Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, which means Halloween weekend 2026 is a proper three-night affair, running from Friday, October 30 to Sunday, November 1. Whether you want a costume parade, a haunted night ride, a midnight horror screening or just a few friends and a tray of snacks in your flat, there’s something on in most big cities.
We’ve rounded up the plans that stood out in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, London and New York, then added a short list of party snacks you can make in a small kitchen without wrecking it. Event details change fast at this time of year, so check the ticketing app before you leave home.
Mumbai: heritage haunts and a midnight cycle ride
Halloween isn’t really a Mumbai tradition, but the city has clearly decided it likes the excuse.
Haunted Midnight Cycling, from Colaba Market (Oct 30 and 31, 10:30 pm to 5 am). This is the one we’d pick. It’s a slow, roughly 20 km ride past 12 heritage sites and rumoured haunted spots in South Mumbai, including Mukesh Mills and Grand Paradi Towers, with ghost stories at the rest stops. Cycles or Yulu e-bikes are included, and tickets start at about ₹450 on District. Carry water and a light jacket, because the sea breeze picks up after 2 am.
Helloween Festival, Pioneer Hall and Corona Garden, Bandra (Oct 31 to Nov 1). A century-old heritage bungalow becomes a haunted set for two days, with a rage room, stalls, food and a cosplay competition.
IKEA Halloween, Navi Mumbai and Worli (Oct 30 and 31, from 2 pm). This is a good one with kids: face paint, games, a vampire and a witch to meet, and a treasure hunt through the store. You’ll need a ticket for every age, but the listing shows free ones.
Delhi NCR: a horror convention and a party bus
HorrorCon India 2026, NSIC Exhibition Grounds, Okhla (Oct 31 to Nov 1, 2 pm to 10 pm). If you only have the energy for one thing, make it this. It mixes a music festival with a horror fan convention. There are live sets from Seedhe Maut and others, plus horror authors, paranormal storytellers, film screenings, gaming and a haunted house. Tickets run from ₹599 to ₹10,499, and Okhla NSIC station on the Magenta Line is right there.
Halloween Bus Crawl by P0lluti0n (Fri, Oct 30, 4 pm to 1 am). It starts at the Method gallery, then a party bus takes everyone to Auro in Hauz Khas for round two. Expect six DJs, a costume runway and prizes for the best look. Tickets are ₹1,500.
Casa Bacardi Halloween at Bellavino, Gurugram (Oct 31, from 6 pm). Entry is free, so it’s easy to decide on at the last minute.
A quick word on the air. GRAP Stage I is in force across Delhi-NCR, so if you’re walking between venues or doing anything outdoors late at night, a mask under the costume isn’t a bad idea.
Bengaluru: a Thriller parade and some office horror
Faraway Halloween Land, The Bay at Ecoworld, Bellandur (Oct 31, 5 pm to 10:30 pm). This is Bengaluru’s closest thing to a proper parade. There’s a New York-style Thriller parade, an immersive musical, a spooky flea market and a cosplay contest. It’s open to all ages, which makes it the easy family pick.
Escape from Corporate Hell, Social outlets (until Oct 31). This one is a bar takeover themed around office horrors, with drinks called things like Micromanaged and Error 404: Soul Not Found. It will feel a little too real for some people.
London: horror on the big screen
If your idea of a scary night is a sticky cinema seat and a crowd that screams on cue, London does this better than anywhere. The Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square has a packed Halloween programme for Saturday. It includes The Shining, Scream, The Thing and a late-night Rocky Horror sing-along. Its all-night Halloween marathon is already sold out, and several daytime screenings are close to it, so book now if you want in. Other venues around town are running Hocus Pocus and Rocky Horror nights too.
New York: the Village Halloween Parade
The big one. The NYC Village Halloween Parade steps off on Saturday, October 31 at 7 pm and heads north up Sixth Avenue, from around Canal and King Street to West 15th Street. This year’s theme is “Body & Soul”, built around dance and the old idea of skeletons rejoining their bodies for one night. Anyone in costume can march. Marchers line up near Canal Street and Sixth Avenue from about 6:30 pm. If you’d rather stay warm, Spectrum News NY1 shows it live from 8 pm.
One bonus: US clocks go back an hour early on Sunday, November 1, so New Yorkers get an extra hour of sleep after the parade.
Staying in? Easy party snacks for flat dwellers
Not everyone wants a ticketed night out, and a small Halloween get-together at home can be the best plan of the lot. The trick in a flat is to avoid anything that fills the place with smoke, needs a big oven or makes too much mess. Here are six snacks that work in a tiny kitchen.
1. Mummy bread pizzas
Spread pizza sauce on slices of bread or mini pitas, then lay thin strips of cheese across them like bandages. Add two olive slices for eyes. They take five to six minutes in an air fryer or a small OTG.
2. “Bloody” beetroot hummus
Blend a boiled beetroot into your usual hummus and it turns a lovely, alarming red. Serve it with cucumber sticks and toasted pita. There’s no cooking, and it looks great in a black bowl.
3. Spiderweb dip
Spread hung curd or a bean dip in a shallow plate. Pipe circles of sour cream or thinned curd on top, then drag a toothpick from the centre outwards to make a web. It takes two minutes and gets a lot of compliments.
4. Masala popcorn “brains”
Make popcorn on the stovetop and toss it with melted butter, chaat masala and a pinch of chilli. Pile it high in a clear bowl. It’s cheap and fast, and nobody stops eating it.
5. Apple monster mouths
Cut apple wedges, cut a notch out of each one, and fill it with peanut butter. Press in a few slivered almonds for teeth. Kids love making these, which keeps them busy for a good ten minutes.
6. Graveyard pudding cups
Layer chocolate pudding or mousse in small cups and top with crushed chocolate biscuits for “soil”. Push in half a biscuit as a tombstone and add a jelly worm. Make them in the morning and keep them in the fridge.
For drinks, a jug of blackcurrant or kokum sherbet with lots of ice and a few lychee “eyeballs” (stuff each lychee with a blueberry) covers both kids and adults.
A few house rules for flat parties
- Use LED candles in jack-o’-lanterns. Real flames near curtains and paper decorations in a small flat are a bad combination.
- Drop a quick note in your building group with the time and the expected noise. Neighbours are much nicer when they’re warned.
- Keep the music down after your society’s quiet hours, and keep the door clear for anyone trick-or-treating.
If kids in your building are planning to go door to door, we’ve put together a full guide to safe trick-or-treating and decorating in an apartment building, covering which doors to knock on and which to leave alone.
Quick answers
What day is Halloween in 2026?
Saturday, October 31, 2026. That’s why most cities have events running from Friday the 30th to Sunday, November 1.
