19 terrifyingly good ways to celebrate Halloween in Manchester

Halloween is the best excuse for a party between summer and Christmas. This celebration of all things spooky allows for some of the most exciting events you’ll see all year with parties, performances and offers all across Manchester. The official date is Monday 31 October but there’s lots of stuff going on the week before.

Halloween Spooktacular Charity Ball at Old Granada Studios

The fourth Halloween Spooktacular Ball takes place at Old Granada Studios on Saturday 29 October. The event will run from 7pm ‘til 1am and tickets are priced at £25.  Ghoulish guests will be entertained with live performances including DJs and a raffle. All proceeds to Forever Manchester which funds and supports community activity across Greater Manchester http://forevermanchester.com/upcomingevents/spooktacular/ 

Capital’s Monster Mash-Up

Capital are kicking off the spookiest time of the year with an exclusive gig right here in Manchester  – so start planning your outfits now. On 30th October, 5 huge artists will be descending on the Manchester Academy for one frighteningly good night. Get your costumes and fake blood ready, because these megastars will be giving you the best Halloween party ever! Craig David, Sigala, Bob Sinclar, Sigma and Kungs will be joining Capital for this Halloween Party, and Capital have got a few tricks, and plenty of treats up their sleeves  so you’re not gonna want to miss this! Buy your tickets here (15+).

FilmFear Halloween extravaganza at HOME

FilmFear is a 10-film long weekend across five days featuring exclusive horror previews, shorts, special guests and monster classics, including a preview of Alice Lowe’s much anticipated Prevenge plus Q&A, a glorious Spanish version of the 1931 Dracula and a unique screening of Nosferatu, the original – and probably the scariest – vampire movie with live musical score. Thursday 27-Monday 31 October

Halloween Party at The Milton Club

One of Manchester’s most stylish nightclubs is hosting a Halloween party sure to impress on Saturday 29 October. Expect devilish dancing and top DJ tunes from 8pm right through till 4am – but will you have the monster stamina to manage it? Thankfully there will be themed drinks to fuel you up – as a selection of smoky cocktails will be available 2 for £12, plus a cocktail reception for the first 100 guests.
www.themiltonclub.co.uk

Day of the Dead Themed Party at Dive

This Northern Quarter basement bar is kicking off a terrifying trio of Halloween events with a Day of the Dead themed party on Friday 28 October. Expect high-action entertainment with fire-breathers and a flash mob, as well as specialty cocktails and shots. You even have the chance to transform into your ultimate Halloween character, as professional make-up artists will be ready to give complimentary makeovers from 8pm till 11pm! Saturday 28 October carries on the Day of The Dead theme, with a DJ playing until 5 am. Will you survive the beats or be a zombie by then? Monday 31 October celebrates the official date with a special Halloween gaming event. Be sure to check it out.
divenq.co.uk

Day of the Dead Party with Mexpresso Martinis at Be At One

Indulge in the dark side and delve into one of Manchester’s most exclusive basement bars. Be At One are bringing the ultimate Day of The Dead party to Manchester with specialty cocktails in the form of Mexpresso Martinis (espresso paired with Olmeca Tequila – dare you try the burn?) plus they are giving away the first twenty for free thanks to The Be At One app. Dressing up is recommended too – they are giving a £50 bar tab to the best dressed guest and a £100 bar tab to the best dressed group.
www.beatone.co.uk/cocktail-bar/manchester

Zombie Apocalypse at Hula

This fun NQ Tiki bar will be hosting an apocalyptic party on Saturday 29 October. DJ Gareth Brooks will be spinning a playlist powerful enough to wake the dead and dressing up is encouraged – the best dressed zombie of the evening will win a bottle of Santa Teresa Rum. There will also be 2 for £10 cocktails until 9pm and plenty of spirits – of both kinds! Then on Sunday 30 October he monthly rock night with Blackwell Rum is back for a Dead Rockstars’ Halloween special. Nic Kozubic will be banging out massive rock classics and there’ll be Blackwell Rum cocktails for £6 all night with a rum prize for the best dressed dead rock star, plus DJs 9pm til 2am. If the weekend just wasn’t enough, you can carry on the party on Halloween itself with Bad Osiris bringing good vibes to a dark night – with a number of student deals on Monday 31.
www.hulabar.co.uk

Penny Dreadful Halloween Special at The Fitzgerald 

1920’s speakeasy-style bar The Fitzergald is serving up an evening of retro-chic horror on Saturday 29 October – with haunting jazz music, a backdrop of black and white horror movies and some creepy cocktail specials.  If you like anything Victoriana influenced, then you’ll love this!  Doors open at 5pm, with a DJ from 9pm. Why not come as a Gatsby-styled ghost – the best dressed of the evening will be awarded a bottle of Tanqueray Gin.

Carve a pumpkin with the experts at Chaophraya

Get stuck into a proper pumpkin carving session amidst the dazzling interiors of Manchester’s much loved Thai restaurant Chaophraya. Carving experts will be ready to help you create the ultimate Halloween pumpkin – whether you want to carve a traditional Jack-o-Lantern or try the most inventive design you can think of! There will be two sittings for the carving – 4pm and 5pm – and these can be booked by calling the reception team. Only 15 places available so book now to get yourself involved in this unique opportunity. Bring your own pumpkin and carving kit! First come, first served. www.chaophraya.co.uk/manchester

Fright Night at Walrus and Tusk with ‘Dead Good’ RnB

Expect a seriously spooky line-up of DJs spinning skeleton-shaking RnB all night long at these two Manchester Northern Quarter bars.  Friday 28 October is the date and the occasion is Fright Night kicking off at both Walrus and Tusk with creepy cocktail specials for the whole evening. DJs start from 9pm and there’s a bottle of Kettel One Vodka for the best-dressed. Sounds more like a treat than a trick to us!
walrusmanchester.com
tuskmanchester.co.uk

Get your fangs into a Halloween Pancake Challenge

If it’s food you’re hunting for, then you’re in the right place – and we bring you some of the most exciting eats in Manchester this Halloween. Dare you try one of the most petrifying pancake eating challenges the city has to offer? Big US-style eatery Infamous Diner are serving up 7 stacks of delicious pancakes, each with a very inventive (and scary!) topping – including Frankenstein’s jelly brain and even candy floss ghosts! Catch it while you can, as this terrifying treat is being unleashed for a limited time only from Saturday 29 till Monday 31October.  If you can munch through this monster in 30 minutes then you escape the £25 price tag!
www.infamousdiner.co.uk

Try a Terrifying Thai

For things savoury, Busaba the popular Thai restaurant in The Printworks is celebrating Monday 31 as Half Moonday – which means 50% off food all day. This is the chance to enjoy authentic cuisine at seriously low prices, plus there will be party games and fun in their brand new bar area.
www.busaba.com/bookings

Day of The Dead & Zombie Themed Halloween Weekend at Walkabout

This big Oz-style bar in The Printworks is unleashing a free entry weekender with special cocktails and shots, awesome entertainment and a monster mash-up of songs from resident zombie DJs Matt Munroe and Matt Tighe. Expect a scarily good playlist – everything from horror film classics to house and RnB. There’s also a themed food menu, devilish decorations and prizes for best fancy dress. It’s enough to make you (blood)thirsty so it’s a good job Walkabout are bringing you some spooktacular drinks offers, running all the way through October. These include 3 for 2 on Strongbow, 2 Zombie Nation cocktails for £8 and 4 for £10 Jagerbombs.  And dare you enter the bat cave? It’s opening in the opera house booth – see for yourself…
www.walkaboutbars.co.uk/venues/manchester-the-print-works

Get a glimpse into your future with new resident tarot card readers at Corn Exchange

Visitors to Corn Exchange have the chance to get a tarot reading in the atrium using one of the oldest forms of fortune telling around. With a long history of weird and wonderful characters, clairvoyant readings have played a big part in the building’s past. £25 for a 30-minute session. Every last Sunday of the month from 1pm – 7pm from Sunday 30 October

Malzombies at Malmaison 

This has to be one of the most inventive Halloween efforts from a city centre hotel as Malmaison’s bar and reception team turn into Malzombies on Saturday 29 October. The bar will come alive with some great decorations and 3 specialty Halloween themed cocktails on offer all night for only £5 each. Guests can also enjoy some seriously scary party games with prizes and a live DJ so come and feast on the action.
www.malmaison.com/locations/manchester

Afterlife in the Fast Lane – the All Star Lanes dead famous Halloween weekender

This big US-style bowling joint, bar and eatery in the Great Northern is setting out a series of scary events from Saturday 29 to Monday 31 October. Guests are encouraged to go for Dead Famous fancy dress and there will be limited edition cocktails too – great for partying into the night – with DJs from 7pm onwards. For the daylight dwellers they’ve rustled up The Bloody Brunch all weekend from 12-4pm which includes limited edition Bloody Marys (or prosecco or craft beer if you prefer) and  a bloody big menu! Who would have thought a bowling venue could be so ghoulishly good? There are even cheeky ‘trick or treat’ shots on the lanes!
www.allstarlanes.co.uk

Celebrate Halloween in style at Red Door’s Haunted Horror House

For one night only sophisticated Deansgate bar Red Door will transform into a spooky Haunted Horror House for a spectacular Halloween celebration. There will be a ghostly atmosphere during the evening and the bar will be decorated in an appropriately sinister style.  This is the one night of the year when guests are encouraged to wear fancy dress, the scarier and more imaginative the better. With music, scary cocktails and haunting vibes until the early hours, this is certain to be one of the hottest Halloween celebrations in the city. Saturday 29 October  5pm – 3am
78 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2FW
www.reddoor.uk.com

Meet the Widow party in collaboration with Veuve Clicquot at Australasia

Did you know? This year marks the 150^th anniversary of the death of Madame Clicquot, champagne’s most emblematic woman.  City centre colonial style bar Australasia will be paying homage to the iconic widow by transforming into a gothic wonderland with haunting masquerade masks, Halloween-inspired champagne glasses and customised Veuve Clicquot magnums.  Champagne-sippers will be handed a secret card on the evening, with the chance to win either a glass or a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label. Indulge in a night of decadent wickedness and party the night away on Australasia’s heated terrace by booking a Veuve drinks table. Australasia’s resident DJs will be playing until the early hours.  Friday 28 October.  To book a Veuve table, email [email protected]

Wicked 241 Zombie cocktails at Turtle Bay

Turtle Bay serves up signature Caribbean soul-food, including their famous jerk chicken and curry goat. Dishes are brimming with zesty flavours and spicy hues – there’s plenty to share or dig into alone.  On Saturday 29 October Turtle Bay will be serving their famous Zombie cocktails as 241 all day at their Oxford Street and Oldham Street restaurants.  Famous for serving the best rum cocktails in town, mixologist Josh Graham shares the secrets of the trade with two creepy Caribbean cocktails created especially for the season and allowing your party to be a Halloween spooktacular!