What are the must-hit events for a San Francisco Halloween?

October 18, 2012 3:26 PM

Please help us experience an American-style Halloween in the San Francisco Bay Area (ages 20s-30s). For us I think this means finding the most highly recommend of: 1). A big event crammed with people in their best arty / sexy outfits (like SEAF Seduction, or Decompression if it were reinvented as a Halloween event), 2) An amazing haunted house, 3) Maybe a corn maze or similar? What are your strongest recommendations?

For the costume event, I'm looking for the sort of thing that while not mainstream, is still big (ie much bigger than a nightclub, multiple dance areas, hopefully including a broad range of music (not just a repetitive beat that assumes you're on E)), everyone in amazing costumes, plenty of sexy, plenty of effort, lots of happy.

I don't really know what to look for (or where) in haunted houses, so I'm hoping for some recommendations!

Any other "must" events? Or locally-famous annual things?

(For all events, northern San Francisco (or Marin) would be better than south San Francisco or San Mateo, but if it's amazing enough, we can probably find a way there.)

Thank you all!

posted by anonymisc to Society & Culture (5 answers total)

If you're willing to drive, Winchester Mystery House is in San Jose. It's very touristy, but I went last year, and I would say its the best haunted house in my very limited experience. (It lasts longer than the one at Universal Studios, and is more "realistic" than Great America.) Also, you get unlimited walk-throughs, so if you decide you really love it you can do it again and again.

Even though the official event at Castro is over (sadly), I still think it's quite a site Halloween weekend. Have you seen Haunted Bay for their huge list of events?
posted by tinymegalo at 3:48 PM on October 18, 2012

For me a Bay Area Halloween includes a trip to Half Moon Bay to get pumpkins.
posted by humboldt32 at 4:03 PM on October 18, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ghost Ship on Treasure Island is, so far as I understand, precisely Decompression reinvented as a Halloween event.
posted by psycheslamp at 5:00 PM on October 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

Here's one guide. Please don't come to the Castro.
posted by trip and a half at 7:02 PM on October 18, 2012

American-style Halloween? You want to go trick or treating, or at least watch some of it. There are bunches of streets in SF closed down within neighborhoods so that the kids don't get run over or whatever. Fair Oaks is near the 24th St. BART station.
posted by rhizome at 8:55 PM on October 18, 2012 [1 favorite]