What to Do for Halloween 2024 in NYC
Free spooky highlights from the October 2024 Blankman List
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October may be spooky season, but there are plenty of things to do in New York City all month long that have nothing to do with Halloween. Many of the events below come from the October 2024 Blankman List, which has many such events, like New York Comic Con and a gymnastics exhibition with Simone Biles.
That said, New York City is also a wonderful place to relish the season. It has all of the stereotypes you could want, like late-night costume parties, horror films, and shocking sideshows. But NYC is also a place where death can be honored, even celebrated. Death is found among the art, acted out in the theater, sung about in concert halls, and talked about in many contexts with openness and compassion.
A few recent events in my life have given me no choice but to think about death, and it’s only fitting that my therapy has included researching related events. For this month’s free highlights, I present to you a wide range of Halloween-themed things to do in New York City.
Halloween Parades and Celebrations
Sunday, October 6: Pup-Up Adoption & Dog Event
Halloween-themed pop-up (“pup-up”) adoption and dog event with local rescues, vendors, and doggy stations; 12–3 pm
Free
Culture Lab LIC
5-25 46th Ave (Long Island City, Queens)
Friday, October 25 & Saturday, October 26: City of Gods
Annual two-night Halloween festival, including dance parties, music, and art installations; 9 pm–5 am
As of this writing, only tickets remaining are $130–$258+
Industry City
Enter at 51 34th St (Industry City, Brooklyn)
Saturday, October 26: Halloween Harvest Festival 2024
Halloween-themed festival with music, food vendors, and a dog costume contest; 12–4 pm
Free
Socrates Sculpture Park
32-01 Vernon Blvd (Long Island City, Queens)
Thursday, October 31: New York City’s 51st Annual Village Halloween Parade
Annual participatory Halloween parade with the theme of “MEOW” and Grand Marshal André De Shields; 7 pm
Free
Along 6th Avenue
North on 6th Ave from King St to W 15th St (Greenwich Village, Manhattan)
Vampires and Witches
Saturday, October 5 & Sunday, October 6: Vampire Weekend: ‘Only God Was Above Us’ Tour
Tour stop of indie rock band Vampire Weekend; 7:30 pm (Sat) & 12:30 pm (Sun)
$38–$249+
Madison Square Garden
4 Pennsylvania Plaza (Midtown South, Manhattan)
Monday, October 7: Anna Rasche Celebrates the Release of The Stone Witch of Florence
Book talk about a novel on witchcraft and magic in 14th-century Italy; 6:30 pm
Free
Barnes & Noble Atlantic Avenue
194 Atlantic Ave (Cobble Hill, Brooklyn)
Monday, October 21: Bethany Joy Lenz + Dana Brown: Dinner for Vampires
Conversation between actress Bethany Joy Lenz and producer Dana Brown on Lenz’s new memoir Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also in an Actual Cult!); 7–8 pm
$36 (includes book)
Strand Book Store, Rare Book Room
828 Broadway, 3rd floor (Union Square, Manhattan)
Tuesday, October 29: The Wise Women: A Halloween Musical
Cabaret performance of a musical based on women who were jailed and acquitted of witchcraft in 1600 Salem, Massachusetts; 9:30 pm (9 pm doors)
$29–$70, plus $25 food and beverage minimum
54 Below
254 W 54th St, cellar (Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan)
The Horror Genre
Thursday, October 10: Out of the Dark
35-mm screening of the 1989 Michael Schroeder-directed slasher film Out of the Dark; 9:30 pm
$22
Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg
136 Metropolitan Ave (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
Friday, October 18: The Shining
Screening of the 1980 Stanley Kubrick-directed psychological horror film The Shining; 9:40 pm
$17
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Staten Island
2636 Hylan Blvd (New Dorp Beach, Staten Island)
Sunday, October 20: Sideshow Shenanigans Presents Black Mass
Irreverent carnival sideshow that’s a “celebration of blasphemy and sin” performed by multidisciplinary performance artists; 7 pm
$20
Coney Island USA
1208 Surf Avenue (Coney Island, Brooklyn)
Thursday, October 31: Barbie’s Dreamhouse of Horror
Dance party with the theme “Halloween, but BARBIE”; 10 pm–4 am
$25–$50
House of Yes
2 Wyckoff Ave (Bushwick, Brooklyn)
Spooky Music
Wednesday, October 16: Satan’s Satyrs
Heavy metal band with a “psychedelic, downtuned, horror infused atmosphere”; 7 pm
$21
TV Eye
1647 Weirfield St (Ridgewood, Queens)
Friday, October 25: Phantom of the Opera (1925 Silent Film) with Orchestra
Screening of the classic 1925 silent film The Phantom of the Opera, with a live soundtrack performed by the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra; 8 & 11 pm
$30 general / $20 student
St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church
157 Montague St (Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn)
Sunday, October 27: A German Baroque Requiem
Performance of a Lutheran Baroque-era requiem by the Belgian early music vocal ensemble Vox Luminis; 4 pm
$5–$60
Corpus Christi Church
529 W 121st St (Manhattanville, Manhattan)
Thursday, October 31: Too Many Zooz: Zombie Prom
“Brass house” trio Too Many Zooz takes you on a musical journey to a zombie prom; 8:30 pm (7:30 pm doors)
$25 advance / $30 day of
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker St (NoHo, Manhattan)
A Hollywood Halloween
Sunday, October 13: Disney Villains Drag Brunch
Disney villain-themed drag show performed during brunch; 12 pm
$23, plus one entree
Stella 34 Trattoria & Bar (inside Macy’s)
151 W 34th St (Midtown South, Manhattan)
Thursday, October 17–Thursday, October 24: Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
Genre film festival aimed at pushing the boundaries of what is normally deemed horror cinema; times depend on day
As of this writing, only passes available are $165+ (includes merchandise and 6+ film tickets)
Primarily at Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg
136 Metropolitan Ave (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
Previews begin Wednesday, October 23: Death Becomes Her
Broadway musical based on the 1992 surrealist dark comedy film about a magic potion that promises eternal youth; 8 pm
$80–$296
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
205 W 46th St (Times Square, Manhattan)
Friday, October 25: Ghostbusters vs. Beetlejuice Halloween Dreamland Roller Disco
Ghostbusters- and Beetlejuice-themed roller skating experience with a live DJ and costumes encouraged; 7–10 pm (6:30 pm doors)
$28 (includes skate rental)
LeFrak Center at Lakeside Prospect Park Brooklyn
171 East Dr (Prospect Park, Brooklyn)
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Confronting Death
Wednesday, October 2: HER2 - A Journey Through the Lens of Love and Survival
Public talk with the married photography duo Anna and Jordan Rathkopf, on a book chronicling their navigating cancer as a family; 7–8:30 pm
Donations accepted
Bohemian National Hall
321 E 73rd St (Upper East Side, Manhattan)
Saturday, October 5: Crime and Catastrophe Trolley Tour
Guided trolley tour featuring true crime and disaster stories of people interred at Green-Wood Cemetery; 10 am–12 pm
$32
Green-Wood Cemetery
500 25th St (Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn)
Tuesday, October 8: Tapestries by Shoshana Comet: From Survival to Strength
Guided tour of 1960s-era tapestries by psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor Shoshana Comet (1923–2011); 1 pm
Free
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th St (Union Square, Manhattan)
Thursday, October 24: Until We’re Seen: Public College Students Expose the Hidden Inequalities of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Public lecture by Dr. Gaston Alonso on a book chronicling the effects of COVID-19 on working class communities of color; 11:30 am–2:15 pm
Free (open to the larger CUNY community)
Brooklyn College Library, Woody Tanger Auditorium
2900 Bedford Ave (Flatbush, Brooklyn)
If you go to the MEOW themed parade I demand pictures of all things cat related in the next Blankman List!