Overview
Start planning your costumes: when Halloween hits in 2024, Sydney will welcome a brand-new festival celebrating the horror-themed occasion that'll be filled with spooky treats. Scary movies? Tick. A haunted house? Tick again. A murder-mystery party? Keep ticking. A zombie disco? That earns a big tick, too.
Ghost in The Rocks Festival will debut on the absolute right day for it, Thursday, October 31, 2024, then run across four days until Sunday, November 3. The full program won't drop until September, but the idea is to turn The Rocks into a feast of frights and fright-inspired fun, including via tentacles taking over buildings, lights flickering around the place and creatures of the night — well, people dressed up, clearly — roaming the streets.
The event is the brainchild of the team behind Mov'in Cinemas, Sydney's Bastille Festival and Canberra's Xmas in July Festival, which knows a thing or two about sprawling fests, theming around a beloved date on the calendar and adding a big-screen component. The plan: not just to put on the festival as a once-off, but to make it an annual happening.
For now, until more details arrive, get excited about the fact that the House of Horror won't just be about eeriness, but will also be a party spot. Also, the Ghost Cinema will be dedicated to horror movies and thrillers, and feature an atmosphere to match; the Murder Bar will get you sleuthing; and the Zombie Disco will be where you make shapes.
Mov'In Bed Cinema
There'll be a parade as well, where costumed characters and Halloween floats take to the streets. Some aspects will be free, such as the disco, parade and entry to the bar. Others will be ticketed, like the haunted house and the cinema.
There's no word yet on trick-or-treating, themed food and drink options, and if venues around The Rocks will also be getting into spirit of the occasion — but cross your fingers and broomsticks that all of the above is part of Ghost in The Rocks Festival, too.
Ghost in The Rocks Festival will run from Thursday, October 31–Sunday, November 3, 2024 around The Rocks, Sydney, with the full program revealed in September. Head to the event's website for further details in the interim.
Top image: BBR Group.