From burgers to The Bachelor, Australians love to jump on the Americana bandwagon. Halloween Down Under has gotten off to a slow start, but you know things have reached critical mass when Woolies rolls out the hefty emoji-ready pumpkins and neighbourhood-sized bags of Cadbury goodness.
Don't try to fight it—Halloween is happening. It's the one night of the year when it's socially acceptable to take candy from strangers and wear a unicorn onesie without (too much) judgment. Isn't that reason enough to celebrate this most sacred of US holidays?
We've rounded up a handful of Halloween parties in Brisbane, so you can don your best pair of mouse ears (duh) and be a Hallowinner. If you'd rather be a Halloweenie and stay at home binge-watching The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror episodes, well that's fine too. Just as long as you're wearing the mouse ears.
The Scratch at Milton is doing Halloween a little earlier than most, merging it with Oktoberfest to create 'Schlocktoberfest' (schlock being slang for kitschy horror films). If you haven't quite satisfied your pork knuckle or wurst cravings, head to The Scratch on Saturday October 25 to gorge on Germanic delicacies, down hefty steins of beer, gape at the tent of obscure oddities and strike a pose for the costume contest.
Limes Hotel will be ringing six years of spookiness on Saturday November 1, pretty much draping the entire establishment in a giant white sheet with two holes cut out for eyes (not really). The walking dead will be manning the bar, their cauldrons bubbling over with toxic cocktails and venomous shots. Creepy folk of every ilk are invited to Limes' Haunted Hotel Halloween Party—zombies, mummies, vampires, witches, perhaps even politicians—just make sure you book your tickets ahead.
Limes' sister from another mister Alfred & Constance is keeping things low-key for the 'ween, with a good old-fashioned costume party on the 1st of November. They're putting the lime in the coconut all night long, pouring Tiki cocktails and 'zombies' (fruity, brain-cell eradicating beverages) en masse.
A little further out, the ever-dapper Walrus Club will be getting freaky against a backdrop of black-and-white horror flicks on Friday 31st. The Walrus' walls are said to be 140 years old. If those walls could talk… I assume they'd have a delightful colonial accent and be horribly scarred by eons of Regatta shenanigans. At any rate, all the 'ghoul' kids will be there. If you're stuck for costume ideas, might I suggest this patriotic little number?
Proudly waving the red, white and blue on every occasion, South Side Diner doesn't skip a beat when it comes to honouring their motherland. South Side will be getting a little creepy, kooky and all together ooky on All Hallows' Eve, with food and drink specials, bloodcurdling tunes and staff kitted out in graveyard garb. The creepy cocktails on offer include a Witches Brew, Vampire Bite and the delightful sounding Brain Hemorrhage shot. South Side's pumpkin pie still haunts my dreams, for all the right reasons. The Diner ensures me there will be plenty of pie to go 'round. Maybe not if I get there first.
Much loved Kedron cafe Nana & Da's is making its first foray into dinner service this Halloween, with a Halloween-themed tapas dinner on the 31st. Considering this cafe is, quite frankly, adorbs, we're keen to see them go to the dark side for this sure-to-be delicious evening of share plates and pure terror. Dinner kicks off from 5pm.
If all of that sounds like a lot of hard work and you'd rather just sink into a beanbag and greedily spoon ice cream into your gob, Ben & Jerry's Open Air Cinema has you covered. Showing vampy kiwi mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows and Dracula Untold, October 31st on the South Bank lawns promises a double-scoop of scare-factor. Plus ice cream.
Travel writer by day, freelance foodie by night and full time cake enthusiast. When Ashton isn't at one with the keyboard, you'll likely find her saluting the sun in a yoga class, absorbed in a 90s sitcom marathon, or practising the timeless art of Instagramming around Brisbane. Twitter: @AshtonRigg. Want more from Ashton? Read more here!
IMAGE CREDIT: Pyxur