The 650 guide to the 36 best local Halloween happenings — from boo-zy bashes to hellish haunted…

by THE SIX FIFTY staff October 16, 2019 2799 Views

The 650 guide to the 36 best local Halloween happenings — from boo-zy bashes to hellish haunted houses

Graveyard photo booths, Howl-o-ween for the dogs and Fright Night in your favorite wine cellar.

The Season of the Witch has arrived here on the SF Peninsula, and in classic Bay Area fashion the region is hosting a spine-chilling selection of Halloween happenings. In fact, there are so many that it can be hard to wade through all the Peninsula has to offer.

But fret not, The Six Fifty is seasonally-obsessed with All Hallow’s Eve, so we curated this lengthy list of eerie events and ghoulish gatherings for your consideration, from the Goblin Walk to the Terror Vault. Pick your poison and get that candy….

Lots of family fun at the Hiller’s Haunted Hangar party. (Image via Hiller Aviation)

For your diabolical offspring

Hiller Aviation hosts a full weekend of family-oriented events, starting with their Saturday night Haunted Hangar party, with food trucks, activities for the little ones and a full bar for mom and dad. The next day, they also have a Halloween kids’ carnival where your kiddos can paint a plane, meet the airport witch and watch the annual pumpkin drop (seriously, what’s more fun than throwing gourds out of helicopters?).

If your kids are deep into “train phase” you might as well just embrace it and take them to Thomas and Percy’s Halloween Party at Roaring Camp Railroads, which involves a caboose full of fun activities, pictures with Topham Hatt (yeah, we’ve been there, too) and a ride with one of their favorite characters. (Diesel 10? Nah, it’s just Percy.)

Not sure about you…but we’re going for that purple one. (Image via Krispy Kreme website)

Head to Mountain View for the city’s annual (daytime, 1–3p.m.) Monster Bash, or to Menlo Park for their Halloween Hoopla Parade & Spooky Carnival. Or, check out Palo Alto’s annual Blossom Halloween Carnival & California Ave Trick or Treat, with the Stanford Band and kids’ musician Andy Z. Meanwhile, Santa Rita Elementary School is hosting their Witches Delight Carnival, complete with carnival rides. But wait….don’t miss one of the best local kids’ costume parades on the Peninsula—the San Carlos Goblin Walk.

The Stanford Shopping Center hosts their Halloween Spook-Tacular on the 31st with trick-or-treating in the mall. The Hillsdale Mall will offer Halloween festivities as well, with a balloon artist, face painting and a graveyard photo booth.

Finally, don’t skip Krispy Kreme on your trick-or-treat trail for a FREE Halloween-themed donut.

Release the hounds

Sunnyvale is hosting a big Halloween Pet Parade and costume fair with proceeds going towards a memorial for beloved local K-9 Jax, who was killed in the line of duty in 2017. All pets are welcome!

Meanwhile, Wag Hotels will be hosting their annual Haunted Howl-o-ween Party to benefit the Pets In Need Rescue Organization, with a silent auction, costume contest and….(wait for it)…..photos with Cruella de Vil!!

Putting the boo in boozy

If you’re feeling the need to get mashed in a monster way…there’s a scary number of elixir-driven festivities over the next week.

Devils Canyon is kicking things off with a costumed edition of Yoga-DJ-Beer (stretch-sip-and-scare?). Plus, don’t forget their Beer Garden Fridays…which are pretty festive during any seasons. Speaking of beer AND Halloween…Ghostwood Brewery is releasing a special pink sour during their BOO(b) Halloween Breast Cancer Awareness Party. Food+music+ beer in support of a great cause. Wear a costume!

Over in RWC, Freewheel Brewing is offering happy hour pricing all night for costumed revelers at their 5th Annual Skullfest with Dr. Colossus spinning 90s-era alt-anthems (like “Ghost Rider” off of The Crow soundtrack…or “Missing Link” off of Judgement Night…?).

Meanwhile, the evil minions of Taplands in Santa Clara are hosting a Monster Mash with Ghost Town Brewing, a costume party with music and a…wait for it….Soul Train style dance-off. Yes!

On the wine wavelength, head to La Honda Winery for their Nightmare on Fair Oaks Avenue party, with lots of prizes for costumes. (Get a ticket sooner than later.) Domenico Winery hosts their Annual Fright Night in the Cellar Halloween Party and Costume Contest, with live music and ‘Horror d’oeuvres.’ Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards is also hosting their annual party on Halloween.

The Monster Bash

Opal Nightclub in Mountain View is hosting a full weekend of Halloween-themed parties. Get that costume going and take your pic (we’re partial to the Nightmare on Castro Street party).

Club Fox in RWC is hosting a Halloween Bash with Van Halen cover band Hot for Teacher (“I don’t feel tardy”). Down in San Jose, the Ritz has their annual All Hallow’s shindig with DJs and $500 in costume prize money. Speaking of big prize money, Pure Night Club in Sunnyvale is putting on Curse of the Clown, with $1000 prize for their group costume contest (early bird tix are already sold out). Want to mix it up a bit? There’s a Bollywood Halloween Party at Back Bar!!

Need something less nightclub-y? Check out the Boo-zy Halloween Bingo Night benefiting the Millbrae Nursery School. (Three hauntings and an exorcism? BINGO!!!)

Yeah….we’re good. (Image via Fear Overload website)

Seriously Scary

Not gonna lie…these live-action haunted house events kinda scare the crap out of us, but if it’s your thing, we’ve got them mapped out for you.

First off…wander the haunted corridors of the legendary Winchester Mystery House with their newest haunted house event—Unhinged.

Fear Overload looks as terrifying as ever this year, especially their newest attraction — The Tooth Collector (jeez…they had to go with a killer dentist?). And so does the Terror Vault. Billed as part haunted maze and escape room, The Terror Vault looks like it will live up to its name, so don’t lag on getting tickets.

But hey, there’s no shortage…pick your poison: Great America has their Halloween Haunt, Six Flags has Fright Fest and there’s San Jose’s Dead Time Dreams haunted house.

On a more local level, head to the Coastside for the Moss Beach Haunted House, a local favorite tucked away in the autumn atmosphere. Finally, this year’s Church Drive haunted house sounds like it may be one for the books. Arrive early and bring some canned food to donate for their support of Second Harvest Food bank.

Happy Haunting 650!!

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The 650 guide to the 36 best local Halloween happenings — from boo-zy bashes to hellish haunted…