Some would say this Houston restaurant embodies the holiday spirit year-round, but it’s taking it one step further this month with a limited-edition cocktail menu. At both locations, bargoers can channel their inner ogres with a Monster Smash, made with matcha gin, strawberry cheong syrup, lemon, and soda. Get gory with the Blood-Soaked Nightmarish Hellscape, a blend of frozen El Tesoro Single Barrel Reposado, coconut cream, lime, and homemade strawberry-flavored chamoy with a black salt rim. Those who prefer not to be frightened can celebrate fall flavors instead with an espresso martini with pumpkin spice foam. 

For a second stop in Montrose, make your way to Endless Bummer. The gothic tiki bar and speakeasy has transformed into the Haunted Luau and is serving up themed cocktails, including the cleverly named Be Still My Heart, Doomscroller, and Pumpkinhead. 

Vampire enthusiasts should head to Best Regards for the spooky Murderita. The play on a classic margarita features Don Julio Blanco, passion fruit, lemon, sugar, and a red wine floater, plus a bloody red rim and dry ice, making for an Instagrammable moment. Through Halloween, enjoy the bar’s Nightmare on 11th Street theme, with electric beats on October 30 and 31. Then, on Saturday, November 1, the Heights watering hole transforms into its Day of the Dead celebration with even more live music, mariachi, fire dancers, and face-painting. Of course, every bender needs a recovery meal. On November 2, the bar is offering its Sunday’s Best, a brunch fueled with even more fun.

Alexis Mijares’s Halloween pop-up is back for its third year—this time, in her gothic bar, Botonica. From its luscious greenery to its captivating apothecary-inspired details and witchy decor, the dimly lit Cursed Cauldron is the definition of Halloween. Now through November 2, Houstonians can get their fix of spirits with cocktails like the Coven’s Calling (gin, dry sherry, St. Germain, sage, black pepper, lemon, tonic water); the bourbon-based Harvest Moon Punch made with apple cider and sparkling wine, and the Lilith’s Lullaby (tequila, chili liqueur, pomegranate, hibiscus, beet, orange, and lime).

Don’t wait for the weekend. Stop in on a Tuesday for a mini tarot reading or visit on Wednesday to catch the Bewitched Burlesque performance. 

Need Halloween movies to help you get in the spirit? For the rest of the month, diners can stop by Heights & Co.’s HalloweenTown for themed movie nights, s’mores boards, and themed cocktails. Channel your inner vampire with the Blood Bag Cosmo, made with vodka and blood orange. Get in touch with ghouls with the Grave Digger espresso martini, or try your luck with other potions like the Witches Brew Margarita. Reservations are recommended. 

Through November 1, the local food hall’s upstairs bar transforms into a Spookeasy, spinning vinyl while serving concoctions like the gin-based Sin at the Finn, a brew of beet-apple chutney, lemon, and egg white, finished with a candied hibiscus flower. If you’re looking for something black like your soul, try the smoky Agave Cemetery. Served in a black flask glass, this drink is infused with cinnamon-fig tequila, grapefruit, and a palo santo smoke rim for a drink that seems like something out of a chemistry lab. 

Learn to create your own cocktail experiments during Finn’s Special FX Mixology class, scheduled for Wednesday, October 29, or jam out to your own tunes at the BYOV (bring your own vinyl) night on Thursday, October 30. Then, show up in your best look on Halloween to compete in the costume contest and watch a sultry Prohibition Burlesque performance. 

Creep into Jethro’s Victorian gothic pop-up Dead Man’s Manor for sinister sips, like the Cursed Pumpkin, a fall-themed mix of rum, pumpkin spice, and Frangelico topped with espresso cold foam, or the mystical, gin-infused Garden of Eden, which features notes of clove and cinnamon with yuzu, apple puree, and Manzanita Aol. For more fun, visit on October 30 or Halloween for a costume party, DJs, and dancing. 

Want a night filled with mystery? On Halloween night at this Goodnight Hospitality restaurant, a disguise could win you a prize. Dress up in your best costume for a chance to win tea for four, a $150 gift card, or a three-pack of wine. Chilling cocktails are a guarantee. The haunting list includes the Ripper’s Rose with apple brandy; the Zombie, made with rum, cinnamon, grapefruit, and bitters; a refined espresso martini dubbed the Black Widow; and the black-hued Corpse Reviver No. 2, a blend of charcoal, gin, Lillet, absinthe, and lemon.