Whether you’re dressing as Raygun, Sabrina Carpenter or The Joker, get your best look ready for these Halloween bashes for the 21+ set. Enter costume contests, sip drink specials and perfect your Thriller moves at these wickedly entertaining bar crawls, concerts and dance-offs.
Deadwood Phobia
Face your fear of zombies at a new virtual reality experience at Sandbox VR. The company’s first psychological horror experience, it takes players (virtually) into a derelict medical facility full of horrors. Work to save survivors as you battle your own terrors come to life. Up to six people can play at once at $50-$60 per player. // 1656 Silver Hill Drive, McLean
The Legwarmers ’80s Halloween: The Haunted Theatre
Oct. 25 and 26, 9:30 p.m.
For two nights only, the State Theatre will transform into a ghoulish fright fest, complete with lights, monsters, thrills and chills. In addition to the headliner, ’80s band The Legwarmers, there will be a costume contest with cash up for grabs. First place will win $300, second place $150 and third $50. Tickets cost $25, and doors open at 8 p.m. for the 9:30 festivities. // 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church
’60s-themed Halloween party at 1969
Oct. 26, 8-11:30 p.m.
Pull on your bellbottoms and tie-dye shirts. The new retro bar on the lower level of Shirlington’s Astro Beer Hall is hosting a celebration of the iconic decade, complete with music, themed drinks and a costume contest that will net the winner a $200 gift card. Apollo smashburgers and Asteroid chicken sandwiches are $5 all night. // 4001 Campbell Ave., Arlington (Shirlington)
The Official Halloween Bar Crawl
Oct. 26, 4 p.m.-12 a.m.
The seventh annual Alexandria event calls itself “the ultimate Halloween party” and includes stops at Alexandria Bier Garden, Augie’s Mussel House and Beer Garden (which will offer $8 Soul Crusher shooters and a $15 Devils Margarita), Bugsy’s Pizza Restaurant and Sports Bar, Don Taco, Hen Quarter, Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub (serving $6 Poison Apples, Ghostly Ghouls and Monster Mashes), and Urbano 116. Check in at The Light Horse Restaurant and Bar between 4-6 p.m., make your rounds until 10 and then hit the after-party at Chadwicks. Tickets are $10-$30 and include two to three drinks or shots. // The Light Horse, 715 King St., Alexandria
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Bier-O-Ween
Oct. 26, 8-2 a.m.
Admission is free for this Shipgarten event in Tysons, which features adult trick-or-treating from 6-10 p.m. and a live DJ starting at 8 p.m. A midnight costume contest will pay out $300 in cash to the first-place winner, while second and third get $150 and $50 gift cards, respectively. Other highlights include a special Halloween beer and bites such as bratwursts, pretzels and wings. The venue is dog-friendly, and admission is free. // 7581 Colshire Drive, Tysons
Halloween Party at Ambar Clarendon
Oct. 31, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Revelers can head downstairs to Baba Bar to enjoy Top 40 tracks from DJ ALVAMP, a costume contest with the potential to win a $200 gift certificate to Ambar or a sister restaurant, plus drink specials galore. Register for the free event here. Can’t make it that night but still want to get in the Halloween spirit? The restaurant will have four themed cocktails at all meals Oct. 28-Nov. 3. Priced at $14 and $15, they are the Vampire Kiss (vodka, Chambord, orange bitters and lime juice), Midnight Berry Elixir (gin, honey, rosemary syrup and blackberries), Blood Moon Margarita (tequila, lime juice, simple syrup, triple sec and red wine), and Baba’s Spiced Spell (bourbon, pumpkin syrup and orange bitters). // 2901 Wilson Blvd., Arlington (Clarendon)
Haunted Carnival Weekend at Clarendon Ballroom
Oct. 31-Nov. 2
Why limit Halloween to one night when you can celebrate for three? The themes for each event differ—The Annual Monster Ball, Haunted Carnival and Afterlife Party—but the basic idea is the same: Don your best costume and dance to the hottest tunes from live DJs. Entry is free with an RSVP, and you get access to three decorated floors of music, party favors and giveaways, a haunted photo booth, and the chance to enter costume contests to win $2,000 in prizes. // 3185 Wilson Blvd., Arlington (Clarendon)
Nightmare on Wilson Boulevard
Nov. 2, 2-9p.m.
Clarendon’s annual Halloween Bar Crawl returns as the self-described “ultimate drink-fest.” Instead of knocking on doors for candy, go bar to Halloween-themed bar enjoying all manner of wicked potions ($4 beers, $4 shots, Witches Punch), DJs, costume contests, raffles and party favors. Participating locations include Clarendon Ballroom, Coco B’s, Mister Days and Don Tito. Tickets cost $7-$15.