From ghost holes to spooky discos and haunted hotels, we’ve rounded up 22 of the best parties happening in Toronto this Halloween for all you guys and ghouls.
5 pm Where The Wild Things Are @ Track & Field, 860 College St. Ever wanted to spend your Halloween in an adult blanket fort? If so, your Halloween dreams are coming true. Track & Field’s first-ever Halloween party will feature free bocce and shuffleboard all night long, totally safe party lasers and smoke machine, 5000 square-foot blanket fort, cheap Mill St. beer and Jameson shots, a silent screening of Troll 2, and a baller prize for Best Costume! Tunes provided by DJ George Thoms. $15 advance tickets available online and at Track & Field.
8 pm The Grand(stone) Budapest Hotel @ The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W. Immerse yourself in the wacky world of Wes Anderson as the Gladstone Hotel is transformed into the Grand Budapest Hotel. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for interactive performances by your favourite Wes Anderson characters, and look out for Glory Hole Donuts as Mendl’s Patisserie serving up scrumptious delights. Have your photo taken by Gustave in the ‘la concierge’ backdrop and dance the night away to Wes Anderson soundtrack-inspired live music acts and DJs. Tickets sold out almost immediately for this, but if you’re lucky, you might find someone willing to sell on the Facebook page.
8 pm Ghost Hole VII @ Jam Factory, 2 Matilda St. “Ghost Holes are an unexplained phenomena that occur in areas of high paranormal activity. They can be found in attics, alleyways, under bridges or under beds.” This year, Ghost Hole will be exploring the Jam Factory, an old building located right beside the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto’s East end. Areas of the building usually blocked off to the public will be opened and transformed by artists for the audience to explore. $10 advance tickets available at Soundscapes.
8 pm Silver Snail Presents: Snailoween @ Andrew Richard Designs, 571 Adelaide St. E. Get working on your costumes, because Silver Snail has over $2000 in prizes to give away for the best ones, including a special prize for the best Captain Canuck costume courtesy of The Lakeview Restaurant! Tunes provided by DJ Misty and 80sFavoriteBabies + a special appearance by The Cybertronic Spree! $25 advance tickets available online.
8 pm Mask @ Wayward, 1096 Queen St. W. (second floor). Reveal your inner self and win a $1,000 cash prize for Best Costume! Music by DJ John T. $20 advance tickets available online.
9 pm Goin’ Steady DJs Present: Monster Mash @ Lee’s Palace, Bloor St. W. This year’s Monster Mash will be bigger, better, and scarier than ever! Featuring stage design by Adam Belanger (Kubrick The Exhibition / Cronenberg Evolution / Unit 102 Theatre) + the Goin’ Steady DJs playing the absolute best dance tracks from every era. Unexpect the accepted except exceptional exceptions and DANCE. $10.
9 pm C’est L’Halloween @ Owl’s Club, 847 Dovercourt Rd. A party 100% devoted to all things Halloween in the spooky confines of the Owl’s Hall, including cheapo legion drink prices, more candy than you can handle, and prize for the best costume! DJs Mizz Brown and Paul G spin your fave Halloween and Top 40 hits. $10.
9 pm Hush Hush @ Toronto Public Library Bloor/Gladstone Branch, 1101 Bloor St. W. Zombie librarians are taking over Toronto Public Library for the third annual Hush Hush party! Hosted by the Toronto Public Library Foundation’s young patrons group New Collection, the popular event will be a screamer in the stacks of the newly renovated 102-year-old Bloor/Gladstone library. Guest will enjoy a “scar bar” with expert makeup application; devilishly tasty food served up by chef Matt Basile of Fidel Gastro’s; an oyster bar from master shucker Patrick McMurray, an open bar featuring specialty cocktails including Vampire’s Kiss, Brain Hemorrhage and Smoking Skulls; and exciting prizes for the best costumes.
9 pm Big Gay Halloween @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. DJ Craig Mann starts the night off with some classic house beats, followed by DJ Casper spinning all the hits from your youth (Missy Elliott, Sean Paul, Ludacris, Fat Joe, etc.). Dress to impress for a chance to win a prize. No cover, but a donation of $5 would be greatly appreciated. Proceeds go to Rainbow Railroad, a non-profit that helps LGBT people living in violently homophobic countries flee to safety.
10 pm Juicebox Halloween @ The Piston, 937 College St. Tunes of the indie rock/pop/new wave/Britpop variety all night courtesy of Tweed and DJ What’s Her Problem?! + $100 to best costume and an array of goodies given out care of The Piston, Kops Records, and Steamwhistle!
10 pm Dudebox Is Fucking Dead VI @ 876 Bloor St. W. Dudebox knows how to throw a good party, and this one promises to be a doozy. $5 drinks, hot strangers, and GOOD VIBES ONLY. Sounds by Nino “Burn You Alive” Brown, James “Say Your Prayers and Get” Redi, Jon “Check A Bish” Chetty, “Hell is My Playground” HRMXNY, and Night “Never Wears Pants” Moves. $10 before 11 pm, $15 after, with proceeds being donated to Lifeline Syria.
10 pm Bangs & Blush’s Halloween Spooktacular @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. Ready to scream with delight?! Bangs & Blush’s fifth annual Halloween Spooktacular is back and they’ll be bringing you all the bone rattling tunes of the ’90s and ’00s to help you go bump in the night. A frightful night filled with spooky tricks and treats, including prizes for the most fangtastic costumes! $5 with student ID, $10 without.
10 pm Drake Horror Story @ The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. Careful… The Drake Horror Story Hotel will play tricks on you. The Countess and Will Drake are expecting you this Halloween. Check-in as a 115 year-old vampire, a ghostly laundress, a sadistic butler, or a Teletubby for a chance to win $500 in cold hard cash for Best Costume. DJ Dougie Boom hits the Lounge at 10 pm and Itzsoweezee will turn up before turndown in the Underground from 11 pm onwards. $10.
10 pm Halloween 2015 @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. What could be scarier than being stranded on a ship at sea with a bunch of freaky ghouls? Missing out on this PARTY, that’s what! Spooky tunes and party bangers provided by DJ Keith Hamilton. Pumpkins, candy, some people lookin’ dandy; The Boat will have it all! $5.
10 pm Scream Me Up: Halloween Disco @ 8-11, 233 Spadina Ave. She has risen; once a somber spectre, banished to the darkest corners of the earth, Disco has rightfully reclaimed Her place in the limelight. She demands an evening of hedonistic reverence and sacrificial adoration and She shall find this in Scream Me Up, Beam Me Up’s exploration in dark disco, fiendish funk, and ethereal soul. A Digital Needle, Cyclist, and SMKBRK provide the music, while new media visual artist Alex McLeod transforms 8-11’s cavernous basement into an sensatory mausoleum. Dressing up is encouraged, but not required. $11 advance tickets available online.
10 pm 6th Annual Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ’90s Halloween @ 99 Sudbury, 99 Sudbury St. A Tribute to old school hip-hop, R&B, dance, house, reggae, and pop from the ’90s with DJs R2, C-Lo, D-Smooth, Nishe. Cash prizes for best Halloween costumes. $40 advance tickets available online.
10 pm Footprints Funky Halloween Bash @ Rivoli, 334 Queen St. W. DJs General Eclectic and Jason Palma deliver the dance floor science and potent rhythmic vibrations to make you move and groove! Everything from jazz to reggae, soul to boogaloo, samba to ska, disco to house, hip-hop to electro, and some spooky Halloween treats here and there. Performance by The Soul Motivators + prizes for most unique and outlandish costumes! $10.
10 pm P&L Halloween @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. Parts & Labour and Jagermeister presents Halloween 2015. Grammy award-winning producer BOI-1DA, Big Jacks (Leant), and Diggy The DJ (Brass Tacks, Down With Webster) provide the tunes.
10 pm Panic: Halloween Retro Party @ Cabal, 782 King St. W. The ultimate retro party! DJ Lazarus spins the kind of music that changed your life: ’80s, ’90s, new wave, classic alternatives, synth pioneers, Britpop, ska, shoegaze, post-punk, and more. Dress up in your best retro-inspired costume to win cash prizes. $10 before 11 pm, $15 after. Advance tickets available online.
10 pm Discopia @ 206 Beverly St. A post-apocalyptic Halloween bash presented by Breakandenter and Box of Kittens. Thunderdome (main room): AtomTM & Tobias (Germany/Chile), Mike Gibbs, Jamie Kidd, and Martin Fazekas. Wasteland (second room): Ali Black, Richard Brooks, and CL. Installations by Tiger and Franz Kinkerzoink. $35 advance tickets available at Soundscapes, Play De Record, and online. More at the door.
10:30 pm Shriek A Tail @ Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College St. Shake away all the ghouls and ghosts this Halloween at Shake A Tail’s eighth annual Halloween bash! They’ve got prizes, candy, and all of the greatest jams from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s for you to get as hot as possible to. No cover until 11:30 pm.
11 pm A Love Bizarre Halloween Monster Mash @ Miss Thing’s, 1279 Queen St. W. Boogie’s gonna get you! DJs Dirty Dale, Raf Reza, Kiki LeFreak, Rhynecologist, Paul Revered keep you moving to house, hip-hop, funk, disco, rocksteady, and dancehall. BTW: Costumes are waaaay cooler than not costumes.