As the fresh air and long October nights seep into our collective consciousness, many of us turn to merry entertainment, filling our idle hours with pumpkin carvings, creepy costumes, house decorations and Halloween pranks. For the bravest of us, this is the perfect time to connect with the supernatural.
But with so many activities happening around the season, how can someone have true blood-curdling experiences? What about the rest of the others who want to have fun, engaging and interactive experiences with families and colleagues? And, as an event organizer, what type of out-of-the-box can you host for young adults and grown-ups, regardless of the settings, mediums or locations?
To help you cook up the perfect Halloween event idea you have been thinking about, we have gathered around the most creative, highly engaging, yet creepy in its right and character Halloween event ideas you’d be thrilled to host this year. Without any further talk, let’s jump right into the ideas.
1. Spooky scavenger hunts
Got a neighbourhood full of hungry appetite kids with spooky fun? A treasure hunt delivers fun while unleashing youth as hunters race from clue to clue to find the next treasure. Place the clue in the hidden, half-buried plastic skeleton hand for a unique and matching spooky effect, and use sound effects like blood-cold screams and wolf howls to add to the haunting atmosphere.
2. Monster Mash
Monster Mash is a Halloween-themed dance party that includes team activities, dance and observation all rolled into one. To start the activity, cheerleaders play “The Monster Mash”. Then, the team members, from afar, began to dance. The goal of the activity is that each participant can perform the same movements at the same time. Any group member can perform a new move at any point during the workout, and the rest of the group must follow. The leader can remove the last player to find and move the movement, or the group can continue dancing until the song ends. Either way, the exercise helps hybrid teams pay more attention and master virtual body language. Not to mention that dancing to this silly song can be a great way to relieve stress and lift your spirits!
3. Halloween Craft
Nowadays, tons of fun DIY kits are designed for artists of all ages and skill levels. So grab a paint or needle at your virtual Halloween party, point it out, and arrange a crafting session for your attendees!
You can all decide to pick up a craft set to complete together at your party. Or encourage each person to show off a skill of their choice. This activity is excellent for fostering discussions about hobbies, interests, and life outside of work. For example, you might learn that one of your team members is secretly a knitter, watercolourist, or carpenter!
4. Halloween Gift Swap
Many business groups plan to redeem their holiday gifts at the end of the year – but why not switch and give Halloween a try? After all, many employees can be busy with family plans, gift shopping during the holidays, and working hard to end the school year. The pressure to find the perfect gift for a coworker can be less stressful in October.
For this idea, assign everyone a secret gift recipient and set a price cap. Anyone can create a wish list and share favourite colours, fall flavours, and more. Let people unwrap their presents at your virtual Halloween party, and guess the giver! For even more fun, encourage your group to buy Halloween-inspired gifts.
5. Murder mystery dinner
The Murder Mystery Dinner is excellent because it allows everyone to play their part in the story. Participants can choose to play cameos or detectives, and they can even decide who they want their characters to be. Maybe it was a mysterious woman with a secret past, or perhaps it was just someone invited by mistake.
If you are playing a detective, the most exciting thing is to find out who the killer is! With a good script, you can give your attendees a memorable moment.
6. Halloween Movie Marathon
It’s always fun to watch horror movies, especially when you have friends to share the experience with. In addition, there are eye-catching laughs when watching horror movies at the end.
Invite your friends over, make some popcorn, and put on your Halloween pyjamas for a horror movie marathon. Line up all your favourite horror movies for some spooky fun. Sure, you can watch from the comfort of your living room, but renting an outdoor movie screen will liven up the mysterious atmosphere of this Halloween. Want to turn this into a Halloween party idea for adults? Turn it into a game. Decide on certain sounds, images, words or phrases and hit the horn or get drinks as they appear on the screen.
7. Horror Convention
The horror crowd is known for its tight sense of community, in which filmmakers and stars often feel appreciated, especially for fans of the historically underrated genre. A horror conference can allow guests to meet the creators of their favourite nightmares and allow studios and filmmakers to promote their films to audiences’ enthusiasm. Also, be sure to invite the stars of last year – you’ll be surprised how many people get the chance to relive their bloody days!
8. Witchcraft Webinar
Witchcraft has long been associated with Halloween, with witches wearing pointed hats and broomsticks being a longstanding holiday image. A deep dive into witchcraft, its history, and its future can help your audience understand who a witch is and what a witch stands for. Do witches really use bubbling cauldrons? Can witches do magic? Do all witches have a black cat? Consider inviting a local expert such as a practising witch or an esoteric teacher to speak.
9. Spooky Cocktail Party
Halloween is an excellent time of year to party, especially cocktail parties. All you need is a good theme, creative cocktail mix, and guests here for a full-blown experience.
Call your favourite mixologists to create a spooky cocktail party filled with goofy concoctions like pumpkin vodka, vanilla ice cream, and Vampire’s Kiss (syrup, hibiscus, mezcal and lemonade). Include lessons so your attendees can learn the strings, then provide snacks to keep spirits up. This holiday theme contrasts with cheerful marigolds and whimsical sugar skulls, which are hand-painted and used to decorate tombs and altars. Instead, try splurging on Mexican-inspired parties and serve Pan de Muerto (a sugar-coated pastry), bone-shaped pastries and a tamale-like dish called Mukbil Pollo, made with chicken and pork, tomatoes, garlic, peppers and onions on a background of Latin-inspired music.
10. Glow in the Dark Party
The darkness is full of uncertainty; who knows what’s out there? So, to recall the days when you couldn’t sleep without a night light on, throw a party in the dark for your annual Halloween event. Make sure to create an eerie atmosphere with a black frame by covering the windows with a black tarp for complete darkness. If that sounds too scary, don’t worry. The glow sticks and other glow accessories will act as night lights, and the black lights will illuminate the guests’ white or neon outfits.
11. True Crime Podcasts
Connecting and celebrating Halloween with a broad audience can be tricky with so many people locating and working in a remote environment.
And, if you’re short on time, the options can be pretty limited – that’s where the real crime podcasts come in – forget the made-up ghost stories! Instead, true crime podcasts often analyze thrilling events of real-life horrors. You can have a streaming session or just introduce your favorite podcasts to your team and discuss them in a group call. Better yet, you can ask your team to create their own true-crime podcast based on a scary story or event that they find intriguing.
12. Halloween Trivia
Organizing themed events can be challenging for remote attendees, but it’s not impossible! A good idea for a virtual halloween event is to test each other’s Halloween-related knowledge with a quiz.
All you have to do is divide everyone into teams and write down a few quiz questions. Then, ask everyone to join the call and designate someone as a host who will ask questions. The team with the correct answers in the end wins! You can even offer a prize to the winning team to encourage them to play.
13. Pumpkin Carving Contest
Gathering around and carving a pumpkin with friends on Halloween will never go out of style. You can turn the carving quest into a contest! You can encourage attendees to be creative here. Remember that no one said Halloween pumpkins always need two eyes, a mouth, and a lantern inside. Your team members are responsible for deciding what they want to do with their pumpkins! In the end, you’ll get a pretty cool exposure in the office!
14. Guess the Ghoul
Guess the Ghoul is one of the funniest Halloween games in a hybrid setting. To play this game, remote team members can wear masks, display a virtual background image, and change their display names. The rest of the team members present on the spot must identify the member behind each act, either by direct guessing or by asking only yes or no questions. The host can eliminate the number of guesses or questions or make the game a race to identify all masked teammates before time runs out. Or players can list their best guesses and get one point for each correct answer.
15. Volunteer Opportunities
Instead of bringing Halloween to the community, the community can bring Halloween to others in the community by participating in a volunteering opportunity. It’s an excellent opportunity for community members or event attendees to connect while doing something good for each other. For example, office workers can wear Halloween costumes, visit a centre for the elderly, or volunteer at a pumpkin garden or corn maze. Another option is to participate in same-day meal delivery.
16. Spooky Music Bingo
It’s the bingo everyone loves but with a Halloween twist. Instead of letters and numbers, let the music guide your attendees. Each person gets two bingo cards and by choosing Halloween music to keep the event perfectly themed. So let everyone enjoy the holiday, build their team and discover new tunes along the way.
17. Rogue Superhero Party
You might even have a “rogue superhero” theme for this year’s costume parties! From classic superheroes like Batman and Superman spoofs to newer characters like Shang-Chi, this theme offers plenty of ideas to play with, including pop art decor. And be sure to ask your guests to come in as their favourite caped warrior. Superhero parties allow your guests to connect with their inner selves, but with even more creativity and personality, as they come up with their version of the strange stories involving their favourite superhero.
Before the Halloween party, announce categories such as funniest costumes, scariest costumes, and most creative costumes. The participants (in person or virtual) can then vote for their choice in each category. Guests can use polls or private chat to vote if you’re hosting online.
18. Karaoke in Halloween costumes
What’s better than singing karaoke wearing spooky costumes? You can let your attendees dress up like the artist they’re going to sing to stay on topic, like dress up as a hippie and sing a ’60s song, or be completely random, such as wearing a mummy costume and performing a pop song. Whatever you do, there are bound to be a lot of laughter and unforgettable moments.
19. Walking Virtual Ghosts
Everyone loves a spine-chilling ghost story, so treat your virtual audience to otherworldly horror stories by taking them on a tour of local haunted sites. Maybe it’s a dilapidated house, an abandoned industrial warehouse or a dilapidated office complex. Invite eyewitnesses to share their stories and interview experts who can offer a plausible explanation.
20. Virtual Halloween Bingo
You can play it using square cards with Halloween-themed images (pumpkin or witch). This interactive game is played using square cards with Halloween-themed images (pumpkin, witch, etc.). In addition, events such as virtual bingo or games offer online gambling options to their attendees.
21. Masquerade Ball
Cloaked in mystery and clad in decadence, a masquerade is nothing short of magical. A more elegant version of the masquerade party, the masquerade also works well as a suitable Halloween theme for a fundraiser. Put people on their toes by mandating a costume (or at least a mask)—award for the best dress of the night. Ask guests to wear more formal attire with ornate facades. If you have a bigger event budget, hire a string quartet for the evening. Either stream classical music via Pandora or create playlists on your iPod that include songs like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or anything by Mozart and Beethoven.
22. Ghost Hunting
Combining creepy feelings with scary stories can lead to scary moments. You can initiate a paranormal investigation to detect certain psychic activities by recording electronic voice phenomena, EMF readings, and temperature changes. Similar to our regular city scavenger hunts, in a ghost hunt, you will travel to different landmarks, answer questions and complete challenges… but these spooky walks have a sinister twist. Maybe your guests will even see a mysterious figure in your photos when completing the ghost camera challenge!
23. Circus Evening
A halloween circus is more than just a bunch of clowns doing stunts. Include a stilt-walker, fire-eater, acrobat, fortune-teller or magician, such as the Dark Circus Halloween party featuring traveling performers and a host of the most popular DJs in the community. Also, consider fun house mirrors, a fireplace or steam organ, and famous festival foods like Pluto puppies and ice cream.
24. Sinister Silent Disco
In a quiet discotheque, guests wear headphones to hear the beats of the DJ, a perfect solution when you don’t want your event to be too loud and chaotic. The headset also allows for different channels, allowing you to bring different moods to your partygoers. For example, a silent disco adds fun to your classic masquerade party, and the headset can be easily fitted over or under masks and other masquerade gear.
25. Spring-themed farm tour
Halloween isn’t just a story of ghosts and goblins. Halloween happens in spring in Australia, so visiting a local farm could be the perfect way to celebrate the year’s new growth. Small or family orchards may offer fruit picking, while some farms have adult vineyards or breweries.
26. Eerie Escape Room
Escape rooms are a natural choice for Halloween – they can already be intense experiences. Introduce settings like a dungeon, Dracula’s castle, or an ancient crypt to heighten the creepy. Create a plot around your neighbourhood to allow guests to participate as characters in the story, creating an even more engaging event.
27. Costumed Pet Show
Pet lovers always appreciate the opportunity to show off their precious furry friends, so consider hosting a pet parade. Kids especially love watching their pets parade around with their entourage in the neighbourhood, and it’s even more fun when the pet wears a costume. Try choosing a shopping street if you want to partner with local businesses. Remember to keep potentially aggressive dogs away from more vulnerable animals and make sure owners keep them on a leash.
28. Creepy Magic Show
The magic shows are absolute slow stoppers, but give your attendees a seemingly supernatural feel this time. Give a twist to a Halloween magic show by dressing up the magician’s assistant as either Vampire or Frankenstein’s monster. Instead of pulling a rabbit out of a hat, the props can be scary yet harmless birds or reptiles like a small pet snake or owl.
29. HalloWine Tasting
October is finally here, and that means it’s time to grab the pumpkin, put on your best outfit, and drink some witchcraft! While the kids are tricking or treating, round up the gang for a spooky taste that works.
Visit a brewery or winery to sample a selection of beers or wines — in costume, of course. Beer tastings can also focus on pumpkin ales and other seasonal beers.
Final Words
As a Halloween event organizer, are you sure your event ticketing platform provides all the right tools to sell tickets online and onsite?
When looking for an event ticketing system with the right features to assist you in this haunted season, choose an easy-to-use event ticketing platform with simple and straightforward pricing like EventBookings! We have all the features you need to sell tickets online, promote your event and live stream with audiences worldwide.
