This is the week when the veil thins, Houston. Get ready for ghosts, ghouls, and full-grown adults in Pokemon onesies. Are you looking flirt with death, darkness, and ill-fitting polyester? Whether you’re screaming in a theater, communing with puppets, or surrendering to a shadowcast at midnight, this week is all tricks, treats, and maybe a little trauma bonding.

From Leatherface to Lawndale, Houston’s rolling deep in spooky season. Grab your flashlight, your flask, and lean in as things get weird.

Monday, 10/27

Essentials: THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974) | 7:15 PM
River Oaks Theatre | 2009 W Gray St

Start your spooky week off right with one of the horror classics wherein five youths head to the Texas countryside as an escape, only to find them in the grips of a masked butcher and his nasty, nasty family. Leatherface changed the face of horror cinema back in the day, and you can catch it on the big screen. (There’s another showing Tuesday if you can’t make it Monday.)

Also, you know They, Who Sound is at Lawndale yet again if your tastes tend more towards experimentation that doesn’t involve carving up human flesh.

Tuesday, 10/28

Puppet Show | 7:00 PM

Stinson House | 2718 Ruth St

A Puppet Pants encounter is landing at Stinson House Tuesday evening with some help from local puppetmasters lo-fi puppets! Puppet Pants is a marionette puppeteer, maker, and busker out of Atlanta. On the local side of things, lo-fi puppets and stuff present their “stuff-o-matic” a rotating collection of short form puppets and stuff which the audience chooses the order of.

Temporal Estrangement Conversation | 6:00 PM

Lawndale Art Center | 4912 Main St

Puppets not for you? Lawndale plays host to a conversation delving into the exhibition Temporal Estrangement: A Path to No Place, featuring the artist Christopher Paul in dialogue with Phillip A. Townsend, Ph.D. The pair’s discussion will explore Queer and Black Speculative Theory in relation to making and transcending worlds, followed by music from DJ MLE.

Wednesday, 10/29

Mitchell Center Visiting Artist Series: Stephen Nachmanovitch Improv Concert | 6:30 PM
Moores School of Music, Room 160 | 3333 Cullen Blvd

The Mitchell Center brings in Stephen Nachmanovitch for an evening of improvised music and creativity. Nachmanovitch will craft music in the moment, blending violin with storytelling to build a unique live experience.

Thursday, 10/30

Digital Diaspora: Roots x Futures | 4:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Lawndale Art Center | 4912 Main St

Lawndale collaborates with the Anderson Center for the Arts to bring a mixer boasting local art, refreshments, and jazz. The orgs aim to set a warm tone for AfroTech week, offering the community a chance to engage with creatives and technologists across futures, design, and culture.

Friday, 10/31

Boo House | 6:00 PM
Project Row Houses | 2510 Division St

Scares and thrills abound in the eerie halls of Boo House! There’ll also be a costume contest. The lack of details is so spine-chilling!

Zombie for Sale | 7:00 PM

MFAH, Brown Auditorium Theater | 1001 Bissonnet St

Get spooky with the MFAH Halloween evening at a screening of Zombie for Sale, a zom-rom-com and directorial debut of Lee Min-jae. As an undead pharmaceutical test subject wanders Korea, a band of misfits discover its bite is actually beneficial, revitalizing the group’s aging patriarch, leading them to exploit this zombie fountain of youth. Surely nothing can go wrong! OOOH, consequences of unethical practices!

ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with The Royal Mystic Order of CHAOS | 11:59 PM
River Oaks Theatre | 2009 W Gray St

It’s astounding; time is fleeting; and some say madness might be taking its toll. You already know this is a classic from heyday of River Oaks Theatre, and it’s there pretty regularly, but this time it’s on HALLOWEEN. Presented with a live shadowcast performance by the River Oak Theatre's long-running troupe, The Royal Mystic Order of CHAOS.

Saturday, 11/01

Craft Community Day | 11:00 AM

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft | 4848 Main St

Craft Community Day is a free festival open to all ages wanting to learn more about craft through artist demonstrations. It’s also a great chance to swing through the on-view exhibitions.

The Family that Plays Together… | 6:00 PM

FotoFest | 2000 Edwards St

FotoFest & Nameless Sound join forces to present The Family that Plays Together… inspired by the Hillerbrand+Magsamen exhibition nothing is precious, everything is game. The evening will feature intergenerational music making by CHALLENGER and House of Ward, Houston-based bands that bring family dynamics to the stage all in the name of experimentation.

Spooky Edition