Between live performances, haunted trails and spooky film screenings, there’s no shortage of creative and exciting ways to celebrate Halloween this year. Check out a few top highlights below, and turn to Flagpole’s event calendar on p. 10 for a full rundown of everything the town has to offer.
MUSIC: In addition to the dozens of performers participating throughout this year’s Wild Rumpus Parade & Spectacle, Athens has a handful of fun shows lined up. A Southern Gothic, held Oct. 28 at the 40 Watt Club, will spotlight goth pop sweethearts Vision Video and deathrock staple Tears For The Dying—whom you can read all about in Flagpole’s cover story from last week—as well as touring Texan dark synth post-punk duo Twin Tribes. The night will close out with a goth dance party led by DJ Goth Dad and Twin Powers.
Halloween at Go Bar, also held at the 40 Watt Club on Oct. 31, brings together performers who frequented the dearly departed space to raise funds for the Athens Area Homeless Shelter. In addition to a Stooges cover band featuring members of Pervert and Weaponized Flesh, the lineup includes Monsoon, Immaterial Possession, Rubber Udder, Bursters, DJ Mahogany and DJ Fog Juice, plus cameos by Ricky Digits, CGI Joe, Half Acid, Ben Hackett and Fermented Angels.
Halloween is always a particularly wonderful time for cover bands to shine, too. Long-running Grateful Dead cover act Cosmic Charlie will switch things up with “Dark Side of the Dead” in tribute to Pink Floyd on Oct. 27 at the Georgia Theatre. Deadheads should stumble over to Hendershot’s on Oct. 29 for The Grass is Dead, an act dedicated to playing bluegrass covers of the Grateful Dead since 1998. Vinyl Mag will host a Halloween cover show at Flicker Theatre & Bar with Coma Therapy as The Pixies, Telemarket as Violent Femmes, Organically Programmed as Suicide and The Electric Nature as Lou Reed on Oct. 31.
ZOMBIE FARMS: As the story goes, Zombie Farms—Winterville’s haunted walking trail featuring live actors—was established 11 years ago as a zombie preserve where the undead could peacefully bumble about, despite the vengeful witches, chaotic clowns, controlling government entities and other creepy creatures who have tried to get in the way. The creative masterminds behind the farm come up with a different storyline every year to ensure that experiences remain surprising and shocking for return visitors. This year’s tale, “The Demon of Duskridge Mine,” promises an ancient evil. The farm will be open Friday, Oct. 27–28, with a VIP event on Sunday, Oct. 29. Visit zombiefarms.com to reserve tickets.
HAUNTED HISTORY: Hosted by historian and storyteller Jeff Clarke, Athens Haunted History Tours provide a two-hour walking tour revealing unusual and mysterious folklore, legends and ghostly sightings whispered about around town. The 1.8-mile route passes by several destinations tied to stories that span from Colonia Georgia, the Civil War, Prohibition, the Great Depression and Civil Rights movement. Tours are currently offered on a nightly basis through November, and will then switch to Wednesdays–Sundays until next September. Advance registration is required via athenshauntedhistory.com. Can’t get enough? Watkinsville Haunted History Walking Tours are now also offered year-round.
Additionally, the Athens-Clarke County Public Information Office invited a team from Ghosts of Georgia Paranormal Investigations to explore odd occurrences reported at The Morton Theatre in 2014 and The Taylor-Grady House in 2022. To view the video footage and documents yourself, visit accgov.com/6339/Athens-Ghost-Hunts.
To take an even deeper dive into local lore, check out Tracy L. Adkins’ books Ghosts of Athens: History and Haunting of Athens, Georgia (2016) and Ghosts of Athens and Beyond: History and Haunting of North Georgia (2022).
SPOOKY ART: For a fun variety of holiday-themed treats, head over to Flicker for its annual Halloween Art Show. Organized by Dan Smith, aka See Dan Paint, the exhibit features over a dozen local artists including Rachel Burnham, James Greer, David Mack, Klon Waldrip, Joey Weiser and Anthony Wislar. The show will remain on view through Saturday, Oct. 28, and will be followed by an exhibition of works by musician and artist Andersen Rodriguez.
For anyone who missed out on Will Eskridge’s solo show “Fangs for the Memories,” held at tiny ATH gallery earlier this month, there’s thankfully a second chance to check out all of the pieces virtually at willeskridge.com. Combining his love for animals and horror films, the series contemplates the paradoxical nature and cultural fascination surrounding fangs.
HORROR FILMS: There’s a full week of film screenings to carry you through to the end of spooky season. Ghastly Horror Society will host Let Us In at Flicker on Oct. 25. Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services’ outdoor series Movies by Moonlight will present the original Ghostbusters at Walker Park on Oct. 26. The Bogart Library’s Friday Frights Film series will conclude with Dracula (1931) on Oct. 27 at 4:30 p.m., and Ciné’s drive-in series Shocktoberfest will conclude with The Ring at Southern Brewing Co. on Oct. 29. The self-explanatory series Bad Movie Night will show Ghosthouse at Ciné on Oct. 30, and the Italian giallo-focused Blood Everywhere series will screen The Crimes of the Black Cat at Flicker on Nov. 1.
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