The best Halloween events for 2022 in NYC

The Village Halloween Parade—NYC’s creative and spooky procession—is one of the best Halloween events in Greenwich Village and it's coming back this year...if it raises enough funds. Each year, more than 50,000 zombies, ghouls, witches, monsters, robots, Jedis, giant puppets and more things that go bump in the night take to the streets for a night of costumed revelry. And while New York's freaks missed out when it was canceled last year, it has secured its permit for October 31. The only thing left to do is to raise $150,000 by October 5 to put it on, according to The New York Post. It's theme this year is "Let's Play!" to honor the children of NYC (and our inner children).

Wander into a larger-than-life, immersive journey into the weepy, creepy, dark and wonderful world of iconic writer and artist Edward Gorey on Saturday night. This evening at Kimpton Hotel Eventi (849 Sixth Avenue) will feature Gorey's illustrations and creations and performances and appearances by NYC nightlife legends such as Amanda Lepore, Sophia Lamar & Kembra Pfahler and The Girls of Karen Black. This year's Mistress of Ceremonies is Real Housewife of New Jersey Margaret Josephs. Tickets are $165.

This masquerade party by Collective and Matte is all about release through interactive installations on the main floor, and a dark, hedonistic dance party on the sub-level. The elegant escape, which is happening across three nights, includes food, cocktails, and access to the space—the historic Angel Orensanz on the Lower East Side. Constructed in 1850, the building's interior was built to resemble the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. The experience of Halloween weekend will sprawl across its three levels and every nook within. Tickets are $250.

Turn out to the last Fordham Flea of the season on Sunday, noon to 7pm, at Fordham Plaza. There will be trick-or-treating, a costume contest, a kids cupcake eating contest, a mommy contest, kids karaoke with Kenya Mighty and a live performance by Abdoulaye Toure.

Ahead of the Village Halloween Parade, which is dedicated to NYC's children this year, the Children's Museum of the Arts is hosting an all-day Halloween Block Party where children will have the opportunity to create artwork that will decorate the CMA Halloween Float. There will also be family-friendly activities like spooky ornament and magic wand making, DIY tombstones, haunted house monoprinting, werewolf face-painting, creative workshops, and a costume catwalk for children to show off their creativity. Children will collaborate with CMA’s very own Artists-In-Residence—who designed the float—to help bring their artistic dreams alive. Show up to Spring Street Park from noon to 4pm.

The Seaport is celebrating Halloween with a series of markets, contests, and activities available to the public during Halloweekend. On Saturday, October 30th, The Seaport is partnering with the iconic Hester Street Fair for a Halloween-themed market featuring a costume contest and “paint your own pumpkin” tent, in addition to their staple array of eclectic vendors. Visitors can shop locally grown fall produce and sip apple cider at the Fulton Stall Market, and throughout the weekend, families can trick-or-treat the eerie cobblestone street at local Seaport businesses on Fulton Street – accompanied by hair-raising live music and ghostly Garden Bar drink specials for parents and adults.

All weekend long from October 29 to October 31, Bandits (44 Bedford St.) will work of its retro digs and the notion of "stolen time" with the themes of Jungle Boogie (onFriday), 70s Wrestle Mania (on Saturday), and British Invasion (on Sunday). Signature libations from Beverage Director, Max Stampa-Brown include "Truth or Pear," "I Drink Your Milkshake," and Bobby Wasabi." The all-day menu will feature elevated all-American diner and deli-inspired classics like The Ripper, Steak & Tots, and four variations of tater tots. It's open Friday, 4pm to late; Saturday & Sunday, 1pm to late. Reservations are available via Resy

Ulster Park's Headless Horseman Haunted Hayrides and Haunted Houses is replacing its hayrides with a haunted walk called "The Haunting of Pumpkin Jack" that'll give New Yorkers an opportunity to slowly pass the creepy crawly things in the darkness and see the headless horseman himself.

"Are you brave enough to walk into the darkness of the Horseman's trail to find Pumpkin Jack and come face to face with the Headless Horseman? It can be done, but can you do it? How fast can you walk? Will the Horseman catch you? Some questions can't be answered until you Walk the dark trail!"

The experience is not kid-friendly, so no one's surprised. There's no doubt that new rules about social distancing are behind the new experience—the park says all guests and staff will be wearing face masks and distancing throughout the event.

Locals Surf School is celebrating Halloween at the Rockaway Hotel with a live DJ, curated cocktails, and a costume contest with a chance to win a free two-night stay at the hotel. The event will take place on the hotel’s rooftop, which has expansive views of the Manhattan skyline, Jamaica Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. Tickets are $10 per person.

Dingaling (116 Avenue C) is throwing an irreverent costume party for Halloween from 7pm to late on Sunday. Cocktail highlights include three Negroni variations, three margs and three daiquiris as well as the "grasshopper," "coffee" and the "fancy drink but blended." Dance the night away with no cover charge!

Garish zombies, monsters and other ghoulish creatures await in this 5,000-square-foot labyrinth of horrors, deemed too scary for children under 14 to enter without supervision.

The haunted house warns: "Former survivors of the Blood Manor experience can count on an all-new and extreme level of fear, paralleling 2020 — a year no one could have predicted nor imagined!  For newcomers - be afraid, be very afraid! The residents of Blood Manor are excited to return and are thirsting for the aroma of fear!"

Do some interactive trivia and puzzles at Caveat on Saturday, October 30th at 7pm, focusing on spooky cinema, with The Movie Quiz. You'll test your knowledge against a panel of guests including writer-director Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair), Jon Bershad (Tooning Out the News), plus more to be announced. Quizmaster host Chris Mann-Nelson will lead lively, silly film discussions while guiding teams through 34 challenging questions. Chris will get hosting help from a ridiculous movie character, this time Billy the Puppet from the Saw franchise. Tickets are $15 advance in, $20 at the door or $10 to livestream.

The Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, led by Artistic Director Phil Nuzzo, will open its 2021-2022 season with an evening of music inspired by Halloween at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn Heights. "Hear the skeletons dance in Saint-Saëns classic Dance Macabre. The devil gets his due in Tartini's fiendish Devil's Trill (Mialtin Zhezha, violin). Franz Liszt treats us to a pyrotechnic display in Totentanz, where pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski handles this virtuoso tour-de-force. Metropolitan Opera Bass Mikhail Svetlov voices the Prince of Darkness and Grace Chorale of Brooklyn provides the angelic host in the powerful Prologue to Mefestofeles by Boito." Tickets start at 20.

Terminal 5 will be transformed into a haunted city by Masterbeat with beats from international superstar DJ Micky Friedmann, live performances "to raise the dead" and more. The show takes place on October 30 at 10pm. Tickets are various prices. 

Estuary is holding its annual Treats! No Tricks event for kids, who can decorate their own Halloween-inspired cookies in the shape of bats, ghosts, and pumpkins that they can take and enjoy. For the adults, there will be an array of Halloween-themed cocktails where costumed adults can enjoy 10% off their spooky drinks, including the Black Potion (Vodka, Chambord, Lemon, Blackberry), the Bloody Alchemist (Margarita, Tequila, Lime - frozen), and the Wicked Apple (Bourbon, Apple, Ginger, Lemon, Fall Spice). Additionally, a package of already decorated Halloween cookies will be available for purchase at Ebb & Flow Bakery a few days prior to the 31st. The event on October 31 is from noon until 3pm.

NYC’s slime authority, the Sloomoo Institute, is kicking off Halloween with a month-long celebration. The sensory museum is transforming its space into an eerie Halloween playground where guests can expect candy, daily costume contests, limited-edition slime, a creepy Slime Cove and more. Guests are encouraged to dress up for their visit. Head over between October 2 and 31. Tickets start at $39.

CircoLoco is hosting a two-night Halloween event in an undisclosed Brooklyn warehouse location with South African superstar and Grammy-nominee Black Coffee on Friday, October 29 with Off-White leader Virgil Abloh, Life and Death owner DJ Tennis, and PVBLIC XCESS’ Chloé Caillet. The following night, Cuttin’ Headz bosses and IMG signees The Martinez Brothers take the stage alongside Crosstown Rebels founder Damian Lazarus, Solid Grooves’ Michael Bibi, DFA and Running Back’s Perel, and Mink. Tickets start at $56.

Spend Halloween weekend with Ladyfag with its first party on Friday, October 29 (Starting at 10pm) called "Supermarket From Hell," the Halloween edition of No Frills at 99 Scott Ave, where you'll hear good house and techno from DJs like Chris Cruse, Alinka, Skin, Michael Magnan and Tommy Hart.

Then follow that up with Battle Hymn with The Carry Nation
and Eli Escobar. Bring your best Halloween lewks and turn it out on the dancefloor with music by your favorite residents. It'll be at Rumi on October 31, starting at 9pm.

The Market Line's Grand Delancey (81 Norfolk St.) on Saturday, October 30th (9pm-midnight) will host a costume parade for kids, trick-or-treating and a pumpkin carving contest while serving up 50 drafts and cans for adults at a $75 open bar with DJ Tommy spinning tunes all night. Reserve via Resy here 

Industry City is buzzing with spooky activities on Halloween weekend. On Saturday, between 10am and 4pm, there will be a Kids Monster Mash Halloween Parade throughout campus. Sahadi’s will be hosting pumpkin decorating parties throughout the week, which include a pumpkin, decorating materials, hot apple cider and a goodie bag to-go. Reservations are $25.

Then on Halloween, Big aLICe Brewing is hosting a Howl-O-Ween Dog Parade from 1 to 4pm. Some of the dressed-up adorable pooches on site will be up for adoption through Rescue City. $2 from every large draft pour gets donated back to Rescue City.

The Washington Square Park Dog Run Halloween Parade and Costume Contest is back with cute dogs in fun getups with great prizes up for grabs! There's a $20 entry fee to the contest, which will be held on October 30 at noon sharp.

Watch on-site pumpkin carvers work on a giant pumpkin at Chelsea Market on Friday, October 29 from 10am to 4pm, and on Halloween day, kids can enjoy trick-or-treating as stilt walkers roam around the Market to hand out candy. Li-Lac Chocolates will have some grown-up Halloween chocolates.

Don a costume representing your spirit animal at this haunted run and walk on October 30. Learn about six of North Brooklyn’s most haunted spots along the way with stops for local sweet eats, street art, and chills. From 9 to 11am, participants will travel from Cadman Plaza West and Johnson Street to Cafe Nili in Carroll Gardens. It is $35 to participate.

Don your costume and parade through Dumbo and Brooklyn Bridge Park to the Dumbo Archway led by live music and puppets, on October 31, starting at 3pm. Once everyone arrives at the Archway, there will be family-friendly activities until 6pm as well as Dumbo Station—the beer and wine kiosk in the Dumbo Archway—that will be open with seasonal beers on tap. More than forty Dumbo businesses will offer trick or treating at their storefronts on Halloween from 3pm to 8pm.

Spend your Saturday night at Canary Club hearing some live music from Nic Hanson and Ross Clark (from St. Lucia band) and dancing to a DJ set by Brooklyn-based DJ and label owner JKriv. There will be specialty cocktails and costumes are required! The party runs from 10pm to 4am.

Looking for a neighborhood Halloween party? Head to the Meatpacking District for Treats in the Streets! On October 30, from 11am to 5pm, the district’s plaza and open streets will host a day of unique and traditional Halloween happenings, including alcoholic beverages at Alice + Olivia and the Gansevoort Hotel, trick-or-treating at Diane Von Furstenberg and Serafina Meatpacking, a chance to get dog and owner portraits at Neighborhood Goods and a haunted house and pumpkin painting at TriangleLoft. Blue Point will be doing a beer tasting in 14th Street Park with a pumpkin patch for Instagrammable moments and throughout the streets, there will be pumpkin decorating, pumpkin ring toss, pumpkin tic-tac-toe, corn hole, live music (noon) and a drag queen story hour (noon and 1pm). At 2pm, don't miss the Meatpacking District’s Third Annual Doggie Costume Contest on Little West 12th Street. The grand prize is an overnight stay at the dog-friendly Gansevoort Hotel. West 13th Street will also host the Future Streets Design Expo, an event highlighting manufacturers creating products for the future of New York City's streets and public outdoor spaces including outdoor dining modules, parklets, secure bike storage, and other items. The event is free and open to the public. No reservations or tickets are required.

New York’s leading neuro-diverse theatre company, EPIC Players, is putting on A Wickedly Inclusive Cabaret at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater. EPIC Players will perform songs to honor favorite villains and monsters and ask that audience members show up in costume. Broadway actors Amaker Smith, Willy Falk, Haley Swindal and Nicholas King, will be special guests at the shows that take place on Sunday, October
24 and Monday, October 25, at 8pm. Each night will feature a different performance, with special guests and show-stopping numbers. Tickets are $35 (there is a two-drink or $12 food minimum, per person, during shows).

Brookfield Place will become a graveyard of sorts Tuesday, October 26-Sunday, October 31, with larger-than-life skeletons thatll come to life through augmented reality in "Memento Mori," an interactive installation by Gabe BC, in the Winter Garden.

While you're there, get a Halloween treat that includes a coloring book and treats from The Creative Kitchen, the James Beard Foundation, Cricket’s Candy Creations, LaCroix, Color Garden, Crispy Green, Le Gruyere, Lundberg Family Farms, Jelly Belly and Maman. Just go to the concierge at 230 Vesey Street when you post a picture of your "Memento Mori" experience on social media tagging @BFPLNY (while supplies last).

Manhattan West is a hosting spook-tacular Halloween party for our furry friends this year. Bring your dog to the plaza on October 30 (noon to 4pm) for canine treats and activities, including caricatures of your pet and a costume contest for you and your best friend. Free advance registration is recommended. All attendees must read and sign a waiver in order to attend the event. 

Robbie Goodwin and Mike Figs host Possession, where you'll watch over 25 of New York's best comedians perform stand-up comedy as their personal favorite comedians and celebrities. The lineup is secret for this one-night-only show on Thursday, October 28! There's a $10 cover at BKLYN Comedy Club (308 Bedford Ave.) Arrive by 8pm.

There's a massive ghost hunt by Questo at the most haunted places in NYC that'll ask you to solve expertly designed puzzles, riddles, and cryptic codes to test your nerves and wits at every step. The team that wins will get one of these prizes: a life-sized, high-quality coffin for you or your friends (yes, a real coffin), a special ghost detector of paranormal activities or a $100 Amazon gift card for those dark wishes. After signing up, show up to St. Marks Church-In-The-Bowery, 131 E 10th St, at 8pm on October 30. To play, there's an early bird price of $6.99. The full price of the event is $17.99.

Laugh it up on Halloween at Spooktown, an improv show and "deathmatch" where three teams ghosts, witches and vampires’ compete to make you "piss your pants with laughter." Stay after the show for an epic Halloween Dance Party (costumes are encouraged) Comedians have been featured on Reductress, Vulture, UCB, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and more! The show begins at 9pm. Tickets are $15.

Student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) learns of the terrifying local legend of The Candyman (Tony Todd), a hooked serial killer who appears when you say his name in a mirror, five times. Watch the movie at Industry City on Friday, October 29, for free. Doors open at 7pm, the show starts at 8pm and an after-party is planned for 10pm.

On October 24, watch both Scary Movie at 6:30pm and Halloween at 8:30pm for $20 per ticket. Available through the restaurant’s ticket window, the ticket comes with access to the first or second film, cacio e pepe popcorn and a "Sunday Scaries" cocktail (a tequila-based drink with egg white, apple cider, cinnamon and spiced maple syrup). It'll be at Sunday to Sunday (88 Orchard Street).

Starting October 28, MOIC NYC will turn its installations into a haunted town on three floors where you can trick-or-treat! The deliciously hair-raising experience will include special “spooktacular” ice cream treats offered during an array of fun activities organized by ghostly guides.

Tickets are $45 and include treats! 

Williamsburg Hotel is becoming a Halloween Horror Haus thanks to Deep Root Records and Short Circuit, which will provide ghostly greetings in three premium rooms (the Ballroom, the Haunted Library, and the Hallow Tower) to spook you through transformative decor and euphoric state of the art sound and lighting. Tickets range from $30-$500. 

EurovisioNYC's 2021 Halloween Party will feature Lesley Roy, Ireland’s representative to the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, performances by Ronda Vu and Thin Mint and EurovisioNYC’s first ever lip-sync battle and a costume contest with fabulous prizes. Head over to Rockbar on Friday, October 29 from 9pm to 4am. There's a $10 cover.

House of Yes is celebrating in a big way with three different Halloween parties:

HEX Halloween at a Secret Manhattan location on October 31, 8pm-4am (tickets are $20-45 on EventBrite); House of Hallucination at House of Yes on October 29 and 30, 8pm-4am (tickets are $25-$60 on EventBrite); and Gala of The Gone Halloween at House of Yes on October 31, 8pm-4am (tickets are $10 – $30 on EventBrite). 

On Saturday, take your kids to Park Slope's Fifth Avenue for a Halloween Fest with music by Rolie Polie Guacamole and activities from local businesses leading up to noon, when the parade begins (ending at Old Stone House). The Neighborhood of Trees' Puppet Pageant starts at 1pm and a costume contest and mini-march at the Old Stone House is set for 2pm.

The East Midtown Partnership is once again hosting "Trick-or-Treat with East Midtown" where businesses in the district will welcome trick-or-treaters and their families on Friday, October 29, between 3-6pm. Trick-or-treaters can visit any participating business on the map to collect their first treat and a trick-or-treat bag. It's free!

This Halloween Party by Broadway Black, BFRJ (Broadway for Racial Justice) & RPM Underground will be hosted by Broadway stars Celia Rose Gooding (Jagged Little Pill, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) and Reneé Rapp (Mean Girls, HBO’s The Sex Lives of College Girls) who will raise funds to benefit Broadway For Racial Justice and the organization’s non-profit initiatives.

The event will toast this year's Tony Award-winning leading lady Adrienne Warren following her final performance in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and hold a cash prize costume contest. DJ Ari Grooves will keep the party going all night. Tickets start at $20.

Head to any Arlo in NYC for a fun Halloween party:

Art SoHo:

On Saturday, October 30 (9pm - 1am), enjoy an open bar, two hours of passed appetizers, multiple experience stations from Volcan Tequila, Woodinville Whiskey, and Moet & Chandon. A DJ will be spinning all night, and there's a costume contest with prizes and more. Tickets are $150 per person 

Nearly Ninth at Arlo Midtown:

On Friday, October 29 (starting at 8) celebrate with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood’s dearly departed with Casamigos Margaritas (2 for 1), food specials, jazz, impersonators and a palm reader.

Arlo NoMad Lounge

On Saturday, October 30 (8pm-2am), a nightmare on 31st Street will feature Sofar Sounds starting at 8pm, followed by music from Ghost DJs and one-hour complimentary cocktails. Costumes are mandatory. Tickets are at trulyyoursnyc.com.

This new taqueria in midtown invites you to its party on Friday, October 29 (7-10pm) with burlesque performances and a show hosted by Lucy Buttons (from 8-8:45pm). La Catrina, a show-stopping flaming cocktail that’s served in a skull glass, will be up for grabs, too. Samples of the drink will be passed out as guests arrive and the presentation will be showcased at the start of the burlesque show (fire will be involved!). The Amor Loco team will raffle off a magnum of champagne at the end of the night. To enter, guests should simply post on social media and tag @amorloconyc. Reservations are recommended through Resy or by emailing info@amorloconyc.com.