Nightlife

Monster’s Ball

The Best Ways to Spend Halloween

Halloween. It’s coming. And with it: piles of candy, tons of parties and a standing army of sexy nurses/cops/Ghostbusters. To ensure you’re ready, we rounded up a few places to celebrate. (Oh, and when in doubt: pick treat.)

MONK BUSINESS

Pumpkin Carving at the Old Monk

The Tricks: The Old Monk’s casual jack-o’-lantern carve-a-thon will have you disfiguring pumpkins on the patio.
The Treats: $10 gets you a pumpkin, your very own carving set and a pint of beer.
Your Costume: Jeans and a light jacket should suffice.

THE STAND

Have a Drink. Learn Your Fortune.

The Tricks: It’s a haunted affair with a costume contest.
The Treats: A DJ, a fortune-teller and rum-fueled zombies. That’s a cocktail. We hope.
Your Costume: Something extremely terrifying. Think Cowboys fourth quarter.

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Dancing in an Asylum. At Candleroom.

The Tricks: Candleroom is channeling the second season of American Horror Story with an asylum-themed party.
The Treats: Leather couches and champagne bottle service. Oh, plus criminally insane patients and sexy nuns.
Your Costume: Your finest mental-hospital garb. And bring Jessica Lange as a date.

THE MASK

Michael Myers at Alamo Drafthouse

The Tricks: Just a relaxing evening at the theater watching a masked man slowly stalk a neighborhood.
The Treats: A full bar, good pizzas and a dark, quiet room. It’s the calm before the storm.
Your Costume: Jamie Lee Curtis circa 1978. Or maybe just a mask.

SUCH A TRAVESTY

DJs. Dancing. Costumes. Tequila.

The Tricks: All the usual mirrors and poles and frenetic dancing-with-strangers. But with the added benefit of costumes.
The Treats: DJ Castillo will be doing DJ things. And you will be doing tequila things. Namely: drinking tequila.
Your Costume: Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver). Travis Barker (Blink-182). Or someone not named Travis.