A Series of Unfortunately Cool Events

Listen up, P-Town peeps. When it comes to holidays, Halloween is the shizzle. What other day on the calendar allows you to transform yourself into a pimp, priest, or politician without getting glares from onlookers? Back during your juvie delinquent days, you spent most of the year agonizing over which costume was gonna impress your friends and score you the most candy. Now it's no different, especially since hundreds of hip and hot Halloween events will go down around town from Thursday, October 26, through Tuesday, October 31, and we've got the lowdown on the best. Make sure you're sporting a fly disguise, since literally thousands of dollars in cash and prizes can be won at fetes throughout the Phoenix area. Whether you're a hip-hop hustla looking for off-the-chain parties, a pierced punk princess with a taste for PBRs, or anyone else in between, we've got the score on joints the other local rags don't know about. Check our listings and plan out how you'll celebrate Allhallows Even in style, unless you'd rather spend the next 364 days racked with regret.

EVENTS & HAPPENINGS —
Thursday, October 26:

The Paper Heart
750 Grand Ave.
www.thepaperheart.com
Celebrate both Halloween and Día de los Muertos with "Jornada del Muerto," a themed exhibition commemorating both holidays with photography, paintings, mixed media, and unique altars by Luis Gutierrez, Jeff Falk, Annie Lopez, Stephen Moody, Greg Pentkowski, and J.A. Jurewicz. Runs through Tuesday, Oct. 31. 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Free. Call 602-262-2020.

Phoenix Little Theatre
100 E. McDowell Rd.
Scorpius Dance Theatre presents A Vampire Tale, a captivatingly lurid production concerning the dark seduction of an innocent young woman into the shadowy underworld of the undead by a "motley crew of bloodsuckers." Also runs at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, and Saturday, Oct. 28. $20. Call 602-254-2151.

BARS & CLUBS —
Thursday, October 26:

Margarita Rocks Beach Club
410 S. Mill Ave., Tempe
www.margaritarocks.com
A four-day Halloween Festival kicks off with pumpkin-gut wrestling, and $4 Captain Morgan and Parrot Bay drinks all night. 8 p.m. Call 480-968-3301 for cover.

EVENTS & HAPPENINGS —
Friday, October 27:

Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 S. McClintock Dr., Tempe
www.changinghands.com
The Rolling Darkness Revue, a multimedia extravaganza featuring live music, theatrical lighting, and readings from noted horror authors Clay McLeod Chapman, Peter Atkins, and Aimee Bender. 7 p.m. Free. Call 480-730-0205.

Gammage Auditorium
1200 S. Forest Ave., Tempe
www.asugammage.com
Grab all your Muggle and Mudblood friends, because the ASU Symphony Orchestra, along with the ASU Choral Union, will perform selections from John Williams' score for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, as well as the compositions of Johann Strauss. 7:30 p.m. Free. Call 480-965-3434.

Harkins Centerpoint
730 S. Mill Ave., Tempe
www.harkins.com
More than 30 outlandish and otherworldly feature-length flicks and short films will be screened at the International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival covering almost every aspect of the genres, including slashers, space operas, and more. There'll be workshops dedicated to special effects and the art of filmmaking, after-parties at nearby restaurant Grilled Expedition, and such celebrity guests as Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back star Jason Mewes, Critters 2 director Mick Garris, A Nightmare on Elm Street actress Heather Langenkamp, and others. 7 p.m. to midnight. Also takes place from 11:30 a.m. to midnight Saturday, Oct. 28; and 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29. Tickets are $8 for individual screenings, $25 for four, and $100 for a VIP all-access pass. Call 602-955-6444 or see www.horrorscifi.com.

Hotel San Carlos
202 N. Central Ave.
www.hotelsancarlos.com
Folks can scare up some thrills and chills in downtown Phoenix as the Ghosts of Phoenix tour will take them to allegedly haunted buildings and locations that aren't open to the public, including the hotel, the Westward Ho building, and elsewhere. 8 p.m. Also scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. $10 for adults; kids 12 and under are $5.

ICON Studio
1205 W. Pierce St.
Hallowfuckingween Costume Party with music by Nunzilla, Dephinger, The Mongoloids, Asses of Evil, Whorchatas, Via Vengeance, and more. 21-and-over. 9 p.m. $7. Call 602-253-8884.

The Mansion
3355 N. 15th Ave.
Pimp & Ho's party featuring a costume contest with cash prizes for "Hottest Ho" and "Pimpest Pimp," music from DJs Big Latin and Idenaty, and more. 9 p.m. $20 pre-pay, $25 day of the event. (Only first 150 guests to pre-pay or RSVP will be allowed in.) Call 602-501-1174 for reservations.

Marquee Theatre
730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe
www.luckymanonline.com
Halloween Bash featuring music from Opiate for the Masses, Sixstitch, Digital Summer, Primary, Laconic, Yesterday's Promise, and more. Costumes are encouraged. All ages. 7 p.m. $10. Call 480-829-0707.

Modified Arts
407 E. Roosevelt St.
www.modified.org
Special showcase by The Vault of Spooky, a comedic theater troupe specializing in 10-minute plays with such subject matter as "Blind Date . . . With a Werewolf!!!" and "Who's the Zombie?!" Local bands The Kohl Heart, and Milk Blood will also perform. 7:30 p.m. $8. Call 602-462-5516.

The Paper Heart
750 Grand Ave.
www.thepaperheart.com
Overmind Works presents Necropolis, a night of dark psy-trance, industrial, and other experimental EDM spun by such DJs as Hahn the Barbarian, Moksha Mind, Nick Synergy, Ghreg on Earth, and others. 8 p.m. $10. Call 602-262-2020.