24 Spooky (and Steal-Worthy!) Ways Brands and Venues Are Celebrating Halloween This Year

Georgetown Cupcake is selling gourmet Halloween-themed assortments. Sold by the dozen, offerings include the Trick or Treat assortment with the Salted Caramel Jack-o-Lantern cupcake, Midnight Cookies & Creme cupcake, Pumpkin Spice Haunted House cupcake, and more. The treats are available for overnight nationwide shipping, or in-store pickup at Georgetown Cupcake locations in the Washington, D.C., area and Atlanta.

At New York Comic Con, which took place at the Javits Center Oct. 12-15, USA and Syfy worked with GDX Studios for a creepy Chucky street team. Actors dressed in Chucky-inspired outfits roamed the venue, recruiting fans with eerie chants, signage, props, and giveaways.

On-site tote bags said “Watch Chucky,” a simple but effective campaign to promote season three of the series, which debuted Oct. 4.

The James New York—NoMad hotel is leaning into its history (the property opened in 1901), evoking witches and unsolved 20th century mysteries throughout the month of October. The hotel took on a haunted mansion theme with its "Stay Spooked" package. Guests who booked the package were given a true crime mystery-solving box for a blood-chilling team-building challenge, plus a suite converted into a horror movie scene with a floor-to-ceiling projector and a selection of true crime documentaries. For witchy wisdom, teams could also book sessions with the hotel’s "resident witch" (yes, you read that right), which included a private on-demand Spell School that guided groups through the process of crafting and casting spells.

Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween kicked off on Oct. 1—and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the annual programming stunt, Freeform hosted a fan event at LA’s Houdini Estate on Oct. 4. More than 150 influencers and VIP guests attended Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween Black Cat Bash for a costume party under the stars, sponsored by The Hershey Company.

Designed and produced by Gold Sky Productions, the event featured an orange carpet to capture all the creative costumes upon arrival; there were also themed cocktails, a Roku-branded neon forest, and a prize wheel where guests could win various swag.

Photo vignettes were inspired by programming available during Freeform's 31 Days of Halloween.

Disney Branded Television’s series Goosebumps was also part of the event with a photo activation featuring Slappy himself, plus a custom Biddle’s Brew mocktail.

To celebrate Halloween, YoCo Vodka has developed the “Monster” cocktail. Here’s how to make the spooky beverage:

1 ½ oz. YoCo Vodka
¾ oz. lemon juice
1 oz. black raspberry liqueur
½ oz. simple syrup
½ tsp. activated charcoal
1 pea-sized dry ice chip

Add all ingredients except dry ice to a cocktail shaker. Fill it completely with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a glass, then add the dry ice on top to watch the "monster" brew come to life.

The Saint Germain bakery at Atlanta's Buckhead Village is offering themed Halloween treats, available in store through Nov. 8. Specials include The Spider (pear caramel, pear mousse, caramelized pears, and vanilla sponge), The Pumpkin (vanilla mousse, white chocolate, pumpkin, and cranberry sunflower jam), The Eyeball (chocolate, ginger, sesame, and caramel), and The Mummy (hazelnut, espresso, and caramel).

In San Diego, guests at Hotel del Coronado, Curio Collection by Hilton have long reported sightings of the ghost of Kate Morgan, a young woman who died at the hotel in 1892. The property is leaning into its history this Halloween, taking guests and groups through Morgan’s final moments to uncover the mystery of her onsite death. The experience is followed by a group "Ghost Roast" s'mores bonfire—where guests just might receive a visit from Morgan herself.

New York City bar Paradise Lost is celebrating Halloween this weekend with David Lynch-inspired burlesque performances, ritual sacrifice-themed activations, free flash tattoos, and more.

The self-described “hellscape” bar serves rum-based, tiki-inspired drinks including the "Chaos Magick," a nod to the classic tiki drink Black Magic, with rum fire, green chartreuse, coffee liqueur, cold brew concentrate, ras el hanout syrup, and alpine bitters; the "Cobra's Fang" with a blend of rums, Fassionola syrup, lime, orange, and absinthe; and the "Archfiend" with jalapeño-infused tequila, makrut leaf-infused mezcal, galangal agave syrup, lime cordial, hibiscus syrup, and hellfire bitters.

Many drinks include fun, subtle details like a pitchfork drink stirrer.

On Friday, Oct. 13, Disney+ and Hulu celebrated the premiere of Goosebumps with a spine-chilling soiree at Chelsea Factory in New York. Attendees included the creative team, press, influencers, and New York City Comic Con tastemakers. Guests were transported into the Biddle House and had the opportunity to pose alongside Slappy, watch live performances, and more.

Creative direction and production were overseen by the team at Little Cinema. Goosebumps is now available on Disney+ and Hulu, with subsequent new episodes dropping weekly on Fridays.

Horror experience Angel of Light took over the Los Angeles Theater during the month of October. The immersive, 60-minute walkthrough transports guests to 1935 Old Hollywood, where they uncover the gripping story of Rota Krisha—and the Angel of Light curse—through an extravagant production that features a blend of performances, elaborate sets, and more.

The eerie, interactive journey brings guests through the entirety of the historic Los Angeles Theater, where they encounter costumed actors and technology like Dolby Atmos sound, projection mapping, shifting lights, music, and strobe effects.

This month, Chicago's The Drake Oak Brook debuted its Halloween Candy & Cocktail pairing group experience, as well as an evening Hocus Pocus-inspired high tea served out of a witch’s cauldron in the hotel's eerie gardens, complete with themed pastries.

Celebrities like Tiffany Haddish (pictured), Haley Lu Richardson, and Kaitlyn Dever had some creepy company as they walked the black carpet for Knott’s Scary Farm’s 50th anniversary event Sept. 23: Costumed characters lurked behind the guests as they posed. Attendees later enjoyed Southern California’s longest-running Halloween theme park, which this year has new mazes, scare zones, and shows.

Lush Cosmetics unveiled its 2023 Halloween collection with a fun PR and influencer event at Lush Cosmetics Century City in LA on Sept. 14. Decor was inspired by the brand’s Lord of Misrule and Snow Fairy scents, and guests could create their own Halloween-inspired bath bombs, receive personalized skincare or haircare consultations, check out a Lush vending machine full of treats, and more.

There were also light bites and refreshments inspired by the two scents.

Dulce Vida Tequila has created a number of Halloween-inspired cocktails, including the "Graveyard Smash." It's made up of:

1 oz. Dulce Vida Reposado Tequila
1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 oz. Chareau aloe liqueur
1 oz. green chartreuse
¼ oz. pineapple juice
Add all the ingredients to a shaker tin set, fill with ice, and shake hard for eight seconds. Double strain using a Hawthorne and fine strainer into a coupe glass.

And coming up this weekend is Hulu’s haunted Halloween experience in Los Angeles. The cleverly named "Huluween: Now Screaming" is taking over the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood; the immersive activation features costumed actors and sets depicting Hulu titles like American Horror Story, Annabelle, The Boogeyman, and more. Tickets are available on Fever.