Staying home to watch horror movies is a perfectly suitable way to spend Halloween, but there are also many, many opportunities to go all out this year. Below, we've rounded up 65 major events you should get tickets for ahead of time to avoid the risk of them selling out. Whether you want to wear your costume to a party (like the Fremonster Spectacular), dance to live music (like at a show with Tacocat, Mirrorgloss, and Sleepover Club), see a performance (like This Is Halloween), or eat a fancy meal (like at the Alice B. Toklas Tour and Dinner), we've got you covered. All of the events below are between October 18â31 and cost $15 or more, and there are also more than 300 other options on our complete Halloween calendar.
OCTOBER 18âNOVEMBER 3
PERFORMANCEThe Cabiri's Ghost Game XII: Into the Dark
The Cabiri semi-circus troupe will perform their 12th annual show on the Ghost Game theme. Hear creepy stories and myths musically accompanied by Susan Du Mett of vox vespertinus, Eric Maia of celadon, and Seattle Kokon Taiko.
Arcadia, Ballard, $25-$45
OCTOBER 19
FOOD & DRINKScience of Spirits
Discover the science behind your favorite boozy refreshments, and taste samples from local distillers like 3 Howls Distillery, Blackfish Spirits Distillery, Bomond Vodka, Captive Spirits Distilling, and others.
Pacific Science Center, Seattle Center, $45
OCTOBER 19â20
HAUNTGeorgetown Haunted History Tour
Discover the creepy secrets that lurk behind the street corners of Georgetown at this ghostly tour.
The Stables, Georgetown, $20/$25
OCTOBER 20
PARTYThe Apocalypse Vampires vs Wolves Halloween Party
Models in freakish ensembles will traipse down the runway, artists will show their work in a juried show, vendors will sell all sorts of wares, and guests can enter a vampires vs. werewolves costume contest.
Eden, Pioneer Square, $30
Fashionably Undead VIII
Wear your most freakish and fabulous costume to this spooky-ooky party to win appropriately ghoulish prizes. There will also be drinks, live DJs, art installations, and access to Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film.
MoPOP, Seattle Center, $30/$33
Halloween Pub Crawl 2018
Don your Halloween costume and hop around to various Seattle bars for 14 hours at this eighth annual crawl.
Various locations, $15-$25
Fear Factory
The organizers say: "Be ready for a haunt and a thrill. Bring your best costume and rave with us to shirk the late night chill!" In other words, look your spookiest and dance between three stages of live DJ sets.
DiTec Studios, Sodo, $20
OCTOBER 20-NOVEMBER 4
PERFORMANCEGhost Party
Dacha will stage another one of their site-specific, interactive productions, this one seasonally appropriate for Halloween: the story of a dead lost soul stuck in an eternal party.
Russian Community Center, Capitol Hill, $15/$25
OCTOBER 21
FILMMoPOP Matinee: Young Frankenstein
Mel Brooks's sublimely absurd comedy about a reluctant mad scientist (the staggeringly funny Gene Wilder) and his monstrous yet sensitive creation (Peter Boyle) will be shown after a reading from The New Annotated Frankenstein by Leslie S. Klinger and the unveiling of a bust of Mary Shelley.
MoPOP, Seattle Center, $34/$36
OCTOBER 24â31
PERFORMANCELa Fin â Halloween Kink Cabaret and After Party
Expect a melding of dance, contortion, and aerial arts as the performers of burlesque revue Valtesse bring out their demons for a night of sexy spooks.
The Ruins, Queen Anne, $75/$100
OCTOBER 25
FOOD & DRINKZoo BOOze & Bites
Support the Zoo Society by enjoying wine, whiskey, beer, and food tastings from local restaurants. There will also be Halloween-y games, raffles, and more. Costumes are highly encouraged.
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Tacoma, $35/$75Â
Seattle Radio Theatre: "The War of the Worlds" 80th Anniversary Live Broadcast
You know the story: When it first aired on the radio in 1938, The War of the Worlds scared the living shit out of people who thought the hour-long broadcast of H.G. Wellsâs book brought to dramatic aural life was real, mostly because of how it was presented (odd news bulletins that interrupted the program, a supposedly live report with Martians at the scene, more alarming news bulletins involving an alien invasion). Obviously, this could never happen today, but itâs still fun to look back and remember those literally dark (preâTV/social-media/electronics in general) days. For this special 80th anniversary celebration, Town Hall, Seattle Radio Theatre, and KIRO Radio have banded together to stage a live broadcast of the classic. It will feature live music and sounds effects, plus the voice powers of Dave Ross and other KIRO Radio hosts along with some Seattle Radio Theatre mainstays. LEILANI POLK
SIFF Cinema Egyptian, Capitol Hill, $15
OCTOBER 25â27
PERFORMANCECarnevolar IX: VHS - Circus Spectacular and Dance Party
Emerald City Trapeze performers will fly above your head in feats of circus wonder, all while taking you on a gruesome journey through "horror movies of the ages." Come in your costume to look cool on the dance floor after the show.
Emerald City Trapeze Arts, Sodo, $35/$55
OCTOBER 26
FESTIVALSFreakNight 2018
Annual high-key wild-out throwdown FreakNight, basically a Halloweentown Coachella, features a whole night of live music, dancing, a market, and a darkly neon environment of scary circus attractions, bizarre sideshow marvels, and carnival rides.
WaMu Theater, Sodo, $112
Alice B. Toklas Tour and Dinner
The Hotel Sorrento lays claim to the peculiar honor of having been deemed one of the 13 most haunted hotels in the world by USA Today. Why? Itâs said that the specter of late eccentric socialite Alice B. Toklas lurks there; sheâs known mostly as the muse and lover of Gertrude Stein (not to mention the progenitor of an apparently killer pot brownie recipe). Toklas lived briefly in Seattle as a teen, and her apparition has been glimpsed roaming the halls of the Sorrentoâs fourth floor dressed in flowing white. At this spooky event, the hotel will pay homage to its favorite âpermanent residentâ with a tour of some of the sites of reported paranormal activity, followed by a prix-fixe dinner inspired by Toklasâs eponymous cookbook. (No word on whether her famous brownies will be served.) JULIANNE BELL
Hotel Sorrento, First Hill, $120
Prohibition Sucks: A Vampire Speakeasy
Blood-sucking vampires meet the Roaring Twenties at this fancy Prohibition-era speakeasy shindig, which requires a "Great Gatsby black tie" dress code and features live music, passed hors d'oeuvres by chef Shawn Martin, and classic era-appropriate craft cocktails "with a vampire twist" from Seattle Bartending. Proceeds benefit the NW Honey Bee Habitat Restoration.
The Factory Luxe, Sodo, $75
Bootie Seattle: A Monster Mash-Up Spectacular
Seattle's only all-mashup dance party throws down for an all-out celebration of the dark and twisted by breaking out Halloween-themed performances and "spooktacular" mashups (as a pre-party for the big day itself), with a midnight costume contest and cash prizes.
Re-bar, Downtown, $15-$20
Brazilian Halloween Boat Party
Shake it on two separate dance floors to Brazilian funk and Latin mixes while the yacht drifts over the smooth waves of Lake Union and Washington. There'll be a full bar to lend you courage for the costume dance-off.
The Islander Cruise Ship, Downtown, $20
Halloween Hiphop Boat Party
Dance to hiphop, R&B, and old-school jams on a boat this All Hallows' Eve, tunes courtesy of DJ Fly Rich and DJ Tae Xtravagent. Costumes are highly encouraged.
The Islander Cruise Ship, Downtown, $30/$50
Noise Complaint: Are You Afraid of the Dark, Too?
Ghouls, goblins, and all other Halloween freaks looking for a place to dance away their favorite holiday can do so at this Halloween get-down, which promises "multiple rooms of music," plus a costume contest and spooky visuals and art installations.
Monkey Loft, Downtown, $30/$35
Stayin' Alive at The Roller Disco
Many live DJs will be scattered about the roller rink supplying groovy cuts for you to dance to in your costume.
Southgate Roller Rink, White Center, $20
13th Annual Baila Con Los Diablos Halloween Salsa Party
Channel your passion for Halloween into salsa dancing at this dance competition and party. If you don't feel like entering the competition, you can also just show up in your costume to sip special drinks, see others perform, and enter raffles.
Salsa N' Seattle Dance Studio, Atlantic, $20
Things That Go HUMP In The Night
The Titillation Sinsations offer you sweetness and frights in a babely, booby show for Halloween.
Rendezvous, Belltown, $20-$35
OCTOBER 26â27
PARTYSeduction 2018
Does Halloween give you sexy shivers? Submerge yourself in a haunted shipwreck at the Seattle Erotic Art Festival's party and enjoy dancing, go-go hotties, great performers like Ms. Briq House, the Shanghai Pearl, Whisper de Corvo, and others, plus treats, swag, and salacious art that'll make you sweat. Doll yourself up in your most opulently sinister threads and compete in the costume contest. Your ticket price will help fund the festival next year.
Gallery Erato, Downtown, $40-$175
OCTOBER 26â28
PARTYZom-Bees Knees Bash
Undead spirits from the 1920sâincluding zombie flappersâwill haunt this speakeasy Halloween party while Sister Kate Dance Company gives ghoulish dance performances. Wear your best era-appropriate costume, and keep your eyes peeled for a special sĂ©ance.
Smith Tower, Pioneer Square, $50
OCTOBER 27
FOOD & DRINKWitches' Tea
At this Halloween version of the hotel's High Tea service, gather your coven to master potions and spells while sipping tea and tasting assorted sweets like fresh-baked scones, cookies, tea sandwiches, and truffles. Witch and warlock regalia is very much encouraged.
Hotel Sorrento, First Hill, $39
Yelloween
This classy haunted bash will overfloweth with Veuve Clicquot cocktails, LED cotton candy, and live beats from DJ Pryme Tyme.
W Hotel, Downtown, $20
Diwaloween
Kill two birds with one very festive stone by celebrating Halloween and India's festival of lights in the same night. Hear music from Canadian dhol player 2faanmusic, dance to Bollywood music from DJ Aanshul and DJ TAMM, enter a costume contest, wear free glow necklaces, and eat free candy.
Crocodile, Belltown, $15/$25
Halloween Latin Boat Party
Shake it on two separate dance floors to reggaeton, hiphop, dance music, and Latin mixes from DJs Luna and Geo while the yacht drifts over the smooth waves of Lake Union and Washington. There'll be a full bar to lend you courage for the costume dance-off.
The Islander Cruise Ship, Downtown, $25-$100
Hip Hop Halloween Boat Party
Cruise around local waters dancing to your hiphop favorites, in your costume.
The Spirit of 76, South Lake Union, $60-$150
Opulent Temple: Gothica
Opulent Temple will host this eerie gothic bacchanalia with an intimate area of music, costumes, and dancing provided by DJs HOJ, Billy Casazza, Grammar, Ian Powers, and Chris Tower, all amidst the trappings of an underworld costume party.
Eden, Sodo, $30-$34
BeautyBoiz go BOO, pt. 4
Make your Halloween as queer as possible with Forward Flux and Beautyboiz, featuring Kimber Shade's runway show, dance by Purple Lemonade and others, Rajah Makonnen's large-scale digital projection art, and a DJ duel between DJ Ricki Leigh and DJ Reeces Pieces. There'll be plenty of cherished queens to lead the festivities in gory, heroic, fantasy, alien, and fetish drag: Sativa, Hera Diamandis, Old Witch, Better Wetter, and many others.
Fred Wildlife, Refuge Capitol Hill, $20/$25
Black Cat Ball
Raise money for the kitties at Purrfect Pals by wearing a feline masquerade disguise and dancing the evening away after enjoying a three-course dinner and live auction.
Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, $150
Fremonster Spectacular
Halloween party people will be glad to know that Fremont's Halloweekend bash will return with even more DJs, live performances, tricks, treats, goblins, and inventive booze creations than ever before. Expect Valtesse go-go dancers, fog machines in every corner, bondage and suspension performances from Seattle Shibari, live sets from DJs Jeromy Nail and Kipprawk, a costume contest, and more.
Fremont Foundry, Fremont, $55/$99
Halloween Party + Costume Contest!
Indisputable reality TV legend Tiffany "New York" Pollard will grace Seattle as the host of a costume contest with local drag talents Nebraska Thunderfuck and La Saveona Hunt (so look your absolute best). After the contest, get down to spooky town with DJ Nitty Gritty.
Queer/Bar, Capitol Hill, $15-$350
HAUNT: The Ultimate Halloween Bash
Dance the night away with 2,000 other people at what claims to be "Seattle's largest, hottest and most anticipated" Halloween party. There will also be a costume contest with a $1000 prize for the best overall winner, so put some effort into it.
MoPOP, Seattle Center, $39-$149
Hybrid Halloween Costume Party
KISS FM hosts Carla Marie and Anthony will host this Halloween bash, complete with costume contests and live DJs.
Baltic Room, Capitol Hill, $50/$100
Reboot Theatre Company Presents Halloween IV: FOURboding...
The Reboot Theatre Company will put on a fun, dancy, boozy time for you and raise money for their own programs. Eat Plaza Garibaldi's Mexican food, try your luck in a raffle, and partake of the open bar.
Sodo Pop, Sodo, $50/$60
Seattle Opera Halloween Party
After The Turn of the Screw, head backstage in your costume for food, drinks, dancing, and more with Seattle Opera.
McCaw Hall, Seattle Center, $35
The Shop of Horrors Halloween Party
Look your most monster-y for a costume contest and dance party. Look out for fire dancers swiveling their flame sticks.
Derby, Sodo, $30-$50
Voodoo on the Bayou Halloween Costume Party
This New Orleans-inspired Halloween party will have live jazz, live painting from Chris Kelleher, tarot readings by Angela Maria-Fava, a drag performance by Sylvia O'Stayformore and her "voodoo vixens," and more mystical fun.
Sanctuary at Admiral, West Seattle, $75-$1,000
Tits or TreatsâA Halloween Hextravaganza
Enjoy a night of "dancing, singing, stripping, howling, boos, boobs, and booze" in Columbia City at this Halloween cabaret.
Columbia City Theater, Columbia City, $25-$160
Magnuson Halloween Run
Take part in a 5, 10, or 15K course in your costume, then stick around for a post-race selfie wall and "haunted beer and warmer garden."
Magnuson Park, North Seattle, $22-$32
Monster Dash 5K
Walk or run a 5K dressed as a monster, then release your excess ghoulish energy in a post-race dance party.
UW Campus, University District, $10-$20
Thrill the World Redmond
Zombify yourself and join the rest of the horde to perform the "Thriller" dance to raise money for Team Survivor Northwest. There will also be a photo booth, costume contest, and live music.
Redmond Town Center, $20-$40
THROUGH OCTOBER 27
PERFORMANCEThe Turn of the Screw
In 1954, English composer Benjamin Britten (1913â1976) premiered his opera based on Henry James's ghost story The Turn of the Screw. Its music is darkly gorgeous, jolting, manic at times, and often outright scary. In key sequences involving the children in the story, the atonal sounds float like a ghost in a room of mirrors. Anyone familiar with the Portishead track âCowboysâ will already have a good sense of how this echo-stark opera sounds. Because the opera is as much about ghosts as sexual abuse of women and children, it provides new and important meanings for our #MeToo moment. CHARLES MUDEDE
McCaw Hall, Seattle Center, $25-$314
OCTOBER 28
FESTIVALSSpooktacular Moisture Festival Auction
Raise money for 2019's Moisture Festival of variety and circus arts at this costumed party featuring a silent and live auction, catered meal, and showcase of Moisture Festival performers.
Hale's Palladium, Fremont, $85
Ho-lloween Burlesque
Local burlesque favorites Violet Tendencies, Mx. Pucks A'Plenty, Smokey Brown the Clown, and others will keep you entertained during this sexy-spooky Halloween show.
Gay City, Capitol Hill, $15-$30
Run Scared
Wear a costume that's both spooky and breathable to the annual Run Scared 5/10K around Seward Park. Proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Seward Park, Rainier Valley, $50/$55
OCTOBER 31
FILMCollide-O-Scope Halloween
Spend the holiday experiencing a delightfully freaky, swirly montage of music and mayhem made of found-footage phantasmagoria from the archives of the cheeky Collide-O-Scope duo, Shane Wahlund and Michael Anderson. Come in costumeâthey may bestow one of their much-coveted prizes upon you! And keep your breath bated for their special surprise guest! After the show, head to an afterparty at Bill's Off-Broadway to process the trippy mayhem in your brain.
SIFF Cinema Egyptian, Capitol Hill, $18
La Luz, Shy Boys
Reliably excellent surf rock group La Luz will return to their original hometown for a rowdy Halloween show with opening support from psych-pop band Shy Boys.
Crocodile, Belltown, $20
A Rambling Halloween with the Sadies
The Sadies love American country almost as much as they love American punk, although their shows sometimes out-punk their records, and their guitars sometimes out-punk their voices. ANDREW HAMLIN
Sunset Tavern, Ballard, $20
Rusko! Halloween Night
Dubstep DJ Rusko will spin bass-heavy beats for costumed partiers.
Aston Manor, Downtown, $20-$30
Tacocat, Mirrorgloss, Sleepover Club
Itâs been pretty dark lately, huh? Weeks (months, yearsâŠ) of deeply impactful, negative news plastered everywhere you look can really drag a person down. I think we all deserve to feel lighter, more mobile, more buoyed by the season. Tacocat can raise you to that level. Iâve been attending their shows for a decade now, and I can attest to the health benefits of witnessing their neon-candy punk-pop explode through an ecstatic crowd. Join them and local power cuties Mirrorgloss and Sleepover Club for a wild night out, and donât forget your costumeâthese bands will surely be decked out in some Technicolor fantasy looks.  KIM SELLING
Chop Suey, Capitol Hill, $15/$18
The True Loves, Mother of Pearl, Emerald City Soul Train
Eight-piece instrumental soul group The True Loves, often seen backing singer Grace Love, focus on tight grooves and modern soul motions influenced by the generations of the genre before them. KIM SELLING
Neumos, Capitol Hill, $15
All Hallow's Eve Party
This opulent/gory space will offer Halloween cocktails, a live swing band, aerial performances, and a live DJ.
The Ruins, Queen Anne, $25
A Haunted All Hallows Eve - Ghost Tour and Halloween Party
Hotel Sorrento is infamously riddled with ghosts. Hear stories from its past by taking a haunted tour, then keep the mood going with a dance party, a costume contest, and cocktails.
Hotel Sorrento, First Hill, $20
Scary Ferry
Take a haunted boat ride on Lake Union, and wear a costume to win cool prizes.
The Hiyu Ferry, Eastlake, $50
THROUGH OCTOBER 31
PERFORMANCEBeware the Terror of Gaylord Manor
The world-famous Seattle-based drag queen BenDeLaCreme has written and performed three acclaimed solo shows, but Beware the Terror of Gaylord Manor is the artist's first foray into writing, directing, and starring in an original play of her own. It's a spooky, campy twist on the horror flick genre, featuring ghosts, dancers, music, and special effects. It first premiered last year for a sold-out run at ACT, and returns this year surely with a few of its kinks worked out. The chemistry between BenDeLaCreme and Scott Shoemaker alone is worth the price of admission. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
ACT Theatre, Downtown, $40-$76
The Dark Circus
Sinister acrobatics and lavish costumes by Dark Circus will get you in that extravagant Halloween mood.
Snoqualmie Casino, Snoqualmie, $15-$40
Night Parade
The oldest Asian American theater group in the Pacific Northwest is teaming up with one of the area's youngest Asian American-led theater groups to bring you an immersive theatrical experience that sounds perfect for people who want to indulge in the seasonâs devilry. The drama, which will unfold at a secret TBA location in Seattle, follows a demon-obsessed artist named Shunkuno Arashi, whose life story is partially based on Yayoi Kusama (Instagram it), as well as a Japanese folktale about demons parading down the street and stealing people. So, uh, keep your head on a swivel. RICH SMITH
Venue provided with RSVP, $30
This Is Halloween
It's Tim Burton's classic The Nightmare Before Christmas repackaged as a semi-scandalous spectacle for the masses. The audience eats chicken skewers and knocks back $10 cocktails while they watch Tim Keller as Jack "the Pumpkin King" Skellington sing and dance, cabaret-style, along with Dave Crellin/Armitage Shanks, Quinn Vaira, and others, while a ghoulish orchestra pumps out the show's signature tunes. Despite the glitzy and consumerist exterior, the crew manages to smuggle a complicated cabaret about the horror of fixed identities into the unpretentious space of the Triple Door. RICH SMITH
Triple Door, Downtown, $29-$49
The Witching Hour
Occultists gather in an esoteric library and conjure the monsters of Harm, Loneliness, Failure, Filth, and Chaos in this Halloween dinner show created by Terry Podgorski and Erin Brindley. They promise scares, beautiful design, and a touch of kitsch.
Nordoâs Culinarium, Pioneer Square, $79
Zombie Cheerleaders from Hell
The Heavenly Spies are back with their annual Halloween show featuring scary hot dancersâplus "terrifying masks and pretty pasties, black cats and twerking booties, sweet transvestites and dancing cuties."
Can Can, Downtown, $35-$95
