Any other time of the year and your sick fascination with ghouls and gore earns the ire of your peers, but haters be damned, it’s your time now. Portland loves to get its freaky on, proven by the sheer variety of Halloween-themed events throughout the month.
So get your costume ready, liberally apply gore, and celebrate in style with the following horror events in and around downtown Portland:
Portland Zombie Walk & Thriller Dance
Monday, Oct. 31
Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Yamhill and 6th
3–6 p.m.
Free
Stretch out those creaking zombie joints with an undead romp near campus, beginning and ending at Pioneer Courthouse Square. The brave and better-coordinated walkers among you are invited to end the event with a double encore of Thriller performances, the perfect remedy to shake off those spooky midterm blues. Learn the moves now and show what you’re made of.
Maize at the Pumpkin Patch
All October, Sunday–Thursday 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, 10 a.m. –10 p.m.
Sauvie Island Pumpkin Patch, 16511 NW Gillihan Rd.
$8
Just try and find your way out of the 18th annual Sauvie Island corn maze. This year’s theme features Charlie Brown and Snoopy, cropped out into more than two miles of an eight-acre cornfield. Hint cards are provided for the directionally incompetent, while veteran explorers can search for matching cards throughout to solve cornundrums and enter a prize drawing afterward. Rain boots recommended.
13th Door Haunted Attraction
Oct. 25–Nov. 5
Mental Trap, 3855 SW Murray Blvd., Beaverton
$18 cash / $20 credit card
There’s nothing like a haunted house to get the heart pumping and the lungs screaming. For a classic horror romp with blood curdling screams and top-of-the-line production values, look no further. This event features intricate sets, animated monsters, and actors bent on scaring the hell out of you. Not recommended for the squeamish or faint of heart.
The Rocky Horror Show
Oct. 25–Nov. 26, Thursdays–Saturdays (no show Oct. 29)
Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th Ave.
$15 advance / $20 door
If you haven’t seen it live, you haven’t really seen it. Follow Brad Majors and Janet Weiss as they enter into the weird and musical world of Dr. Frank N. Furter. Their and your life will never be the same…unless you’re naturally vocal and insane. Audience participation highly encouraged, especially for first-timers.
The Midnight Serenaders Halloween Bash
Saturday, Oct. 29
The Secret Society, 116 NE Russell St.
8:30 p.m.
$15 / 21+
Don your blood-soaked zoot suit and jazz up your Halloween celebrations with music through the night. Entertainers include six-piece swing band The Midnight Serenaders, roots jazz musicians Bridgetown Sextet, and vintage dance group the Starella Sisters. It doesn’t get much classier than this, Count Dracula notwithstanding.
Shanghaiers, Saloons & Skullduggery: A Walking Tour of Portland’s Sinful Past
Sunday, Oct. 30
Floyd’s Coffee, 118 SW Couch St.
4 p.m.
$18 / 21+
Join Doug Kenck-Crispin, co-producer of podcast Kick Ass Oregon History, as he spins tales of Oregon’s unsavory past. The walking tour visits the sites of saloons, bars, bordellos, card rooms, and gambling dens, brought to life through vivid descriptions of their villainous past. Share the newly acquired tales with your California friends to hold back the influx and keep this place weird.
Student Media Haunted Attraction
Thursday, Oct. 27
Smith Memorial Student Union sub-basement
3–5 p.m.
Free for PSU students
Simply locating the SMSU sub-basement is an adventure in itself, but the fun starts after you’ve descended the long stairway. A haunted tour of the five student-media offices offers a Halloween-themed photo booth, games, prizes, riddles, coupons, spooky music and face-to-face interaction with student-media representatives, eager to tell you all about opportunities to get involved.