauntings, or will they sacrifice themselves for the greater good? One of the spookiest surprises? The app’s built-in photo overlays occasionally drop ghostly figures into players’ selfies — turning downtown landmarks into eerie backdrops and delivering plenty of scream-worthy, shareable moments.
In Frightnight Ghost Tours, every choice counts. The story boasts four different endings, inviting thrill-seekers to play again and again to see how different decisions change the outcome. With so many twists available, no two ghost tours are the same. This replayability means locals can come back for repeat visits (and bring friends) throughout the Halloween season, always discovering new frights around the corner. In short, Frightnight Ghost Tours delivers a spooky, engaging experience that drives foot traffic and keeps people talking about your downtown’s haunted adventure.
Not Into Ghosts? Try Spies or Pirates Instead
Maybe paranormal tours aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, that’s okay! Universal Adventures offers alternate storylines to ensure there’s something for every taste. Two popular options available for Halloween (or beyond) are Spy Academy and Pirate Captain. These adventures come with the same easy setup and city customization, but feature totally different themes to captivate a broad audience.
Spy Academy turns your city into a secret agent training ground. In this choose-your-path mission, players race through a gauntlet of challenges testing their fitness, code-breaking skills, and powers of observation. Imagine teams darting between downtown checkpoints as they decode clandestine messages or surveil a “target” location. It’s like a real-life spy movie unfolding on your streets. The adventure keeps participants on their toes with puzzles and physical tasks. Spy Academy is a fantastic option for families and competitive friend groups alike, offering a fun, non-spooky challenge that still brings people together, outdoors, in your district.
Pirate Captain offers a swashbuckling quest that can overlay perfectly onto your downtown or waterfront. This story casts players as a notorious buccaneer on the hunt for supplies and a pirate crew. The more assets the adventurer collects, the greater their success at reaching the treasure on their map. A rival pirate (the dastardly Captain Neckbeard) is also in town, determined to beat you to the treasure. This pirate adventure is filled with humor and excitement, making it a great, family-friendly alternative (or addition) to the ghostly theme. Plus, who doesn’t love an excuse to don a pirate hat and yell “Yo-ho!” in the middle of town? Along the way, players collect themed photos to fill the four quadrants of their pirate crest; a fun, personalized souvenir that blends your city’s landmarks into a bold, shareable badge of honor.
Drive Foot Traffic & Buzz with Minimal Effort
Whether you choose ghosts, spies, or pirates (or all three!), the outcome for your district is the same: increased foot traffic and a flurry of social media buzz. These adventures are designed to draw people out and get them walking through your area’s businesses, parks, and public spaces. It’s quick, free for you to place, and instantly boosts foot traffic; truly a last-minute Halloween win for creating downtown vibrancy. Participants aren’t just passing through; they’re engaging deeply with the environment, solving clues at historic sites and interacting with local points of interest. This translates to more dwell time in the district and potentially more customers for shops and eateries along the route.
Meanwhile, the fun and immersive nature of the game prompts players to share their experience online, amplifying your event’s reach. Story City’s adventures include built-in social features (like themed photo filters and hashtags) that encourage players to post about their journey. As teams of friends or families document their ghost hunts or treasure quests on Instagram, Tiktok, and X (Twitter), they’re spreading the word about your downtown’s unique Halloween offering. This kind of organic buzz not only markets your district to a wider audience, but it also showcases your city as innovative and engaging.
The bottom line: with just 15 minutes of setup, you can launch an interactive Halloween adventure that creates real-world foot traffic and online excitement for your community. It’s a simple, high-impact activation that city partners and Business Improvement Districts can implement even at the last minute to surprise and delight residents.
Ready to be the hero who brings this adventure to your streets? Download the Story City app, place your Halloween adventure, and watch the magic happen.
Let’s make this Halloween unforgettable for your downtown!
