Dripping, spilling and gushing, then finishing with a splatter, this Halloween in New Haven lasts four days and nights, as chronicled below. Just follow the links for all the gory details.
Thursday, October 28
7 p.m. | A Spooktacular Night. Descend into The Cellar on Treadwell for rock bands and a costume contest.
9 p.m. | Hell of a Night. Ascend into Rize Nightclub for DJs and dancing and drinking.
Friday, October 29
6 & 8:30 p.m. | Taste of Fear II: Spooky Shakespeare Returns. “From witches to avenging harpies, to the delightfully gruesome, enjoy all the spookiest scenes of Shakespeare woven together by the nationally and locally beloved actors” of the Elm Shakespeare Company during this “haunted walkthrough performance in Edgerton Park.” Performances repeat on Saturday and Sunday.
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7 p.m. | Mikeya’s Halloween Party. For this DJed cash bar affair at Whitneyville Cultural Commons, “costumes are MANDATORY,” as is fully realized adulthood, with an age requirement of 25+.
9 p.m. | Emo Night Spooktacular. Nostalgia for aughts-era emo and pop punk powers this party at The Beeracks, where, in light of Halloween, the black eyeliner-and-skinny jeans look will have some competition.
9 p.m. | My Fantasy Friday, American Horror Story edition. You don’t have to merely fantasize about dancing, drinking and dress-up fueled by two DJs pumping very loud music across three discrete spaces at Elm City Tap House.
9:30 p.m. | Halloween Blacklight Glow Party. Otherworldly lights color DJs and guests spinning in two spaces with a costume contest top-off at Toad’s Place.
10 p.m. | Partners Halloween Bash. Treat yourself to an “EPIC night of Halloween shenanigans”— including performances by some of the city’s top drag performers—at Partners Cafe.
Saturday, October 30
10 a.m. | Trick-Or-Treat Theatre Tour. Held at the Shubert, this is just what it sounds like, with the tour leading to “trick-or-treat stations” geared toward kids 12 and under.
10:30 a.m. | Toddler Tunes, Halloween edition. Local musician and seasoned children’s entertainer Robert Messore brings his Toddler Tunes show to Best Video, where parents and kids ages 6 and under will find delight, not fright.
1 p.m. | Playground party. The Friends of Kensington Playground, formed to advocate sparing the small green space from proposed development, host a party in the park featuring “food, music, sweets, and cider, as well as pumpkin-decorating for kids.”
2 p.m. | Tokens and Transylvania. Barcade aims to embody that blood-draining land of vampiric lore while infusing its tap list with Halloween spirit. The arcade games, of course, have already got it.
3 p.m. | Halloween Bar Crawl, part two. A repeat—maybe an escalation—of part one last Saturday at four proximate downtown bars promises discounts, themed drinks, DJs and a photographer/videographer to preen and pose for.
7 p.m. | Latin Dance Party. Starting with an intro lesson followed by “4+ hours of open dancing to salsa, bachata, merengue, and more,” dance studio Baila Con Gusto’s third annual Halloween party also offers a photo booth, costume contest and “Squid Game Happy Hour.”
7 p.m. | Halloween Axetravaganza. You can just vibe and drink beer at Pine and Iron Axe Throwing’s party tonight, but booking an axe-throwing session is recommended, especially if you can snag one of the bar’s this-week-only “Zombie Apocalypse Targets.”
10 p.m. | Halloween Pajama Jam. “Throwback R&B jams with today’s pop and hip-hop hits” score this pajamas-plus costume party, which also features a drag performance, at 168 York Street Cafe.
10 p.m. | The Annual Halloween Party. Vandome’s main room entrances costumed revelers with its Fountain Bar, Stone Bar, Fire Bar and, of course, dance floor.
Sunday, October 31 – Halloween
11 a.m. | The Giant Puppet and People Making Mayhem Parade. Stepping off outside Manjares, people will indeed be making mayhem, albeit a benign kind, with costumes and/or noisemakers and/or oversized handmade puppets, on a parade route that “winds around Westville and ends in Edgewood Park at the farmers’ market.”
11:30 a.m. | Halloween Howl Parade. March with your costumed furry friend(s) or simply stand back and enjoy the proceedings in Wooster Square Park.
1 p.m. | Wag-O-Ween. There’s no pooch parade at El Segundo, but there is a canine costume contest—and, in the end, they’ll all be winners, thanks to an “open bar for doggies” stocked with Dog Brew.
4 p.m. | The Haunted Road. This family-oriented drive-thru trunk-or-treat event, with the trunks decorated for the occasion and the treats seemingly doled out at the end, snakes a route through Edgewood Park.
8 p.m. | Halloween, a.k.a. A Night of Goth, Industrial and Other Music to Play in the Dark. The State House is the portal for this journey into shadowy aural depths. Happy haunted listening.
Written by Dan Mims. Image by Romolo Tavani/Shutterstock. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
