Virtual Events and Tips to Celebrate Halloween At Home

October 31st 2020 falls on the most perfect day: A Full Moon, An Hour Longer, and a Saturday. What a bummer that it happens to also be in the middle of a pandemic; Augh!! But don’t worry!

This post is GIGANTIC and contains just about everything you’ll need to know to have a bitchin’ Halloween At Home.

We know that things might feel a little frustrating, or that you may have reservations about attending in-person events. So we’ve got just about everything you’ll need to make a spooky celebration at home.

There’s plenty of options to get the party started right from your couch!

Start this spooky day with some fantastic ambiance and cue up the “Ghoul Log” from Shudder to make your favourite haunt even spookier.  Now you’re really ready to continue reading and trying out some of the fun links we’ve rounded up. Let’s get spooky!

Check out our picks below for virtual Halloween events, fast festive facts, and more!

Attend a Virtual Halloween Event and Celebrate from Your Couch:

• The 15-min Live Streaming Halloween Parade and Giant Spider

• Virtual “House of Hallucinations” with House of Yes

• Virtual 2020 Coney Island Costume Contest

• I Love NY’S Virtual Halloween Spectacular

• Reserve a Spot for the Hocus Pocus Hulaween Takeover

• $10 Virtual Halloween Party on Zoom with DJ Jerry Geraldo

• Halloween Isolation Rave sponsored by ThreadBanger

• Buffy The Vampire Slayer Virtual Tribute Event

• 2020 HarlemWeen: Harlem’s Virtual Halloween Event

• Spooky Virtual Fiesta for Families

• Virtual “Geeky Halloween Market” with Spooky Artisans and Crafters

• Halloween at Home: Spooky Science with UMMNH

• Magic Tricks to Scare Your Friends with Toronto Magic Company

Halloween Fun Facts to Impress Your Friends at Parties

• Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, marking the end of the Harvest and beginning of winter, where tradition encouraged bonfires and wearing costumes to ward off errant spirits.

• Traditions go back over 2,000 years; Celts believed the boundary between the living and the dead world was at its thinnest at this time, and they believed the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

• About ¼ of all the candy sold yearly in the United States is actually purchased just to hand out on Halloween!

• Before jack-o-lantern pumpkin carving gained popularity, it was customary to carve them out of turnips, potatoes and even beets!  These were readily accessible to folks in Ireland, where the festivities originated.  Halloween pumpkins gained popularity when they reached America.

• Illinois has over 15,000 acres devoted to cultivating pumpkin and gourd crops, and produces them at five times the volume of any other state!  That’s up to 500 million pounds of pumpkin crop a year.

• The Greenwich Village Halloween Parade is the biggest Halloween parade in all 50 states; this year it’s on hold due to Covid19 concerns, but they hope to resume for 2021.  Over 2 million people attend the parade each year now, and what was once a small event with one local resident, Ralph Lee, has grown into a beloved time-honoured tradition.
  

If our list of fast-facts wasn’t impressive enough for your friends, try unleashing any or all of these 45 Halloween Jokes to ramp up the spooky vibes! (Or just get new friends because our list was really, really cool and your friends are rude for not liking them, ha!)

Skipping the big parties, but still want to dress up and get goofy with your significant other or roomie? Check out these Last-Minute DIY Costume Ideas for fun ‘gram worthy pics.

Looking for ways to collaborate with neighbors or friends but remain socially distant? Here’s a list of 15 Quarantine Activities for Halloween!

Here’s our mess-free craft for kids or super fun grownups who want to make their own mummy ornaments!

Settle in with a big bowl of popcorn and some delicious local takeout, because we’ve got even more suggestions for Halloween watch parties!

Recommended Family Friendly Viewing

1. “The Boy Who Cried Werewolf”

2. “Julie and the Phantoms”

3. “Paranorman”

4. “The Original Goosebumps Series”

5. “Room on the Broom” 

6. “The Addams Family 2019”

7. “Igor”

8. “Scooby Doo Zombie Island”

9. “Monster House”

10. “Halloweentown” 

Recommended Movie Picks for Grownups and Teens

1. “Black Box” 

2. “Evil Eye” 

3. “House on Haunted Hill”

4. “The House That Dripped Blood”

5. “13 Nights of Elvira”

6. “The Love Witch”

7. “The Autopsy of Jane Doe”

8. “The Boy”

9. “1 BR”

10. “Malevolent”

If Horror movies are your jam, you might want to check out the limited discount subscription from Shudder.com streaming services for 31% off a yearly subscription. (Today’s the last day!)

Cook Up a Terrifyingly Tasty Meal

If you’re looking for “one-stop-shopping” in regards to Halloween and Horror recipes, check out this collection of blogposts compiled by author Sara Tantlinger.  Through the magic of the Horror Community, Sara has collected just about everything from appetizers to main dishes to desserts!

Want to scare up even more frighteningly good food? Check out these 50 Halloween Recipes from the Food Network or kid friendly ideas if you need something to occupy your trick or treaters .

Check Out Our Easy Halloween Recipe Video List:

Spooky Reading on the Go!

If you want to keep your scary vibes going all year long, why not check out some of these offerings by Women in Horror!  You can load e-books onto your Kindle or Nook and take them on the go! Now you can have your scares anywhere!

• Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

• All That’s Fair by S.H. Cooper

• Seeing Things by Sonora Taylor

• Under Her Black Wings by Jill Girardi

• The Science of Women in Horror by Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence

• The Good House by Tananarive Due

• Latinx Screams by V Castro and Cynthia Pelayo

• Cirque Berserk by Jessica Guess

• The Possession of Natalie Glasgow by Halley Piper

We've Even Got You Covered with Mood Music!

Happy Halloween
from all of us here at DHR!