At the 18th annual Dream Halloween AIDS Benefit in 2011, guests entered the main space of the transformed Barker Hangar only after walking through a series of five haunted tombs amidst a foggy forest.
Photo: Bruce Walker
Edward Gorey's morbid illustrations were the inspiration behind the design for the 2006 Central Park Conservancy Halloween ball. Inside the dining room, Grayson Bakula (a company that has since changed its name to Bakula Design) decorated the walls of the tent with projections of barren branches and hung menacing hooded figures from the ceiling.
Photo: Liza Young
The look of the Lexus event during the 2011 New York International Auto Show might have been more futuristic than spooky, but the eerie glow of blue lighting and the fog coming out of the drinks works just as well for Halloween parties. Caterer Creative Edge served up a liquid nitrogen cocktail of vanilla Absolut with tangerine and a vanilla kumquat marmalade alongside passion fruit meringues dipped in a bowl of nitrogen for the carmaker's preview event.
Photo: Anna Sekula/BizBash
Last year's Malibu Rum launch for its Black spirit filled New York's Good Units with Halloween-inspired decor. Even the bars matched the look, with black lights and skull-and-crossbones imagery at one and plasma balls on foil-covered shelves at another.
Photo: Nilaya Sabnis
At this year's Dining by Design in New York, the table styled by Alexa Stevenson had rather a macabre centerpiece that included moss, succulents, and a skull inside a glass cloche.
Photo: Ronnie Andren for BizBash
In 2008, a section of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park was transformed into a haunted Halloween scene for the 11th annual Bremen Brothers Beach Bash. Among the tented areas for the event was a black-lit library-like space that recalled a haunted house.
Photo: BizBash
Interior designer Leah Pickler interpreted Showtime's Dexter series when the network partnered with Metropolitan Home in 2008 for an experiential show house. Pickler's dining room included plates, chairs, and walls splattered with blood and a centerpiece comprised of vials of red liquid.
Photo: Alice & Chris for BizBash
At the Florida Aquarium's 10th annual masquerade ball, Nauti-Night, in 2007, the entire space was transformed into a spooky environment for drinking, dining, and dancing. The webs that covered the exhibit walls created ghostly passages for guests to explore.
Photo: Chanele
Recalling the movie's dark themes and visuals, the premiere party for Dark Knight in 2008 had red-painted graffiti on the walls, tables, and windows of the Mandarin Oriental ballroom in New York.
Photo: Joe Fornabaio
For its Yelloween party in 2010, Veuve Clicquot filled bathtubs with skeletons and yellow rose petals at Tao Las Vegas.
Photo: Hope Smith/the Studio Gallery
The Addams Family-inspired Citi Performing Arts Center Gala in 2011 was ridden with graveyard imagery.
Photo: Travis Farrenkopf & Michael Young
Neuman's Halloween-themed table for the ISES competition at the 2010 BizBash New York Expo used skeleton hands napkin rings, mini coffins and cauldrons, and a barren hilltop centerpiece to set the eerie mood.
Photo: BizBash
NYC Photobooth’s “Haunted Photocrypts” photo booth station includes an interactive talking skull to instruct visitors and a number of spooky backgrounds to choose from.
Photo: Courtesy of NYC Photobooth
In 2006, when XBox 360 launched its Gears of War game at Hollywood's Forever Cemetery, the spooky and unconventional mausoleum made for a suitably morbid venue.
Photo: Courtesy of Xbox
Billed as a “skeletal spectacle,” Redmoon Theater’s 2012 Halloween party in Chicago featured dozens of the bony Halloween icons, and planners created unique ways to combine food and entertainment. At a s’mores station, two performers in lingerie and face makeup warmed chocolates over candles in a bathtub; blowtorches were used to melt the marshmallows.
Photo: Al Zayed Photography
Hatch Creative Studio's tabletop decor incorporated pieces from Target's own line of Halloween-theme products and home decor items. At the head of each table sat a ghoulish guest: a plastic skeleton.
Photo: Joel W. Henderson
Led by its new creative director, Desi Santiago, the ExtraExtra team handled the macabre-yet-cheeky stage design, employing faux cobwebs, skeletons, headstones, and jack-o-'lanterns.
Photo: Joel W. Henderson
Keep a Child Alive's "Dream Halloween"
More than 1,500 people came out to celebrate the 20th annual Dream Halloween event in Los Angeles, which benefits Keep a Child Alive. During the program, the nonprofit organization honored H.I.V./AIDS activist Cristina Jade Peña with its inaugural Joe Cristina Humanitarian Award. Child performers from Le Petit Cirque entertained the crowd.
Photo: Michael Bezjian/WireImage
Keep a Child Alive's "Dream Halloween"
The event took place at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, where theme areas included Mad Hatter’s Picnic and Trick-or-Treat Lane with toys from Mattel.
Photo: 2me Studios
Keep a Child Alive's "Dream Halloween"
The 3-D Bat Cave setup included the Michael Keaton Batmobile as an eye-catching prop.
Photo: 2me Studios
Keep a Child Alive's "Dream Halloween"
Spooky, Halloween-appropriate decor filled the space, and M.A.C. makeup artists were on hand to paint kids' faces.
Photo: 2me Studios
Branded pumpkins decorated the main hall of New York's Webster Hall for Dos Equis's Most Interesting Show.
Photo: Courtesy of Dos Equis
Bacardi hosted a costume party for Maroon 5 at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles. The carnival-meets-Halloween theme included macabre decor with skulls, as well as a menu of popcorn, hot dogs, and themed Bacardi cocktails.
At Veuve Clicquot's Yelloween party at Tao Las Vegas, a blood-spattered skull and various metal implements created a Saw-like vibe.
Photo: Courtesy of Veuve Clicquot
Frank Alexander NYC gave the Central Park Conservancy's annual Halloween ball, held at Rumsey Playfield, an eerie, park-inspired look with an entry draped in branches and lit in green.
Photo: Ted Axelrod
The Eyegore Awards, held back on September 24 at Universal Studios Hollywood, had a graveyard theme, complete with headstones, prayer candles, and funereal flowers.
Photo: Line 8 Photography
With moody lighting and a starry backdrop, the stage recalled a graveyard at night.
Photo: Line 8 Photography
Eerie orange lighting bathed the space.
Photo: Flint Chaney
Event Creative covered the Cultural Center's Randolph Street entrance with a giant spiderweb.
Photo: BizBash
Event Creative began setup on the Monday before the event, filling window ledges with test tubes bearing plastic eyeballs, spiders, and a severed foot.
Photo: BizBash
The 'Fun Size' Premiere in Los Angeles
Chad Hudson Events produced the October 24 premiere event and after-party for the new film Fun Size. Held at Marathon Park inside the Paramount Studios lot, the event was inspired by a typical, all-American Halloween festival. Illuminated jack-o'-lanterns, creepy trees and scarecrows from CHE and Jackson Shrub and Props, and lighting effects and spiderweb gobos from CHE and Ultimate Lighting created the festive atmosphere.
Photo: Sean Twomey/2me Studios
The Emerald Lounge's Dance Party Massacre Zombie Fashion Show
On October 24, Boston's Emerald Lounge at the Revere Hotel hosted a Zombie-themed fashion show with looks from Dance Party Massacre's fall line. Scenes from Night of the Living Dead played inside the lounge, and spooky swag included skull-shaped shot glasses from Crystal Head vodka.
Photo: Joshua Luke
Dana Hotel and Spa's Halloween Party
Chicago's Dana Hotel and Spa hosted its zombie-themed Halloween bash on October 26. At 7:30 p.m., around 50 costumed dancers sporting everything including fake blood and checkered socks—one even held a sign that said "Eat You Maybe?"—took over the intersection of State and Erie Streets for a spooky pop-up performance. Jason Laws (who was also the assistant choreographer for the famous Oprah and Black Eyed Peas flash dance in 2009) choreographed the dance to a mash-up of "Thriller" and "Ganhgam Style."
Photo: Sultan Ghahtani
Guests dined onstage at the Wang Theatre.
Photo: Travis Farrenkopf & Michael Young
Dinner took place onstage.
Photo: Travis Farrenkopf & Michael Young
Performers dressed as aliens interacted with video projections of a spaceship.
Photo: Lenox Fontaine
Dressed in costumes, the bartenders served the night's menu of signature cocktails, which, naturally, used the brand's Malibu Black. Concoctions included a version of a Dark 'n' Stormy cocktail using the 70-proof rum and ginger beer.
Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Mini screens atop bars advertised Halloween-themed signature cocktails.
Photo: André Maier Photography
Designed to emulate a starry night sky, large disco balls set atop urns reflected hundreds of spots of light onto the tent ceiling. The look was reinforced by projections of lightning bolts.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Up close, the disco balls also created a hazy 3-D lighting effect.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Inside the dinner area, Salaris and Kinsella hung large bats from the ceiling.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
