7 inspiring ways to make your halloween event truly killer

We love Halloween at Ticket Tailor – and not just for the cosy autumnal vibes and spice lattes (although those things are pretty great). What we love this holiday for is the fact that it’s always a time of year where we see people getting really creative with events.

There’s no denying that things are going to be looking pretty different this year, though. And it’s heartbreaking to think of all the amazing events that have had to be cancelled due to Covid 19.

But the Halloween spirit lives on, even in these difficult times. We’re seeing many turning to online and outdoor events, and lots of really admirable efforts to make ghoulish happenings Covid secure. Whether you’re looking for inspiration to give this years’ event a boost, or are planning ahead for 2021, here are some top tips inspired by our most inventive Halloween listings this year:

Make things genuinely terrifying 

Halloween is the perfect time to capture the imaginations of horror-movie fanatics and adrenaline-junkies. And while it’s tempting keep things ‘tame’ for fear of upsetting customers – it’s probably more common to hear of people complaining events weren’t terrifying enough, rather than vice versa. 

Just look to things like World Zombie Day for proof. Tickets for immersive events like these fly off the shelves, and it’s all because of the lure of a genuine, white-knuckle kind of terror. In our eyes, this kind of thing should be all or nothing – if you’re going to promise a horror show, there should be plenty of jumps, screams and scares for your thrill-seeking customers. 

We love how the wicked and wonderful Field of Horrors in Albany rates its attractions by ‘Fear Factor’ and ‘Fun Factor’, so its customers can choose accordingly. It also promises (quite matter of factly) in its FAQs that it’s simply ‘meant to be scary’ – and we have a feeling it delivers. Plus, it’s rolled out thorough Covid 19 guidelines, stating all the ways it’ll be keeping its visitors safe (albeit terrified) this year.

Transform your tour or attraction with a spooky Halloween takeover

Take heed from ‘Britain’s most extraordinary home’ – aka Talliston House & Gardens – by using your existing tour or attraction to organise some killer Halloween happenings.

Talliston House & Gardens is an incredible 25-year strong project – one that saw an ordinary three-bedroom ex-council house turned into a magical wonderland of inspirational locations (you have to see it to believe it). The house is incredibly popular and runs tours year-round – but takes on a special Halloween-themed identity in October. 

Turning an existing tour or attraction into a Halloween themed hotspot is a great way to maximise on what you already have, while boosting profits from thrill-seeking tourists and locals alike. Nice. 

Embrace the weird and wonderful with epic Halloween rave visuals

Turn your regular late-night music event into a weird and wonderful feast for the senses by pairing epic sounds with mind-bending visuals. Look to AudioAddictz’ Halloween Ball for inspiration, which promises attendees will be able to dance themselves into oblivion to cutting-edge psytrance sounds while indulging “their third eye with visuals, lasers, and custom decor by Kreattor”... wow. 

Host a psychic reading event

Halloween is about so much more than witches and vampires. Give your event an ultra-supernatural twist with communications from beyond the veil, and mind-reading sessions that chill the spine – just like this mystical, Halloween-themed psychic night held at the historic Number 10 hotel in Glasgow.

A quick internet-search will throw up the details of plenty of psychics-for-hire – just be sure to choose someone who can put on a good show and offer your attendees plenty of thrills.

Take it to the water

Picture this: a sophisticated but exceptionally spooky Halloween soiree… only, instead of being held on dry land, it takes place on a moonlit river or lake against a backdrop of shadowy nighttime skies. Check out this New York Halloween river cruise for inspo.

Put your arts & culture hat on

Halloween doesn’t have to be all about cheesy horrors and ghost trains. There’s tons of scope to create a spooky event that’s steeped in history, culture and the arts too. Look to Cornwall’s Rogue Theatre for inspiration – it’s Dead of Night Dis-Dance is a “wonderful Halloween celebration with theatre, laughter, music, stories, thrills, frights, delights and dancing.” It takes place in the heart of a forest, and involves everything from comedy performances to spooky theatrical readings, and then a socially distanced disco (because why not?).

We love the idea of using the arts and theatre to create a Halloween event that feels rich, immersive and genuinely entertaining. Sure, everyone loves a fancy dress party – but there’s something far more enchanting about the idea of creeping through a spooky forest at night, to be wowed with theatrical live performances from actors in lavish costumes.

Go for futuristic

Halloween is usually associated with ghosts from times past, so why not break the mould and go all-out futuristic with an event that embraces the best of modern technology? Take Canada’s Halloween Nights of Lights event, for example – “an immersive experience like none other, featuring more than 700,000 LED lights animated and synchronized to your favourite Halloween tunes.” 

This innovative event involves driving through a series of tunnels to see a wicked onslaught of animated light displays. The best bit is that the animation happens in time with the Halloween-themed music blaring from a dedicated radio station, which you tune into at the start.

This goes to show how thinking outside the box and opting for a contemporary rather than historic theme is a great way to make your Halloween event jump out in an overcrowded space. We love the idea of using lighting innovations, cool music and really imaginative sets to create a weird and wonderful Halloween world that feels refreshingly state-of-the-art.

Avoid scarily high pricing with a low-cost ticketing service

In case you’re new to Ticket Tailor (hi! 👋) you might be interested to know that we are one of the cheapest ticketing platforms out there thanks to our simply flat-fee pricing 😌. Unlike lots of other ticketing sites, we don’t charge a percentage of your ticket sales, or a fee for you to sign up to our platform. Plus, we’re totally free to use for free events – so if you don’t charge for entry, you’ll never have to pay us a penny (or cent). 

To find out more about our pricing just head here >

Halloween is a time full of creativity and imagination – so there’s no excuse for following the same old formula when there are plenty of ways to break the mould. We can’t wait to see what Ticket Tailor users will come up with next. Ready, set… BOO!