Halloween 2015

Halloween is probably my favourite time of the year. It’s when all the freaks come out to play, and some of my favourite nights know this and take full advantage, putting on some of their best parties. I’m not going to go into detail on each of tese, but thought I would provide a quick run down of the parties that have taken my eye over the Halloween weekend.

Friday October 30^th

A Curious Invitation's Theatre of Blood

Last Tuesday Society DanseMacabre 

ABQ Gus’s funeral (Dios de la Muerte theme)

Carousel do The Addams Family (burlesque, circus, dancing)

Saturday October 31^st

White Mischief's Heaven and Hell Ball (cabaret, burlesque, steampunk)

To the Lazer Cave Sequin Zombie Lazer Rave (rave, electro, techno)

Regression Sessions Halloween Special (kidult games, all kinds of music)

Torture Garden (fetish, kink, electro)

End of the world party (all kinds of music)

Magic theatre (vintage, electro swing)

Dark Circus (cabaret with a darker theme)

RIP (rave, techno)

The Vaults Raveyard (cabaret, electro swing)

Found Horror Series: MayaJane Coles at Building Six (rave)

Sink the Pink (tranny galore!)

Once Upon a Time in the Afterlife (all sorts, Day of the Dead theme)

I’m going to the Curious Invitation event on Friday and the End of the World Party on Saturday as I haven’t done either of those before. But competition was fierce!

Halloween 2014 alternative events

Being an organizer of a Meetup, especially one that does lots of different events, means I have to be good at planning. I know which events we’re going to go to at least a month in advance. It also means I need to keep an eye out on the events coming up, and decide which ones I want us to go to. But then I only blog about the ones I’ve been to, which I think means a lot of things I know about are going to waste, and that it would be good to tell other people about them too. So I’m going to try (emphasis on try) to do more previews on here, we'll see how long I can keep it up!

So, first up – Halloween. Halloween in London gets bigger and bigger each year, with several Halloween stalwarts putting on more than one night to ensure their fans can go along. For example, Torture Garden this year has a whopping four events – the two ‘normal’ TGs on the 25th and 1^st and then they have their Belle Epoque collab Dark Circus on the 25th and they’re doing a country retreat (how very Eyes Wide Shut) with Killing Kittens on the 1st.

http://www.torturegarden.com/

Suzette Fielding’s A Curious Invitation (basically Last Tuesday Society's heir now that Viktor Wynd is concentrating on his museum) has two events on – Satan’s Rout on the Friday and Day of the Dead on the Saturday. These balls are always masked events, with music, DJS and a swing class if you’re early enough, plus a few extras – that might be food to be eaten off naked people, or a menagerie of creepy crawlies and reptiles. It’s a lot tamer than Torture Garden but does provide a frisson of kink if you’re kink-curious but not ready to go the whole ‘latex and dungeon’ hog.
http://www.acuriousinvitation.com/

Carousel, which is one of the nights I’m taking my Meetup to, is doing a double header on the Friday and Saturday at Crucifix Lane, on the theme of the Rocky Horror Show. They bill themselves (a bit like Rumpus) as an indoor festival – lots of stages, lots of acts, music ranges from electro swing to house and they have performers and immersive theatre going on throughout the night both on stage and off.
http://carouselparty.co.uk/

Backyard Cinema are also back for a run of several nights starting on the Friday. This is not just a movie, this is a ‘theatrical experience’ with zombie training, live actors, cocktails, burritos and an End of the World party after the movie. This is the other thing I’m taking my Meetup group to.
http://www.backyardcinema.co.uk/

There’s also zombiefied shenanigans going down at The Vaults, starting on the Thursday with the Halloween Raveyard, in honour of the necropolis line that ran through here, taking dead bodies out to Surrey. Well, those dead bodies are back! And you’re one of them so dress accordingly. There’s cabaret, a zombie disco dance hall, and Dank Parish giving you your own funeral. Kansas Smitty (who are superb) are also making an appearance.
http://www.the-vaults.org/#!raveyard/c1vvr

For even more raving, FOUND are putting on two nights at the Troxy (an amazing venue) featuring the likes of Maya Jane Coles and George Fitzgerald.
http://www.foundseries.co.uk/

White Mischief is another night that knows how to do Halloween right. They have recently been doing smaller, more intimate events at Bush Hall with dinner and cabaret but for Halloween they're throwing a big bash back at their old home of Scala in King's Cross. Dressing up isn't essential but people DO make an effort. Steampunk is the name of the game rather than goth and latex here. They have some fantastic cabaret and circus acts, plus the Roustabouts DJing.
http://www.whitemischief.info/

If you fancy something quieter for your Halloween (but likely no less creepy) then head over to Are you Sitting Comfortably’s Halloween storytelling night. Expect chilling tales and some free chip butties.
http://www.artsadmin.co.uk/events/3582

And finally, if you want to keep your Halloween poppy and fun, then Videoke are back! The crew are on hand to recreate your favourite music videos, and of course encourage you to dance along, dress up as your favourite performer and generally have a great time. 
http://www.videokelondon.com/

Update
So, it turns out the Last Tuesday Society are still putting on events every now and again, and they have a Halloween one on November 1st. These days they're all about the D.I.S.C.O and part of the proceeds go to the CRISIS charity. Dressing up encouraged but not compulsory because 'you can always come naked and cover yourself in glitter'!
The Last Tuesday Society

This one sounds interesting. The Dreamery are bringing a 'terrifying horror maze' complete with art installations, live performances and interactive games to the Old Hackney archives. And there's a Day of the Dead theme. This is part of the London Horror Festival and runs from October 28th - November 1st so you can bring a little Halloween into your week.
https://www.picatic.com/lasmaravillas

Lucha Britannia hold pretty regular events but they're also doing a Halloween special on All Hallow's Eve. As they say, it's not a wrestling show, it's a 'Cabaret Sinestre' although there is, in fact, lots of tongue-in-cheek wrestling. Be prepared to jeer the baddies and cheer your favourites, and because it's Halloween, dress up as well! Tickets for this always sell out so if you fancy some real life, up close wrestling with lots of silly characters, bag yours now.
https://www.facebook.com/events/323571977815486/

Even more updates!

If I didn't already have plans then I reckon this is what I'd be doing. Bourne and Hollingsworth (also partialy responsible for the Dark Circus part) are hosting A Grimm Halloween Party on November 1st. You can expect their usual tasty cocktails and of course the whole event is inspired by the fairytales. There are live performances, a gingerbread house, glass coffin and even a 'Rumpelstiltskin lair' hosted by A Curious Invitation, who also feature on this list. And all taking place in the beautiful Grand Hall in St Pancras.
http://www.bourneandhollingsworth.com/grimmhalloweenparty/

There's also a free - yes, free! - event on the 31st hosted by Cubanisto beer. It is the House of Masks final party, It's at a secret location, marked by a neon skull. It features immersive theatrical experiences and interactive puzzles. Sounds intriguing! London is seriously spoiled this year for events. 
http://cubanisto.com/gb/events

I'll add more gigs here if I hear of them! Or tell me, where are you going for Halloween?

Ultimate Power Ballads, 1st November

I didn't really expect to be saying this but Ultimate Power Ballads was SO. MUCH. FUN!!! It managed to tap into my adolescent twin loves of being angsty and singing my heart out.

I had a little too much fun in fact as the night quickly descended into a heady haze (I'd been at a free bar before turning up) and so this is not the most comprehensive of posts.

It was only later I thought to look at my photos of the night and my memory was jogged - were there superheroes on the stage? Why? I do not know.

This could be the Riddler?

But what I remember, as I have iterated before, was very good. The night was dubbed Bat out of Helloween in honour of Halloween and lots of people were dressed for the occasion. If they weren't in ghostly guise then they had donned their 80s finest, and some had done a pretty good combination of the two. 

Mullets abounded: the perfect accompaniment to the inflatable guitars and microphones which are the essential accessory for a night such as this. Well, if you're going to be belting 'em out, you need a mic to sing into!

I wasn't sure about the whole concept before I got there but within five minutes they had played Mr. Big's 'To Be With You'  - one of the songs on a CD we had on repeat in my teens: The Best Rock Ballads in the World... Ever! and Def Leppard's 'When Love and Hate Collide', another song we were weirdly obsessed with back in the day, and I was smitten. 

Add to this the fact that they played Whitney's 'I Have Nothing' over the more predictable 'I Will Always Love You' (and my own personal preference), and they cemented my fandom.

I must admit, there was a point where my enthusiasm waned a little - things did get a bit cheesy in the middle (yes, cheesier than the aforementioned) but they brought it back again with the likes of 'Drove All Night' by Cyndi Lauper and 'Think Twice' - allowing me to do my best 'singer in anguish' impressions.

I still maintain that being drunk is the optimal state to be in for such a night - you really need to let your inhibitions go as basically this is just one big singalong. I remember being on the dance floor, but you never do anything much more energetic than sway around a bit. 

The crowd 'dancing'

After confessing my enjoyment of this night, people are now trying to persuade me to go to Guilty Pleasures. But I worry that may be a step too far for me... what do you think?

Ghost Bus Tour, 29th October

I love Halloween and I celebrated it in quite a big way this year I think, going to four different things for it. One of which was The Ghost Bus Tour. This runs all year, but it seemed a good idea to go near Halloween, an idea which clearly a lot of people share. They put on extra tours around this time of year, and our bus was sold out. Having had a drink over the road at the Sherlock Holmes, safe in the knowledge we'd get there on time as it departs from outside the pub, when we did turn up, everyone else was already there.

It didn't really matter though - I wouldn't say some seats are particularly better than others, and they have screens up at the front and back of the bus so you don't miss any of the action. And yes, there is action, for this is no ordinary sightseeing bus, though they do a good job of that too. This one comes with all sorts of extra frights and kooky creepiness. Perhaps a leetle too hammed up for my taste but it was all a lot of fun, and the children on the tour really got into it. One poor kid had to put his hoodie up and his hands over his eyes, during the really 'scary' parts lest he not last the journey.

You start at Northumberland Avenue and in the hour and a quarter that you drive through London you go all the way into the City and down into Bankside, pausing on occasion, and being told about all the gruesome and ghostly goings-on that have taken place along the way. I actually learned quite a lot on the tour that I didn't know already, for example:

• We went past the spot King Charles was executed and saw the bust of him on the very spot he lost his head, which I had never noticed before despite passing by there often.
• There is said to be a headless woman who haunts opposite Downing Street, and Bank is the most haunted tube station. 
• They didn't let the fact that Oliver Cromwell was dead stop them putting him on trial, and dug up his body to be present at court.

But that's not all. Interwoven along the way is the bus's OWN grisly history, which is revealed little by little. The guide himself, Marcus McGuffin was quite entertaining and clearly of a theatrical bent - his attitude is that we're all on a normal tour guide, please ignore any odd happenings - all perfectly normal... and then he'll give a worried glance to camera to ensure you know all is everything but.

Partway through the tour we were joined by an inspector checking the bus out for any supernatural evidence. And guess what? She finds some, and this is the catalyst for being plunged into your own little ghost story, with the inspector becoming increasingly hysterical along the way, whipping up the little'uns fright quite effectively. Complete with flickering lights, strange, eerie creaking and moaning, you have a veritable mobile haunted house.

Once the true history of the bus is revealed (I won't give it away) the denouement is a seance to commune with the spirits. I'll let you have a go for yourself to see what the spirits had to say...

As a way to see the city it's actually really good, and the extra theatrics are a lot of fun. It's absolutely perfect for Halloween but I'd recommend going at any time. I thought it was brilliant.

Alaween (ALAN), 26th October

Well, Alaween, from ALAN (Awareness and Love All-Nighters) turned out to be a drum n bass haven, which wasn't exactly what I was expecting (and in mine and my friends' humble opinions seemed a bit of a waste of so many different rooms) but I still had a pretty wicked time there.

The theme for the night (hard to tell from this picture) was zombies vs commandos, although some people had cross-dressed as both. It took place in The Vaults at Waterloo, an amazing underground warren of rooms, just out the back of Waterloo.  Each of the eight rooms had a different DJ, except for one room which was the 'surgical lab' - where you could make an appointment if you were brave enough... 

In the surgical lab bunker, something was afoot. While it claimed that you would be treated and improved by walking through the plastic door, you couldn't help but wonder what might actually befall you as you passed through. Our suspicions were acutely aroused by the fact zombies kept trying to escape from behind the curtain. Yes, something back there wasn't quite right...

About ten minutes after making an appointment, my friend was directed into a wheelchair and told she could bring some family members along (all 5 of us went with her). We were accosted by a slightly undead looking guard but were let through, where my friend was put on the table and assessed - given some dubious liquid (Sprite!) and 'injected'. All the while, we were lined up against the wall trying to avoid our nurse's 'sister', a gruesome creature lurking in a cage and occasionally making a grab for one of us. She had some Haribo sweets to keep her calm but we riled her by nicking and eating them. After the assessment, we went into the recovery room where we were encouraged to have a lie down and relax. And then we left. Oh wait, no we didn't. We were then attacked by the gruesome beast who had somehow escaped her cage in the next room! Bits of disgusting jelly sweets and saliva went everywhere as my friend tousled with the gore-soaked zombie on the ground and tried to escape. While not exactly terrifying, it did give us a bit of a fright, as well as the resultant rush of hilarity afterwards. 

For the rest of the evening we spent it exploring and dancing. The place was huge. Too huge I think, for the number of people. Even though there were 2,000 attendants, the number of people in each arch ended up being quite small, which meant some of them lacked a bit of atmosphere. We spent most of our time in the main bit although flitted into the Imaginarium area from time to time, just because we'd liked their last party so much.

Where is everyone?

Upstairs there was a bit of a chillout room where you could buy snacks (and brains) or take a relaxing lie down on the animal rug, or even the coffin they had provided. My friend and I spent far too long in that doing an extended photoshoot (no I'm not showing you the pictures).

We rounded off the evening in the main part again, once we had determined that yes, every single room seemed to be playing drum n bass, even though a whole range of music had been promised. The main room did seem to vary the most - they played some house and had an MC live in there at one point as well, but kept reverting to what seemed to be the one true love of most people there - dropping bass-heavy drum n bass. I had a good old freak out to it for a bit but with only an hour to go, we had grown weary of the music selection and decided to head home.

What's he spinning? I'm gonna go with DnB.

I enjoyed the little quirky touches, like the coffin, or the dead man hanging from the stairs, and the medical lab of course. They had some nice visuals going on in places - a few movies projected onto the wall. And I enjoyed the music sporadically. But it wasn't my most favouritest of nights recently. Not sure if I will seek out another ALAN event (famous last words - I'll probably end up at one for New Year's Eve!)