L'Halloween 2026 À Montréal : Raves Jusqu'au Petit Matin, Drag Ensorcelé et Trois Rocky Horror

Halloween parties in Montreal are no longer confined to a single night. It's more like a season now with a finale. All month, La Ronde runs its scare zones on weekends, the Wiggle Room slips vampire chic into nearly every lineup, Malefycia's haunted house lies in wait for those looking to get really creeped out, and SPASM celebrates 25 years of short, nasty genre films. (For everything else on the calendar, see our October guide.)

This year the 31st lands on a Saturday, and better yet, the clock changes time on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 2 a.m. which moves the night back one hour to 1 a.m.

Some of the parties on offer go way back: Bokomaru is playing its 41st Halloween Grateful Dead tribute, Cirque de Boudoir turns 20 in a former church, and the drag scene, indie and institutional alike, has the night circled, with COVEN's horror show in the Village and a late show at Mado. Ferias, meanwhile, is joining in this year with a dancing alternative to the usual Spirit Halloween decor.

Friday will be equally busy as the official night: KARNAVALE brings big-room house to Griffintown, the SAT goes deep on Detroit techno and electro, Blood Moon is all bass, Blade Rave goes dark and industrial at the Ritz, and Cabaret Berlin is for anyone who still dresses like 1984.

On Saturday, you can stay on foot: The Wiggle Room, La Toscadura, Bar Star Bar, and La Sotterenea sit within walking distance of one another on Saint-Laurent, and plenty of good bars line the way between them.

Read the dress codes, because several of these doors will turn you away without one, and leave the prop weapons at home, and book early! Some of the cheaper tiers sold out weeks ago.

The Wiggle Room: A month of themed burlesque on the Main

Most nights this month, the little cabaret at 3874 Saint-Laurent trades its usual programming for something with fangs. The Wiggle Room's October calendar reads like a horror marathon pitched to a burlesque crowd: A Night of Terror, Creatures of the Night, a Vampire Ball, Horror-Lesque in early and late editions, Interview With the Vampire, Ghouls Gone Wild, and Witches & Vamps. Doors open at 7 p.m. and shows start at 8 unless the listing says otherwise. Tickets are final sale and the room is small, so pick your monster early.

Malefycia: Ten years of making Montreal squirm

Malefycia has spent a decade building immersive horror for adults, and its 10th edition, C10WN, is the biggest yet. Clowns run this one. Over 70 minutes, they watch you, close in, and work out which buttons get a reaction, folding the audience into the story whether it likes it or not. New this year, an optional add-on developed with RE-AK Technologies tracks your fear through neural sensors and facial analysis, then hands you the data. Malefycia runs on select dates through October 31 at 303 Saint-Joseph Boulevard East in Lachine. Strictly 18+, waiver required.

Fright Fest at La Ronde: The island's biggest haunted house

After dark on fall weekends, La Ronde stops being an amusement park. Fright Fest runs October weekends until November 1, plus Thanksgiving Monday and the Fridays of October 23 and 30, with a new scare zone, more than 100 roaming creatures, and a revamped 25-minute Awakening show starring over 50 of them. You choose your intensity: no scares before 5 p.m. for the kids, fog and immunity in "moderate," guaranteed jump scares in "extreme." Read the costume rules first. Anyone 13 and older can't wear a mask or carry props, and security has the final word at the gate.

Lune Noire: A ghost story on the canals

Starting October 9, Parc Jean-Drapeau's Jardins des Floralies get a Halloween makeover, and wandering the grounds costs nothing. Lune Noire dresses the paths, public art, and Mosaïcultures in seasonal decor. The real draw is on the water. By day, La Traversée des Canaux sends seven-seat pontoons through the canals in search of hidden clues ($25 for adults). After dark, La Noce des Canaux turns the same route into the story of a forgotten wedding, revealed one detail at a time ($30.75, or $19.25 for 13 and under). Rides last 40 minutes, life jackets included.

Edward Scissorhands in Concert: Danny Elfman's score, played live

Tim Burton and Danny Elfman were early in their partnership when they made Edward Scissorhands in 1990, and the score has outlasted plenty of what followed. On October 10, a full orchestra conducted by Evan Mitchell plays it live to picture at Place des Arts' Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, as an unfinished man with shears for hands wanders into pastel suburbia and learns how quickly a cul-de-sac can turn on you. Vincent Price, in his final role, plays the inventor who left him that way. It screens in English with French subtitles. Tickets start at $57.08, taxes and fees included.

Emoween: Cabaret Berlin goes full black eyeliner

The judges at Emoween have announced they're bored of the usual costumes. This year they want spookier, sexier, and more emo, and the best-dressed leave with plushies. Touring outfit Emo Carnival brings its Halloween edition to Cabaret Berlin on October 10, with horror visuals on the walls, a haunted photo booth, and a makeover station for anyone who showed up underdressed. The themed drinks have names like Ghoul Gulp and Scream Shooter, which tells you roughly where the night is headed. It runs 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Drinking age only, photo ID required.

Festival SPASM: Twenty-five years of short, sharp shocks

For a quarter century, SPASM has made the case that the best genre films are often the shortest. Its 25th edition runs October 21 to 31 with shorts from Quebec and around the world that are funny, twisted, frightening, or all three, screened cabaret-style instead of in conventional cinemas. Each night has its own flavour: the opening program on October 21, paranormal horror and a night devoted to sex on the 22nd, Cabaret Trash on October 23. Horror buffs can test themselves first at the Méga Ciné-Quiz d'horreur on October 15, and most of the program also streams online.

Le Veilleur: A horror story told in 360 degrees

OASIS Immersion usually fills its rooms at the Palais des congrès with art and light. For three nights, it hands them to Romy Victory, the horror author and YouTuber who wrote Le Veilleur with the OASIS team. It opens in a calm first room. Then the doors to the second open, and the 360-degree projections, spatialized music, and sound effects start working on your nerves, building toward the reveal of who the watcher really is. Shows run October 22, 29, and 30 at 6:20 and 8:20 p.m. In French only, recommended for ages 13 and up, with flashing light.

Halloween on Notre-Dame Street: Lachine's candy crawl

Lachine's main drag gets a head start on the big night. On October 23 at 6 p.m., more than 100 merchants along Notre-Dame Street, between 6th and 18th avenues, turn their doorways into candy stops for the merchants' big candy hunt. Costumed characters work the sidewalks, photographers stand by for anyone whose costume deserves a portrait, and two live sets anchor the evening: Les Petites Tounes for the younger crowd, Sentaï Dub Attack for everyone else. Some shops go further with events of their own, including lightsaber battles and adult costume parties. Bring a bigger basket than you think.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween Ball: Six Time Warps at the Rialto

Some screenings you watch. The Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween Ball you join. Over three nights, October 29 to 31, the Rialto Theatre on Avenue du Parc runs the 1975 cult musical twice nightly, at 7 and 11 p.m., with a shadow cast acting it out beneath the screen, an MC keeping the crowd in line (loosely), a costume contest, and props to throw at the right moments. Everyone knows the callbacks, or will by the end. Seating is general admission, so arrive early. Physical tickets are also sold, cash only, at Boutique Diabolik on Saint-Denis.

Nosferatu in Concert: Murnau's vampire, scored on the spot

More than a century after F.W. Murnau put Count Orlok on screen, Nosferatu can still chill a room. On October 29, the Maison symphonique screens the 1922 silent classic, the first major adaptation of Dracula, while organist Jason Roberts improvises a full score on the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique. There's no orchestra and no written score. One musician reads the film in real time, doomed sea voyage and all. It's silent, so language is no barrier. Come at 6:30 p.m. for a free pre-show by young local musicians at Espace OSM. The film starts at 7:30.

The Fright Crawl’s four bars

Halloween week downtown can mean four cover charges in a single night. The Fright Crawl trades them for one wristband, plus a host to herd the group, a live map, DJs, drink specials, and a costume contest. Thursday, October 29, starts at NsurMackay, where wristbands must be picked up between 7:30 and 10 p.m., then moves through Ziggy's, Piranha Bar, and 3 Brasseurs Crescent before ending at the Brass Door Pub until 2 a.m. Costumes are mandatory and prop weapons are banned. A Weekend Pass covers every Montreal crawl through Halloween night. Tickets start around $23.

Acrobats and a haunted house at the Casino de Montréal

The Casino goes all in on costumes for two nights. On October 30 and 31, the Casino de Montréal fills its floors with music, costumed characters, and acrobats from Cirque Éloize, while its haunted house opens nightly October 27 to 31, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Dress up, by all means, but keep it ID-friendly: your face has to stay visible, and masks and violent props won't make it past the door. As with everything at the Casino, you'll need to be 18. Pace yourself between the tables and the haunted house. There's a lot of night left.

Industrial Night at Piranha Bar: Four bands in the basement

Piranha Bar's basement was made for nights like this. On October 30, four industrial acts take turns turning up the noise: The Sickness Stars open at 8 p.m., followed by Change My Brain With Cakes, Québec Nihilism Front, and Projekt F, who close the night with what they describe as "Industrial Prometheus Rock." It all wraps by 11:30 p.m., early enough to make it somewhere else. Doors open at 7:30 at 680 Sainte-Catherine Street West. Tickets are $15 plus tax in advance or $20 at the door, 18+.

Rocky Horror Halloween: The cult classic as an indie gig

If shadow casts and flying props aren't your scene, La Sotterenea, part of the Casa del Popolo family on Saint-Laurent, offers another kind of tribute. On Friday, October 30, Rocky Horror Halloween turns the basement room over to an indie bill led by Montreal's Poolgirl, with Blue Linen, Shunk, and Best Fish Forever. It's a night of local bands paying homage to Halloween's most participatory film, and the most low-key way to get your Rocky fix this week. The show starts at 8 p.m. at 4848 Saint-Laurent.

The Dark Eighties: Goth night at Cabaret Berlin

Post-punk, cold wave, EBM, Italo disco, new romantic: if it sounded right under a strobe in 1984, The Dark Eighties will probably play it, alongside newer tracks cut from the same black cloth. The Halloween edition takes over Cabaret Berlin on Friday, October 30, 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. The dress code is the one thing to plan around. Costumes or goth attire are required, so dig out the eyeliner and anything with buckles. Advance tickets are limited, and it's 18+, at 1982 Sainte-Catherine Street East.