Did you always love Halloween as a kid? Were your own children’s Halloween parties full of fun and excitment? When my kids grew up and left home I found Halloween a bit of a let down … until recently. I decided an adults only Halloween celebration could be fun too with just a little bit of thought and preparation. If you’d like to turn your Halloween night into a night (or day) to remember then read on for some really fun ideas that don’t involve you throwing a huge party or trick or treating!
Adults Only Halloween Games Night
Board games have gotten a bit of a reputation for being boring but they needn’t be. We had a great Halloween night with my son and his girlfriend playing Khufu. This is a DVD board game that takes 45 minutes to play with Khufu the Mummy as your host. You’ll need to read all the instructions first as once you start the game you can’t pause it or go back. Or if you fancy something a bit retro then why not try Scooby Doo Escape From The Haunted Mansion … it looks lots of fun. Oh and don’t forget the nibbles and drinks as you play.
Murder Mystery Evening
We tried an ‘at home’ murder mystery evening a few years ago. I downloaded a ready made Murder Mystery game called ‘Murder at The Disco‘ for £11.99 and it came with everything we needed including suspect sheets, questions, audio evidence and even costume suggestions. It’s suitable for 6 to 14 players but we actually played it with 5 and it worked well. You could even put some food and drink on that matches the theme of the murder mystery (there are lots of themes to choose from). It took a good couple of hours to play and I’d definitely do it again.
Halloween Quiz
UK blogger Rosie Thomas says “Halloween is my favourite time of year and I love spending it with friends having a drink and some nibbles whilst doing a Halloween quiz. We have loads of fun and the best part is they can be done in person or via zoom.” Her blog features a Halloween Quiz with 100 Terrifying Trivia Questions & Answers.
Psychobilly Gig
Jo Jackson of Tea and Cake For The Soul also likes a Halloween quiz, but her real love is Psychobilly music. She says “Halloween is Christmas for psychobillies. Psychobilly is a rockabilly/punk music genre that is often infused with horror and gore. There are gigs all year round, but you will be spoilt for choice on Halloween weekend. If psychobilly isn’t your bag, get your friends together and head out for a local pub gig. You can guarantee there will be a Halloween element in there somewhere.”
Haunted Hotel Stay
If you like your Halloween as spooky as possible then you could opt to stay in a haunted hotel for the night. My son and his girlfriend stayed at Chillingham Castle in Northumberland. They thought the rooms were very spooky but unfortunately they didn’t see any ghosts. But the best part about the night for my son was recording all the creaky doors and floorboards! He’s an audio director for a computer games company and the sounds were just what he needed.
And if you’re in the South West of England, Kim John of Life Can be Toff says “The South West of England in particular enjoys a rich and sometimes dark history. Whether you are a believer or not, with such vast history there has to come the odd spooky resident too! Check out the Top 5 Haunted Hotels in that area over on her blog.
Ghost Walk
How about a bit of exercise and some ghost stories for an adults only Halloween night. English Heritage have a great section on the many Ghost Walks that are available across the country. If you’re in the North East then Tynemouth Priory’s ghost walk is full of tales of ghosts and supernatural sightings. It’s suitable for adults over 16 and costs £12.50 if you’re a member of English Heritage or £17.50 if you’re not. Check out their site for Halloween events across England.
Halloween Afternoon Tea
This is one I came across as I googled Halloween. The Vermont Hotel in Newcastle does a Halloween themed afternoon tea with treats that include sand ‘witches’ along with scones and themed cakes. And you can also go in fancy dress if that floats your boat. It’s priced at £19.95 per adult, however it does allow children in so it wouldn’t be totally child free. I’m sure if you google Halloween afternoon tea in your area you’ll find a hotel nearer to you that also does it. And don’t forget to ask for some spooky themed cocktails if they have them.
Hocus Pocus Night
Claire Roach from Money Saving Central says “My friends and I have a Hocus Pocus girls night every year. We purchased some T-shirts from wish, we have wine glasses from Wilco that say ‘cheers witches’ and we all make some themed nibbles. I decorate the living room and we have a cosy night in watching the best film EVER….Hocus Pocus!” That sounds like my kind of adult only Halloween celebration. You could even throw in the Hocus Pocus Board Game and make it an extra long night.
Crafting and a slice of Parkin
Lauren Heaton from The Heaton Fam says “although not the traditionally spooky Halloween activity, we love making our own, dipped beeswax candles on Halloween, and then making chilli, oven baked jacket potatoes and Parkin (I’m from Yorkshire!). The smell combined with the homemade beeswax candles burning away, the chilli and the parkin brings me comforting nostalgia every year! Beeswax candles are so easy to make too! All you need is a double boiler, some beeswax and some wick! You can also buy beeswax candles strips that simply roll if you need an easier alternative!” I really want some chilli and jacket potato now.
Adults Only Halloween Movie Night
How about a scary movie night. Netflix has some very scary movies scheduled for this October including The Conjuring (this terrified me!) and 1922 (a film inspired by a Stephen King novel).
Or if you like something Halloween-ish but a little less scary then Anna Marikar from In The Playroom says “at Halloween you can’t beat a scary, or not so scary, Halloween movie night. Here are 31 ideas of Halloween movies to watch on Disney+ with ideas to suit all ages, not just kids.” I definitely want to watch Maleficent and Into The Woods.
To make your spooky movie night even better, hire a TV for a truly immersive experience, because a bigger screen makes every scare (and spell) so much better.
So as you can see you certainly don’t need children around to have a great Halloween night. There are lots of good ideas here to make your evening fun so choose one and get it organised! And if halloween isn’t your thing but you still fancy a get-together then how about a Vision Board Party? Let me know which one you choose or if you have a different way of celebrating Halloween without the kids then let me know in the comments.
If you liked this post you might like my Date Night Ideas for Older Couples post.
Happy Halloween.