The Scene: The Very Best of NYC Halloween Parties

Editor’s Picks: October Halloween Parties (Note: Not all parties take place Halloween night!)

Dia De Los Muertos at One Last Shag, Oct 22
The kids behind Azucar know how to make the day of the dead… a night to remember! Sprinkled with sugar and spice, Azucar is not only a GO Magazine Readers Choice Nightlife Awards nominee for the best queer Latin dance party—these girls and bois are taking Latin beats to a whole new level with their Halloween escapade. Revel amidst the skeletons and spirits to DJs Shomi Noise and Amylulita’s hot jams at One Last Shag. Formerly Sweet Revenge, this post-hip Bed-Stuy/Clinton Hill bar is thankfully free of that titular floor covering.

3rd Annual Halloween Vampire Bash at The Phoenix, Oct 29
Danielle Presents and Sir Sabrina envelope the East Village’s bordelloesque bar The Phoenix in sexy, spooky décor for the third annual Vampire Bash. Bloodsuckers live forever, so the party gets better and better as the night goes on to the break of dawn. Sharpen your fangs and put on your best graveyard-chic attire: we’re sure you’ll look ravaging. Explore the mysterious back room or test your mortality in the arms of the vampire go-go girls. Bloodtinis and Love Bite shots will be served along with the usual life-giving libations—and a free one is included in the cover. Beware of the beautiful bartenders and dangerous potions—you might regret it when the sun comes out. DJ Stacy gets ‘em rolling over in their graves, followed by lively set by DJ Lesbian Van Halen. Get bitten!

Thriller at RF Lounge, Oct 29
Vincent Price, is that you? Hana of girlNATIONnyc presents a Halloween party you can’t miss at RF Lounge, with It-DJ Zuleica Martins throwing down a set that just might get the crowd dancing in zombified unison. The best costume—use your imagination, the field is wide open—wins a $50 bar tab! That’s plenty to get all your ghoulish pals dead drunk. Trick or treat with Diana at the door and you won’t walk away with a piece of fruit or those weird peanut chews in your goodie bag. Free Boo! shots for all comers…if you dare.

Stiletto Halloween Bash at Maritime Hotel Cabanas, Oct 30
Flap flap flap—is that a bat or a butterfly sneaking up behind you? Maggie C implores all denizens of the netherworld—we’re talking fairies, gargoyles, warlocks and nymphs—to show off your wings at Stiletto’s mystical Halloween party at the Maritime Hotel Cabanas. All winged creatures receive reduced admission at the door, while a costume contest of mythical proportions will bestow $200 on the winner. Second place receives complimentary bottle service—and that’s in addition to an open vodka bar from 9-10pm. All that plus sexy go-go dancers and special surprises at the witching hour? Let your flights of fancy take off!

Choice Kults at Tammany Hall, Oct 31
Like the mythical chimera, Choice Cu*ts and Kostume Kult are once again teaming up to create a whole new animal. On one end, the fabulous and energetic queers of Choice; on the other, Kostume Kult’s retinue of Burning Man enthusiasts and up-for-it spirits of the night, mingling to produce this over-the-top, fun-filled Halloween event for all persuasions at Tammany Hall. Prepare for the most eye-opening Choice collaboration yet, but don’t come empty-handed: costumes are required, and candy-inspired, eyeball-enhanced, extra-sugary sexiness is encouraged! DJ Soozee will be spinning amid the Kult’s finest DJs from all over the country. Throw back a couple of New York Homebrew and Rogue Whiskey specials and you’ll be seeing ghosts and goblins in every dark corner.

Masquerade Party at RF Lounge, Oct 31
RF Lounge is getting all Edgar Allan Poe on us for Halloween 2011. Don your most sensuous mask—creativity is encouraged and rewarded—for the bar’s sexy masquerade party, where nothing is as it seems and the masks reveal more than you expect. Top off your illusion with a full costume and dazzle the curious crowds. All attendees in masks of all kinds will receive a complimentary cocktail to enhance the evening’s gaiety, and the winner of RF’s mask contest will imbibe the proceeds of a $50 bar tab. Drink specials all night with DJ MK on deck spinning deliriously decadent beats. Gather ye roses while ye may!

Zombieland at Henrietta Hudson, Oct 31
Consider yourself warned: once you crack open the door to purgatory, there’s no telling what genies will escape. Beware and enter at your own risk at Zombieland, the newest installation of Henrietta Hudson’s annual haunted hen house. Frolic in the Village Halloween Parade; then kick back with some witches’ brews at the Village’s lesbian legend. The first 200 ladies to arrive receive a free shot, so be there or be… well, just be there! Dress in your freakish finest for Henrietta’s costume contest, which offers a hefty cash prize and exclusive Henrietta’s VIP membership to the lucky winner; top-shelf bottle service for the runner-up.


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