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Boston, MA
Halloween 2024 in Boston: Feasts, dance parties, drag shows, more
Events
Boston’s no Salem, but there’s plenty of feasting and partying to do this spooky season.
Boston may not go all out on Halloween like it’s hour-north witchy neighbor, Salem, but there’s plenty to do in town for those spooky season revelers out there — especially when it comes to feasts.
The range of events in and around Boston offers options to see a drag show, walk through a haunted house, or witness the cutest costume contest featuring pooch participants. But the one thing these events have in common is that there will be food and drink, in some capacity.
So get your costume together — and bring your appetite along — for these Halloween-themed food events.
Spooky season is here, and this first-time event promises a scary good time for more than a month this fall. The Wicked Haunt Fest debuts this year at Charlestown’s Hood Park, with three immersive haunted experiences that are described as “Hollywood caliber.” If being scared isn’t your thing, there will also be a beer garden, pumpkin painting, mock trick-or-treating, and plenty of food and drink vendors. 10 Stack St., Charlestown
This one’s for House Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and fine, even Slytherin. The Cambridge restaurant Glass House is crafting cocktails around the world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts, with an adult version of Butter Beer, a Death Eater Negroni, and a Half Blood Prince (their take on a New York sour). 450 Kendall St., Cambridge
Descend into the depths of Shore Leave, which transforms into Scare Leave starting Oct. 1 through Nov. 3. Back for another year, the theme this year is “Haunted Dolls,” and the tropical bar is kicking events off with a goth-themed drag show. Their other big event is the Halloween Party on Oct. 31, complete with a DJ, costume contest, and more drag. Keep an eye out for drink specials on the bar’s Instagram page, and reservations are already available for dates 30 days in advance. 11 William E. Mullins Way, South End
Time Out Market’s drag bingo and brunch is back, with Big Atlas leading the Halloween-themed bingo on Saturday, Oct. 12. From 1 to 2:30 p.m., play along (and possibly win prizes), eat food, drink cocktails, and come for the free show. On Oct. 20, get any last-minute Halloween-themed goods from the “Spooky Market.” 401 Park Drive, Fenway-Kenmore
An animated pre-Halloween event returns to the Inman Square area on Saturday, Oct. 19. The fifth annual Camberville Zombie Pub Crawl unleashes a swarm of revelers in their most undead attire across eight bars: Look alive and meet fellow inspirited characters at Portico Brewing between 5 and 6:30 p.m. Then follow the living dead onto Remnant Brewing Satellite, across-the-street neighbors New Republik and An Sibin, the Turing Tavern, Trina’s Starlite Lounge and its adjacent sibling Parlor Sports, and finally, the Druid. This is a come-as-you-are, go-as-you-please event, and stops will be about 90 minutes each. There will be food specials at every bar except the Druid and drink specials from sponsors. Families are invited to attend the first bar of the crawl, but after that, the event becomes an adults-only outing. Meet at 101 South St., Somerville
Not every Halloween party needs to lean into the scary. Leave the fake blood at home and instead get your neon spandex on for when this downtown nightclub transforms into a 1980s dance floor. General admission is $33, or guests can splurge on a VIP table with up to 15 guests. 1 Center Plaza, Downtown Boston
A Halloween bar crawl in Fenway returns on Saturday, Oct. 26. The festivities include stops at Game On, Bleacher Bar, Bill’s Bar, Loretta’s Last Call, Alibi, and Lansdowne Pub. Tickets are $9.99 and include access to all participating bars, half-off drink specials, entertainment, and several opportunities to win prizes and leave with swag. Various locations
Does your dog have a great costume this year? Dress them up and bring them to Park-9, the area’s dog park bar, for a Haunted Halloween Party and Costume Contest. From 5 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, Everett’s indoor doggo play place becomes a decorated Haunted Dog Mansion (also Beetlejuice-themed) with cocktail specials, treats, spooky decor, and several categories to enter into the costume contest. 48 Waters Ave., Everett
No need to say his name three times. Beetlejuice will appear regardless at this year’s Liberty Hotel Halloween party. The jail-turned-hotel known for hosting over-the-top affairs is taking inspo from the movie of the year on Saturday, Oct. 26, with eerie Beetlejuice decor, a photo booth to capture your supernatural costumes, and live sets from DJ Joshua Carl and DJ Skoolyahd. Tickets start at $95 for access to the party in the lobby and ballroom, or you can get up to eight friends together to splurge on an all-inclusive VIP table on the catwalk ($1,500) or 10 friends in the lobby ($1,850). 215 Charles St., West End
Following a special edition of Drag Bingo earlier in the month, Time Out Market continues the festivities with a wickedly fun Halloween party on Saturday, Oct. 26. From 9 p.m. to midnight, a tarot card reader, a live DJ, and Time Out’s resident drag queen Big Atlas will entertain (with the possibility of a Sanderson Sisters appearance). There will also be food specials, an airbrush tattoo artist, and a costume contest with prizes. Oh, and entry is free. 401 Park Drive, Fenway-Kenmore
With dishes like blood sausage, black silkie chicken, and pigeon pie, Harvest’s All Hallow’s Eve dinner takes inspiration from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This eerie menu features the unexpected — including one mystery cocktail hour bite dubbed the “Withered Corpse Game” — from executive chef Nick Deutmeyer, with canapes, four courses, and cocktails. Reserve, if you dare, for Sunday dinner on Oct. 27. 44 Brattle St., Cambridge
Expect a vibe that’s “Paul Revere’s midnight ride meets the Sanderson Sisters” during this prix fixe menu and drag show at the Revere Hotel’s restaurant, Rebel’s Guild. The menu features pub fare, and during the drag performance, stay seated for bewitching performances and spellbinding costumes starting at 6:30 p.m. on Halloween evening. 200 Stuart St., Bay Village
The Halloween partying doesn’t stop on Oct. 31 because on Friday, Nov. 1, there’s Día de los Muertos to celebrate. Nautilus Pier 4 is hosting its annual Halloween party on the Day of the Dead this year and is encouraging revelers to come dressed for the theme. Besides festive decor and face painting, there will be dinner service, a first-come, first-serve bar with specialty cocktails, and a DJ. The event is not ticketed, but those seeking out dinner at the Seaport spot are urged to make reservations. 300 Pier 4 Boulevard, Seaport
Boston, MA
JetBlue to pull out of N.H.’s largest airport amid capacity crisis, officials announce – The Boston Globe
JetBlue will terminate all service to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire this summer, with the airline’s final flight scheduled for July 8, airport officials said Thursday.
Airport officials said on social media that they were “very disappointed” that the airline will be pulling its service. Manchester-Boston is the largest airport in New Hampshire and sixth largest in New England.
“MHT has worked diligently to promote JetBlue service at MHT, providing air service incentives, a substantial marketing budget, and conducting various promotional activities to create awareness,” officials wrote. “Unfortunately, those efforts were not enough to overcome their ongoing business challenges, which have only been exacerbated by the recent spike in jet fuel prices.”
While JetBlue has long been one of the largest carriers at Logan International Aiport in Boston, some of its routes to Manchester, roughly 50 miles north, have seen lower passenger numbers.
Aviation publication SimpleFlying reported that the airline’s least popular route last year were flights to Manchester from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, seating just 47 passengers on average.
JetBlue told the airport its decision came as they “make a tough call as to how to best support national connectivity in a time of capacity crisis,” officials said.
The announcement comes just weeks after JetBlue unveiled major route expansion plans in South Florida to fill gate spaces vacated by budget-friendly Spirit Airlines, which ceased its operations in May. A bid from JetBlue to buy Spirit Airlines was blocked in 2024 by the Biden Administration over anti-trust concerns.
JetBlue could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.
Bryan Hecht can be reached at bryan.hecht@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @bhechtjournalism.
Books
Mass General nurse-turned-author Karen Winn brings Beacon Hill to life in her latest book. Add this to your beach bag.
Massachusetts General Hospital nurse-turned-author Karen Winn often writes in the Boston Athenaeum, watching tours pass by.
One day, in 2023, she joined one. And the seed for her next novel was planted.
“We passed by an oil portrait of Thomas Handasyd Perkins, a major benefactor to the Athenaeum in the 1800s. The docent alluded to this dark history as to how he’d amassed a large portion of his fortune in the opium trade,” she tells me.
“The tour group moved on — but I was stuck there thinking. I went home and fell down this rabbit-hole of research and learned, to my surprise, just how many of the Boston Brahman families made their fortune in the opium trade. It was fascinating.”
I went down a similar rabbit-hole. The Boston Brahmin opium fortunes are well-documented, including a past Harvard Art Museum exhibit, articles, books and website info including, speaking of Perkins, the Perkins School for the Blind.
Winn, who lives on Beacon Hill and was in a secret society (I asked) added bits and pieces from her own life into the novel-creating mixing bowl: What if there was a secret society built on old opium money in Beacon Hill, and a Mass General nurse was somehow involved?
“The Society” was born.
If you’re looking for a Boston-set page-turner — an “alternate universe Beacon Hill,” as Winn puts it — to kick off your summer reading, add this suspense to your beach bag.
Nutshell: The Knox, standing proudly on Mount Vernon Street in Beacon Hill, houses meetings of a secret society. Some in Boston believe it’s an elite social club — others believe it hides something sinister.
When Boston antique dealer Vivian Lawrence sees her family fortune vanish, she turns to a family legend that ties her to the Knox, seeking a way into the exclusive secret society.
Taylor Adams, a 20-something Mass General ER nurse who recently moved to Boston, becomes almost obsessed with old-moneyed Vivian, “a creature of wealth,” after Vivian lands in the ER one night. When Vivian disappears from Mass General without a trace, Taylor’s search for answers pulls her into the Knox and its dark history…
What interested me — before I knew anything of Winn’s backstory— was that it felt like it was written by someone who just moved to Boston and was in awe of the city.
Living here, we might think of Rachel Dratch and Jimmy Fallon and Denise and Sully in those old “Boston Teen” SNL sketches, or Casey Affleck as the “King of Dunkin” as summing us up, at least in terms of how outsiders see us.
But Taylor, the Mass General nurse, almost fetishizes Boston, and old-moneyed New Englanders she imagines walking down every street.
Example: when old-Boston-money Vivian lands in the ER: Taylor “swallows, a flurry of excitement building in her chest… she envisioned that the city would be teeming with these ladies… That she would get to move among their world, learn from them, drink in their fanciness… letting that old New England generational wealth rub off on her until she glimmered with something of its gold dust…It is Boston, after all: the city of cobblestones and beauty, of Harvard and MIT, of sophistication and history.”
Winn, who grew up in New Jersey, moved to Boston 20 years ago after meeting her Boston-native husband Gil at UPenn. They now live in the Beacon Hill area with their two kids and 100-pound (yup) Bernedoodle.
After two decades here, she’s still “in awe.”
“I grew up in a 5,000-person town in New Jersey. When I came to Boston, I was struck by this beautiful city. Beacon Hill is one of the most historic and charming neighborhoods,” she tells me. “Living here, one might almost be inured to it, but I have this awe. I’m always struck by the cobblestone streets and the gaslit lamps.”
Winn even started a TikTok account for @theknoxsociety, documenting life on Beacon Hill.
This is Winn’s second novel, after 2022’s “Our Little World.” But “I’m not an overnight success by any shape or form,” she says with a laugh.
“I was a nurse and a nurse practitioner, but always loved writing and wrote on the side,” says Winn, who left Mass General in 2010. “It’s a typical writer’s story: I had hundreds of rejections for short stories.”
One of those rejections — from JFK Jr.’s “George Magazine” in 2000 — actually landed her in Newsweek recently.
I called Winn to talk opium, strange graveyard tour, a terrifying house fire, TikTok, and more.
Taylor arrives in Boston with a burning curiosity about the city. “What is Boston? Who are these people?” questions swimming in her head.
“Absolutely. When I came to Boston, I was so struck by this beautiful city. In my head, I could very clearly see the Knox building: The front is on Mount Vernon Street, and the back, I imagined to look like Branch Street. Branch isn’t the back of Mount Vernon, so I gave it a fictional name.”
I love that level of detail, though. No one outside Boston — or maybe even Beacon Hill— would ever know: oh, Branch Street isn’t in back of Mount Vernon. You have other specific references, like dining at 1928.
“I almost wish I’d been a little craftier [with adding more]. For instance, at one point I had Taylor get her knives sharpened at Blackstone’s. And it was just too much detail, so I pared it down. But sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh, I wish I kept that!’ [laughs]”
[laughs] That’s how it goes.
I don’t think I realized the effect each reference would have. There are book clubs now that tour Beacon Hill and go to spots mentioned. A few toured the Boston Atheneum, or dined at 1928. I didn’t realize how much people would connect to the sense of place. It feels like it’s been embraced by people in Boston, which is so fun.
Now 1928 has a cocktail named for your book. What are more specific inspirations that went into the novel?
“For the Knox, I took inspiration from The Somerset Club and The ‘Quin — the beautiful room with fireplaces and ornate details.
“And I was in a secret society in college: Tabard Society at UPenn.”
Wow, what was that like?
“I can’t tell you. [laughs]”
[laughs] Fair enough.
“But I loved that experience. When I was rushing [or trying to get in] you’d find out if you were invited by getting handwritten notes slipped under your door. I tapped into that with The Knox sending notes.”
You said your husband went with you on midnight strolls through Boston?
“Yes! I dragged him to some graveyard tours. We did one that —it was funny, because I’m not sure how I found it, but it definitely, like, wasn’t very legit.”
[laughs] OK.
“It was just us and this guy — we weren’t allowed inside any of the cemeteries. We’d watch the tours go on the inside, and the three of us would be standing on the outside. [laughs]”
[laughs] Amazing.
“My husband’s like, ‘Where did you find this guy?’ I don’t know.”
[laughs] This feels like a “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode.
“It was quite an experience [laughs] And then, of course, I had to go back. We had to go back and do an official tour.
“And I toured the Nichols House Museum in Beacon Hill, which was neat to see another historic building and learn about family that lived there. I toured the Forbes House Museum in Milton. Forbes family was one of the Brahman families, they made their fortune in the opium trade.
“Also we had lived, at one point in the South End, and actually had a house fire. We were home at the time. Luckily, we were fine. But our house was a total loss.”
Oh my god.
“We each grabbed a kid and ran out at the door. It was pretty traumatic. Five minutes later, we would not have been able to go out that door. So, I tapped into that when I wrote the fire scene.”
Wow. That’s terrifying.
“As a writer, you store all these things up, and then go into your basket of experiences, and you get to use them.”
You also created a TikTok for the Knox. What sparked that, and how long will you keep that going?
“I’m having fun with it. I had no expectations when I started. I wasn’t big on TikTok. But having the account for the Knox itself allowed more creative freedom because I wasn’t putting myself out there — I was putting the Knox out there. So I’ve enjoyed creating these videos. Especially since the next novel is brewing in my head.”
What are you working on now?
“My next book focuses on a minor character mentioned in “The Society” — the bookstore owner, Nicholas. I was telling you earlier about those rejections — I actually wrote a short story about him years ago that was never published. It’s been living on my computer and in my head for all these years. I’m ready to tell the story. It will be another very Boston book.”
Catch Karen Winn on July 29 at Quincy’s Next Chapter Books & More.
Lauren Daley is a freelance culture writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1, and Instagrams at @laurendaley1. Read more stories on Facebook here.
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