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GO: The Nitemare B4 Xmas
The Saloon Ensemble is back for another live performance of Danny Elfman’s score for The Nightmare Before Christmas, director Henry Selick’s Tim Burton-conceived tale of the misadventures of Jack Skellington, pumpkin king of Halloweentown. The event includes singalongs, a costume competition and screaming contest (eee!). Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., 503-719-6055, albertarosetheatre.com. 8 pm Thursday-Friday, 3 pm Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 27-30. $15-$30.
GO: R.I.P. City
Oregon’s only strip club haunted house has made its return after a two-year pandemic pause, but this time inspiration for its ever-changing theme didn’t come from slasher flicks, time-travel fantasies or the cardinal sins. In 2022, the scariest thing organizers could think of was their own hometown. R.I.P City is, yup, you guessed it: based on the disastrous reputation our downtown has acquired. That means the dancers at Guilty Pleasures Gentlemen’s Club will pose amid graffiti, needles, dumpster fires and discarded mattresses. It’s part sexy, part scary and 100% Portland Weird. Guilty Pleasures Gentlemen’s Club, 13639 SE Powell Blvd., 503-760-8128, eventbrite.com. 10 pm Thursday-Monday, Oct. 27-31. $20 general admission, $30 VIP. 21+.
DANCE: Freaky Deaky Portland
Calling all local freaks: The event billed as “Halloween’s most notorious electronic music festival” is back for its second year and promises to be freakier than ever. Freaky Deaky, the dance party/costume ball that started in Houston four years ago, takes over the Portland Expo Center for two nights, with a lineup that includes Los Angeles DJ Svdden Death, genre-bending world bass queen CloZee and hypnotic techno sensation LSDream. Don’t forget to come dressed to the nines—the theme is spooky and sexy. Portland Expo Center, 2060 N Marine Drive, 503-736-5200, freakydeakypdx.com. 6 pm Friday-Saturday, Oct. 28-29. $59.50-$107. 18+.
GO: Cosmic Circus
The group that has produced everything from the world’s largest blanket fort party to a rave on a plane in the middle of a forest helps you celebrate Halloween in the most bizarre way possible this year. Murderboat partners with Code Name and Project Wonky to bring Cosmic Circus to Alberta Abbey, where you can explore otherworldly sights that includes everything from contortionists to Space Age sourcery to clowns. There will be tech and bass house beats spun by local DJs, a cotton candy machine, a tea lounge serving extraterrestrial elixirs, alien captor karaoke, and the infamous Ball Pit of Doom. Enter if you dare (a warning that applies to any ball pit, really). Alberta Abbey, 126 NE Alberta St., murderboat.com. 9 pm Friday-Saturday, Oct. 28-29. $45-$80.
WATCH: Provoke Film Festival
Cinemagic loves a good retrospective, and this one promises to be a doozy. It’s a lineup of horror movies all directed by women—including Raw, the directorial debut of French provocateur Julia Ducournau (who later won the top prize at Cannes for Titane, aka The Movie Where a Woman Is Impregnated by Her Car). Cinemagic, 2021 SE Hawthorne Blvd., thecinemagictheater.com. Multiple showtimes Friday-Thursday, Oct. 28.-Nov. 3 $7-$9.
LISTEN: Halloween Organ Spooktacular
From The Exorcist’s spine-tingling tubular bells to the eerie piano score of the Halloween franchise, scary movie soundtracks can be as iconic as their characters. But perhaps few instruments are associated with horror films as much as the organ. Trinity Music demonstrates just that at this event, where a team of four organists play a lineup of spooky music, like Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and Böellmann’s ghoulish Suite Gothique. There will also be some less-terrifying Halloween caroling. Costumes are encouraged, and prizes will be awarded via a free raffle. Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 147 NW 19th Ave., trinity-episcopal.org/music-series. 7 pm Saturday, Oct. 29. Free.
GO: Día de Los Muertos
If Halloween is about fearing the tortured souls of the departed, Día de los Muertos is the exact opposite: The holiday is a tribute to friends and family who have passed. You can learn more about the Mexican tradition at Hillsboro’s Walters Cultural Arts Center, which will have a customary altar displaying ceramic instruments, masks, seashells and other cultural artifacts. You can also expect live music, dancing and an exhibit titled Indigenous Voices, featuring work by Orquidia Violeta, Luis Jimenez Castro, Abdiel Flores Ubaldo and Hampton Rodriguez. After visiting Walters, head downtown to check out the Hillsboro Art Walk First Tuesday, since the two events happily coincide. Walters Cultural Arts Center, 527 E Main St., Hillsboro, 503-615-3485, hillsboro-oregon.gov/Walters. 5 pm Tuesday, Nov. 1. Free.