Ultimate Houston Halloween Guide — the 20 Best Things to do for the Scariest of Holidays
From Haunted Houses to Spooky Balls — and Much More Worthy Frights
BY Annie Gallay // 10.22.19These Halloween events will have you spellbound.
Halloween is just around the corner, and if you don’t already have a case of the heebie jeebies, now’s the time. Fake, sticky spiderwebs line the streets, jack’o lanterns grin from doorsteps and inflatable ghosts, while oftentimes collapsed in the grass, signal that All Hallows Eve is upon us.
If that’s not enough to make your blood run cold, don’t worry. Whether you’ve had your White Claw costume ready for months or you’re still throwing something together, there are plenty of Houston Halloween events worth your time. In the mood for a trick? Or treat? Either way, there’s something for you.
You’ve got the haunted houses set to make you jump out of your skin — taken to an all-new level. You’ve got the pumpkin patches. But there are also the types of celebrations you may never have encountered, like classic car shows, balls in funeral museums and even treats through historical parks. It’s alright if you can’t keep track of Houston’s Top 20 Halloween Events.
PaperCity has got you covered with the best Houston Halloween treats:
October 25th
Screams and Nightmares: Halloween Ball
National Museum of Funeral History
415 Barren Springs Drive
Friday, October 25 10 pm to Saturday October 26 2 am
It’s time to make the Museum of Funeral History your favorite haunt. This den of the dead is promising a real Halloween party. The funeral museum will make the haunted house of your dreams — or should we say, nightmares.
Wind your way through the spider webs and tombstones to get your boo-gie on. Two bars and a live DJ are only the beginning.
The costume contest is positively to die for, with a scary-sweet $500 prize.
Tickets range from $30 to $250.
Scream on the Green
Discovery Green
1500 McKinney
6 pm to 10 pm
Houston’s award-winning urban oasis Discovery Green strikes fear and fun into the hearts of all Houstonians at the annual Scream on the Green.
The citywide costume contest has tons of categories with many stunning prizes. Witches and warlocks come back year after year to take in the spectacle of fortune tellers, living statues and more. Expect Scary-oke karaoke and a 7:30 showing of The House with a Clock in its Walls.
Admission is free.
Zoo Boo
Houston Zoo
6200 Hermann Park Drive
Friday, 9 am to 1 pm; Saturday & Sunday, 9 am to 3 pm
Frolick in your favorite fall activities with your kiddos. Your little princesses and firefighters can delight in the pumpkin patch, monster mural, spooky stamp station and more.
Meet the Keeper talks will teach your little ones all about the animals around them.
Activities are included with the price of zoo admission.
Phobia Haunted House Attraction
Phobia Haunted House
5250 S Sam Houston Parkway East
7:30 pm on Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday
Tortured souls drift through the halls of Phobia’s five decrepit, demonic digs full of creepy crawlies.
Eight different haunts will have you jumping out of your skin — Dawn of the Machine, Mind Control, Genetic Nightmare, Clown Mania, Darke Institute, Darke World, Savage Ground and Contagion.
Expect blood lust, open air infestation, terrifying, twisted clowns and science that looks a whole lot more like black magic.
Prices vary on how many haunted houses you decide to see.
Classic Numbers Astros Halloween
Numbers Nightclub
300 Westheimer Road
7 pm to 3 am Saturday
It’s 2017 all over again at the epic Numbers Nightclub. You’re in for an eerie evening, a mix of the hottest Halloween costumes in town, plus dancing at classic Numbers music — new wave, alternative and electronic, accompanied by intense 1980s music videos — and America’s favorite pastime playing on all screens.
Dancing kicks off around 9:30. Abel’s famed hot dogs will be selling for $1 on the patio, and you can expect free popcorn, peanuts and soda until 9 pm.
There’s no cover until 8:30.
October 26th
Spirits and Skeletons
Houston Museum of Natural Science
5555 Hermann Park
8 pm to 12 pm
Get ready to boogie those bones at HMNS’ yearly blockbuster of a Halloween party. The entire museum is open to partygoers, decked out in their devilish duds.
Dance the night away next to the stegosaurus skeleton or get hypnotized by the alluring hall of gems. Three DJs and a phantasmagoria of food trucks await.
Tickets are $30 for members and $60 for non-members.
Halloween Pub Crawl
Downtown Houston
3pm to 9 pm
Nightcrawlers has formed an unholy alliance with Downtown’s freakiest bars to put on this pub crawl to end all pub crawls.
Downtown has a scary-impressive density of big-time bars, all packed close together and all offering drink specials and giveaways all afternoon and night long.
Get your drink on. It’s the adult version of trick or treat, after all.
Tickets range from $20 to $75.
Boo Ball
Hilton Americas Hotel Houston
1600 Lamar Street
6 pm to 12 am
Tickets for this Halloween fete are going, going, going — soon to be gone! Boo Ball is all about giving back with a silent auction and even a live auction with paddles aplenty. Chairs Liliya and Matthew Kades have teamed up with Ronald McDonald House Houston for this charity boo-n.
Ghouls and goblins in attendance can sip on cocktails then shimmy onto the dance floor to the tunes of a live — or undead — DJ. The dress code for this gala is costumes or black tie, your pick of the pumpkin patch.
Individual tickets are going for $500. Tables start at $5,000.
Halloween Bar Crawl
Midtown
4pm to 2 am
Get ready to get the ghost spooked out of you in Midtown this Halloweekend. Bars from Dogwood, Capitol Bar, Jack & Ginger’s to Front Porch Pub are bringing the party, calling Houstonians everywhere to come out full-force and in costume. Drink and food specials abound.
Tickets are $20 and up.
Freaky Deaky
Houston Raceway
2525 S FM 565, Baytown
Saturday 2 pm to 12 am, Sunday 2 pm to 11 pm
Dare to defy death at this two-day music festival celebrating all the things that go bump in the night. All hail All Hallow’s Eve with this lineup of spine-tingling electronic artists.
Expect the likes of Armin Van Buuren, BTW, Totto, Yultron and so many more. The stage is massive, and pyrotechnics definitely aren’t off-limits.
Two-day general admission tickets are $150, and one-day admission for either Saturday or Sunday is $100.
Halloween Town
Constellation Field
1 Stadium Drive, Sugar Land
4pm to 8 pm
Get ready to be astonished by this annual Halloween bash. It’s the very definition of fun for the whole freaky and frightening family, complete with games, a petting zoo, balloon artists, scavenger hunts and beyond.
The competition for the costume contest is fierce, so be sure to pull out all the stops. It costs $3 to participate in the contest in advance, or $5 onsite. The prizes are endless.
Tickets to the event are $5 per child and $7 per adult.
Halloween Classic Car Show
National Museum of Funeral History
415 Barren Springs Drive
10 am
It’s hell on wheels at the ever-eldritch Museum of Funeral History. The theme for this year’s Classic Car Show is heroes and villains, brought to life Frankenstein-style by over 55 classes for the vehicles, vendors, “The Dead DJs” and even a haunted house.
Trophies will be awarded for scariest mode of transportation and best decorated. You can expect more than 170 vehicles on display, many decked out in their Halloween finest.
Museum admission applies, and the show is $10 per person and $15 per couple or family. The haunted house is $5 a pop.
The hair-raising proceeds will go to Depelchin, Star of Hope, The Shriner’s Burn Hospital and more worthy causes.
Halloween Erotica Ball
The Ritz
10520 Gulf Freeway
Saturday October 26 9 pm to Sunday, October 2019 2 am
Forget about carving pumpkins and start thinking about your carnal cravings. The annual Erotica Ball is sure to pique your interest with a trio of unique party zones with three separate stages and four different DJs.
You’re in for a wild ride at this no-holds-barred bash, with sexy maids and sultry cops wandering around. You’re in for fog cannons, laser light shows, dance poles and all-night shot specials.
Tickets are $60.
Montrose Crawl
Montrose
Night
Thirteen is known as the unluckiest of numbers. It’s fitting, then, that this year marks the 13th Annual terrifying Montrose Crawl. Explore Space City’s hippest neighborhood, stalking the streets as a serial killer or meandering about as a mummy.
Ten bars and restaurants are yours for the haunting, including Poison Girl, Slick Willie’s, La Grande, The Hay Merchant and so much more.
It may be the night to embrace your inner wickedness, but make no mistake. Montrose Crawl supports a good cause, with a portion of the proceeds going to Houston Area’s Women Center.
There is no cover to participate in the crawl.
October 30th
Halloween Movie Showing
Axelrad
1517 Alabama Street
9 pm
Take in the blood-curdling cinematic masterpiece that is Halloween on the eve of All Hallows Eve. Get there early to spend some time sipping on a craft beer and swinging on a hammock before you settle in to take in the film.
Be sure to bring a folding chair or two.
October 31st
Halloween Sunrise 6k
Heights Mercantile
Heights Boulevard
6 am t0 7 am
Run for your life at the Halloween Sunrise 6k. You can race the werewolves and vampires — you’re sure to beat the zombies — in this fun free-for-all right at daybreak. Prizes go out to top male and top female runners.
Vendors include All Day Fitness, Tour De Brewery and more.
Spirits & Specters
George Ranch Historical Park
10215 FM 762 Road, Richmond
Tour times: 6:30 pm, 6:50 pm, 7:10 pm, 7:30 pm, 7:50 pm
Come nightfall, you can creep through the historical park by lantern light and listen to unique Texas ghost stories. Some even say certain specters are even trapped between worlds at the ranch itself.
Adults and children 13 and over are welcome. The ghostly grown-ups can take part in spirited drinks that put the boo in booze.
Tickets are $20 for members of the Fort Bend History Association and $25 for the general public.
Totally 80s Halloween Murder Mystery at Maggiano’s
Maggiano’s Little Italy
2019 Post Oak
7 pm to 10 pm
What does Halloween mean at Maggiano’s? Well, that’s amore —and a murder. Every year, this slice of Italia puts on an eventful evening of murder mystery entertainment, plus a family-style dinner experience.
Add in a costume raffle with a $100 prize and a killer ’80s theme, and you’ve got a hit on your hands.
All-inclusive tickets are $70 each.
The Exorcist Viewing
Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra
2707 Commercial Center Boulevard, Katy
7:30 pm
You won’t need to sneak any Halloween candy into this frightening flick, thanks to the delicious eats on tap at Alamo Drafthouse. Burgers, pizzas and chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven will give you plenty to snack on as you watch the director’s cut of the all-time horror masterpiece, The Exorcist.
Watching it may just help you shake off some demons or your own.
Tickets are $10.
Movies at Miller: Night of the Living Dead
Miller Outdoor Theater
6000 Hermann Park Drive
7:30
This masterful film has been completely remastered, promising chills and thrills like no other. Flesh-eaters abound in this zombie classic. Watch it after dusk at Miller — if you dare.
Admission is free.