Contrary to nationwide cynicism, Halloween isn’t canceled, folks.

Sure, it’s going to look and feel a whole lot different than previous years. And, yeah, the list of haunted houses, costume club ragers, totally out there themed shindigs, and family-friendly trick-or-treat-focused events is drastically smaller. But Michiganders are nothing if not creative, and this year we must keep every witch, goblin, and zombie safe. While we totally understand that the integrity of costumes may be compromised with the addition of, well, face masks, nothing is scarier than reliving 2020 all over again. So dress up, mask up, and enjoy these Detroit area events that are available to those in need of a safe and spooky Halloween fix.

Skate N’ Dance Haunted Circle Sat., Oct. 31, 6 p.m.-midnight; Lexus Velodrome, 601 Mack Ave., Detroit; 313-265-6725; eventbrite.com ; Tickets are $25-$30, children under 17 are free with an adult and private booths are available for $200. This year may have spun wildly out of control but you can lace up, dress up, and embrace the chaos at Skate N’ Dance Haunted Circle at Detroit’s Lexus Velodrome. The event is billed as both adult and kid-friendly (though it is 21+ after 9 p.m.) and is fit for skaters of all experience levels. Throughout the night, skaters — who should absolutely be in costume — can partake in spook n’ skate, a track race light show, break skate, and a costume contest with a cash prize. Photo courtesy of Skate N’ Dance by Alex Hancook
For Saints & Sinners 2020 Drive-in Concert Thursday, Oct. 29, 6 p.m.; Core Park, 6551 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit; brownpapertickets.com; Tickets are $25-$30 per car. We miss concerts so much we would drive to hell and back just to hear an opening act to an opening act. Well, thanks to musical enchantress Willa Rae, host to the annual Saints & Sinners Halloween soiree, we can now roll up and get our sinnin’ on. This year’s event has pivoted to a drive-in concert, with performances by TART, the Stools, Dear Darkness, Pancho Villas Skull, and otherworldly burlesque and performative theater by Jezebel, Pixel Universe, and Lilith Von Tal. There will be food vendors, as well as pop-up art and vintage clothing shops. Don’t have a ride? The performances will be live-streamed, too. Social distancing and mask-wearing will be enforced. As for devilish attire? That’s on you, darling. Photo courtesy of Willa Rae
ICP’s House Party Peep Show and Hallowicked acoustic live stream Saturday., Oct. 31, 9 p.m.-midnight; psychopathicrecords.com; Tickets are $66 and include access to all live streams. It might be a hot minute until we can bathe again in a fountain of Faygo, the sticky, carbonated — and Detroit-created — nectar of the gods, aka hip-hop clowns Insane Clown Posse. That’s right: due to the coronavirus pandemic, ICP’s annual blowout, Hallowicked, has been scaled down to a live-streamed, acoustic show this year. Welcome, the ICP live streaming service which airs content every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday night offers a unique live show available to watch from 9 p.m.-midnight. ICP will be present themselves, doing podcasts, showing sick vids, and taking you on tours of locations that have played a part in ICP’s history. Access to this service also includes a special Hallowicked acoustic performance, featuring Ouija Macc, Big Hoodoo, and Clownvis live from Violent J’s house complete with concert-level staging on Halloween. Can we get a Whoop Whoop? Photo by Josh Justice
Erebus Through Nov. 7; 18 S. Perry St., Pontiac; 248-332-7884; hauntedpontiac.com; Tickets are $20-$29. Not to be all weird about it but Metro Times readers voted this world-record smashing haunted attraction in Pontiac as the best in town and not even COVID can keep Erebus from scaring the piss out of willing victims. Four stories of terror await, however, this year, there are, you guessed it, some changes. There will be a smaller number of live actors all of whom must wear face masks (just like you!) and must stay six feet away. Just because ghouls, demons, and blood-thirsty psychopaths won’t be able to get up close and personal doesn’t mean the screams will be any less frequent or the fear any less real. Photo via Facebok/Erebus
A Haunting at Hollygrove: Phantasm of Lights Sun., Oct 25, Oct. 29-31; 12600 Dixie Hwy., Holly; halloweeninholly.com; Tickets are $25, children (5-12) $17.95. The Dark Lord is here, y’all. Huzzah? Though this year’s Michigan Renaissance Festival was jousted right off of our 2020 calendars, the festival grounds in Holly has been repurposed for a far more sinister happening. A Haunting in Hollygrove: Phantasm of Lights offers a sensory and family-friendly haunted experience, featuring more than 3/4 of a mile filled with lights, spooky sounds, and what the press release describes as roaming and “unnerving characters.” Scattered throughout the village are more than eight “haunting” scenes that may or may not have something to do with an evil force that has overtaken the festival grounds, and it may or may not be up to guests to save it from the Dark Lord, or something. In addition to the haunted elements, there will be 10-15 artisans set up offering “unique finds” and Halloween merch. Photo courtesy of A Haunting at Hollygrove
Michigan Central Halloween Lights Fri., Oct. 30 and Sat., Oct. 31, 5 p.m.-9 p.m.; 2405 14th St., Detroit; Facebook.com/MichiganCentral; Event is free. The hulking Michigan Central Station will return as Detroit’s biggest haunted house this Halloween. While Ford Motor Co. continues to renovate the long-abandoned building, the company will host another light show in its many windows, as it has in years past. But due to the pandemic, however, this year’s event will be a drive-thru version and we’re totally fine with that because that way we can blast our own eclectic soundtrack of Enya, Radiohead, and Nirvana shovel on a loop;. But anyway, it’s free, freaky, and family-friendly. Oh, and stay in your cars. It’s scarier that way. Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Co.
Hocus Pocus Friday, Oct. 30, 8 p.m.; Redford Theatre, 17360 Lahser Rd., Detroit; 313-537-2560; redfordtheatre.com; Tickets are $10. Bippity-boppity boo-ya. Halloween means one thing: The Sanderson Sisters are ready to light the Black Flame Candle ablaze for one more chance at life as joyless witches. The 1993 classic, Hocus Pocus starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, and a young Thora Birch, has had a resurrection of sorts in recent years and it might have everything to do with, well, everything. The movie slaps, including a buck-toothed Midler’s unforgettable performance of “I Put a Spell On You.” The historic Redford Theatre is hosting a Halloween Eve screening of the family-friendly classic for one night only. Photo via screengrab/YouTube
Glenlore Trails: The Haunted Forest Through Nov. 15. 3860 Newton Rd., Commerce Twp.; glenloretrails.com; Tickets are $15-25 Electric Forest may have been canceled and, frankly, that still stings, but there’s a new illuminated forest experience in town to satiate our desire to feel anything other than recurring TikTok-induced depression and Twitter-fueled existential dread. For anyone like who needs to log the eff off for at least the duration of a half-mile trek through a magical and potentially haunted forest, there’s Glenlore Trails: The Haunted Forest, an interactive and sensory experience in Commerce Township. Though it debuted in August as a non-haunted attraction, the light and design production team have pivoted to giving the people what they want: family-friendly spooky shit! Photo courtesy of Courtesy of Bluewater Technologies
Terror on Tillson Street Saturday, Oct. 31, trick-or-treating is from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. road is closed on Oct. 31 and the street remains open to visitors throughout October; Tillson St., Romeo; terrorontillson.com; Event is free. A pandemic won’t stop Tillson Street in Romeo from carrying out a spooky tradition of decking out 2 ½ block stretch into a haunted happening for gawkers that gives Elm Street, Crystal Lake, and that dang Cabin in the Woods a run for their money. Each year Tillson Street is transformed into Terror on Tillson Street when dedicated homeowners come together to decorate nearly every one of the street’s historic Civil War-era homes in an elaborate Halloween display. Though residents say there may be fewer interactive elements this year, many residents are still committed to the terrific terror Tillson is known for. Residents ask to check the Facebook page for updates/changes to trick-or-treating policies this year. Erin Cadigan / Shutterstock.com
ISO Halloween Through Nov. 1; 660 E. 10 Mile Rd., Ferndale; isohalloween.com; Tickets are $20. Aren’t we all in search of Halloween this year? Well, some folks wanted to help us find our Halloween spirit by transforming an 11,000 sqft warehouse in Ferndale into an enchanted walk-through event tapping into our Halloween-hunting heart’s most haunted desires. This family-friendly event, hosted by Spacecraft Detroit, is an immersive Halloween art and technology installation that is very projector-heavy and has plenty of selfie-worthy spots so you can still give your friends FOMO on your social feeds without, you know, doing anything more than walking and taking in the sights. If you’re in search of other holiday fun, the space will be flipped for fall harvest and winter holiday themes. Photo courtesy of ISO Halloween
Hush Haunted Detroit Through Nov. 13; 37550 Cherry Hill, Westland; 734-502-6026; hushhauntedattractions.com; Tickets are $28.99+ Good luck staying quiet, folks, because this three-in-one haunted attraction is designed to keep you screaming. Whether you’re descending the basement, paying a visit to the Voodoo Bayou or Rosecliff Hall, everything in Hush Falls — a once thriving, but totally fictitious and town — rest assured that you’ll never rest assured again. Hush spans 40,000 sqft of haunts and has safety measures in place, including mandatory masks for all who enter and hopefully for all those lucky to leave. Photo via GoogleMaps by owner
Halloween at Tangent Gallery Saturday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m.; 715 E. Milwaukee St., Detroit; 313-873-2955; facebook.com/tangent.hsb; Tickets are $20. A hotspot for creative events, Tangent Gallery is back with a new biergarten to celebrate the full moon and Halloween because, yes, if you can believe it, the two coincide. The mask-mandatory, costume-encouraged event will host performances by Chirp, Rupple Brothers, Asklepius, Raedy Lex, Carmel Liburdi, and Joseph Vorteque. There will be art, too, as well as haunted hayrides. Photo by Mike Pfieffer
7th AnnualYouth Fall Fest/Harvest Day Saturday, Oct. 31, noon-4 p.m.; 12245 Morang, Detroit; 313-466-4377; facebook.com/neweradetroit.com;Event is free. This one’s for the kids, y’all. Well, actually New Era Detroit’s 7th Annual Youth Fall Fest/Harvest Day is for families and anyone in need of some feel-good fall action. New Era Detroit, an organization that aims to restore Black unity in Detroit communities, has, once again, put together a celebration with a live DJ, free food, games, activities, and, yes, candy. Lots of candy. Photo via New Era Detroit/Facebook
Ghostly Grove Fri., Oct. 30 and Sat., Oct. 3; 10055 Dexter-Pinckney Rd., Pickney; ghostlygrove.com; Oh, sure, abandoned woods located on the Schell Family Farm Orchard. What could go wrong? This outdoor haunt features a tale of grisly revenge and some forest mutants, some angry undead folks, and a forest that may or may not be alive with the sound of screams. Photo via GoogleMaps by owner
Twerk x Tequila: Halloween Friday, Oct. 30, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.; Garden Theater, 3929 Woodward Ave., Detroit; twerkxtequila.com; Tickets are $40. We know. A Halloween party in pandemic times? Organizers of Twerk x Tequila will ensure limited capacity, enforce mandatory mask-wearing, and temperatures of all who dare twerk, er, enter, will be taken. What originated as an outdoor, daytime event is now a nationally touring nighttime rager that aims to shutdown the city (but not like, well, you know.) Oh, and the event is a women-focused experience meant to liberate, intoxicate, and create an environment that uplifts women so they can party unbothered. Um, yes please. Photo via GoogleMaps

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