Dance With the Devil
Halloween Masquerade Ball
Capitale, 130 Bowery, nr. Grand St.; 212-255-4223
Diddy, Nicky Hilton, Naomi Campbell, Usher, Heidi Klum, Karolina Kurkova, and Zac Posen have all graced this celeb-heavy bash in the past, so ladies, think twice before putting on those Olsen-twin outfits. You may just be upstaged by the real thing. The vodka open bar runs from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Costumes are mandatory.
• Date: Oct. 31, 9 p.m.–4 a.m.
• Price: $35 in advance; prices likely to be higher at the door.
Webster Hell Halloween Party
Webster Hall, 125 E. 11th St., nr. Fourth Ave.; 212-353-1600
At the Village Halloween Parade’s official after-party, an elaborate ceremony with a faux virgin sacrifice prepares the way for the arrival of the Demon Queen and her scantily clad dancers. The open bar from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. is followed by a costume contest with the wearer of the top getup winning a $5,000 cash prize. Z100’s D.J. Spinbad offers house, rock, eighties, pop, and disco, while assorted Penthouse Pets provide roving eye candy.
• Date: Oct. 31, 8 p.m.
• Price: $28 general advance tickets, $38 at the door, $80 open bar all night, $425 VIP table service.
Monday Evening Burlesque
Galapagos Art Space, 70 N. 6th St., nr. Wythe Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-782-5188
A holiday version of the weekly burlesque show promises performances from regulars like Tangerine Jones, Delirium Tremens, and Little Brooklyn. D.J. Tikka Masala spins ghoulish dance tunes all night.
• Date: Oct. 30, 9:30 p.m.
• Price: $5; free drink if you come in costume.
Mythos
G Lounge, 225 W. 19th St., nr. Seventh Ave.; 212-929-1085
The theme? Mount Olympus. The hostess? Drag queen Gillette Montblanc. The grand prize? $300. Last year’s winner? The Gates!
• Date: Oct. 31, 9 p.m.
• Price: No cover
Halloween Ball
Rumsey Playfield at Central Park, 72nd St. and Fifth Ave.; 212-310-6691
The dinner benefit for the Central Park Conservancy has a costume contest judged by a panel that includes Ross Bleckner and boasts a Cartier Tank watch among its prizes. A crossword and a couple dressed as a watering can and a black-eyed Susan have been past winners.
• Date: Oct. 25, 7 p.m.
• Price: $1,000 and up
Halloween Costume Party
Dewey’s Flatiron Bar and Lounge, 210 Fifth Ave., nr. 23rd St.; 212-696-2337
If the season makes you nostalgic for a toga-wearing chug-a-thon, here’s a solution. The $100 cash prize for the best outfit encourages revelers to go lowbrow; one year, a Breathalyzer took home the money.
• Date: Oct. 28, 9 p.m.
• Price: $7 with costume; $10 without
Real-Life Scares
Nightmare
Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, 107 Suffolk St., nr. Rivington St.; 212-260-4080
This guided tour forgoes tableaux of witches and goblins for scenarios meant to embody your worst fears—literally. The creators—theater director Tim Haskell and set designer Mikiko MacAdams—polled thousands of locals, then designed the center’s thirteen rooms to reflect a different terror, from Coulrophobia (fear of clowns) to Entomophobia (fear of insects).
• Date: Sept. 29–Nov. 2, Wed.–Sun., 6 p.m.–midnight; Sat.–Sun., 1 p.m.–4:30 p.m.
• Price: $15–$25; $50 for no-wait tickets
Blood Manor
542 W. 27th St., nr. Tenth Ave.; 877-340-3002
Chelsea’s haunted mansion houses 5,000 square feet of creepiness in dark rooms with names like Skull Alley, Psycho Bathroom, and 3D Circus of Death. Jim Faro and Mike Rodriguez, the masterminds behind this labyrinth, claim that their diabolical creation “makes Freddy Krueger look like Leave It to Beaver.”
• Date: Daily, Oct. 6–31, 7:30 p.m.–1 a.m. (Estimated walk-through time is 20 to 25 minutes.)
• Price: $23 in advance (regular); $25 at door (cash only); $33 “RIP” tickets bypass the line altogether.
Hell House
Arts at St. Ann’s, 38 Water St., at Dock St., Dumbo, Brooklyn; 718-254-8779
Experimental theater troupe Les Freres Corbusier recreates, for the first time in New York City, a “hell house”—one of those church-sponsored installations depicting the horrors in store for sinners. The company’s multiroom, interactive event is staged to the exact specifications of an outreach kit distributed by the Colorado-based Reverend Keenan Roberts. Think painful deaths for promiscuous teens and eternal damnation for kids who read Harry Potter.
• Date: Oct. 10–29, Tues.–Sun., 7:30 p.m.–9:45 p.m. (Tours begin every fifteen minutes. No performance on Wed., Oct. 11.)
• Price: $25
Screams on Screens
A Month of Horror, Terror, and General Mayhem
Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 E. 3rd St., nr. Ave. A; 212-591-0434
A monthlong Halloween fright fest that showcases classic and independent horror movies. This year’s titles veer from Christiane Cegavske’s stop-motion animated feature (Blood Tea and Red String) to a porn spoof on a macabre masterpiece (The XXXorcist) to the 1925 silent film The Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney.
• Date: Oct. 1–Oct. 31. Showtimes vary.
• Price: $6.50–$10
New York City Horror Film Festival
Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick St., at Laight St.; 212-334-2100
The fifth annual celebration of fright flicks screens the premiere of Tobe Hooper’s The Damned Thing starring Sean Patrick Flanery and the 1978 classic Dawn of the Dead, followed by a discussion with the movie’s star, Ken Foree. Also featured will be Lucio Fulci’s gross-out Italian cult flick, Zombie.
• Date: Oct. 18–22. Showtimes vary.
• Price: $10–$15 individual screenings; $200 all-access pass
Concerts
CMJ Music Marathon
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center; other venues
The annual rock-insider convention and music marathon kicks off on Halloween this year. Alongside the requisite workshops and panel discussions (an activism panel opening night features Moby and Janeane Garofalo) is a stellar lineup of bands: Over 1,000 are scheduled to play. This year’s star attractions are the Shins, Ben Lee, the Decemberists, Hot Chip, Rooney, Keren Ann, Dr. Dog, and the French Kicks.
• Date: Oct. 31, 9 a.m.–8 p.m.; Nov. 1, 8 a.m.–6 p.m.; Nov. 2, 7:30 a.m.–6 p.m.; Nov. 3, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; Nov. 4, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
• Price: $495; $295 for students; $750 for VIP