Find Out Why They Call It Sin City at the Best Halloween Parties in Las Vegas

True to its name, Sin City comes alive with masquerade balls, themed bars, and more for Halloween.

Rock of Horror HalloWeekend
Photo courtesy of Rock of Horror HalloWeekend
Photo courtesy of Rock of Horror HalloWeekend

Allegedly Halloween is a kids’ holiday, and unfortunately walking up to strangers’ houses begging for candy is the kind of thing you can’t really get away with as an adult. But sexy pumpkins weren’t made for the Paw Patrol crowd, and the dark side of Halloween in Las Vegas is very much an adults-only holiday. Here are a few ways for grown-ups to have fun as sinners in Sin City this season. There are TONS of options, but these are our top picks. Just take note: the competition on Saturday, October 28 is especially fierce, with almost every worthwhile event happening simultaneously. You'll have to make some tough choices, but it's hard to go wrong with all of these killer Halloween events in Las Vegas.

 Sand Dollar Lounge Halloween party
Photo courtesy of Sand Dollar Lounge

Halloween Parties in Las Vegas

Ongoing through October 30
The Space, Prices vary
The Space, a private event venue and performance space best known as the home of Mondays Dark, is hosting a series of sexy burlesque-y events this season. Off Strip’d is a costume party and cabaret happening Tuesday, October 24 with entertainment from burlesque and Strip performers; Barlesque Ghouls Night Out on Friday, October 27 will feature the ghouls of Barlesque; and sexy Avengers will unite for the sake of cash prizes at the MarveLust costume battle (which sounds like it’s going to have a healthy dose of the old Fetish & Fantasy mojo).

October 26
AREA15, $54
The “Cosmic Howl” Halloween celebration will be held across the Meow Wolf-verse at their exhibitions in Santa Fe, Denver, Dallas, and Las Vegas. Here in Vegas, Omega Mart, also known as“America’s Most Exceptional Grocery Store,” will have its freaky festivities on Thursday, October 26 from 8 pm until midnight with a 21+ event featuring “enchanted tunes, roaming characters, and surprises,” and the special “Chimera Sangre sip.” This event will feature exclusive Cosmic Howl experiences and performances, interdimensional adult trick-or-treating, pop-up bars, and one-night-only exclusive merch. Costumes are very much encouraged! If you love Halloween AND Omega Mart but don’t love all the screaming kids, this is your night.

October 26–31
Resorts World Las Vegas, Free admission
Last Halloween Resorts World transformed into a Wonderland – Alice in Wonderland, that is, with décor, cocktails, and costumed entertainment in keeping with the theme found throughout the property. This year they’re going full Bladerunner (which works especially well with their Famous Foods Street Eats food hall, which already kind of has that vibe). For Halloween weekend, select venues within the property will transform into a dystopian future for a cyber noir affair. This will be most obvious at Zouk Nightclub, where the sexiest costume contest will award $10,000 in cash and prizes, but also check out spots like Gatsby’s Cocktail Lounge and Allē Lounge on 66 for more themed characters, drinks, and décor.

October 27–31
Downtown Las Vegas, Free with the password "Jeepers Creepers"
The Underground at the Mob Museum is celebrating Halloween all weekend long with special themed cocktails plus a Halloween bash on Saturday, October 28, from 8 pm to midnight. Return to the “Mad Decade” of the decadent Roaring ‘20s for a Halloween party in the Underground, the museum’s basement speakeasy and distillery. This evening pays homage to the origins of modern-day Halloween debauchery, since Halloween parties (as in, the kind not for kids with all the BOOze and near-nudity) were first popularized in the 1920s. Guests are encouraged to dress the part with prizes for the best costumes—flapper Nosferatu, anyone? The party starts at 8 pm with live music by Colte Julian and The Sidecars. Seasonal cocktails like the “Widow’s Kiss” and “Hocus Pocus” are available Friday, October 27 through Tuesday, October 31 for only $14 each.

October 27–31
Downtown Las Vegas, Free
Every year for Halloween weekend Fremont Street turns into “Rock of Horror” with free nightly entertainment that includes themed theatrical music performances (think: all your favorite iconic horror movie characters dancing to “Thriller”), flash mobs, Halloween haunts, and the exclusive production “Wicked Dreams,” complete with dazzling visuals, dancers, and aerialists on the 3rd Street Stage. Halloween weekend on Fremont Street might just be the best people-watching in Vegas all year long. Their annual costume contest will be held at 10 pm on Tuesday, October 31, with cash prizes for the top three costumes.

1923 Prohibition Bar Presents “Ghost Stories”
Flickr/The Vox Agency

Saturday, October 28
Mandalay Bay, $39 and up
Inside the “Hidden Chamber” at 1923 Prohibition Bar—a once-secret speakeasy-style lounge inside Mandalay Bay that now has very obvious signage out front—“Ghost Stories” is an ongoing series held every Friday and Saturday at 8 and 10 pm featuring world-renowned magician and mentalist Kent Axell, who has performed on large stages all over the world and was featured on TV shows like National Geographic’s Brain Games and Masters of Illusion. In this intimate show, Axell calls upon the spirit realm to take guests on a journey “beyond reality” through magic and mind-reading. If it sounds hokey, rest assured that he sells it exceptionally well—if you enjoy the creepier side of magic, this show is a howl. Join Axell for a special All Hallow’s Eve Party on Saturday, October 28 at 8 pm where guests will begin their journey into the spirit realm under eerie candlelight in the 1923 State Room, where they will imbibe “ceremonial elixirs and tonics to aid in contacting the spirits.” Afterwards guests can enjoy the NOLA Nights All Hallows' Eve Party from 9 pm to 2 am inside the Prohibition Bar with entertainer Troy Romzek playing Halloween songs and burlesque dancers performing in costumes.

Saturday, October 28
Downtown Las Vegas, $150
Head to the top of Circa Las Vegas for an elegant masquerade party on Saturday, October 28 at the Legacy Club, Circa’s rooftop cocktail lounge located on the 60th floor with panoramic views of the Las Vegas Valley. Sip on specialty creepy cocktails next to one of the fire pits while enjoying the views and dancing to live music. Legacy Club’s themed events are always top-notch; this will certainly be the most sophisticated Halloween soiree in Vegas (a higher caliber of “sexy pumpkin,” if you will). The party starts at 8 pm; each ticket includes an open bar with themed cocktails and other unlimited BOOze, hors d’oeuvres, and a unique masquerade mask of your choosing. Use the discount code MASK15 at checkout to receive 15% off general admission tickets for groups of four or more.

Saturday, October 28
AREA15, $39.95 and up
This Halloween, ScAREA15 brings the bass across three stages featuring G Jones, Hudson Mohawke, Lunice, and more. This year’s ScAREA15 comes from the depths of the seas with roaming performers that include a shipwrecked crew of pirates and sea monsters like sirens and krakens. There will be plenty of Halloween décor, Instagrammable moments (this is AREA15, of course), and a costume contest—if you’ve got a killer group costume, this is the place to wear it. While you’re there, pop by Oddwood Bar for one of their “eye-bulging” creepy cocktails. This event is 18+, and doors open at 8:30 pm.

Saturday, October 28
The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Prices vary
Sin City Halloween Ball is once again back to its sort-of original home. This year the event formerly known as Fetish & Fantasy is back at the property formerly known as Hard Rock Hotel, where it once held a reputation as the most debaucherous Halloween event in Las Vegas—if not the most debaucherous event in Las Vegas, full stop. It used to take over the entire property, but it's now relegated to The Theater (formerly known as The Joint) and it’s probably fair to say that this event may not quite be what it used to be. But you can always expect plenty of latex-as-outerwear and aggressively skimpy costumes, if that's your thing. It's still Halloween and this is still Las Vegas, after all. Doors open at 9:00 pm; this event is 21+.

Millennium FANDOM BAR Halloween Party
Photo courtesy of Millennium FANDOM BAR

Ongoing through October 31
Downtown Las Vegas, Free
Everyone’s favorite fandom bar, where it's basically Halloween AND Comic Con all year long, is in full Halloween fandom mode all month long with a roster of events that include an “Emo Cosplay After-Party” on Saturday, October 21 (an after-party for When We Were Young emo festival-goers), “Vintage Horror Screenings” on VHS on October 25 (aka “National Chucky Day”), a “Toga Cosplay Party” on October 27, a “Pre-Halloween Party and Costume Contest” on October 28, and their annual “Fandom Halloween Party” on October 31.Most events start at 8 pm; Halloween night starts at 6 pm. All events 21+.

Ongoing through October 31
Nightmare Cafe, $34 and up
Make it a creepy Sunday funday with the Haunted Brunch Show held inside the horror-themed Nightmare Cafe. This isn’t a big budget Strip show with a cast of 50+ performers; this is a down-and-dirty DTLV show with a cast of 5 that includes the bubbly-like-a-mimosa Katie Marie Jones, Vegas Golden Knights hostess with the mostest by night and Legally Blonde emo by day. This is a dance-driven show that pays homage to modern horror favorites like Stranger Things, True Blood, Wednesday, and Beetlejuice. There is “Thriller” dancing, a Ghostbuster making sure your bottomless mimosas never run low, and more campy horror-themed fun with plenty of audience participation. The cost of your ticket includes the show; you can also upgrade to a BOOzy bottomless mimosa option. Brunch entrees like the Blair Waffle Project and cocktails like Beetlejuice Morgue-aritas and Bloody Carries are available for purchase separately.

Ongoing through October 31
AREA15, $69 and up
Even on a “normal” night, Lost Spirits at AREA15 – with its turn-of-the-century carnival-meets-opium den aesthetic, burlesque dancers, snake charmers, contortionists, and magicians – has every-day-is-Halloween vibes. Lost Spirits transports you to a place that feels of this world but not in it. It’s the dimly lit streets of Jack the Ripper’s London. It’s Dorian Gray’s opium dens. It’s Jules Verne’s ill-fated submarine. It’s a labyrinth where you can get, well… lost. With 44 resident performers all within arm’s reach, this is one of the largest production casts in Vegas and certainly the most intimate of venues. For Halloween weekend, entertainers will perform exclusive Halloween-themed acts, so expect some extra-special macabre surprises. Also be sure to stick around for their late-night Séance Show, a separate experience inspired by Thomas Edison’s scientific achievements and obsession with the spirit realm – this is “Lost Spirits,” after all. Without giving too much away, the “séance” component is what you might call electrifying.

Ongoing through October 31
Chinatown, Free admission
The original immersive Halloween pop-up bar in Las Vegas is back from the dead for its fourth year: Nightmare on Spring Mountain has risen again at the iconic Sand Dollar Lounge with specialty cocktails, themed costume nights, more than $10,000 in Halloween décor, and live music nightly at 10 pm. This year’s seasonal craft cocktail menu is all inspired by classic macabre songs, like “Wait and Bleed” by Slipknot and “Soul Sacrifice” by Santana. Theme nights include “Killer Clown Night” on October 20, “Alice in Wonderland” on October 27, and “Under the Sea” on October 28. This is always one of the highlights of Halloween season in Vegas.

Ongoing through November 1
Chinatown, Free admission
The Golden Tiki, the most famous tiki bar in Las Vegas, has transformed into an even creepier spot this Halloween season—and it was already pretty creepy what with all the shrunken heads. They’ve got extra-scary décor and a Halloween-themed cocktail menu with cocktails like the Blood Bath, Vampiro, and the No Brainer (a cocktail for two served in a skull; keep the mug for an additional charge). Theme nights include “Dead Disco” on October 26, “Island Horror Night” on October 27, “Zombie Brunch” on October 29, and “Adult Trick or Treat” on October 31.

ABANDON at Vegas Theatre Company
Photo courtesy of Richard Brusky

More Halloween Events in Las Vegas

October 27–29
AREA15, $44.95 and up
Kick your Halloween weekend off in the sky-high heels of Dr. Frank N. Furter as you do the time warp into The Portal for a 360-degree immersive viewing experience of the campy cult classic horror-comedy musical, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with immersive digital projections and live performers. Costumes are encouraged; nudity is prohibited. Rice and confetti throwing is unspecified, but there are “goodie bag prop kits” available to purchase for $5. Stick around for the warped cocktail party in The Sanctuary between shows and a midnight Silent Disco and meet-and-greet with the cast. This event is 21+; doors open at 7:30 pm. for the early show and 11:30 pm for the late show.

Ongoing through October 29
Boulder City, $20
Tom Devlin’s Monster Museum is dedicated to the preservation of the art and history of special makeup effects—the man himself, Tom Devlin, is a special makeup effects artist and his eponymous museum is full of authentic props, creature suits, and custom pieces representing monsters throughout movie history. On select dates through October, it will once again transform after dark into “Nightmare at the Museum,” a flashlight tour of the museum with the lights out where you’ll find out first-hand exactly which creatures go bump in the night. While you’re in Boulder City, grab a few beers at the

Beer Zombies Boulder City taproom. They’ve got it all done up for Halloween this year, and their patio is a lovely place to spend a fall afternoon.

Ongoing through October 31
DTLV Arts District, $50 and up
ABANDON comes with a warning. Actually, it comes with a lot of warnings. Warnings like the show contains elements of cannibalism, sodomy, fetishism, decapitation, fecal play, disembowelment, and infanticide. This twisted and deeply depraved world premiere R-rated horror show is inspired by the life and writings of the extremely infamous Marquis de Sade, and if you don’t know who that is, just know that the term “sadomasochism” was coined for him. Co-writer and co-producer Abel Horwitz described it simply as “some real fucked up shit,” which is just about the strongest endorsement imaginable. This is ***NOT*** for the prudish, faint of heart, easily offended, religious... seriously people, read the warnings. This is some dark, twisted, grotesque, disturbing, real fucked up shit.

Ongoing through October 31
The Beverly Theater, Downtown Las Vegas, $10 per ticket
The gorgeous new Beverly Theater in downtown Las Vegas is screening classic horror films of the last century all through the month of October. Catch campy favorites like Evil Dead 2, cult classics like Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, legendary comedies like Young Frankenstein, children’s movies equally loved by adults like Nightmare Before Christmas, and all kinds of other horror and horror-adjacent flicks like Beetlejuice, The Shining, and... Harold and Maude? If you haven’t been to this stunning new theater and performance that just opened in the spring, iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s showtime!

Get Hitched for Halloween in the Wedding Capital of the World

October 31
Various locations, Prices vary
It doesn’t get much more nail-on-the-head-of-the-coffin than swearing “’til death do us part” on All Hallows' Eve. Halloween-themed weddings are becoming a bit of a BOO-tique industry in Las Vegas, with wedding venues offering creepy-romantic wedding packages for couples that like their roses black and their valentines bloody. The “After Dark” packages at the Sure Thing Chapel include Hellvis, a blood-themed burlesque show, an organist (name something creepier!!), and a Wine Hearse for photo ops, which can also be booked for a full reception where guests will be served champagne out of a hearse carrying a coffin. At the Little Vegas Chapel, have your wedding officiated by Elvira, the Corpse Bride, Darth Vader, or a vampire with their “Love at First Bite” package offered exclusively on Halloween.

Scream’d: An Unauthorized Musical Parody at Majestic Repertory Theatre
Photo by Chase Stevens

Ongoing through November 11
DTLV Arts District, $40 and up
“What’s your favorite scary musical?” Scream, the ‘90s classic teen horror flick that spawned a whole franchise (as well as a secondary parody franchise), gets the Majestic treatment in this loving musical send-up from the same minds that gifted us the truly stupendous The Craft: An Unauthorized Musical Parody last year. The gang’s all here—Sidney Prescott, Billy Loomis, Gale Weathers, Dewey Riley, Stu Macher, Ghostface—and they’re singing their way through this slasher by means of chart-topping ‘90s pop and rock hits from the likes of Alanis Morissette and the Backstreet Boys. If you like scary movies… this is not that; but if you like wickedly, deliciously clever jukebox musical parodies that tickle your ‘90s nostalgia squishy spot, this show is an absolute must-see.

Year-round
The Luxor, $200
Best ATV Tours Las Vegas promises their brand-new “Haunted Desert ATV Tour” is world’s first haunted ATV tour and really, who’s to say otherwise? On this three-hour tour through the inherently freaky Mojave Desert, you’ll have a ghoulish good time as the sun disappears below the horizon and the creatures of the night come out to play. The tour runs 5:30—8:30 pm; Best ATV Tours will pick you up at the Luxor in front of valet.

Horror Escape Rooms

Year-round
Various locations, Prices vary
Vegas is home to several horror-themed escape rooms including the Official SAW Escape RoomEscape Blair Witch, and The Basement (loosely inspired by the life of cannibalistic serial killer Ed Gein). New for this Halloween season, Escape IT—as in, IT, not Information Technology—has more than 20 interactive rooms that include the Derry sewers, the Neibolt House, the Losers’ Clubhouse, and more. These escape rooms offer an immersive horror-themed puzzle game experience that are great for groups, but can be a little awkward when you get paired up with other groups so you might want to come with a full squad. The Basement now offers a “Tandy After Dark” VIP overnight experience where players can play until they win, as many times as they want, and hang out and watch horror movies all night. This is probably geared more toward kids’ parties, but it still sounds awesome.

Year-round
Westgate Las Vegas, $63 and up
Sometimes something happens that is so obvious that you find yourself asking how no one else has done it before. In recent weeks, Westgate Las Vegas unveiled its brand-new, year-round Halloween-themed suite, and we’re left wondering why it took so long. Slink around a luxury suite draped in crushed black velvet curtains, ornately carved black furniture with red velvet cushions and tufted black leather, iron candelabras, and skulls adorning the all-black walls. This place is going to be the backdrop for many a haunted pinup photoshoot, no doubt. 

Year-round
Downtown Las Vegas, $54 and up
Zak Bagan’s Haunted Museum features an extensive assortment of "haunted" (or pretty damn creepy, at least) artifacts, antiques, curios, and curiosities from the personal collection of Ghost Adventures host Zak Bagans. These objects have supposedly absorbed the energy and emotions of the people around them, and in some cases, spirits have even attached themselves to them. Whatever you might believe, the place is full of creepy dolls and creepy clowns that are enough to give even the most jaded among us the heebie-jeebies. Even the mansion itself, built in 1938, is rumored to be haunted. The most serious of ghost-hunters can also get unprecedented access to the world-famous cursed objects and haunted paraphernalia with the exclusive Late Night Flashlight Ghost Tour Experience. At $204 per person, the ticket price is steep, but with only 20 people allowed inside the Museum at a time, each participant gets free rein for a full 90 minutes, and you also get to keep the engraved flashlight.

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Nicole Rupersburg is a freelance writer covering food, travel, arts, culture, and what-have-you. She winters in Las Vegas and summers in Detroit, as does anybody who's anybody. Her favorite activities include drinking beer and quoting Fight Club.