Updated: July 22, 2026
In this guide
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.
It seems absurd to think that I, the world’s biggest scaredy-cat, would love Halloween. But what can I say? I’m full of contradictions. Yes, it can be spooky, but it doesn’t have to be. The former theatre kid in me sees it as an opportunity to bust out my old costumes, gather with friends, and generally just have a good time.
And 2026 is a good year for it: Halloween lands on a Saturday. If you want to show off a costume with a drink in hand, these are the adult Halloween parties worth planning around in Columbus. It’s still early in the season, so some dates are locked and some haven’t been announced yet. I’ll keep this guide updated as they land.
| Party | 2026 date | Where | Cost |
| Hops on High x HighBall Halloween | Saturday, October 3 | Short North | Free |
| COSI After Dark (Halloween edition) | Thursday, October 8 | COSI, Downtown | Ticketed, 21+ |
| The Rocky Horror Show | October 22–31 | Garden Theater, Short North | Ticketed |
| Otherworld’s Halloween party | October 31 (expected, TBA) | Otherworld, East Side | TBA, 21+ |
| Tales From the Crypt | Late October (TBA) | The Abbey Mausoleum & Gardens | $20 in 2025 |
| Bexley’s 21+ night at Jeffrey Mansion | TBA | Jeffrey Mansion, Bexley | TBA |
Hops on High x HighBall Halloween
What: For 18 years, HighBall Halloween was Columbus’s costume party of record. This year the Short North Alliance is folding it into Hops on High, its fall street festival, for one combined blowout: 80+ vendors, live music, a trick-or-treat trail, and the Costume Couture Fashion Show that made HighBall famous. Heads up before you plan a late-October night around it: the new date is four weeks ahead of Halloween, and the festival is now an all-ages event, so the crowd will look different than HighBall’s old midnight runway. The people-watching will still be unbeatable.
When: Saturday, October 3, 2026
Where: High Street in the Short North Arts District
Website: Hops on High x HighBall Halloween
COSI After Dark: The Halloween Edition
What: COSI After Dark is the science center with a bar and without the kids. It’s 21+ only, it runs the second Thursday of every month, and October’s edition is the Halloween one. Last year’s theme was a full zombie apocalypse, survival scenarios included. Costumes fit right in, and you can drink a themed cocktail next to the exhibits you loved in fourth grade.
When: Thursday, October 8; 2026 theme and tickets TBA
Where: COSI, 333 W Broad St, Columbus, OH 43215
Website: COSI After Dark
The Rocky Horror Show at Short North Stage
What: Short North Stage brings The Rocky Horror Show back to the Garden Theater for a ninth straight year, and it belongs on every adult Halloween to-do list. An innocent young couple gets stranded at the haunted castle of Frank N. Furter, a mad scientist from Transylvania; you grab a drink from the bar and settle in for a strange and wonderful night. Tickets are already on sale, and the two Halloween-night shows (5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday the 31st) are the ones that go first.
When: October 22–31, 2026, various showtimes
Where: The Garden Theater, 1187 N High St, Columbus, OH 43201
Website: The Rocky Horror Show
Otherworld’s Halloween Party
What: Every Halloween, Otherworld hands its immersive art maze over to a 21+ dance party with a touring headliner. The Glitch Mob played it in 2024, and the tradition carried on last year. Wandering those glowing rooms in a costume at midnight is about as Halloween as Columbus gets. The 2026 lineup usually drops in late summer, so keep an eye on their events page.
When: October 31 is the pattern; 2026 details TBA
Where: Otherworld, 5819 Chantry Drive, Columbus, OH 43232
Website: Otherworld Events
Tales From the Crypt at The Abbey Mausoleum & Gardens
What: The historic mausoleum you may know as Green Lawn Abbey now goes by The Abbey Mausoleum & Gardens, and its annual Tales From the Crypt night is still the strangest ticket of the season. Costumed guides bring the Abbey’s permanent residents to “life” for an evening of their true stories, with jack-o’-lanterns on the steps, candlelight inside, and a bonfire if the weather cooperates. Last year it ran the final weekend of October and tickets were $20.
When: Late October; 2026 dates TBA
Where: 700 Greenlawn Ave, Columbus, OH 43223
Website: The Abbey Mausoleum & Gardens
Bexley’s 21+ Night at Jeffrey Mansion
What: Bexley Recreation & Parks throws a 21+ party at Jeffrey Mansion every fall. For three years it was the Adult Halloween Bash, with an open bar (beer, wine, and soda), hors d’oeuvres, dancing, and costume prizes. In 2025 they traded the bash for a murder mystery night at the mansion instead, so the format is anyone’s guess this year. Either way, a Halloween-season party in a mansion is worth watching for. Bexley usually posts its fall programming in late summer.
When: TBA
Where: Jeffrey Mansion, 165 N Parkview Ave, Bexley, OH 43209
Website: Jeffrey Mansion at Bexley Rec & Parks
Adult Halloween in Columbus: Quick Answers
When is HighBall Halloween in 2026?
HighBall isn’t happening as its own late-October event this year. The Short North Alliance merged it with Hops on High into one free street festival on Saturday, October 3, 2026, with the Costume Couture Fashion Show as the centerpiece.
What can adults do on Halloween night itself?
Halloween 2026 falls on a Saturday. Otherworld’s 21+ party has landed on October 31 every year, and Short North Stage runs two Rocky Horror shows that night (5 p.m. and 9 p.m.). Downtown and Short North bars will be in full costume-contest mode.
Are any of these parties free?
Hops on High x HighBall Halloween is free to attend. The rest are ticketed: Tales From the Crypt was $20 last year, Rocky Horror varies by seat, and Otherworld and COSI After Dark price per event.
