Every fall, Orlando is home to plenty of frights, haunts and monster mashes. How do you choose?! Here are 26 things to do in The City Beautiful guaranteed to get you in the mood for Halloween.
Watch Beetlejuice at the Enzian10/28 @ 8 p.m., Enzian TheaterRevisit good times with the Ghostest with the Mostest at the Enzian.Photo via YouTubeListen to Michael Jackson hits at CFCArts Symphony Orchestra: Thriller10/23 and 10/24 @ 8 p.m., Calvary Assembly of GodAn orchestral extravaganza featuring Michael Jackson’s eponymous Halloween tunes alongside spooky favorites from yesteryear.Photo via Sony/LegacyGrab a melon at these local pumpkin patchesvarious times and locationsThe Greeks called them pepon, which means large melon. The French called them pompon; the British, pumpion; here in America, we call them pumpkins. Feed your need for delicious coffees or cool carved ornaments at these here melon patches.Photo via FlickrDrink Blood Suckers Jello Shots at Halloween Horror Nights9/18 through 11/1 @ various times, Universal Studios OrlandoSuccor thyself on crimson libations proffered by sexy nurses at Halloween Horror Nights. Just don’t suck too much.Photo via Touringplans.comHear some verse at Ghost Station: a haunted event by LITEROCALYPSE10/30 @ 9 p.m., The Space StationA spooky story series slash interactive art event hosted by the book bros of LITEROCALYPSE. Come for the ghost stories, stay for the dance party.Photo via FacebookTake a haunted hayrideVarious days @ 7 p.m. JetBlue Park, Ft. MyersAn oldie but a goodie. Drop by the field of screams for a haunted hayride. Watch out for the chainsaws!Photo via FearatFenwaySouth.comDrink blood at DRIP’s Underground Vampire BarFridays and Saturdays @ 8 p.m., DRIPYes, vampires are still a thing. But so is getting drunk. Do one and see the other, just make sure to wear something you don’t mind getting bloody. Trust us.Photo via FacebookDo the time warp dance at Rocky HorrorFridays and Saturdays every other week @ 11:30 p.m., AMC Universal CineplexThe Rich Weirdoes bring this cult-classic film live in all of its interplanetary cross-dressing fishnetted time-warping madness.Photo via FacebookTake in a few spooky poems at Horror Movie Poetry Night 2: The Return of the Bloody Verse10/28 @ 7 p.m., Writer’s AtelierOpen thine ears to some local verse at the Writer’s Atelier (that’s a fancy name for a studio, beeteedubz), and maybe drink some absinthe while you’re there – wink wink, nudge nudge. Hosted by John King.Photo via FacebookGo take a Moonlight Walking Tour of Greenwood Cemetery10/23, 11/20 and 12/18 @ 8 p.m., Greenwood CemeteryWhat’s Halloween without a guided tour through a graveyard? Learn this history of Orlando and its founding families.Photo via FacebookGet lost in the corn at Scott’s Maze AdventuresWeekends, 10/3 through 12/13 @ various times, Long and Scott FarmsA new maze every year! Challenge your sense of direction as you wander through the cornstalks, or take a break and let the kids play in the onsite park.Photo via Long & Scott FarmsCheck out Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween PartyThrough 11/1 @ 7 p.m., Walt Disney ResortTrick-or-treat with the kids at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Features a live show, a parade and a fireworks show.Photo via DisneyWatch and listen at Film Speak: Halloween10/24 @ 10 p.m., Stardust Video & CoffeeExperimental music and experimental film meet face-to-face at Stardust. Psychedelic soul and electronic artist Maximino plays alongside clips and projections spliced by Broken Machine Films. Photo via FacebookWatch and listen to an Organ Spooktacular & Silent Movie10/27 @ 7 p.m., Orlando Lutheran TowersDo it fin-de-siecle style with this silent movie scored by a not-so-silent live organist.Photo via cfago.orgFeast your eyes on Phantasmagoria VI: The Darkness Returns10/23 through 10/31 @ 8 p.m., Lowndes Shakespeare CenterExplosive stage combat! Aerial performance! Large-scale puppetry! The steampunk theatre troupe Phantasmagoria mixes low-brow humor with highfalutin’ prose in this mixed-media tour de force. Photo via Phantasmagoriaorlando.comTake it all in at Plazaween 1510/31 @ 8 p.m., Wall StreetWall Street and Heritage Park shut down for one of the city’s largest block parties. Features two stages of live music. Winner of the costume party receives FREE BEER FOR A YEAR on Wall Street.Photo via YelpShamble like you just don’t care at Orlando Zombie Ball10/24 @ 7 p.m., Venue 578You want DJs? We got DJs. You want an open bar? We got an open bar. You want a spooky-scary upper floor filled with dudes and dudettes hired specifically to scare the bejesus out of you? We got that too.Photo via Orlando WeeklyHave a laugh at the Halloween Torture Show10/23 @ 9:00 p.m., Sak Comedy LabWatch improv comedians get shocked, whipped, smacked bound and mousetrapped for your viewing pleasure.Photo via FacebookGet spooked at The Shallow Grave Haunted HouseVarious days @ 7:30 p.m., The Shallow GraveHaunted houses and Halloween go together like chocolate and vanilla. Step across the threshold of this story-driven spook factory. Two custom themes let visitors choose precisely what scary world they’d wish to visit.Photo via FacebookGet your nerd on at Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend10/30 through 11/1 @ 11 a.m., Spooky EmpireGEORGE ROMERO. BURT REYNOLDS. DANNY TREJO. MALCOLM MCDOWELL. This is one convention you don’t want to miss. Features a costume contest, horror movie marathon, zombie walk parade, haunted houses, celebrity discussion panels and more.Photo via Orlando WeeklyBe the best Batman that you can be at Welcome to Gotham10/31 @ 8 p.m., The Copper Rocket PubBATMAN PARTY BEST PARTY. Live music, dancers and drink deals underpin a costume party with a $100 cash prize.Photo via FacebookCarve yourself a new friend at the Pumpkin Carving Contest10/27 @ 5 p.m., West End Trading Co.Who was the first person to think to themselves, “Hey, how about I carve a face into this giant orange melon?” Pay homage to that first brave soul and flex your carvin’ muscles at West End Trading Co.’s annual pumpkin carving contest. First place gets $150, second place $75 and third place $50. Voting will be held on Facebook to determine the winners.Photo via FacebookKill (or re-kill) the undead at Zombie PaintballAppointment only, call 321-284-3838 to schedule, Adventure AttractionsRestore wayward spirits to their rightful graves in this zombie-themed paintball experience. You’re on a mission to find Dr. Kline, who possesses the antidote to the zombie plague. Photo via YouTubeRelive your glory days at Zombie Prom10/28 @ 8 p.m., St. Matthew’s TavernWin yourself a $100 bar tab and relive your high school glory days when you’re crowned king (or queen!) of this free concert at St. Matthew’s Tavern. Featuring the bands Scholars and Scoundrels, Useless Jester, The Western Sons, Sweet Cambodia and Tears of a Tyrant.Photo via FacebookSolve a murder at Get a Clue: A Murder Mystery10/30 @ 8 p.m., The AbbeyA murder mystery show! Collect clues to find out who perpetrated this grievous crime in the first official show presented by Lil Theatre Co.Photo via Orlando WeeklyDance the night away at Masked in Mystery – A Costume Ball10/30 @ 7 p.m., Citrus ClubGo incognito and dance the night away at this charity costume ball. Features a live jazz band and a secret celebrity guest. Proceeds benefit New Image Youth Center, Augie’s Quest and Partners Foundation Photo via Facebook