You know what’s scarier than vampires, zombies, or a "binders full of women" costume? Not having anything to do for Halloween. And there’s no excuse for it, either: not only does the holiday falling on Wednesday this year effectively mean it stretches over nearly a week, from Friday the 13th—er, the 26th—through Thursday’s Dia De Los Muertos, but that 6-day period is positively chockablock with eerie events. As the witching hour approaches, leave a bowl of fun-sized candy on your porch and head out to one of these 13 All Hallow’s Eve happenings.

Shows

If you’re looking to get scared out of a theater seat, look no further than Fresh Blood, dance company BodyVox’s Halloween show. The grotesquerie, which features creatures varying from vultures to a crazed clown, sold out when it was last performed in 2010. Now, the company has raised the show from the dead and appended to it a new, world-premiere work. $36–59. Thu–Sat at 7:30. 1201 NW 17th Ave.

For the classic, nostalgic scare of a ghost story, get Spellbound by Portland Story Theater. Some of our city’s finest yarn-spinners will tell hair-raising tales at a perfectly gothic setting for the evening, Mississippi Avenue’s John Palmer House. $35–200. Fri & Sat at 8. 4314 N Mississippi Ave. 

Want even more nostalgia? Bad Reputation Productions, the funny people who adapted Roadhouse: The Play, will transport you back to the ‘80s—specifically, a so-bad-it’s-beloved ‘80s teen vampire movie—with its new play, The Lost Boys—Live! Talented and hilarious Live Wire! host Courtenay Hameister and OMG Cats in Space creator Shelley McLendon co-adapted the Corey Feldman/Corey Haim-starring film for the stage. $18. Fri & Sat at 8. Ethos Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave.

The Clinton Street Theater will screen other horror movies throughout its Halloweekend-long Scareathon. If you dare, you can see a selection of locally produced, H.P. Lovecraft-inspired shorts, the mortifying musical Repo! The Genetic Opera, and traditional midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Fri & Sat. 2522 Southeast Clinton St.

Over at the former burlesque venue Star Theater, cabaret ensemble and Portland mainstay Vagabond Opera has invited “Russian party band” Chervona, belly dancer Rachel Brice, and Deliverance-reminiscent folk group Dum Spiro Spero to celebrate not only the holiday, but also VO’s 10th birthday, at the troupe’s Transylvanian Voodoo Ball. $16–20. Wednesday at 9. 13 NW Sixth Ave.

Parties

Those unafraid of a hangover may sample rare craft beers from Oregon brewers such as Ninkasi, Upright, and Bushwhacker Cidery at Night of the Living Ales, a suds-centric event at Burnside Brewing Company. Also on tap are costume contests, go-go dancers, and live music from local one-man-band Boy Eats Drum Machine. $10. Fri at 8. Seventh Avenue and Burnside.

For shaking your booty as you shake in your boots, there’s no shortage of options. To start, big-name old-school hip-hoppers Naughty by Nature headline Phantom, a dance party in an old warehouse beneath the Fremont Bridge. (PoMo’s Portland Pages will be there, snapping photos for potential publication in the magazine.) $40–60. Sat at 8. 1300 N River St.

City Repair Project, the folks behind those painted intersections/social experiments around town, are throwing a fundrager, Howl, that will boast more than 20 DJs and take over Industrial Southeast sister venues Rotture and Branx inside and out. $25–30. Fri at 9. 320 SE Second Ave.

Branx staff will probably have finished cleaning up from Howl just in time for Blow Pony. The pansexual bacchanal goes down at the club every fourth Saturday; it just so happens that this month, it fortuitously falls on what is, basically, Halloween (at least for anyone who’s got to get up and go to work next Thursday). $5. Sat at 9. 320 SE Second Ave.  

Other regular dance-beat purveyors putting on Halloween shindigs include DJ Cooky Parker, playing ‘80s pop at In the Crematorium ($8. Wed at 9. 1001 SE Morrison St.); DJ Anjali & the Incredible Kid, putting a spine-tingling spin on their usual South Asian offerings at Bollywood Horror X ($8–10. Sat at 9. 125 NW Fifth Ave.); and VJ Kittyrox, who we’d bet our life will play “Thriller”—at least once—at the Halloween edition of ‘80s Video Dance Attack ($8–10. Fri at 8. 1332 W Burnside St.). 

Finally, should you still, somehow, not feel sated come November 1, you can get your macabre on at Holocene’s Dia De Los Muertos celebration, curated by Y La Bamba front woman Luzelena Mendoza, which will feature a play, an Aztec dance performance, and a performance from rising local mariachi singer Edna Vasquez. $5. Thu, Nov. 1 at 6:30. 1001 SE Morrison St.  

For more about Portland arts, visit PoMo's Arts & Entertainment Calendar, stream content with an RSS feed, sign up for our weekly On The Town Newsletter, or follow us on Twitter @PoMoArt. Blog content reflects the views of the individual author and not necessarily SagaCity Media, Inc.