Thursday's Halloween in San Francisco

Halloween in San Francisco has a storied tradition, and Halloween in the Castro District was a staple in this city. There may have been other Halloween gatherings, but Castro Street was where you would find participants who had been planning their costume for the year, in anticipation of promenading for that one special night.

The Castro District, formerly home to the greatest Halloween party ever

Because it was in the Castro one could surmise the costumes would be "fabulous." And yes, there was a "gay" theme to it, but it wasn't completely gay. Yes, there was no shortage of drag queens. But there was a plethora of witches, mummies, and representations of whatever pop culture icon was in at the time.

Then there were the mundane entries. I remember seeing one guy dressed in a bathrobe and slippers, with a towel over his shoulder and a loofah in his hand. I asked what his costume was, and he simply answered, “I’m a guy taking a bath.” Amongst all the sequined and feathered costumes surrounding him which took months to create, his simple design was as welcome as the others.

That’s how Halloween in the Castro rolled, you could have one of those cheap, store-bought costume and still be accepted.

Sadly, Halloween in the Castro became a victim of its own success. What started out as a block party for a few hundred revelers in the 1970s ballooned over the years and expanded to the surrounding streets. Neighbors complained about the drunken foolery which descended upon their front steps every year, but eventually acquiesced to the prevailing zeitgeist: San Franciscans love Halloween in the Castro.

As the crowds grew from the tens of thousands, to the hundreds of thousands of partiers in narrow city streets, there were bound to be repercussions. In 2006, SFPD estimated the crowd size as 150,000 people.

Don’t forget this isn’t a stadium, these are city streets built before the advent of the automobile. Nine people were shot though none died, and this prompted then-mayor Gavin Newsom to cancel all future Halloween gatherings in the Castro – Forever!

The city tried to recreate what was an impromptu event, but in a controlled environment at the ballpark. There were costume contests and live entertainment, but it just wasn’t the same and maybe a couple of hundred people turned out. It was just a flimsy husk of the Halloween experience we were all nostalgic for.

In 2024, we all heard the clarion call: Halloween is back in the Castro! Only to find out it was during daylight, and family friendly. There were far more kids than drag queens.

The Castro Halloween is no more but fun can still be found on October 31st. With ornate Victorian homes on fog-lit streets, San Francisco can still be a spooky place. And since it is San Francisco, you can count on venues offering a quirky take on the holiday.

Halloween in San Francisco

Case in Point. On Thursday October 30th, the Madrone Art Bar is hosting a “Taylorween” Taylor Swift Halloween Dance Bash and Costume Contest

On All Hallow’s Eve there are still many creepy activities in the city. The often overlooked Portola District hosts a free Halloween Light Walk. Complete with Glowing Sculptures and Lantern Trails.

Nob Hill can be kind of macabre. Just watch the kidnapping scene in Alfred Hitchcock's last film, The Family Plot from 1976. The Halloween Vampire Tour of San Francisco begins at 8:00pm, and not for the faint-of-heart.

It was bound to happen eventually. The El Rio in the Mission District hosts the Discoween Dance Party, featuring Spooky Showgirls and a costume contest.

Hayes Valley’s Rickshaw Stop hosts the Yoi Toki Future Funk Halloween Party, for a night of disco and “killer grooves.”

If you just want to take your kids to a neighborhood for Trick or Treating, here is a list of areas with street closures and many families.

Cole Valley: Belvedere Street.

Jordan Park/Laurel Heights: Commonwealth and Jordan Avenues are often closed to traffic, offering a safe space for families. I’ve been to this one myself and it is an excellent, and safe, place to take the family.

The Seacliff and St. Francis Woods neighborhoods are two of the wealthiest areas in the city, and a safe place to knock on doors. In fact, the late Robin Williams was notorious for greeting shocked kids (and their parents, too) at the front door of his Seacliff home on Halloween.

Happy All Hallow's Eve.