“Rock The Shock” For A Sin City Halloween


Octoberfest. Autumn Harvest. And of course, Halloween. Whatever your pleasure for the return of cooler weather, Las Vegas is the place to do it. Many autumn-themed festivities and decorations have been in full swing since early September. If you missed our earlier primer on those, check it out by going here.

With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, you can believe that Vegas will be taking advantage of this prime opportunity to offer a maximum amount of fun. Expect to see racy and elaborate costumes everywhere you look…and all weekend long.

Even if you lean towards the conservative side, there’s no reason NOT to participate in the Halloween absurdity. This is the one time of the year when it’s totally cool (and expected) for you to cut loose, act like a kid again and be outrageous to the max.

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A word of caution – casinos do not allow full-face make-up or masks to be worn on the premises (for obvious security reasons). Plan around that when getting your own attire prepared…and when mapping the path to your venue of choice.

With that in mind, let’s get to some of the more noteworthy shenanigans planned for the rest of October:

Luxor reveals the haunted legacy of R.M.S. Titanic with “Haunted Ghost Tours” at Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition. Tour guides will share spooky tales of actual Titanic passengers combined with ghostly apparitions that have occurred at the exhibit itself. You might spot the ever-crying “Lady In Black”, who haunts the Titanic’s Grand Staircase.

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Titanic’s Haunted Ghost Tours depart every Saturday in October at 8 pm. They’re included as part of admission to Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition. Tickets and more info are available here.

Hyde Bellagio will start the Halloween parties super-early, as in Sunday October 25th, when they throw a “Superheroes And Villans” extravaganza. The day-to-night party is part of sbe’s XIV Vegas Sessions (with chapters in Los Angeles and Miami), known for its champagne showers, confetti downpours and thumping house music. If you want to channel your inner Wolverine or kick up your own Halle Berry-inspired Storm, get tickets here.

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The appropriately-named Ghostbar at The Palms will have an all-day, all-night Halloween bash on October 31st. Beginning at 1 pm, Ghostbar Dayclub will host “Day Of The Killer Costumes”, with a best-costume top prize of $2,000 cash and $500 in VIP bottle service. Second place is for $1,000 plus the same bottle service, and third place nets an overnight stay in a Superior Room at Palms, along with diner for two at NOVE Italiano and a VIP table at Ghostbar Dayclub.

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GBDC - Day of the Killer Costumes 2

When the sun goes down and the witches start crossing the sky, the party transforms to Ghostbar Nightclub. The top costume there will get a $10,000-value Sky Villa for one night and $5,000 cash. All the details on the contests are at this link.

Ghostbar - Night of the Killer CostumesFremont Street and the Downtown area are my favorite place to experience Halloween. The month of October sees a mash-up of Halloween and Octoberfest each year with “OktoberFrightFest,” a nightly street party that stretches five blocks…and beyond.

While Fremont Street is a veritable buffet of oddballs any time of the year, the outlandish street performers and buskers in weird get-ups are vastly outnumbered by costumed visitors on the days surrounding Halloween.

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Overhead, VivaVision videos are a big part of the experience, with hourly shows integrating elements from Ghostbusters, Nightmare On Elm Street, Time Warp, Monster Mash and of course, Thriller (from that ghastly ghoul, Michael Jackson).

Live nightly entertainment haunts the Fremont Street stages, with shows by the “Frank and the Steins” musical revue and many more. Check out the official Fremont Street Experience website for schedules and information. All shows are free.

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Insider tip: you may want to think twice about bringing children to FSE, especially at this time of the year. Despite all the strollers and toddlers around, it’s far from “kid friendly”.

Speaking of Downtown, our friends at the Aussie Hunks male revue recently announced that they’ll be leaving Fremont Street for a new venue on the Strip. More details later (including a bigger production with new costumes). But for now, they grace the cover of QVegas Magazine for this month’s  “Hunky Halloween” issue of the long-running LGBTQ publication.

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If male strippers aren’t your kind of scare, how about a walking tour of Downtown’s haunted landmarks? Every Saturday at 6 pm, the curious gather in front of Heart Attack Grill on Fremont Street for Haunted History Tour. It’s a 1.25 mile guided experience through legendary haunts of “old town”, following in the footsteps of gangsters, cowboys and rail riders. Part of the creepy fun is an investigation behind the Mob Museum. Prices are $30 per person, but we found a Groupon offer good for two guests for only $24 total. Reservations are required.

Of course, there are plenty of long-running “haunted house” attractions sprinkled throughout the valley, mostly for locals. If you’re visiting and have a rental car, you may have fun checking a few out. Attempts to bring them to the Strip and Downtown have fallen by the wayside (Eli Roth’s “Goretorium”, “Fear At Binions” and “The SCREAMont Experiment” were expensive failures).

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Circus Circus has somehow captured lightning in a bottle–or under an enormous pink glass bubble–with “Fright Dome”.  The long-running hit is back for its thirteenth year. Consistently ranked as one of the scariest attractions in the nation, it offers six haunted houses, scare zones, a Freak Show, Friday the 13th 4-D and much more. Tickets start at $35.95. Click here for schedules, tickets and pricing.

Images: [Sammasseur, Luxor, Hyde Bellagio, Ghostbar, Frank and the Steins, Fright Dome, QVegas Magazine]

One thought on ““Rock The Shock” For A Sin City Halloween

  1. Best “locals” haunted attraction: Freakling Bros.

    Runner up: Las Vegas Haunts

    FB has three attractions, and one that is more intense, therefore they designate it rated R.

    LVH has two attractions, and puts on a good show. LVH is better suited for those who want a lesser degree of intensity. But it’ll still creep you out if you’re the type who gets scared at a haunted attraction. (For one year, they based one of their two attractions on Fremont Street instead of paired with the other out in the burbs. That didn’t sell well enough for them to bring it back downtown, obviously.)

    FB is more expensive since it has more to offer, but you can buy a ticket for just one of the attractions at either joint; you don’t have to pay for the whole bundle.

    If you’re mobile in Vegas, check one out. Both put on good shows.

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