This is a sponsored article on behalf of Eventbrite.
From a Bring Your Own Vinyl night at a great local pub to UCL's Pop-Up Museum via The House Of Peroni — there's plenty to do with Eventbrite at the end of October. It's time to reclaim Halloween from the horror movie bores, the terrible costumes and the greedy children ('Trick or treat?' More like door-to-door burglary) with a range of classy, interesting and unusual offerings. Chuck out the pumpkins and head into the night to Eventbrite's totally unspooky selection of non-Halloween happenings.
Swap haunted houses for La vita all'Interno
For those of us not lucky enough to be from the boot of Europe, La vita all'Interno means 'a life lived inside', and you'll see this concept at its best at The House of Peroni. The stylish east London residence opens its doors once again this October, recreating the joys of the Italian home in the (unlikely) surroundings of Brick Lane. Expect Michelin-starred food, creative cocktails, paper art installations and delightful decor — even the laundry is inspired by Italian couture. Much nicer than people jumping out from behind sofas and getting that awful cobwebby stuff stuck on your clothes.
Book The House of Peroni now for 29 October, 5pm - free entry!
Trade spooky sounds for real music
Repeating the sounds 'ooooooooh' and 'aaaaaaaah' does not music make. Salvage your ears at one of Eventbrite's sonic soirées, with Native Sessions, Live Expressions and Bring Your Own Vinyl.
Acoustic night Live Expressions returns to the salubrious Smiths for their Spitalfields Sessions, filling the four-floor venue with everything from chilled guitar to sultry jazz, banging rock to up-and-coming DJs. Book Live Expressions now for 30 October, 7.30pm and 1am, £5+booking fee.
Down the road at Studio Spaces in Tobacco Dock, Native Sessions - Play. Patch. Build. is a chance for some serious deep sound experimentation with creators, developers and artists on hand to help. And, as if building your own instruments with expert advice wasn't enough, there are live performances after the presentations. Book Native Sessions now for 29 October, 6.30pm - free entry!
For a more old-school take on music-making, head on down to award-winning local The Grafton for a delightfully scratchy Bring Your Own Vinyl night. Anyone can curate the playlist and have a spin on the decks, so head to the upstairs bar at this Kentish Town boozer for eclectic music, relaxed company and great pub grub. Book Bring Your Own Vinyl now for 29 October, 7.30pm - free entry!
Upgrade from dodgy punch to great pubs
Halloween parties seem to always involve a large bowl of strange-hued liquid. Banish the terrible taste and horrible hangover (now those are truly scary) and glug your way round the city instead on the aptly-named Drunk History of London. This is a pub crawl with a difference: historical re-enactments, trivia contests and improv comedy are all on the menu along with drinks at four South Bank pubs. You're a Londonist reader: you love London, history and pubs. We can't really see any downside to this one.
Book a Drunk History of London tour now for 30 or 31 October, 3pm, £33+booking fee.
'Sexy' cat costumes or actually sexy burlesque
Head to the opulent Hotel Café Royal for the Black Cat Cabaret's slyly saucy Salon des Artistes. Featuring internationally renowned cabaret singers, circus performers, magicians, musicians and, of course, burlesque dancers, this is a lot sexier than 10 quid plastic outfits off the internet. When you step inside, it's no surprise that this decadent setting was beloved by Oscar Wilde, Mick Jagger and Elizabeth Taylor. Now that's something to get hot under the collar about.
Book Salon des Artistes now for 30 October, 7.30pm, from £30+booking fee.
Engage your brain
Suddenly developing a fascination with paranormal activity and the occult? Regain your rationality and direct your attention to the weird and wonderful aspects of the real world when you join UCL in creating a Pop-Up Museum at Queen Elizabeth Park. Get stuck in at the Timber Lodge cafe with artefacts from the Grant Museum of Zoology, the Petrie Museum of Egyptology and UCL's other world-class collections: Old Masters prints, glittering minerals, extinct animal skeletons, ancient Egyptian amulets and more. Alongside all these magnificent curios there'll be live music, Salmagundi short film screenings and a Living Library.
Book The Museum is Where The People are now for 30 October, 6.30pm — free entry!
From pumpkin carving to proper art
When you think about it, knifing a vegetable is at best odd, at worst likely to result in cutting off your thumb. For a safer evening with more attractive results, swap sharp implements for brushes at a PopUp Painting class. And where better to turn for anti-Halloween inspiration than the colourful canvases of Kandinsky, particularly his glorious Autumn Study Near Oberau. Art supplies are included, experienced tutors are on hand and creativity-boosting drinks are plentiful.
Book PopUp Painting: Kandinsky now for 30 October, 7.30pm, £29 with no booking fee.
Find more alternative events and loads more at Eventbrite.
