A Spooktacular Extravaganza

Photo by William Warby

It’s Halloween weekend and there’s no shortage of festive events both on and off campus to mark the holiday. So whether you’re planning to dress up as Charlie Sheen, an Occupy Wall Street protestor, or notorious local criminal Whitey Bulger or you decide to go as you are, check out the Halloween happenings below for a spooky and fun-filled holiday.

Haunted excursion

The Fear at Fenway

If you grew up in New England, you may have visited Spooky World, the Litchfield, N.H., “scream park” known for its haunted attractions. This year, though, you don’t have to cross the border to partake of its ghoulish fun. Spooky World is coming to Fenway Park for the first time in The Fear at Fenway. Visitors can walk through such never-before-seen haunted attractions as Hancock Hill Cemetery, Brigham Manor, the fictitious 19th-century home that claims to have been the site of 13 atrocities and is now “haunted” by evil spirits, or 3D Freakout, a labyrinth of color, motion, freaks, and clowns.

The Fear at Fenway is at Fenway Park, 4 Yawkey Way, and is open to the public tomorrow, Friday, October 28, through Sunday, November 6, from 5 to 11 p.m. Tickets are $35 for general admission and $59 for VIP admission. Kids Day Matinee shows are on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and are $19. They can be purchased online here or at the door. Students and Military personnel can receive $15 off on the purchase of tickets for the Sunday through Thursday evening shows. To receive the discount, enter the special code “SW1500FP” prior to selecting tickets when purchasing online. Receive a $6 discount by texting 1031 to 70259. Group discounts are available for 30 or more tickets. More information can be found here.

Comedy shows

Improv Asylum

Described as Whose Line Is It Anyway? meets Saturday Night Live, Boston’s Improv Asylum comedy troupe is presenting a special Halloween sketch comedy and improv show this weekend. Patrons are urged to come in Halloween costumes.

The Improv Asylum Halloween show is on Monday, October 31, at 8 p.m. with a preview show tonight, Thursday, October 27, at 10 p.m. at the Improv Asylum, 216 Hanover St., Boston. By public transportation, take an MBTA Orange Line or Green Line trolley to the Haymarket stop. Tickets are $15 for the Halloween show and $10 for the preview show; buy online here or at the door. More information about the shows can be found here.

Boo Central

BU improv comedy group Liquid Fun will perform at Boo Central, BU Central’s annual Halloween event. The group performs a variety of short and long-form improv games, often taking suggestions from the audience. In addition to Liquid Fun, Boo Central offers carnival-style games and Halloween candy.

Boo Central is at BU Central, in the GSU, 775 Comm Ave, on Saturday, October 29, at 9 p.m. This event is free and open to all BU students.

Live music and theater

Bug

Get in the Halloween spirit with BU Stage Troupe’s gory production of Bug, by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tracy Letts. In this contemporary thriller, a woman living in a dingy motel room becomes involved with an Iraq war veteran who believes the government has implanted an insect in his body. What ensues is a meditation on madness and fear.

Bug will be shown tonight, Thursday, October 27, through Saturday, October 29, at 8 p.m. in the Student Theater at Agganis Arena, 925 Commonwealth Ave. Tickets are $6.

Dead-o-Ween Bash and Halloween Hangover

Whether you want to dance the night away or relax to a live band, come to the Middle East’s annual Dead-o-Ween Bash and Halloween Hangover. The downstairs club will host Halloween Hangover, featuring funk rock bands Love in Stockholm, Insigniya, Biscuits and Gravy, and Cosmodrome. The upstairs club’s Dead-o-Ween Bash features Playin’ Dead, Boston’s Grateful Dead tribute.

Dead-o-Ween Bash and Halloween Hangover are tomorrow, Friday, October 28, at the Middle East, 472 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Doors open at 8 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. The Middle East is accessible via public transportation: take the MBTA Red Line to the Central Square stop. The show is 18+, and tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Buy tickets online.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

What’s Halloween without a screening of 1975’s camp musical classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show? The Saturday midnight showings at Cambridge’s AMC Harvard Square, abetted by a live performance by the acting troupe Full Body Cast, have become legendary. The live show is replete with costumes, props, and sets. If you’ve never been to a showing before, then Halloween is the perfect time to see what Rocky Horror is all about.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is shown at the AMC Harvard Square, 11 Church St., Cambridge, every Saturday at midnight, with extra shows on Friday, October 28, at midnight, and Monday, October 31, at 10 p.m. By public transportation, take the MBTA Red Line to the Harvard Square stop. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here. More information about the show can be found here.

Don’t feel like traipsing over to Cambridge to catch the cult classic this weekend? No worries. The Programming Council hosts a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show tomorrow, Friday, October 28, at 11:30 p.m., preceded by a costume party that kicks off at 11 p.m. There will be prizes, so come in your scariest Halloween costume. The event features a caramel apple dipping table, music, and plenty of Halloween candy.

This event is tomorrow, Friday, October 28, at 11 p.m. in the SAC Gym, One University Road. It is free and open to BU students.

Community-focused

Pumpkinpalooza

Get artistic and bring autumn cheer to local community organizations at the same time at Pumpkinpalooza, an event sponsored by the Community Service Center. Students can paint or carve pumpkins that will be donated to organizations such as Rosie’s Place, which offers extended assistance to homeless women, and the Spaulding Rehabilitation Center.

Pumpkinpalooza will be held on the BU Beach tomorrow, Friday, October 28, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; free and open to the public.

Chi Phi Haunted Asylum

Looking for something scary to do, but want to support a good cause at the same time? Come to Chi Phi’s annual Haunted House, a long-standing tradition. Proceeds support the Jimmy Fund, the nonprofit foundation that funds cancer research and care for children and adults at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This year’s event will feature a Haunted Asylum.

Chi Phi’s Haunted House is on Saturday, October 29, in the SAC Gym, One University Rd., at 9 p.m. Tickets are $5 and can be bought at the GSU Link Thursday and Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or at the door.

Know of other spooky events happening around Boston? Leave them in the comments section below.

Allison Thomasseau can be reached at althoma@bu.edu.