What to Do on Halloween as an Adult: 7 Ideas Without a Party
Halloween is easy when you're eight. Someone hands you a costume and a bucket and points you at the neighbours. As an adult, it's just a night with a scary theme and no instructions.
Maybe your friends are all going to a party you weren't invited to. Maybe they've moved away, or they're working, or they've decided they're too old for it. Or maybe you just don't fancy a crowded bar full of people dressed as the same three film characters.
Whatever the reason, you can still have a good Halloween. Here are ideas that work on your own, with one other person, or with a group you haven't met yet.
1. Swap Scary Stories With Someone New
Everyone has one. The noise in the house that nobody could explain. The weird thing that happened on a night out. The story an older cousin told them that they still think about.
Halloween is the one night of the year when "tell me the scariest thing that's ever happened to you" is a perfectly normal way to start a conversation. So use it.
Here's how it goes on ChillConvo. You turn the lights down, press Start, and a few seconds later you're talking to someone who's also staying in tonight, maybe in another city, maybe in another country. You trade stories. Theirs is better. You stay on for one more.
It's voice only, so you can stay in your pyjamas with the lights off, and a ghost story told in the dark by a stranger is far creepier than anything you'll read. Add halloween or horror as an interest and you'll be matched with someone who added the same one if they're online. If the conversation dries up, there are ice-breaker questions to get it going again, and if someone tells a brilliant story, add them as a friend and call again another night.
It's free, runs in your browser, and is for adults 18 and over.
2. A Horror Film Night With a Theme
Watching one horror film is a Tuesday. Watching three with a theme is an event. Pick a rule and stick to it:
- The classics: Halloween (1978), The Shining and The Exorcist, in that order.
- One director: work through a filmmaker's horror films in the order they came out.
- One decade: only films from the 80s, practical effects and all.
- Scary but not too scary: start gentle and get worse as the night goes on, so you can stop when you've had enough.
Turn the lights off, put your phone in another room and get proper snacks in. The effort is what makes it feel like Halloween rather than just another night in front of the TV.
Stuck on what to watch next? Ask a stranger. Anyone you're matched with on ChillConvo will have an opinion, and it's often a film you'd never have picked yourself.
3. Watch Something Together Online
If your friends are far away, you can still watch the same film at the same time. Agree on a film, all press play on "three, two, one", and stay on a call or a group chat while it runs.
It's not the same as being on the same sofa, but shouting "don't go in there" at the screen together gets surprisingly close.
4. Make Some Halloween Food
Cooking something seasonal is an easy way to make the night feel different. Pumpkin soup, a tray of toffee apples, or a batch of biscuits decorated as spiders and ghosts. None of it needs to be difficult, and it gives you something to snack on during the films.
Carving a pumpkin is worth doing too. It takes about an hour, it's oddly relaxing, and a lit pumpkin in the window instantly makes it feel like Halloween.
5. Go to Something Local
Lots of towns and cities put things on for adults around Halloween: ghost walks, late openings at museums, horror screenings at independent cinemas, themed quizzes at pubs. Have a look at what's listed near you a week or so before, because the good ones sell out.
Going on your own is more normal than you'd think. A ghost walk is a group of strangers following someone with a lantern, so you won't be the only one who came alone, and it's an easy place to start chatting.
6. Play a Scary Game
Horror games are built for nights like this, and a lot of them are better with a friend shouting advice from the next seat or over a call. If you'd rather not be scared, a murder mystery game or a creepy board game gives you the atmosphere without the jump scares. Calls on ChillConvo also have Connect 4 built in, if you'd rather play something while you swap stories.
7. Dress Up Anyway
You don't need a party to wear a costume. Put one on for the film night, for the ghost walk, or just for answering the door to trick-or-treaters. It's the easiest way to make an ordinary evening feel like an occasion, and it doesn't have to be elaborate. A sheet with two holes in it is a classic for a reason.
Halloween Questions to Ask Anyone
Good for a first chat with someone new, a group call, or a night in with friends. They work best if you answer them yourself too.
- What's the scariest thing that's ever actually happened to you?
- Do you believe in ghosts? Honestly?
- Is there a place near you that people say is haunted?
- What's the first horror film that properly scared you?
- Which horror film have you turned off halfway through?
- Would you spend a night alone in a haunted house for money? How much?
- Which horror villain do you think you could outrun?
- What's the best costume you've ever worn, or seen?
- Zombie apocalypse: what's your plan, and who's on your team?
- What's the most overrated horror film?
- What's your favourite Halloween sweet, and which ones do you secretly hate?
- Have you ever been somewhere that just felt wrong, for no reason you could explain?
They work best on someone you've never met, because you don't already know their answers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can adults do on Halloween?
Plenty. Swap scary stories with someone new on ChillConvo, host a themed horror film night, watch a film online with friends far away, make some Halloween food, go on a ghost walk or to a local event, play a horror game, or dress up anyway. You don't need a party to make it feel like Halloween.
What can I do on Halloween with no friends?
Talk to someone new. On ChillConvo you can be on a voice call with a stranger in moments, and Halloween gives you a ready-made topic. Ghost walks and local events are also easy to go to alone, because lots of people do.
Is it weird to spend Halloween alone?
Not at all. Lots of adults spend it at home, by choice or because their plans fell through. A good film, good food and a costume if you feel like it make it a proper night in rather than a missed night out.
What are good Halloween questions to ask?
Ask about real experiences and opinions: the scariest thing that's ever happened to them, whether they believe in ghosts, the first horror film that scared them, and which horror villain they could outrun. Questions about stories work better than yes or no questions.
Where can I talk to someone new on Halloween night?
ChillConvo is free voice chat with new people, with no camera. Add halloween or horror as an interest to be matched with someone who shares it when they're online. It runs in your browser and is for adults 18 and over.
The Bottom Line
An adult Halloween doesn't need a big party. It needs a bit of effort and something a little bit scary. Pick a film, carve a pumpkin, or go and find out which of your local streets is meant to be haunted.
And if you'd like some company without leaving the house, ChillConvo is a quick way to find someone up for a ghost story. Just maybe don't start with yours.