🎃 What's on in Madrid: October 30

Madrid | Issue #168

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Here is The Bubble’s Guide to Halloween in Madrid

Good morning and happy Friday!

In another victory for America’s cultural imperialism soft power, Madrid has fully embraced Halloween (or Noche de Brujas, as the olds call it). No matter how much you complain, this weekend is all about people wearing slutty beautiful costumes, trick-or-treating, and handing out chuches.

• Personally, I’m delighted. Halloween is my favorite holiday (mainly because it’s an excuse to spend all of October watching Scream, Friday the 13th, and Halloween without looking like a serial killer), so I’ve worked overtime this week to bring you a pretty detailed list of stuff to do this weekend in Madrid. (That’s my elegant, indirect way of saying hopefully you will consider becoming a paying subscriber so I can feed my children.)

• Also, full disclosure: I have no children.

• Last but not least, Halloween falls on a Saturday this year (that won’t happen again until 2037!), which means your costume deserves a proper night out (not just a brief appearance on a work Zoom call). Put some thought into it!

Happy weekend!

(PS: In light of this week’s tragic train accident, some events and celebrations have been canceled or postponed. Before heading out, double-check with the organizers for any last-minute changes. And, of course, our thoughts are with the victims and everyone affected by the tragedy.)

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🎃 Halloween Weekend: Parties, seances, screams, music, and cemetery visits.

Alright, listen up. Madrid is offering tons of places to celebrate Halloween. There are dance floors, murder-mystery dinners, haunted attractions, and bars with palm readings. So here’s your uber comprehensive guide to the weekend.

🪩 Nightclubs (yes, they are still very much a thing!)

• Dance to hard techno until you look like Michael Jackson (in the Thriller music video, in case that needs clarification). Blackworks’ The Purgatory takes over La Nueva Cubierta de Leganés on Oct. 30 and 31, with gothic scenery and techno music running from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. each night. Sounds cool, but it’s in Leganés, so… you know.

• The massive Iberdrola Music venue will host Halloween Takeover on Oct. 31, with more than 12 hours of electronic music, immersive experiences, and spectacular performances across multiple stages. It’s organized by elrow, Brunch Electronik, and Industry City x Monegros, so you can’t go wrong.

🎸 Live Music

The Radar Joven concert series has a packed Halloween weekend featuring tons of bands you’ve never heard of. Still, if you want to become a part of this city, you better start learning who they are so when they become huge you can say “I liked them better when they were not commercial.”

• Friday brings Benzú and Elena Carat to Café La Palma at 9:30 p.m.; interrogación amor and Amante Laffón to El Sótano at 8:30 p.m.; Comic Sans to Moby Dick at 9 p.m.; and Supercremalleras to Siroco at 9 p.m.

• On Saturday, catch Las Nietas del Charli at Galileo Galilei at noon, Korashe at Café Berlín at 7:30 p.m., Estela Gris and Azul Yokai at Maravillas at 9 p.m., or sélpide at Contraclub at 10 p.m.

Check them all out here.

🧟 Amusement Parks and other weird places

If you’ve never been to Parque Warner (aka Warner Bros. Park), this is your perfect excuse. Not only do they have some of the coolest horror IPs (Gremlins, The Conjuring, It), but they also do some cool horror nights on Halloween night.

• The amusement park in Casa de Campo and Parque Warner in San Martín de la Vega have their seasonal horror attractions, shows, and scare zones up and running (My pick? Parque Warner, so I can run into Pennywise or Annabelle, both of them totally misunderstood creatures).

• More! Screamfield Park, in Mejorada del Campo, adds themed sets, special effects, and roaming actors. You’ll probably need to take the bus or Uber there.

• For a smaller-group experience, El Sonambulista at Morata de Tajuña’s Palacio Mac-Crohon combines a horror walkthrough with escape-room puzzles.

If you’re lazy and don’t want to leave the city, the amusement park in Casa de Campo is the logical choice. Although you must admit that spending Halloween night in a sleepy little town outside the city sounds delightful (especially with this dude on the loose).

🍔 Restaurants with creepy food and/or experiences