Scares on the Strip: Hot Halloween events in Las Vegas

By E.C. Gladstone

Are you obsessed with Halloween? Well then, get yourself to Las Vegas. Because in a town that loves to dress up, Halloween is arguably the biggest holiday of the year, and we have so many events — lasting throughout October and into November — that I can’t even possibly list them all here. But I’ve got some highlights, at the Las Vegas hotels and beyond:

Dressing for excess

Love Jones, theHard Rock Hotel‘s great little lingerie store, is featuring a special Halloween collection. For other sexy costumes, check Déjà Vu boutique, 4335 Tropicana across from the Orleans Hotel & Casino.

Haunted houses

Fright Dome at Circus Circus‘ Adventuredome is a well-established month-long attraction scary enough that they strongly discourage kids under 12. Five haunted houses and performances as well as rides of course … Down the south end of the Strip, Monster Mayhem Haunted Village has appeared at Town Square mall, offering three haunted houses along with arcade games and carnival fun (not to mention Town Square’s popular locals bars Blue Martini and Yard House and many restaurants nearby). … Out in Red Rock Canyon, the Bonnie Springs ghost town has become "Bonnie Screams" through 11/2. … There are several more around town, and even the Las Vegas Springs Preserve has an outdoor "fright zone."

Cheap thrills

Mandalay Beach, which features free movies Friday nights on a floating screen,will be showing the original Saw on Halloween. … Kids under 12 get in free to "Haunted Reef" at Shark Reef Aquarium (also at Mandalay Bay) on Halloween.

Nightclubs and bacchanals

A solid week of crazy Halloween parties starts Saturday, October 25, with the legendary annual Fetish & Fantasy Halloween Ball which is definitely not for the prudish! On Sunday, October 26, the Palms resort’s week of events starts with a sexy (Spearmint Rhino girls) costume party at Playboy Club, continuing Tuesday (October 28) with Girls Next Door’s Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt hosting DJ J’Roc’s "Trick ‘Em and Treat ‘Em" at Moon. … Also Tuesday, MGM Grand , Studio 54’s annual "Nightmare On 54th Street" week of parties starts with a very cool dance tribute to Michael Jackson’s Thriller (free drinks for ladies dressed for the ’80s); becomes the 42nd annual Beaux Arts Ball on Thursday (October 30), and even stretches into an after-hours party the morning of November 1. … Other nightclub and lounge promotions going on up and down the Strip include a spiked cider party Tuesday at Buse in Four Seasons and Mingle and Mayhem on Thursday at Blush, Wynn.

And on Halloween itself (10/31), Harrah’s outdoor Carnaval Court will have a Ghouls Gone Wild party from noon onward. … SushiSamba is doing a very cool Spooky Kabuki event, with a Japanese-inspired costume contest, Japanese candy, a very cool Dracula dessert and special cocktail (guaranteed coolness). … Adult film star Tera Patrick will be hosting (and Djing!) Tao Nightclub’s Taolloween (guaranteed hotness!). … Other celebrity hosts include Tila Tequila at Christian Audigier (T.I.) and Wilmer Valderrama at Pure (Caesars Palace). … Over at Palms resort, all four clubs (Moon, Rain, Playboy, Ghostbar) are hosting big prize-winning costume contests ($$$), so you can expect a crazy parade there! And just when you thought the freaks might go back to the underworld.

Insider tip: Halloween is just the start of a crazy Vegas weekend. Saturday, November 1, FabulousFest brings an incredible all-night array of top DJ talent to the Orleans Arena including Armin Van Buuren, Deadmau5, MSTRKRFT and a lot more.

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