Trick or Treat? This phrase is what instantly reminds us of Halloween. Celebrated on October 31 every year, Halloween has gained widespread popularity over the years. Usually associated with ghosts, spirits, and the metaphysical realm, Halloween is a favourite among children and adults alike. Although it has been a primarily Western festival, in recent times, people across the globe have begun to celebrate this festival with equal pomp and enthusiasm.
Going trick or treating is a cherished memory of many children in the West. It is usually children who trick or treat, where they dress up as ghosts or some fictional character and carry an empty bucket to be filled with sweets and candies. They then go to houses and ask if the inhabitants want to be tricked or excuse themselves by offering “treats”. Adults generally cosplay and enjoy themselves at themed parties with fun games, spooky campfire stories, carving pumpkins or horror movie marathons. The main idea is to have some spooky fun!
This year, Mumbai is all set to bring in the festive week, starting with some fun and ‘spook’ filled events to mark Halloween. They are listed below:
VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON
ScareCon India: The CrissCross
Where: Online
Date and time: October 30, 10.30 am onwards
Tickets: Rs. 250 onwards on Paytm Insider
and
The Ethereal - ScareCon 2021
Where: Sabroso The Premium Banquet, Andheri
Date and time: October 31, 2.30 pm onwards
Tickets: Rs 1179 onwards on BookMyShow
While day one is a virtual event, day two is an in-person event of ScareCon India 2021 (Asia’s First Paranormal Convention). It includes a variety of activities and events like panel discussions with individuals from the paranormal industry; keynote speeches on near-death experience, psychic abilities, tarot cards and other metaphysical topics; dedicated stalls from publishers, merchandise stores and other metaphysical/paranormal products and a full themed venue in line with the spirit of Halloween (pun unintended!).
What’s really exciting is the number of experienced paranormal investigators at the convention: Brian J. Cano, Dr Rahul Kumar, Allen Tiller, Dustin Pari, Meghna Porwal, and many more. The convention will also include discussions and chats with authors, filmmakers, psychics, researchers and demonologists from paranormal research.
Talking about ScareCon, the co-founder, Sarabjeet Mohanty, says, “At ScareCon, we aim at giving the genres of paranormal and horror the place they deserve. Our panel discussions and keynote speeches intend on shedding light on the supernatural through the experiences of renowned individuals from the field. For the physical event, we will follow all Covid protocols, including temperature checks and mask mandates. The number of attendees is also capped at 100. We are looking forward to celebrating Halloween with fellow paranormal enthusiasts.”
Online
Dialogues with Books meets Halloween season
Where: Online
Date and time: October 31, 5 pm onwards
Tickets: Free, book through Paytm Insider
This is an interesting event for all book lovers out there: Read any of the books mentioned on the Insider booking page (a suggested reading list) or any of your favourite Halloween reads and discuss everything, from authors to themes to stories and beyond with fellow readers! Dialogues with books is a community of book lovers who join in every month to discuss stories, books, and literature.
2. Halloween Late Night Storytelling
Where: Online
Date and time: October 30, 10 pm onwards
Tickets: Rs. 99 on Paytm Insider
If you’re in for getting those chills up your spine or want to make your home alone Halloween exciting, you can attend this virtual storytelling event on Halloween’s eve. What better way than getting those spooks from the comfort of your beds, sans the monster that might love underneath. Professional storyteller Deepesh Chandran will conduct the event, so make sure you’re all tucked in on Halloween’s eve with your favourite snack and the lights off!
In-person events:
Graveyard: A Haunting Experience by Kasa Kai Mumbai
Where: Redbrick, Andheri
Date and time: October 31, 5.30 pm-10 pm
Tickets: Rs. 499 on BookMyShow, Paytm Insider and Kasa Kai Mumbai’s Website
A fun event organised by a one-of-a-kind community building company that aims at providing people with experiences. Graveyard promises you “A Haunting Experience like never before”. The Halloween event includes a bunch of interesting, “haunting” activities like fun Halloween-themed games, tarot card reading, some spooky horror storytelling, the Halloween dance with popular instructors, and a photo booth.
The team assures exciting Halloween goodies to all the souls joining them for the evening! Talking about the Halloween event, the Community Manager at Kasa Kai Mumbai, Atharva Naik, says, “We believe in delivering the best possible experience for everyone joining at our meets. Bearing in mind the current situation, we will be following all protocols and allowing only those who have taken at least one dose of the vaccine. We, at Kasa Kai Mumbai, and the lurking spirits and creatures hope to see you at our Halloween event, wishing you all a Happy Spooktacular Halloween!”
2. Goosebumps- an Indie Festival by Gypsy Soul
Where: Panshet (One hour drive from Pune, Four hours from Mumbai)
Date and time: October 30, 3.30 pm onwards
Tickets: Rs. 1699 onwards, on BookMyShow and Paytm Insider
Gypsy Soul is hosting an Indie Music fest on October 30 in Panshet, at the outskirts of Mumbai, if you’re looking to unwind this weekend. Various artists, including Fiddlecraft, Raghir, Manas and Himanshu, will be performing their originals! It’s the best way for an adventure and nature lover to spend the weekend, with activities like an open-air cinema with the screening of The Conjuring, a Halloween special, bonfire, midnight Maggie and a forest trail. It seems like the perfect plan for a chill and fun weekend away from the commotion of the city.
Kids Special
Halloween Bash
Where: Baccha Party Playscape, Powai
Date and time: November 1, 11.30 am onwards
Tickets: Rs 700 for one child and one adult, Call on +91 9167431893 to book.
Children enjoy festivals like Halloween the most, so this year you can take your child for some Halloween fun at this fun event in Powai. Filled with fun games, Halloween tattoos, a spooky monster and a mysterious return gift, it’s assured to be two hours full of fun.
Horror films and series
If you’re looking to stay back and home and just get in the feel of the festival, we’ve got you covered. You can watch some classic horrors from Hollywood. Here’s a list to help you get spooked.
Movies
The Curse of La Llorona
IT
Us
The Shining
The Conjuring series
The Annabelle series
If you’re looking to binge-watch some horror television series, you can try some of these:
Web series
The Haunting of Hill House
Stranger Things
The Walking Dead
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
The Exorcist (2016)