The Roguelike Tavern in Burbank is scaring up some fun events this month. On Saturday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., Ghoul's Ball presents "The Encore," hosted by Vita DeVoid for a fan event celebrating the music and lore of the band Ghost with trivia and costume exhibits. Tickets can be purchased HERE. 

On Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 25 and Oct. 26, at 8 p.m., Phantom Follies presents "Haunted Improv," a  night of long-form improv with a Halloween twist at the tavern. $10 suggested donation. 

On Saturday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m., The Roguelike Tavern will host a costume contest, photo booth, and will have music from The Bordley Sisters. The Roguelike Halloween Party is a free event. Then on Monday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m., there’s the Drink 'n Draw Halloween edition, a free event with a two food or drink minimum. Finally on Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 8 p.m., there will be Halloween-themed trivia — winner gets a $50 bar tab, best team name wins a round of mystery shots at the free event.

The BALLOWEEN Vampire Pirate Bash at The Portofino Hotel & Marina in Redondo Beach, takes place on Oct. 27. The evening starts off with a dinner feast at  BALEENkitchen from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., for all ages, followed by a 21+ party in "The Abyss" from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Co-hosted by the Rock Music Alliance and The Portofino Hotel & Marina, the event features DJ Love's music, performances by RMA GoGo Girls, and a costume contest at midnight. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes, and purchasing a ticket includes a 15% discount on the bill. Full event details, schedule, and a link to tickets can be found on Eventbrite.



Halloween Movie Nights at the I|O Rooftop at The Godfrey Hotel Hollywood are back for weekly screenings of scary movies on the rooftop’s 60-foot outdoor screen. Each reservation includes access to the rooftop, reserved seating, complimentary popcorn and cotton candy, complimentary use of the Godfrey blankets, a chance to win prizes with movie trivia games, and photos in the 360 photo booth. Cash bar available featuring spooky-themed cocktails like the Cannibalism made with Mezcal, tequila, lime juice, cherry juice and fire bitter, and the Corpse Reviver, made with gin, lemon, Cointreau, Lillet and absinthe. Fun food options include Mini Mummy Dogs, Fried Chicken Monster Sliders, and Pumpkin Queso Dip with Ghost Chips. 

The full Halloween Movie Night schedule includes:

• Tuesday, Oct. 10 | 8 p.m. - “Psycho” (1998)
• Thursday, Oct. 19 | 8 p.m. - “The Grudge” 
• Wednesday, Oct. 25 | 8 p.m. - “IT” 
• Tuesday, Oct. 31 | 8 p.m. - “Halloween Kills”

Menu/event costs: Free entry with reservation on Eventbrite; $40 minimum spend required on food and beverage per person. Complimentary parking when spending is met. 

The SLS Hotel Beverly Hills will host a Haunted Hotel Halloween Party on Saturday, Oct. 28 from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., in the hotel’s enchanted speakeasy, Wasp in a Wig, which is inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass. DJ Skemaddox will be spinning tunes all night. Guests can have the party last all night by purchasing an SLS Beverly Hills’ Halloween Room Package, a two-night minimum stay that includes a $100 food and beverage credit (available to use at Vista Rooftop, The Nook, or in-room dining), entrance to the Haunted Halloween Party, and open bar tickets for two. Menu/event costs: General admission starts at $25 via Eventbrite.

There will be a Spookysburg Halloween at Smorgasburg on Sunday, Oct. 29, with trick-or-treating in the shopping aisle, a costume contest in the family-friendly beer garden, face painting, slime-making, arts and crafts, a life-sized Barbie DJ @discoshrine, and all the usual food vendors.

The Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena will hold a Hollywoodland Murder Mystery Dinner Theater on Saturday, Oct. 28, in the Viennese ballroom, with an elegant three-course autumnal menu in the subdued light of chandeliers and flickering sconces while you attempt to solve the evening’s mystery.

The plot: The year is 1949, and you, Hollywoodland's Elite, are invited to the movie premiere of The Hollywoodland Murder. Tensions are high, as this controversial film exploits the infamous story of the Black Dahlia murder that rocked the town three years ago. Unknowingly, you and your fellow guests walk into a unique “hostage situation” as you innocently mingle and dine with the cast. The killer, still inside, has carefully constructed a macabre game in which the guests must work together by participating in various challenges, trivia and scavenger hunts in the hotel’s historic property to solve the murder mystery. Doors open at 5 p.m. (cocktails and canapes will be available), dinner/show begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are priced at $175 per person, excluding tax and gratuity. For FAQs, menu and ticketing, please click here. Tickets will not be sold at the door. The Langham will offer a special rate of 20% off room accommodations from Oct. 28 through Nov. 1. Click here or use promo code SPOOKY when booking online at langhamhotels.com/pasadena.



Black Lagoon, the award-winning Halloween pop-up experience from industry vets Kelsey Ramage and Erin Hayes, is coming to Los Angeles and takes place at Lost Property through Tuesday, Nov. 7. There will be twisted and spooky environments, including dark, dungeon-like decorations with skulls, coffins and other elements that pay homage to goth, horror and all things Halloween. On Sundays and Tuesdays, there will be spooky drag queens and performers, with tickets costing $25, and on Wednesdays, the pop-up will host special emo nights with a variety of DJs, priced at $15 for entry. Tickets for all special events can be found here, otherwise, entry to the pop-up is free on all other nights. 

The drinks menu goes alongside the eerie decor, serving up six eerie elixirs, including the Book of Blood margarita, Death Rattle with a base of Ford’s Gin, the Crystal Flesh and Satanic Panic low-ABV libations with Ritual Gin and Tequila alternatives.

Black Lagoon officially debuted in Toronto in October 2021, celebrating the Halloween season throughout the U.S. and Canada, and now is expanding worldwide to Guadalajara and Paris. 

Santa Anita Park kicks off their Pumpkin Patch Festival with a curated pizza party by Smorgasburg, featuring Black Pizza’s from La Farina Pizza Chef Michele Galifi.  The weekend also includes a family fun zone with pony rides, bounce houses and a wiener dog costume contest and race. The pizza party takes place on Saturday, Oct. 28 at Trackside Apron, Santa Anita Park.  Parking is at Gate 3 off Huntington Drive.

If you’re staying in saddled with doorbell duty, here’s a spirited concoction to conjure up at home:

Poison Apple Spice

Ingredients

•       1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire
•       0.5 oz MARTINI Rosso Vermouth
•       0.5 oz Bottle Green Spiced Berry cordial
•       0.5 oz cloudy apple juice

Method: Place all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with plenty of cubed ice. Shake well for 15 seconds, or until the outside of the shaker is frosted. Fine strain into a chilled coupette or Martini cocktail glass.

Plus, Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery has unveiled a new dish just in time for the season -  Crème Brûlée Pumpkin Pie served with brown butter rum raisins and whipped crème fraîche. Available at brunch and dinner, the pumpkin and egg custard-based pie is filled with maple syrup, brown butter, and cream,  is gluten-free, baked in an Original Sunshine Gluten-Free Flour pastry shortcrust, then brûléed twice with demerara sugar for crunch.