Dance the fright away: The best Halloween parties in Beijing

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Arguably one of the best holidays of the year, Halloween marks a time where we celebrate everything weird, wonderful and decidedly not for the faint of heart. As the actual day is on a Wednesday this year, Beijing's come prepared with parties and special events from Friday on. This year's list has everything from cheery, booze-filled events at your favourite watering holes to a whole host of sinister, frenzied parties to make your skin crawl. So whatever you'd like to do this All Hallow's Eve, we've got your back.

Costume party at Great Leap 

Great Leap Brewing #45. Sat 27. Free.

Great Leap Brewing team up with the Beijing LGBT Center again to host its annual Halloween party and costume contest at Great Leap Brewing #45 Brewpub. Winners of the individual and group costume prizes will win (very) generous gift cards to Great Leap Brewing (up to 1,688RMB); simply turn up in your costume between 7 and 9pm to register. If at least ten people arrive dressed in drag, they'll also be offering a door prize with the best drag costume also receiving a gift card valued at 888RMB. Any glass of their Imperial Pumpkin ale purchased will see GLB also donating 10RMB to the LGBT Center. Excellent prizes, beer and Halloween fun all in the name of charity? Yes please.

The Pachanga Party 

Salud. Sat 27. 150RMB. 

Featuring quality beef, Latinx DJs, copious alcohol and many contests and prizes (including best dressed), this Halloween party also lets you spend your money on a good cause: helping to raise funds for the Añejo women's football team to play in the GLY Cup in Xiamen.

Drinkathon and Hutong Pub Crawl 

Side Street. Sat 27, Tue 30-Fri 2. Free. 

This Halloween, Side Street's hosting a bumper five-day marathon of events starting with a hutong pub crawl and costume party on Saturday 27 October. Kicking off at 7pm at The Great Outdoors, the pub crawl then heads to Side Street at 9pm, before moving on to Café de la Poste at 11pm.

For more festive fun, head back to Side Street for another four days of things to do, including a Halloween-themed trivia night (Tuesday 30), Rocky Horror Picture Show costume party (Wednesday 31), Halloween improv by Beijing Improv (Thursday 1) and Day of the Dead mask party (Friday 2).

Red Dog Halloween Ball 

Red Dog. Sat 27. Free.

This year’s Red Dog Halloween Ball features plenty of food, a red carpet, live DJs, costume judges, professional ball commentators (whatever that means) and many, many voguing dancers. 

Cult Classic Halloween Party

The Local. Sat 27. Free.

Head to The Local's Halloween party on Saturday for an evening themed around classic cult movies. Dress the part to win the contest, and generally just enjoy a cultish good night of drink specials.

Les Boo 

Chill Bar. Fri 26. Free. 

Les Booze, the undisputed queen of the capital’s lala nights, hosts a raucous Halloween party at Chill Bar. With a costume contest, drink specials, plenty of treats as well as DJ Half N Half on the decks, it's sure to be a spooktacular night.

From Dusk to Dawn  

Eudora Station. Fri 26. 50RMB (includes a free drink). 

Get caught in a web of dark, evil nightmares where no one is able to wake you. No, we're not talking about your hangover – it's Eudora Station's Halloween party, and it might be a scream.

Day of the Dead 

Migas Mercado. Fri 26. Free. 

DJ Joyce and G4 will be providing plenty of Latin rhythms and tequila cocktails. Migas will have Mexican-inspired decorations, face painting, free giveaways, no entrance fee, and lots and lots of tequila. There's also a chance to win a free bottle of premium tequila for the best dressed.

Disco Halloween Party

Modernista. Fri 26. Free. 

Party with the ghosts of New York's notorious Studio 54 nightclub as the Flip Side perform iconic disco classics all night long. There will be prizes for dressing as Studio 54 fixtures such as Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Michael Jackson, John Travolta, the Bees Gees, David Bowie, Andy Warhol, Elton John and more.

Spooked Halloween 

Lantern. Sat 27. 100RMB; 60RMB (presale). 

Lantern will be serving up an audio/visual bloodbath until dawn. Features Lantern's regular roster of DJs, such as Jackson Lee, QQ, Watermelon, Nigls, Weng Weng and more.

Halloween at Home Plate 

Home Plate. Fri 26, Sat 27, Wed 31. Free.

Home Plate's celebrating the scary season this year with a three-day series of festive events. On Friday 26, Stevie Mac and the Mac Daddies headline an '80s party full of throwback tunes and retro beats. Then on Saturday 27, Home Plate's celebrating Day of the Dead with a whole hog buffet for 138RMB, plus 20RMB tequila shots all night, T-shirt giveaways, a keg of beer for the person with the best costume, free face-painting and a DJ. Finally on Halloween day (Wednesday 31), they're also hosting a movie screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Bookings recommended.

Unholy at One Third 

One Third. Tue 30-Wed 31. 160RMB (two-day pass); 100RMB (one-day pass).

Themed around creep-tastic horror film The Nun, One Third's being transformed into a haunted monastery this Halloween. Don your most blasphemous get-up and head on down to their two-day bash headlined by DJ Borgeous.

Halloween at Temple

Temple Bar. Sat 27. Free. 

In true Temple fashion, mayhem and madness are set to ensue over the Halloween weekend. Kicking off on Friday night, join one-man wunderkind Octopoulpe, punk rockers Hang Nail (who'll be performing as The Sex Pistols), slick electronic outfit Synth Cells and post-rockers Swarrm for a raucous night of live music. Deals include buy-two-get-one-free Jager shots and 300RMB bottles of Jagermeister. On Saturday, join Boss Cuts, Peking Floyd and South Korean band MyManMike. Deals include four tequila shots for 100RMB as well as a free shot for anyone in costume.

On Halloween Day (Wednesday 31 October, from 8pm), Temple will screen a selection of indie horror shorts (all shot by locals on a budget of 500RMB), before asking the audience to vote for a winner. Come dressed in your most ghoulish costume and get a free bloody mary. 

Jing A Halloween Beer Mile

Jing A Brewpub Xingfucun. Nov 4. 150RMB.

Jing A's booze-soaked Halloween Beer Mile returns this year at Jing A Brewpub Xingfucun this Sunday 4 November. Registration guarantees you a spot in the race, four beers and a bunch of other goodies. The rules are simple: runners will run four quarter-mile laps, starting and finishing at Jing A. At the beginning of each lap, they'll be given a full cup of beer to help fuel them – finish the beer first and then continue running! There will also be a men's and women's podium with prizes and glory for the first three runners to finish from each group. Costumes are mandatory and registration opens next week.

For our full round-up of Halloween events in Beijing, hit 'Read more'.

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