Halloween Party Inspiration: Creative Ways Brands, Venues and Event Pros Are Celebrating This Year

T-Mobile partnered with Reese’s to introduce “Apartment 5G” this Halloween, transforming a New York City brownstone—along with select T-Mobile stores in Miami, Santa Monica and Southlake, Texas—into clever trick-or-treating destinations. The idea was to showcase how 5G can reportedly deliver speeds more than 10x faster than LTE—so naturally, Apartment 5G is billed as delivering 10x the Reese’s at 10x the speed.

The activations, which ask guests to push an oversize Reese’s-shaped doorbell to get their treats, will be open in New York and at the retail stores on Oct. 31. An added delicious bonus? Attendees can get access to the limited edition Reese’s Take 5G bar.

For the second year in a row, Little Cinema partnered with Amazon Prime Video and production company Blumhouse to create an immersive experience, Welcome to the Blumhouse Live, to celebrate four new Blumhouse films: Bingo Hell, Black as Night, Madres and The Manor. Billed as a sequel to the 2020 event, which was nominated for an Emmy, the experience brought fans and influencers into a virtual labyrinth of interactive rooms, escape missions, musical performances, 360-degree audiovisual hypnosis and more, all located inside a four-story virtual house. The actors throughout the house took their cues from attendees, who used a live chat to guide them in real time to help solve a variety of puzzles.

Following the mystery-solving portion of the experience was a virtual dance party with DJ PZB, who played Halloween and rock classics while attendees chatted and debriefed with the characters they had met inside the house. Over 4,000 people attended Welcome to the Blumhouse Live this year, with shared content reaching an estimated 10 million followers.

Open from Oct. 7-13 at West Los Angeles College, the Disney+ Hallowstream Drive-In featured nightly screenings of Halloween-centered films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and more in a safe and entertaining experience. The week kicked off with the world premiere of Muppets Haunted Mansion, and was followed by six days of special screenings—including an event celebrating Huluween, Hulu’s annual Halloween programming hub. Tickets were free with reservation on a first-come, first-serve basis for the events, which featured a variety of drive-by vignettes inspired by the programming; the brand worked with Alkemy X for the Huluween activations.

In addition to the drive-in screening, Hulu is hosting a free activation at the Santa Monica Pier from Oct. 30-31, where passersby will be able to step inside the mysterious world of Uluh (get it?)—the malevolent evil spirit “haunting” the Hulu platform this year—via an interactive photo booth produced by AKJOHNSTON.

Want some Halloween cocktail inspiration? Check out this sweet treat being served at ICEBAR at the LINQ Promenade and Minus5º Ice Experience locations at Mandalay Bay and The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. Served in the venues’ famous glasses made entirely of ice is the Candy Corn Cocktail, a blend of Smirnoff Whipped Cream Vodka, sweet and sour mix, pineapple juice and a hint of Grenadine, topped off with whipped cream and candy corn.

After transforming into a drive-thru experience in 2020, Freeform returned to a walk-through format for its fourth annual Halloween Road event this year. The outdoor event, which took over the grounds of the Heritage Square Museum in Los Angeles and was open to the public from Oct. 1-5, immersed guests into the worlds of The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Addams Family, Ghostbusters and more, with live entertainment like a Hocus Pocus-themed drag show.

There were also live actors portraying characters from the films, as well as games, photo moments and prizes. Other highlights included twice as many trick-or-treat stations than previous years, plus a re-creation of Finkelstein’s Lab from The Nightmare Before Christmas and a beer and wine garden for guests over 21. MKG handled production, with performers coming from Artists Creating Entertainment.

Running throughout the month of October is Haunted HoustonOpoly, a 10,000-square-foot, life-size board game that offers a spooky, Houston-inspired twist on the classic Monopoly board game. There are two versions: one for kids that involves collecting candy and painting pumpkins, and an after-dark one for adults where guests encounter spooky characters and settings like a graveyard or a haunted circus.

The experience offers a Halloween-appropriate take on the previous edition of HoustonOpoly, a family-friendly pop-up that took over Rice Village in June. How it works: Attendees are invited to walk through the “board” (aka, various areas of the indoor pop-up), where they’ll find everything from music performances to recreations of iconic landmarks, along with custom-made displays from local artist Franky Cardona.

Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills is offering a number of fun Halloween experiences this year, including a DJ-led Halloween party on Oct. 29, a masquerade celebration on Oct. 31 and Halloween sleepover package that comes complete with a spooky cocktail kit. The hotel is also hosting a “haunted boozy tea party” on Halloween itself, which will feature drag performances, an outdoor dance floor and custom cocktails including a Dia de Los Muertos-inspired drink (pictured).

Experiential Supply Co.’s Haunt’Oween experience returns this year. Presented as a drive-thru event last year, the 2021 event, which runs from Oct. 1-31 in Woodland Hills, Calif., has attendees exploring the kid-friendly, non-scary experience on foot. “2021 is about getting back to the fun festivities that families deserve to enjoy, while still being safe,” says Experiential Supply founder and chief experience officer Jasen Smith. “Don’t think of it as just a walkthrough. Families can set their own pace and thoroughly explore our thematic interactive environments.”

Highlights this year include a pumpkin patch with more than 30,000 pumpkins on display and for purchase, as well as six interactive environments including an area for trick-or-treating and large hay sculptures and props for photo ops.

New this year is the maze-like Scarecrow Gardens, where traditional Halloween colors are enhanced with a neon and UV overlay.

New Los Angeles restaurant The Breakfast Club kicked off its Halloween menu on Oct. 23 with an event called Spookeyfest. The family-friendly gathering featured pancake decorating, face painting, a costume contest, a photo-friendly donut tunnel and more. For adults, there’s also a speciality cocktail menu with highlights like the Witches Brew Espresso Martini (espresso and coffee liqueur), Pebble’s Haunted Milk Punch (Fruity Pebbles infused with rum) and the Spooky Black Salt Margarita (tequila with a black salt rim).

This year, for the first time, Amazon Prime Video is highlighting all its horror content titles in one place, playfully named Now Screaming. To celebrate the launch, the brand is hosting the House of Horrors pop-up shop in West Hollywood throughout the entire month of October. Visitors to the space can shop costume displays via QR codes and have them delivered directly to their doorstops; there are also a variety of shareable moments including a selfie mirror and a photo booth.

The pop-up also features a Halloween candy kiosk, custom cocktails and special activations to celebrate the debut of the new series I Know What You Did Last Summer.

On Oct. 31, Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa will host Veuve Clicquot’s “Yelloween” event at Lucky Bar. The space is being transformed with decor inspired by both the holiday and the iconic Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label, and attendees can visit the “Clicquotvant” sample station for glasses or bottles. Visitors, who are encouraged to wear costumes, can win raffle prizes including Amex gift cards. There will also be a live fortune teller and tarot card readers, plus a variety of drink packages with cheeky names like “Here’s Johnny” and “We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes.”

Also at Red Rock Resort and Spa, the Bake Shop is selling three-dimensional chocolate skulls, handcrafted to resemble those traditionally found in Mexico. The skulls are 9 inches long and 3 inches tall, and can be purchased until the end of October for $60.

Chicago bar Replay Lincoln Park is hosting a “Slasher Museum” pop-up until Oct. 31. The venue’s gaming area has been transformed into what organizers call a “manor of the macabre,” filled with replicas of iconic slashers including Michael Myers, Freddy and Leatherface, as well as themed weekly trivia, costume contests, horror movie-themed arcade and pinball games, and more. The free, open-to-the-public activation was curated by Pop-Up Productions.