Old haunts return to New Haven for Halloween

From costumed spelling bees to understated “monster bashes” and headlining drag kings, New Haven organizations and businesses are gearing up for the spookiest night of the year.

Pablo Perez

10:02 p.m., October 22, 2024

Contributing journalist

Yasmine Halmane, senior photographer

As Halloween approaches, businesses and organizations, from bars to New Haven children’s literacy nonprofits, are gearing up to celebrate the holiday.

Nightclubs Toad’s Place and BAR are hosting costume parties this Halloween, while Witch Bitch Thrift will host a “freak party.” The New Haven Reads Costume Spelling Bee fundraiser and the city’s Youth and Recreation Department’s “Trunk or Treat” program provide family fun for all ages.

Halloween fans at BAR have a chance to win the grand prize in the drawing: a signed guitar from Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Other costumed guests can try their luck with costume content offered by BAR and Toad’s Place.

Halloween parties are divided into public and Yale-only events. This weekend, Toad’s Place is hosting ticketed costume parties, while next week’s programming will remain exclusive to Yalies.

A Toad’s Place employee said the nightclub is hosting five different Halloween parties starting this Friday, October 25.

“Hallowoads” – a twist on the weekly Yale-only Wednesday at Toad’s – this year will turn into a two-day event next Wednesday and Thursday.

Joining in the Halloween festivities, Witch Bitch Thrift will host a “monster bash” party this Saturday night. This year’s party is the second time they have held the event.

“The event is low-key, which is refreshing considering it’s the weekend before Halloween,” said Pheo Muncey, event coordinator at Witch Bitch Thrift. “People who don’t want to spend the weekend in bars but want to be with other people will have a space to do that.”

The party will include a costume contest, with the winner receiving a $100 gift card to Witch Bitch Thrift.

Dexx Delirium and Paxx Headroom, two Connecticut-based drag kings, will perform at the “Monster Bash.” “They’re both very good at being amazing,” Muncey said.

Beyond the dance evenings and bars, community organizations also contribute to the festivities. New Haven Reads, a nonprofit organization that provides reading assistance to children, is hosting a “Halloween” spelling bee. The competition also serves as a fundraiser for their literacy programs.

This will be New Haven Reads’ 12th annual spelling bee.

Hosted at the Yale School of Management and moderated by Barbara Rockenbach, university librarian, Friday’s spelling bee illustrates the strong relationship between Yale and the nonprofit organization, according to Fiona Bradford, director of development and communications for New Haven Reads.

New Haven Reads also plans to stop by the “Trunk or Treat” event held in the Southern Connecticut State University parking lot. “We plan to distribute between 750 and 1,000 books,” Bradford said.

Organized by the City of New Haven Department of Youth and Recreation, the “Trunk or Treat” event is planned for Halloween night. Participants will receive free candy in one of the decorated trunks.

On Halloween night, the moon will be far from full as its waning crescent.