The week before Halloween has bucketfuls of treats for both kids and adults.
Monday, October 20
Four visiting lecturers at Yale make it difficult to choose. At 3, physicist Andrew Lankford discusses “Mapping Pathways through Mysteries and Dark.” At 4, linguist Samuel “Jay” Keyser presents “Play it again, Sam: Repetition in the Arts.” Also at 4, historian Philip J. Deloria examines “The Year the Stars Fell: Toward a Continental History of a Very Few Hours.” Finally, at 4:30, classicist Daniel Mendelsohn, asks “What’s the Greek Word for ‘Picnic’? Adventures in Translating the Odyssey.”
From 5 to 7, the Stetson branch of the New Haven Free Public Library hosts cast members from Yale Rep’s Spunk, staging through this Saturday (and which we reviewed on Friday), for a “conversation about the play… and the works of [its playwright] Zora Neale Hurston. Light refreshments served.”
Tuesday, October 21
From 5:30 to 7, another branch, Wilson Library, holds a family-oriented Halloween bingo night. (The deadline to RSVP was Sunday, but maybe you can still squeak in if you do so right away.)
Wednesday, October 22
The 2025 Movies in the Plaza series in Pitkin Plaza nears its end with a timely screening of The Descent (2005), a subterranean movie that would have plumbed our most primal fears even without throwing a stalking terror into the depths.
Thursday, October 23
A more cerebral, more modern sort of terror animates suspense thriller Fail Safe (1964), screening at 7 tonight in Yale’s Humanities Quadrangle. “Henry Fonda is an American president in crisis when a computer glitch sends nuclear bombers to attack Moscow. Released the same year as Dr. Strangelove, this other black-and-white Cold War classic is a taut, tense, psychologically rich political drama that warns against our over-reliance on fallible and destructive technology.”
Friday, October 24
If it excites you to learn that “for a brief period in the 1930s, Japan produced films on paper instead of celluloid,” then you might want to head to the Yale University Art Gallery at 5 p.m. for a live-scored screening of some of those films.
At 9 at Cafe Nine, the Heaven dance party series inverts, at least thematically, for Hell III: Hell’s Revenge, a “dark disco dance party” featuring DJs Amethyst Kiss and Velvet Fiend.
Saturday, October 25
From 10 to 3, a Halloween Spooktacular at the Peabody Museum invites families with “little ones up to age 10” to “come in costume (nothing too scary, please) and learn about spectacular creatures, collect fun items, and explore the wonderful weirdness of the Peabody’s collections up close.”
Also starting at 10 a.m., but farther afield, is a Halloween Hug A Horse event at US Horse Welfare and Rescue in Avon, where “children can dress up in their favorite costumes, trick-or-treat from horse to horse, and share special goodies with our gentle rescue horses, who enjoy the treats just as much as the kids.”
After an opening reception at DaSilva Gallery last night, Westville Weekend begins in earnest at 11 a.m. Today and tomorrow, experience formal art exhibitions, open artist studios, artisan vendors and communal activities from block printing to an open jam session to the annual Giant Puppet & People Making Mayhem Parade.
Meanwhile, Witch Bitch Thrift hosts a Divination Festival from 11 to 7. “Whether you’re seeking clarity, comfort, or you want to feed your cosmic curiosity, our lineup of incredible practitioners will be offering their unique gifts all day long, including tarot readings, oracle readings, birth charts, and more!”
From noon until whenever the night ends, the fourth annual Crawl-O-Ween bar crawl promises earthly mayhem as “5,000+ people barhop through New Haven’s vibrant downtown in costume with discounted drinks, live music, and much more.”
From 5 to 10, East Rock Brewing hosts Boos & Brews, a lower-key party featuring seasonal beers, a costume contest, DJ Vlour and a scavenger hunt.
From 6 to 8 just over the Hamden border, the Eli Whitney Museum finishes its October in the Barn series with a “bluegrass bonanza” in a bonafide barn.
Sunday, October 26
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Shubert hosts an RSVP-encouraged Free Family Fun Day featuring “a self-guided walking backstage tour of the theatre with trick or treat stations along the way. Children under 12 are welcome to wear Halloween costumes,” though “we ask that participants do not bring prop weapons.”
Polyphony, an acclaimed world-touring vocal ensemble, comes to Yale’s Woolsey Hall for a 4 p.m. program of “selections by Byrd, Tallis, Poulenc. Duruflé, Mendelssohn, Bruckner, Rheinberger, Pärt, Lauridsen, Whitacre, Stanford and more.”
At 6, Chefs for C.H.E.F., a benefit for the Connecticut Hospitality Education Foundation, gathers five Connecticut chefs—Tyler Anderson, Prasad Chirnomula, Michelle Greenfield, Avi Szapiro and Chelsea Tripp—“to create a five-course dinner with wine pairings. Guests will be welcomed with a handcrafted cocktail and passed hors d’oeuvres before the dinner, where each chef will present a signature dish that reflects their unique style.”
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Image features the Brontosaurus skeleton at the Yale Peabody Museum. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
