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Haunting down a party

By Jackie Houghton

The streets of Toronto are frightening every day of the year, but this Saturday the pimps and drug dealers won’t be the only scary people out there.

Halloween is the only time of the year when the shy and conservative can go wild.  It’s the only night your high school librarian can dress as a dominatrix to reveal her alter ego.  It’s the only night you can put on your white polyester leisure suit, do your John Travolta act, and nobody will say boo.

If you haven’t made plans yet, here are a few trick sand treats to help you out.

For those of you who don’t mind dropping some cash, try Freakin’, the all-ages rave happening at the Automotive Building on the CNE grounds.  Admission is $25.  “It’s going to be the biggest of thing going on,” says Alan Lo, a second-year computer science student.  He and his friend Dave Morrissette expect about 6,000 masqueraders at the event.  The best costume wins $500.  There’s also a licensed area, so don’t forget your ID.

For people looking for the traditional bar scene, the Phoenix, Limelight, Joker and other dance clubs are all having Halloween bashes.  They are all pretty much the same party with cover charges around $10.  Cash prizes can be won for the best costume. The going amount seems to be around $1,000, so investing in an awesome costume could pay off.

Halloween is also the perfect night to check out one of those gothic clubs.  The Velvet Underground and the Sanctuary are both hosting parties, and best of all, neither club has a cover charge.  Neither club is giving away money either, but you can still win cool stuff like concert tickets and clothes.  The Sanctuary is even giving away gift certificates for piercing and tattooing if that stirs your cauldron.

So you don’t like clubbing or the bar scene?  Try Screemers at Exhibition Place.  It features a haunted house, frightening castle, horrific maze, execution theatre and black hole — all for $14.95.  The fact that they don’t recommend kids under 10 means it should be really scary.

Other Halloween traditions include live bands at the club, the annual showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Bloor Street Cinema and, of course, trick-or-treating.

Good luck, have fun and watch your back.  You never know what kind of monsters are creeping around in the shadows.

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